As we turn the page to 2014, it's worth taking a look back at what a truly historic season 2013 was for the ACC. The conference reached several unprecedented milestones that will make 2013 one of the league's more memorable seasons. Just in case you need a little bragging material heading into spring ball ...
The ACC became the first conference to have 11 teams with winning records since 1932, when the old Southern Conference was a 24-team league.It was the first time in the league’s 61-year history that three ACC teams ended the regular season with at least 10 wins (Florida State, Duke and Clemson).
Duke won 10 games for the first time in school history. The Blue Devils' previous high for victories was nine, originally set in 1933 and matched in 1936, 1938 and 1941.
Florida State finished 14-0 for the first time in school history, besting the previous mark of 12-0 set by the 1999 national champions.
The ACC became the first conference in history to have a player win the Heisman Trophy (Jameis Winston, FSU), the Doak Walker Award (Andre Williams, BC), the Outland Trophy (Aaron Donald, Pitt), the Nagurski Trophy (Donald), the Lombardi Award (Donald) and the Bednarik Award (Donald) in the same season.
Winston became the youngest player in history to win the Heisman Trophy. He was also the first freshman to win the award and lead his team to the national championship in the same season.
With FSU’s win over No. 2 Auburn and Clemson’s win over then-No. 7 Ohio State, the ACC led all conferences with three wins over top-10 teams in 2013. The ACC was the only conference with multiple wins over top-10 nonconference teams.
