About Last Saturday...

The new job is sucking time right out of the day for me. Please accept these off-the-cuff thoughts on the weekend that was....

THE GOOD
--North Carolina.....I really don't know how Butch Davis is doing it. All of the personnel losses (and at times the Everett Withers' defense) point to an inevitable collapse, but we're 75% into the regular season and Carolina is rolling at 6-2. Most pundits I'm reading and listening to are now harping on Al Groh or Paul Johnson for ACC Coach of the Year. As of today, Butch gets my vote.
--Virginia.....In all my years of following college football, I've never seen a midseason team resurrection on par with Virginia '08. It's one thing to have been 1-3, get hot, and vault to 5-3. But the Hoos were on the Syracuse and Washington State level of rot-gut BCS programs a month ago. The Orange and Cougars are still reeling...UVA figured things out and have gone from being one of the 15 worst 1-A teams to a BCS conference title contender in a month.
--Florida State.....I'm getting a little tired of hearing about their "struggle" at NC State two weeks ago. First, Thursday night contests on the road are unbelievably difficult, no matter who you play. Second, the Pack are clearly the best last-place BCS conference team. Maybe that's a backhanded compliment to Tom O'Brien and Co., but it's still true. And yeah, maybe the Seminoles should've beaten the Hokies more emphatically, given the QB decimation last Saturday. Whatever. The 2005-2007 Noles would be 3-4 right now against the same competition. This FSU squad has it together between the ears. Watch the hell out when the offense clicks for an entire game.
--Duke!.....As I expected, their win over Vandy has resulted not in adulation for the Devils, but in deafening silence from the sports media. Which is fine. Scoreboard is really all that needs to be said.

THE INDIFFERENT
--Miami.....It was a win, but not a statement. The ground game got stuck in neutral, and QB Robert Marve had accuracy issues, but he didn't throw any picks. I would've liked to see a little more Jacory Harris, but it looks like Miami is hitching their wagon to the Marve train for now. And a Harris transfer is likely forthcoming, barring a massive Marve meltdown or injury.
--Virginia Tech.....Sean Glennon initially looked capable after taking over on the second play following the injury to Tyrod Taylor, which is not surprising in hindsight given that the Noles game-planned for a Taylor-led offense. But once FSU adjusted at the half, the Hokie offense was largely impotent and they only found a spark (briefly, at that) after Glennon went down and in came third-stringer Cory Holt. Still, a 30-20 loss in those circumstances is nothing to be ashamed about. What is concerning is that special teams has directly contributed to one loss already (ECU) and started the momentum-ball rolling in the defeat in Tallahassee.
--Maryland.....I still don't know what to make of the Terps, although last Saturday's escape against NC State was at least predictable; no mysterious shutouts going either way. It's going to take the rest of the year to find out which Turtles are for real.

THE BLEH
--Georgia Tech.....Yes, it's time to really start giving UVA credit instead of eviscerating their victims, but what in hellfire happened to the Tech offense in the last three and a half quarters on Saturday? An early 14-3 lead stalled out and a Virginia tide just kept rising and rising throughout the afternoon. That the Jackets only managed to hold onto the ball for 25 minutes against the Hoos is a bad sign with a sturdier FSU coming to town.
--Boston College.....I wasn't too surprised by BC's 5-1 start given their competition, and I fully expected The Chris Crane Turnover Express to derail the Eagles at some point, but not necessarily in such spectacular fashion. How BC responds to their first depantsing of the Jagodzinski Era will be quite interesting.
--Wake Forest.....Call me bumfuzzled over the Deacs' plan to run run run run run run run on Miami when it was obvious by mid-second quarter that they couldn't, at least in any consistent fashion. Limiting Riley Skinner to eight throws against against a good but nowhere near dominating Cane pass defense was just one of many curious calls made by Jim Grobe and OC Steve Lobotzke this season.
--NC State.....My heart goes out to Pack fans. Over the last three weeks, they led FSU in the 4th quarter and they had the Maryland and BC games headed to OT before the defense just melted in crunch time. The Wolfpack mindset over the final third of the season may just make or break the Tom O'Brien regime. 2-10 is not acceptable despite the piss-poor luck this season. 4-8, maybe. 5-7 or 6-6 and State gets taken very, very seriously heading into 2009.

