Weekend Preview

With only four weeks to go and the division races still way up in the air, this is a pretty important weekend of ACC football. So I think it’s time for my (first of the year!) weekend preview.
First things first, let’s take a quick look at the standings:

ATLANTIC DIVISION
School Conference Pct. Overall Pct.
Boston College 3-1 .750 7-1 .875
Wake Forest 3-1 .750 7-1 .875
Maryland 3-1 .750 6-2 .750
Clemson 4-2 .667 7-2 .778
NC State 2-3 .400 3-5 .375
Florida State 2-4 .333 4-4 .500
COASTAL DIVISION
School Conference Pct. Overall Pct.
Georgia Tech 4-1 .800 6-2 .750
Virginia Tech 3-2 .600 6-2 .750
Virginia 3-2 .600 4-5 .444
Miami 2-2 .500 5-3 .625
North Carolina 0-5 .000 1-7 .125
Duke 0-5 .000 0-8 .000


As you can see, almost nobody is out of the hunt at this point. Almost every team has three or four ACC games left so there’s lots of movement possible, but I bet we’ll be using tiebreakers in at least one division to see who plays in Jacksonville.
Maryland @ Clemson – The Terps are on a three game winning streak that has taken them from mediocrity to the top of the Atlantic Division. Meanwhile, Clemson was spanked last week on national TV by Virginia Tech to fall into fourth place in the Atlantic. But don’t be misled. The Tigers are still the best team in the ACC and I think they’ll take out some frustration on Friedgen’s boys.
If Maryland gets blown out (like I suspect), they need to make sure they have short memories. Their last three games after Clemson are Miami, at BC and Wake Forest. All three games possible wins or losses. They need to keep their heads right.
Virginia @ Florida State – I wrote a bit about this game here. These are two teams headed in opposite directions, but I suspect that the natural order of things will be restored at least for one day. The Seminoles are a wounded beast and that makes them dangerous. They are a seriously flawed team, but they do have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball and I have a hunch that they’re tired of losing. If Virginia can manage to keep this game close (or have a lead) going into the fourth quarter, they can win the game, but if they let FSU score early, look for the Noles to roll.
Navy @ Duke – Think Paul Johnson will swing down 15-501 to look at some houses in Governor’s Club?
For Duke, this is one of only two reasonable chances for a win this year. If they don’t beat the Midshipmen (and they probably won’t, as Navy is disciplined and well coached and … well, the Devils aren’t) they’ll have to wait until the season-ender in Chapel Hill.
North Carolina @ Notre Dame – In John Bunting’s tenure, Carolina games against good outside competition have not been pretty. Typically, they end with the opposition (Wisconsin, Utah, Louisville, Furman) rolling up record yardage and beating the Tar Heels like they owe them money. Expect the same this weekend.
Georgia Tech @ NC State – Georgia Tech is on top of the Coastal Division and coming off a big win over Miami. NC State has dropped three straight, sending fans to read about Sidney Lowe’s first basketball practices. So the winner here is obvious, right? That’s right. State’s going to win. Chuck Amato is always at his best when his back’s against the wall. The Wolfpack sucks in games that they should win, but do surprisingly well against teams that appear to be better. Book it – the Wolfpack in a thriller.
Boston College @ Wake Forest – Who would have guessed that in a November weekend that includes a Virginia Tech – Miami tilt that the Boston College – Wake Forest game would be the most important game? Like Kyle MacLachlin said in Blue Velvet, “It’s a strange world.”
The Eagles and Deacons, both 3-1 and leading the Atlantic have had some thrillers in the past few years, even before BC joined the ACC. Last year, BC won 35-30 when they scored two TDs in the last three minutes. In 2004, it was the Deacons who scored a TD in the last minute to win 17-14. And back in ’03, the Deacons won 32-28 on a TD in the final two minutes (less than a minute after BC had taken the lead). That’s a hell of a series!
For tomorrow’s game, I honestly don’t know who will win. I have an idea what to expect – two well-coached and fairly conservative teams who won’t beat themselves. Neither team has many game-breakers so don’t expect a ton of highlights. Instead there will be a lot of hard running and hard hitting and probably a game-winning score in the final minutes.
Virginia Tech @ Miami – I’m tempted to blow off this review just out of spite and not a little schadenfreude. Neither team really feels like it belongs in the ACC yet and right now, neither is delivering on the promise of top-notch ACC football. But that said, both teams have just two conference losses and the winner of this game could conceivably end up winning the Coastal Division (although Georgia Tech owns the head-to-head tie-breaker over both).
With the way the Hokies took it to Clemson last week and Miami crapped the laundry hamper against GT, it’s easy to say that Beamer ball will win the day. So … that’s what I’m going with. The Hokies win, sealing Larry Coker’s fate and bringing Butch Davis one step closer to his Coral Gables return.


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