Week 10 Picks

We’re already into November, which means the action on the field is really intensifying.  We’ve got quite an array of games to choose from, two Coastal Division matchups, two Atlantic Division contests, an out-of-conference game at East Carolina, and a cross-divisional game with implications on how the Road to Tampa Bay will shape up.  So, without much ado, here are my picks for the week:

• VIRGINIA TECH @ East Carolina (Thursday)
• Virginia @ MIAMI
• Maryland @ NC STATE
• Wake Forest @ GEORGIA TECH
• DUKE @ North Carolina

GAME OF THE WEEK – FLORIDA STATE @ Clemson

Boston College has the week off.

Worth Noting:

• I seriously doubt anyone expected Duke to be this good coming into November.  They are currently second in the Coastal with an outside chance of winning the division outright.  Of course, a number of things would have to happen before that scenario would come to pass.  However, you gotta admit the Blue Devils have made some serious strides this past year.  To offer some perspective, a win over UNC will give the Blue Devils four conference wins, which is the same amount achieved during the last nine seasons.  Not to mention Coach Cutcliffe so far has won more games than either Carl Franks or Ted Roof, and he’s only in his second season!!  A win over the Tarheels would be even more impressive, since UNC has practically dominated the series 18 out of the last 19 seasons.  The last two games, however, have been fairly close, so perhaps this might be the year The Victory Bell makes its way back to Durham.  Then again, I am a Duke fan, so what I’ve said thus far could be mistaken for wishful thinking …
• Both Maryland and N.C. State find themselves in danger of missing the postseason altogether, which makes their game all the more important.  The Terps need to win out, although Coach Ralph Friedgen seems a bit more worried about keeping the pounds off than how the Wolfpack might react following a crushing loss to FSU.  It’s also Homecoming weekend for NCSU, as if they needed any more motivation to finally get their first conference win of the season.
• Speaking of FSU, house cleaning appears to be in order now that defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews is calling it quits at the end of the season.  He’s shown great loyalty to Bobby Bowden by helping shape the Seminoles into a formidable force over the past 26 years.  Family issues, however, have detracted from his focus and desire, leaving him with the difficult decision to walk away.  Coach Bowden will have the final say in his replacement, although he will allow Jimbo Fisher to offer his considerations.
• The Clemson-Florida State game will have implications on the Atlantic Division race, since both teams are still in contention.  The Noles continue to stay strong by putting up really impressive numbers, even with an anemic defense.  That revelation caught Dabo Swinney’s attention, especially since the Tigers have been dominant in this series as of late.

Week 9 Results

Another Halloween has come and gone, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned from Charlie Brown is that sometimes life isn’t always fair.  No doubt Frank Beamer felt more like Snoopy as a WWI Flying Ace when Casey Barth kicked the game-winning field goal to give UNC an unexpected victory in Blacksburg.  Although I wouldn’t mistake Casey for the Red Baron, I do sympathize with Charlie Brown getting gypped at Trick-or-treat.  Guess my pick for a Central Michigan upset turned out to be a rock.

And so, here’s how my picks turned out this past All Hallow’s Eve:

TREATS

• FLORIDA STATE 45, NC State 42
• CLEMSON 49, Coastal Carolina 3
• MIAMI 28, Wake Forest 27
• DUKE 28, Virginia 17
• GEORGIA TECH 56, Vanderbilt 31

TRICKS

• North Carolina 20, VIRGINIA TECH 17
• Boston College 31, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 10

TOTALS

• This Week -5 wins, 2 losses
• Overall – 46 wins, 25 losses (64.8% winning percentage)

Week 9 Picks

Hello, Boils and Ghouls!  Treats, trickery and lots of tomfoolery await yet another All Hallow’s Eve.  And with that comes plenty of screaming (or shouting) for your favorite team, unless you’re howling at the moon in sorrow like the Wolfpack as of late.  No matter what goes bump on the football field (or in the night), let’s hope this weekend of ACC Football is less frightful and the games indeed turn out to be a true Thriller (Michael Jackson and dancing zombies notwithstanding).  So, let’s spook up some picks right now …

• North Carolina @ VIRGINIA TECH (Thursday)
• NC State @ FLORIDA STATE
• Coastal Carolina @ CLEMSON
• DUKE @ Virginia
• CENTRAL MICHIGAN @ Boston College
• GEORGIA TECH @ Vanderbilt

GAME OF THE WEEK – MIAMI @ Wake Forest

Maryland is off in search of The Great Pumpkin this weekend, or perhaps a way to win a game for once.  Hope they have better luck than Linus did.