About Last Saturday (and Thursday)...

Stories, themes, trivia and other minutiae from the weekend that was

WAKE FOREST: SCOURGE OF THE BOWDEN FAMILY
Let's survey the damage wrought upon Bobby Bowden's clan by the Demon Deacons over the last several years: they ignited Tommy's perpetual hot seat five years ago following a 45-17 seal-clubbing of the Tigers, they caused Jeff to "resign" following the 30-0 shellacking in 2006, they've now beaten Bobby three straight times (and by a combined score of 42-3 in the last two games in Tallahassee), and they came full circle last week by getting Tommy canned once and for all. God help Terry if some ACC school rolls the dice on him in the near future.

A BIT OF A DROP-OFF, NO?
With third string QB Calvin Booker (all 6-4, 235lbs of him) stepping in for injured Josh Nesbitt and Jaybo Shaw, the Paul Johnson Project: Year One nearly fell apart in the most humiliating fashion...to 1-AA/FCS mediocrity Gardner-Webb. Booker was certainly terrible (19 rushes, 35 yards from your QB in any sort of option attack is certain defeat to just about any 1-A program and many 1-AA teams as well), but the offensive line was shockingly overwhelmed by the G-W rush defense. And nobody seems to have a clear idea why...Booker simply isn't an option QB by any stretch, timing between the QB/OL/RBs was way off, but there's more to it than that. As embarrassing as this near-miss was, it's not often that a team gets a chilling wake-up call and comes away with a win at the same time.

FROM THE MISLEADING SCORE DEPARTMENT
Miami 20, UCF 14. About the only accurate part of that score is Miami's 20...they clunked around on offense for much of the game, mainly because Robert Marve was either throwing incompletions (8 of 19 passing) or interceptions (three). But those 14 Knight points came on a pick-six and a kickoff return. The Hurricane defense held UCF to 78 total yards for the game on 64 offensive plays. That's 1.2 yards per play for those doing the calculations. Yes, games can get away from a team when they turn the ball over too much and/or flub special teams play, no matter how dominating they may be on defense. Nonetheless, the Knights never really threatened to drive the ball at any point that afternoon. Miami still has a long way to go, but making that judgment based on Saturday's score would be lazy.

NO TATE...NO YATES...NO PROBLEM
Stud starting QB gone by the middle of game 3. Stud wide receiver and kick-return deity gone by the middle of game 6. Stud running back mysteriously underwhelming all season. A defense that bends into a pretzel most of the year - but never quite breaks. With Butch Davis leading the charge, that gets you a 5-1 record against one of the better schedules in the country this year. The North Carolina Tar Heels certainly have the excuses to pack it in or to justify a defeat here or there, but they're not biting. Despite the personnel losses, they've blown apart 25% of the Big East (Rutgers and UConn) and they've had to dig deep and come back to beat Miami and Notre Dame. That so many unheralded players have stepped up when called upon is either a testament to substances in the drinking water in Chapel Hill, or in all seriousness the result of superb coaching, development and preparation by Davis and staff. How would Florida look without just Tim Tebow? Texas without just Colt McCoy? Mizzou without just Jeremy Maclin? We'll probably never know, but we do know that Butch rolls with the punches and hits back with whatever he's got left...and hits hard.

AL GROH'S ROCK-BOTTOM REJUVENATION ELIXIR
Somebody bottle, package, and patent whatever Al Groh and his coaching staff cooked up during the week following the 31-3 defeat at Duke. Anything and everything has vastly improved since the Blue Devil Beatdown - average score (9-32 through Duke, 33-10 post-Duke); QB play (0 TDs/9 INTs before, 3 TDs/2 INTs after), rushing (66yds per game before, 204yds per game after), turnovers (-7 before, +2 after), defense (379yds allowed before, 293yds allowed after), and special teams (no stats, but take my word for it). And there's no rational or logical explanation for the reversal of fortune post-Duke. An attitude adjustment, sure. But it's way more than that. And whatever "it" is, Groh can make a killing by selling it in his retirement years.

About Last Saturday...

Some quick notes as I pack for a business trip:

--Only in college football...nearly benched a week ago, now in the school record books. Viva la Chris Crane!

