Think the BE for much of the 00s was better than the ACC. The arguable marquee team at the time, WVU, if you look at their record back in RR days just obliterated teams in non-con and won their major bowl games (the teams that gave WVU trouble were always in conference). The other good teams also took their fair share of scalps in non-con as well. UL was very good for stretches, Pitt and Cincy fielded good teams, RU stepped it up a bit, USF was once ranked in the top 5.
side topic: maybe leaving was eventually inevitable w/ conf realignment kicked up to 11 at the time but I still think Miami leaving for the ACC really more than anything dropped the hammer on their football program and they haven't recovered (won't?).
In the I-95 corridor as a BE team from DC to Boston they were (while not universally loved) every bit as popular as ND was/is there. Now they are just an also-ran in the southeast's basketball division. A L to FSU or say another top 10 non-con never mattered because they could still win the conference w/ a 10-2, 11-1 record and go to a major bowl, stay relevant/ranked high and easily obtain talent. With the conference being small and admittedly not the strongest, they could also easily regroup after sanctions/down years as well. Today a loss to Clemson or FSU even though they play in other division pretty much sinks them even if they are good. The major media markets don't pay attention anymore because they are avg and they aren't travelling up to the NE 4-5 times a year anymore.
They ruled the conference. Playing Miami was a huge event and the national media always covered it. These days WVU gets Oklahoma and Texas. VT, SU, BC, Pitt get #1 Clemson or FSU on their schedule. However (even if Miami wasn't ranked top 5) I think all of those fanbases will say the atmosphere and hype for the likes of Clemson and Oklahoma were not anything like the Miami game. And sure yes Miami is on the sched but its miami, not MIAMI.
