Virginia Tech Football: Brent Pry Says the Skill In The ACC is Equal or Better Than The Big Ten

The Big Ten and the SEC are the perceived top two conferences in college football

Nov 18, 2023; Blacksburg, Virginia, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies head coach Brent Pry looks on during the game against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Lane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports / Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

The ACC has expanded from 14 to 17 teams this summer and officially added Stanford, Cal, and SMU. It remains to be seen whether this is going to benefit the conference in the long term, but they are going to be interesting additions. The Big Ten just added USC, Oregon, UCLA, and Washington and they now stand at 18 teams.

Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry is a coach who has been in both the ACC and the Big Ten. He spent time as the defensive coordinator at Penn State before coming to Blacksburg and he brings a unique perspective when it comes to both conferences. When doing a recent radio interview, Pry said he thinks the talent is equal to or better than the Big Ten while also praising the new additions to the conference:

"First of all, I think we are a better league with those three schools entering the league. They all have at some period, recent history, really good runs, but for me, what hits closer to home for me is that you've got Virginia Tech, you've got Miami, you have Syracuse, schools that were kind of down and they were strongholds in the league. You had Clemson carrying the torch for a while without much help and I think to get Virginia Tech back, Miami back, Florida State, that is going to enhance our league and when you look at that, if that all happens... and you have other folks that can do some stuff obviously and if that happens, those were the powerhouses when the league was rocking and rolling. We have great tradition in this league, we have great college towns, we have really good coaching and we have really good skill. I just spent nine years in the Big Ten and the skill in this league is equal or better. I think there is a lot and it is harder for some folks to see, but being on the inside, there is a lot to be excited about in this league."

"I spent 9 years in the #BigTen, the skill in this league is equal or better."@CoachPryVT has high praise for @theACC

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I actually don't think Pry is far off. The Big Ten has better teams and talent at the top with Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan, and Penn State, but the rest of the league is questionable from a depth perspective. The ACC has a lot of really solid schools and should be considered one of the deeper conferences from top to bottom.