Walker grew up just south of Charlotte in Fort Mill, S.C., along with South Carolina Gamecocks fans who crow about the SEC's superiority over the ACC.

"They just say that the SEC is better," Walker said. "And the thing is, I can't argue with that. Because the bottom line is, the SEC has been beating us."

Other conferences have been beating the ACC, too, and coaches and players have had difficulty explaining why that is while gathering this week to talk football with the media.

Over the past three years, the ACC leads all conferences in players selected in the first round (25) and overall (115) in the NFL draft.

Despite that high-caliber talent, the ACC's teams have struggled on the field compared with other BCS conferences. The ACC has lost eight BCS bowl games in a row and hasn't had a team in the BCS championship game since Florida State lost to Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl at the end of the 2000 season.

Over the past three seasons, the ACC is a combined 32-41 against opponents from other BCS conferences.

"We have to win those games," N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien said. "That's the only way we're going to get credence as the top conference in the country. We have to go out and beat people and beat them at the highest level. Until we go out and do it, we're going to have to answer those questions."

Expanding to 12 teams in 2005 was supposed to raise the ACC's profile in football. Miami and Virginia Tech were national powers, and Boston College was competitive in the Big East.

Problem is, Miami and longtime ACC power Florida State have slumped to a combined record of 26-25 over the past two seasons. Miami offensive tackle Jason Fox said he has friends all over the country who tease him about the ACC being weak.

"As soon as we [Miami] get back on top, I think that will help the ACC ranking," Fox said. " ... We do have athletes, and we had some problems in the past that don't have anything to do with talent. We just need to put all that stuff behind us and move on."

Coaching lacking?

Miami is one of five ACC schools that fired its coach over the past two years.

The dismissals at almost half the ACC schools indicate coaching in the conference has been lacking. Recent hires O'Brien at N.C. State, Randy Shannon at Miami and Paul Johnson at Georgia Tech have players optimistic.

Duke defensive tackle Vince Oghobaase said first-year coach David Cutcliffe has inspired confidence that has been lacking as Duke added to its 25-game losing streak against ACC opponents.

North Carolina's Deunta Williams considered departed coach John Bunting a friend and mentor, but said the hiring of Butch Davis was the best thing that ever happened to him. Davis moved Williams from wide receiver to free safety, where he is a defensive leader as a sophomore.

"You never know what a coaching change is going to do," Williams said. "It brings change and new ideas. I think it's been good for North Carolina."

Defenders cite depth

Some ACC players and coaches reject the idea that the conference has struggled.

They say the lack of a BCS championship game participant indicates that the ACC has excellent depth that prevents one team from dominating.

The ACC's defenders say the draft shows the conference's strength. Six of the 12 top-four picks from the past three years -- N.C. State's Mario Williams, Georgia Tech's Calvin Johnson, Clemson's Gaines Adams, Virginia's Chris Long and D'Brickashaw Ferguson, and Boston College's Matt Ryan -- played in the ACC.

But some consider the ACC inferior because that talent hasn't produced wins against other conferences. In each of the past two seasons, one of the ACC's marquee programs met the eventual national champion from the SEC.

ACC champion Virginia Tech was clobbered 48-7 by LSU last season. In 2006, Florida State lost 21-14 to Florida, which owns four straight wins in that ACC-SEC series.

Georgia Tech has lost seven in a row to SEC rival Georgia.

"Everybody anticipated, gosh, this was going to be a dominating conference [after expansion]," Clemson coach Tommy Bowden said. "But with any conference, there are going to be pendulum swings. ... The pendulum swung to the SEC, but I think it will swing back."

The ACC will get an early opportunity to swing back. In the opening week of the season, Virginia meets Southern California, which is among the national title favorites.

Clemson (vs. Alabama in Atlanta) and N.C. State (at South Carolina) open against SEC opponents.

"It's going to definitely be a big statement week for the ACC," Clemson quarterback Cullen Harper said. "If we can come out of there, ACC 2, SEC 0, that would be a big step to starting it off right."

For a week anyway, that might keep the Gamecocks fans from taunting Vance Walker about the SEC.