--Paul Johnson all but sewed up ACC Coach of the Year honors with the Jackets' 27-0 thrashing of Duke. I don't know what's more impressive - that two QBs have picked up Johnson's offense by game five, or that the Jacket pass-defense is so stifling that they're forcing teams to run into the black hole that is their defensive line. This team has ACC champion written all over it if they continue what they've done over the first month.

--Florida State showed some serious stones in withstanding a near-miraculous Miami comeback on Saturday. Just two weeks ago the Noles were completely melting down at home to Wake Forest, but this time around they took everything the Canes, the weather, and the inexplicable-Miami-mojo threw at them, and promptly pounded the ball down the field for a late touchdown to ice the game. Those kids are growing up fast.

--Miami is certainly not as good as their second half against Florida State might indicate (36 points) and they are not as bad as their first half performance against the Seminoles (3 points, 52 total yards). They are young and supremely talented but their coaching staff is in every bit the learning mode that the roster is...and that's a tad disconcerting at this stage.

--They reverted back to Furman-esque form last weekend, but after three straight meat-grinders against Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Nebraska, the Hokies' blah performance against Western Kentucky gets a pass.

--I was a UNC proponent before the season started (when TJ Yates and Greg Little were potentially All-ACC caliber) but I'm even more impressed with Carolina now that Yates is out and Little has been overshadowed. The fact that the Heels withstood the Yates injury and regrouped to steal a win at Miami and then pound undefeated UConn proves that Butch Davis' team is proven quality and not flashy potential.

--That's so Maryland. The Terps are a program that can look great when the players and coaches are on the same wavelength; but for whatever reason, too often the kids and the Fridge are going in totally different directions. And considering this is Year 8 for Ralphie in College Park, that disconnect looks to be a permanent obstacle as long as he remains in charge.

--The Cavaliers' pasting of Maryland is much like Wyoming's beatdown of UVA last year - an anomaly. Al Groh's desk chair should still be sweltering.

College Football 2008 Exemplified

Virginia 31, Maryland 0.

Whiskey - Tango - Foxtrot?

There isn't a single living organism on this planet who would've predicted such an outcome... maybe a UVA upset in the craziest of circumstances, but 31-0?

More thoughts on this weekend's games on Monday. I'm still trying to process today's overall weirdness.

About Last Saturday...

No game summaries and recaps here...just a few themes that emerged from the kooky weekend that was.

HOME FIELD DISADVANTAGE
Of the eight games involving ACC clubs last Saturday, five were won by the visiting team. This is not a new development, as the road squad has been victorious in three of the four biggest conference games prior to last weekend (Wake at FSU, Georgia Tech at BC, Virginia Tech at UNC), while the visitors have won their fair share of non-conference games as well (USC at Virginia, Wake at Baylor, Northwestern at Duke, UNC at Rutgers, Miami at Texas A&M). What does this all mean? Beats me, other than lousy teams are lousy teams no matter where they play. For home-field to be an equalizer, you've gotta have the Jimmies and Joes as well as the Xs and Os to be competitive. As for the more evenly matched games that went to the visitors - maybe it's just me, but in my professional and personal life I find there are more distractions for me at home than when I'm on the road. I'm more focused and alert to what I should be doing if I'm stuck in a strange town for one single purpose.

WELCOME BACK
The folks at Hot Seat Central are pleased to see Al Groh and Tommy Bowden in attendance once again, and earlier than expected this time around.

Look, if you give Groh and Bowden five more years apiece, things might actually come together - I've seen stranger things happen. But in a realistic sense, a program cannot stabilize, much less gather any sort of momentum, if the head coach's job status is a near-annual topic of discussion. It's certainly fair to say that "it" would've happened by now if either Groh or Bowden were capable of "it". Clemson and Virginia need to end the charade once and for all, and soon.

SWEET (AND QUICK) REDEMPTION
Few would disagree that Virginia Tech and Maryland looked like diaper contents after the first two weeks of the season. But quarterback changes (one forced, one not) and a back-to-basics approach have reaped major rewards for both programs, as they've combined for five suberb victories over the last three Saturdays. Both the Terps and Hokies are in the driver's seat for division crowns now and credit must be given to Frank Beamer and Ralph Friedgen. In a season in which nine different teams can conceivably win the league, the clubs with the best coaches are the safest bets.

