Even though GT won a title in 1990, no one thought of them as an emerging football power. The SEC wasn't nearly as dominant as they are now but they were still seen as a much better football conference than the ACC. Even then the ACC was still the 4th or 5th best football conference behind the SEC, Big 8, Big 10, etc. and independent schools won a lot of championships in the 1980's (Miami 3, Penn St 2, ND 1). It was an easier path to the championship for FSU in the ACC than it would have been in the SEC. They won their first two national championships in their first 8 years in the league.