Worth Noting:

• Duke’s win over Maryland game them back-to-back ACC wins for the first time in since 1994, which was also the last time they had a winning season.  The Blue Devils are hoping to go for the trifeca against Virginia, a team they beat soundly 38-3 last year.  Should they succeed, it could mean basketball might have to take a back seat for a little while.  Although I’m sure Coach K wouldn’t mind …
• Boston College should have its hands full against a Central Michigan squad that has been dominant in the MAC this season.  The Chippewas upset Michigan State early in the season following a tough loss to Arizona, and are riding a seven-game win streak.  In addition, CMU has benefited greatly from the services of QB Dan LeFevour, who is one of the best in the country.  His overall stats give him a #13 QB rating for all FCS schools.    Expect a potential surprise for this one.
• Florida State did get itself some redemption last Thursday night by overcoming an 18-point deficit at halftime to prevail over the Tarheels in stunning fashion.  Which is amazing considering how Bobby Bowden mentioned that FSU was just plan awful for the first 2 1/2 quarters of the game.  The Seminoles have quite a task ahead of them against an NC State squad with similar issues.  However, the Wolfpack has played its best coming out of a bye week on Tom O’Brien’s watch, so expect this to be an interesting game with both teams jockeying for a bowl bid.  My guess is whoever wins this game has a better chance of making traveling plans during the holidays.
• The last time we’ve had a Football Saturday on Halloween was in 1998.  In case anyone cares to remember what happened then, here were the scores: NC State beat Clemson 46-39, Vanderbilt stopped Duke 36-33, Florida State walloped UNC 39-13, Georgia Tech downed Maryland 31-14, and Virginia turned back Wake Forest 38-17. Lest we forget, Miami, VT, and BC were still in the Big East back then, but their games were still just as important; the Hurricanes topped the Eagles 35-17, and the Hokies wrangled with the West Virginia Mountaineers 27-13.  Thankfully we still had them internets to keep track of this stuff.

Anyway, if your plans this Saturday are to tailgate, go to the game, go trick-or-treating, or attend a Halloween party, let’s be extra careful out there.  No need to let ghosts, gremlins, and hobgoblins ruin your day.  Or anything else that’s evil ….

Week 8 Results

Hard to believe I was only a touchdown or two away from pulling off a perfect week.  Wake Forest and Navy found themselves in a defensive scrap, while Clemson and Miami took it to the air.  Both games were pretty much decided on critical plays late in the game that sealed the deal for the Midshipmen and Tigers respectively.  Still, it was a pretty exciting weekend for ACC football, rainy weather notwithstanding.  So, here’s how well I did for the week …

GOT ALL THESE RIGHT

• FLORIDA STATE 30, North Carolina 27
• GEORGIA TECH 34, Virginia 9
• DUKE 17, Maryland 13
• NOTRE DAME 20, Boston  College 16

MISSED THESE TWO BY THAT MUCH

• Clemson 40, MIAMI 37 (OT)
• Navy 13, WAKE FOREST 10

TOTALS

• This Week – 4 wins, 2 losses
• Overall – 41 wins, 23 losses (64.1% winning percentage)

Week 8 Picks

Now that I’ve had the opportunity to evaluate each ACC so far this season, it’s time to move forward.  We’ve got a Thursday night game with the potential for more drama than you’d find on CSI or Grey’s Anatomy.  Toss in some key conference matches along with non-conference games at Notre Dame and Navy, and you’ve got yourself an interesting weekend of ACC football action.  Lest I digress any further, here are my picks for the week:

• FLORIDA STATE @ North Carolina (Thursday)
• GEORGIA TECH @ Virginia
• Maryland @ DUKE
• Boston College @ NOTRE DAME
• WAKE FOREST @ Navy

GAME OF THE WEEK – Clemson @ MIAMI

N.C. State and Virginia Tech are taking it easy this weekend.

Worth Noting:

• This will be the first Thursday night game UNC will be hosting.  Normally they wouldn’t take advantage of this opportunity on a weeknight due to extremely limited parking on campus.  In addition, Kenan Stadium is located next door to UNC Hospital.  Which means any gameday activity would be an issue not only for the students who normally have classes that evening, but for employees who work for the University as well.  An all-out effort is being made to ensure the transition during the afternoon and early evening hours is smooth. At least the students are on fall break, so hopefully it won’t be nearly as bad as the day then-President Bill Clinton visited town.
• Boston College and Notre Dame continue their rivalry this weekend with the series record knotted at 9-9.  Even though BC won the last 6 meetings, the Irish is looking to push the series back in their favor following a very close loss to USC that was decided on the final play.  They’re also hoping a win would stifle any talk about Charlie Weis’ job status, which always seems to be the main topic of conversation in South Bend.  And to think Bobby Bowden has it rough.
• The Clemson-Miami game should be quite a showdown in terms of getting points on the board.  The Tigers had been farily lackluster all season until last week when they went gangbusters against a Wake Forest squad that didn’t know what him them.  Miami has proven to be quite solid when it has the ball, although its defense has been shaky due to injuries.  They will have the services of safety Randy Phillips, who’s been out of action for a while due to a shoulder injury and flu-like symptoms.
• MY TWO CENTS:  Speaking of Clemson-Miami and UNC-FSU, I wonder why it is we have to wait more than a couple of years to see these teams take on each other.   Granted, the whole scheduling scenario that’s been in place since the ACC split in two divisions back in 2004 isn’t perfect.  But it does take away some of the camraderie the member schools have for each other, which was quite evident when the arrangement was still round-robin.  And while a number of traditional rivalries have been strengthened through league expansion, like Clemson-GT, Miami-FSU, and UNC-NCSU, it leaves little room for any emerging rivalries to surface when and if two teams suddenly become very good.  It’s almost like running into an old classmate or boyfriend/girlfriend you haven’t seen in a while.  Sure it may seem like a good thing, but it can get quite awkward as well.  Just sayin’.