THIS IS HOW IT'S DONE
It is seemingly beyond debate that ACC rookies David Cutcliffe and Paul Johnson are the clear front-runners for ACC Coach of the Year (sidebar: not that the honor means a whole lot...Al Groh and Tommy Bowden have both won it twice). The early nod goes to Johnson, who inherited a stickier situation - a solid but drifting program with high expectations yet saddled with tricky recruiting obstacles, on top of installing a completely foreign offense. Cutcliffe had nowhere to go but up, inherited 20 returning starters and has a fraction of the demands and expectations...although the culture of losing and apathy in Durham over last decade isn't the easiest obstacle to hurdle. The Yellow Jacket-Blue Devil tilt next week may just decide the race early.

SHOCKING DEVELOPMENT: TURNOVERS ARE BAD
It was quite mystifying to see Wake Forest of all teams learn absolutely nothing from Turnover Fest 2008 in Tallahassee last week. Six flubs later against Navy and Jim Grobe's squad suddenly looked like the pre-2006 Demon Deacons.

In fact, in seven of the eight games involving ACC clubs last Saturday, the team that won the turnover battle won on the scoreboard as well (only FSU bucked the trend, equalling Colorado at two turnovers apiece). When you add up all the fumbles and picks from last weekend's ACC-involved games, the winners enjoyed a collective +23 advantage in turnover margin. More than anything, that is how you account for wild and wacky upsets not just in the conference but around the nation as a whole. As if that's news.

76-7 OVER THE LAST TWO WEEKS AND NOBODY'S HAPPY
Despite 34-7 and 42-0 shellackings of UCF and Rhode Island respectively the last two Saturdays, Boston College is one of the shakier teams to emerge out of the first month of play. Part of that has to do with the dreadful competition the Eagles have faced in three of their four games, and that their only major exposure was a plodding loss at home to Georgia Tech. Most of the grumbling has to do with quarterback play, the major bone of contention at virtually every ACC program at some point in the last two years. In BC's rout of the Rams, Eagle QBs threw the ball exactly nine times, completing three throws for 27 yards. Another problem is that the Rams held the ball for almost 40 minutes of the game; props to BC for keeping the Rams off the scoreboard, but something's amiss on defense when a bad 1-AA/FCS team can keep the ball for over two-and-a-half quarters.

ACC 4 - BIG XII 0
With Virginia Tech's 35-30 triumph at Nebraska and Florida State's 39-21 win over Colorado in Jacksonville, the ACC improved to 4-0 against the Big XII this season. And three of the games were at Big XII venues. Does this mean a great deal in the whole scheme o' things? Nope. But why am I the only one touting this little factoid? The ACC has been pronounced dead in the national media at least three or four times this year following bad non-conference losses; the resuscitation should be equally covered.

ORANGE BOWL VOODOO (OR LACK THEREOF) MAKING A DIFFERENCE
You and I both know that this is a Hurricane touchdown in the old Orange Bowl (please ignore lame-o graphics and soundtrack):



No way, no how does that ball fall into UNC safety Trimane Goddard's mitts if the game had been played in the recently-demolished hellhole. We'll see how much mojo Miami can muster next week against archrival Florida State in plainly sterile Dolphin Stadium.

About Last Saturday - Cliff's Notes Version

Damn work and other stuff will not allow me ample time for a proper recap, so please accept the following observations:

THE GOOD
--N.C. State. The perfect reminder that college football lets you look like the most incompetent pile of dung one day and then lets you topple a Goliath the next. And ECU wasn't really a Goliath but they may as well have been considering how State looked in their first three games. Regardless, well done Wolfpack.
--Georgia Tech. Laying waste to an SEC school always earns my love and devotion, especially when said SEC team completely stifled another SEC "power" the week prior. And go figure - a young offense, with a new quarterback, learning a completely new system, has it together by game four (attention Seminoles).
--Virginia Tech in clutch conference games. Yes, they poop the field too often in non-league action and in bowl games, but they get it done when they need to in ACC play.
--Miami. Attention FSU...that's how you're supposed to look in a semi-bigtime nationally televised game with a very young team.
--Clemson. It appears that the Alabama-fog has finally cleared.
--Maryland. 51 points? Where was that against Delaware and MTSU?
--Boston College in a tricky game. A lot of the pundits pegged UCF to upset the Eagles in this one...yet BC won by four TDs and didn't really look all that great in the process. Nice problem to have.
--Florida State's defense. They kept what should've been a 42-3 Demon Deacon rout to a one-possession game until 2 minutes to go.
--Wake Forest's defense. They seemingly knew what the Noles were going to do on every play.

