CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Ten years ago this summer Florida State, in search of a dream date with a conference it could call its own, hooked up with the ACC. It has turned out to be the greatest marriage in college football history, though a bit one-sided.

At the time, it wasn't the ideal match. Florida State had wanted to join the SEC for years where its football culture matched up much better. Countless blowouts and two national championships later, everyone in the ACC is smiling -- or should be.

Tommy Bowden's Clemson squad poses one of the biggest threats to his father and perennial power Florida State. (Allsport)

We're not talking about the two national titles, two Heismans and at least a share of nine consecutive league titles. Those are nice but what really makes ACC types smile, at least off the field, are the raw numbers.

Without much of a basketball program to add to the financial mix, Florida State has pulled its weight and then some. According to tax records, it led the ACC in 1999-2000 getting an $8.7 million revenue check back from the league after television, bowl and NCAA Tournament money was figured in.

"It couldn't have worked out better," Bobby Bowden said Tuesday reminiscing about his program's decade in the league at the 2001 ACC Football Kickoff.

Actually, it could work out better. That's sort of a theme this year for a league made famous by Tobacco Road basketball. League coaches and officials know that for the ACC to begin to get national respect in football its best program must lose.

"If the same team wins it all the time you get a bad name for the conference," Georgia Tech coach George O'Leary said Tuesday. "Meanwhile, that same team is beating everyone in the country, too. But other people need to step up and win the conference to make it a true conference."

So far, the rest of the ACC has failed miserably. Florida State is an incredible 70-2 in the ACC in its nine years. The only losses were to Virginia in 1995 and North Carolina State in 1998. That's it.

But vulnerability is in for the ACC in 2001. Bowden has only 10 starters back from last year's team that played for the national championship for the third consecutive year. That's the fewest returnees since the 1993 national championship year.

"We've got a bigger challenge this year than we've had in quite a while," Bowden said.

Longtime offensive coordinator Mark Richt left for Georgia. The nation's No. 1 high school quarterback Joe Mauer teased the Seminoles by signing with them in February only to sign professionally with the Minnesota Twins last week.

"Florida State needs to hand the torch to somebody else," North Carolina State linebacker Levar Fisher said more out of frustration than anger. "It's embarrassing."

Embarrassing for a league that has spent little more than lip service until recent years trying to compete with the Seminoles. Four new ACC coaches take over this year trying to stop the menace their predecessors couldn't.

"I want the older players to show leadership when it comes to playing Florida State, show no fear," said John Bunting who left the NFL to return to his alma mater, North Carolina. "We hope that trickles down to the younger players. I don't know if they've played Florida State with no fear yet. From what I understand they haven't.

"I've gotten letters from people saying that they were getting pounded by Florida State and guys were laughing on the sideline. I don't know if that was true or not, but I'd have a fistfight with those guys if I saw that going on."

But on it goes because a new coach means the previous administration failed in some way. Virginia brought in former New York Jets head coach Al Groh after George Welsh retired. Maryland hired offensive genius Ralph Friedgen away from Georgia Tech. Wake Forest brought in Jim Grobe who was an uninspiring 33-33-1 in the MAC.

But stage no wake for Wake, which has lost to Florida State by an average of 36 points in the ACC. This is the ACC where, thanks to Bowden's excellence, those checks still cash nicely.

"Florida State is vulnerable in what?" said O'Leary who, in his eighth season, is second in league seniority. "... I don't buy that. They're as strong as they've always been."

O'Leary might be sandbagging because his Yellow Jackets are seen as the main threat to the Seminoles this season. Georgia Tech has 18 starters back from a 9-3 team that has shown no fear to Florida State. They tied Florida State for the league title in 1998. In the past two seasons, Georgia Tech has lost both encounters by a combined 11 points.

O'Leary at least is getting the hint. He has recruited heavily in Florida trying to snag some of the talent that has made Florida State so good. He has a franchise quarterback in George Godsey, one of 14 Floridians on the roster.

"The success has been there because winners win and winners draw a lot of players," O'Leary said. "The state they come from is a great speed state. When you have that, you're going to have good continuity."

But Bowden is the master at sandbagging. He was hit hard by graduation in 1993 and won his first national championship. In 1997, he had to replace 15 starters and finished 11-1 and No. 3 in the country.

In their amazing run, Bowden's teams have won at least 10 games and finished in the top four of at least one poll for 14 consecutive seasons.

"What's happened there now is those players don't want to be the first team there not to win 10 or drop out of the top four," said North Carolina State coach Chuck Amato. "That's why they go there. They go there to put three new national championship rings on."

Amato, an assistant coach under Bowden for 18 years until last year warned that any talk of vulnerability will only "get them all cranked up."

Amato's situation, though, is typical of the ACC. He took over at his alma mater in 2000 and immediately raised eyebrows by saying exactly none of his Wolfpack players could start for Florida State. While that might have changed after an 8-4 debut in 2000, N.C. State has been within 13 points of Florida State only twice since 1992.

"We're not the only team in this league or America that can say that," Amato said.

That's the point of the ACC's incompetence. Aside from the balance sheet, Florida State's excellence has done little for the league's football. The 'Noles play for national championships. The rest of the ACC plays for respect. For the most part, the results just aren't there in the Florida State era.

In 1997, North Carolina was 7-0 and ranked fifth in the country. It lost to Florida State the following week 20-3 and hasn't been the same since then. Since that day, the Heels are 19-19 and have switched coaches twice.

"It's real frustrating," North Carolina center Adam Metts said. "That's one thing that gets me. It's kind of the norm for the league, North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia all being more basketball oriented.

"I think the league is going to start changing. Things can change. It might take five years. This can be a great league especially with all the commitment these schools are going through."

The ACC might start where respect begins -- NFL talent and bowl victories. The league won't get respect until it consistently wins bowl games. Over the past three years the ACC is 5-10 in bowl games (1-4 last season). The combined 21 ACC players taken in the draft were the least in the league since 1996.

There are signs of hope. Bowden is replacing 28-year old Heisman-winning quarterback Chris Weinke with two players who have never taken a college snap at the position -- Anquan Boldin and Chris Rix.

All the coaching changes have shown schools are starting to care. Three of the four new coaches in the league have NFL experience. There are major facilities upgrades either under way or finished at North Carolina, North Carolina State, Duke and Georgia Tech.

"A young boy of 18 doesn't want to hear about a national championship, he wants to see a visual commitment," said Clemson coach Tommy Bowden who will meet with school officials Thursday to begin talking about improvements.

Tommy might be the best long-term threat to his father's reign. Some think the younger Bowden is the heir apparent to his legendary father. First, though, he has to beat him. Papa Bowden is 2-0 against his son in ACC play, including last year's 54-7 victory in Bowden Bowl II.

"The first thing my father said after the game last year was, 'You better go recruiting,'" Tommy said. "He didn't mean I didn't have good players. I didn't have enough good players.

"Don't fall for that stuff he says about losing all his players. He's been a head coach for over five decades and has never lost a 28-year-old quarterback and won a lot of games. Why is that a big deal? That's not an issue. I'm not falling for that one."

Until Florida State is bumped out of the top spot, neither is the rest of the ACC.