Every year around this time, the college football world debates which Power 5 conference is the best and which is the worst. Conference strength has become a source of pride for many college football fans and is often used to compare teams that haven’t met head-to-head.

So-called experts and fans alike have suggested in recent weeks that the Atlantic Coast Conference is the weakest of the Power 5.

While I don’t believe the ACC is the strongest of conferences, it certainly isn’t worse. 

First off, the upper echelon of the ACC is as strong — if not stronger — as any other conference.

There are currently three ACC teams (No. 1 Clemson, No. 8 North Carolina and No. 10 Florida State) in the top 10 of the AP poll. That number is higher than the Pac-12 (1), Big 12 (1) and even the mighty SEC (1) while being tied with the Big Ten (3). The other team in the top 10, Notre Dame, is an independent and not a member of a conference.

ESPN’s Football Power Index, a measure of team strength and a predictor of a team’s future performance, suggests that the three ACC teams in the top 10 are in fact better than the three from the Big Ten. The average FPI ranking of the three ACC teams is 10.3 while the average of the Big Ten’s top teams is 14.3.

One of the best ways to measure conference strength is to look at previous non-conference games against other Power 5 opponents. The results of those matchups over the past two years show that the ACC isn’t nearly as weak as some people may suggest. 

When looking at those records, it is in fact the Big 12 conference with the lowest win percentage (.400) against non-conference Power 5 teams, while the ACC has a .416 winning percentage. Looking deeper, the Big 12 is only 2-8 (.200) against ranked non-conference Power 5 teams while the ACC is 8-19 (.296).

While these records are compiled over the last two seasons, the more recent matchups prove the ACC is winning more games against other Power 5 conferences. 

This past weekend, four ACC teams played games against non-conference Power 5 teams and went 3-1. No. 1 Clemson defeated South Carolina, No. 10 FSU demolished No. 18 Florida by 25 points on the road and Louisville scored 31 unanswered points to defeat Kentucky. 

The most impressive part of those three victories? They came against teams in the SEC, which many people consider to be the nation’s best conference.