THE BAD
--North Carolina without TJ Yates. He ain't the greatest QB in the world, but he's a leader and the Heels immediately went kaput after he went down to an ankle fracture in the third quarter of their loss to the Hokies.
--Wake Forest's offense. When your opponent commits 12 penalties for 139 yards and turns the ball over seven times, scoring only 12 points in return is like winning the lottery a month ago and immediately investing 95% of the winnings in AIG stock...a once-in-a-lifetime windfall was almost completely pissed away.

THE UGLY
--Florida State's offense. In their first big test with their supposedly revamped attack, Jimbo Fisher, Christian Ponder, the offensive line, the receivers, the running backs and to a lesser extent D'Vontrey Richardson all soiled themselves from the first play from scrimmage. A total disgrace.

About Last Saturday (and Thursday)...

Leave it up to Al Groh to spoil what could've been a sublime week of redemption for the ACC. But let's not dwell on the negative; instead, let's recap one of the better weekends in the ACC in many, many months. Forgive the choppy, rambling style today...I'm a bit under the weather so blame Day-Quil if I'm a bit nonsensical.

NORTH CAROLINA 44 - RUTGERS 12
Freakin' sweet. National television, on the road, up and coming ACC club beats the bejesus out of flash-in-the-pan Big East pretender. And the Tar Heel defense, the one I have been rather rude about the last two weeks...4 picks and a score. All is now forgiven for the McNeese mess. Poor Brandon Tate...if only he played in the SEC or Big XII, clips of his greatness would be hurtling through cyberspace via ESPN.com and you'd be seeing his name on all those meaningless but still widely read "Heisman Watch" lists. Alas, he'll have to settle for ACC Player of the Year honors and perhaps a trip to Tampa if he keeps up half this pace.

MARYLAND 35 - CALIFORNIA 27
Perhaps the most surprising thing about this pleasant upset is that it didn't involve monster days from either Chris Turner (156 yards passing but a superb 79% completion rate), Da'Rel Scott (87 rushing yards) or Darrius Heyward-Bey (2 receptions). The Terps didn't really do anything extraordinary except play mistake free, efficient football and got a huge effort out of their defense through the first three quarters. After taking a 28-6 lead into the 4th stanza the Terps maddeningly switched to a prevent-D and susbsequently let Cal make the score respectable, but the damage had been done. The Fridge always pulls one of these out of the blue upsets every year and I probably should've seen this one coming. And based on the near miracle at Kentucky last Saturday, the Middle Tennessee loss looks slightly less horrid now.

CLEMSON 27 - N.C. STATE 9
I told you the Tigers were still in their Tide-induced fog. This is one of the games were the boxscore says one thing (Clemson domination), but a very different impression was left when actually viewing the game. State had a couple of chances to make this one very interesting but blew it in the red zone. It was another lackluster day on the ground for CJ Spiller and James Davis (24 rushes, 95 yards combined). Cullen Harper had the most workman-like 262 passing yards I've seen in a while. The Tigers are simply off-kilter and they've been that way since early in the Bama debacle. The Wolfpack are a mess in all facets of the game, save for RB Andre Brown and some flashes of potential from QB Russell Wilson.

DUKE 41 - NAVY 31
Could the Blue Devils actually qualify for a bowl bid this season? Hear me out...they're 2-1 now and get their replacement-in-the-basement Virginia in two weeks. That's 3-1. Then they'll need 3 more wins from the rest of their ACC slate (which is sans FSU, BC and Maryland) and their remaining non-conference tilt with Vandy. It's possible, especially with a fantastic air attack led by QB Thaddeus Lewis. David Cutcliffe may now be in danger of raising expectations too quickly in Durham - he's doing a great job thus far, but he's doing it with a ton of seasoned upperclassmen.

VIRGINIA TECH 20 - GEORGIA TECH 17
The Hokies are one idiotic personnel decision from being 3-0 and in the Top 15 right now. Everyone outside of Frank Beamer, Bryan Stinespring and Sean Glennon knew that Tyrod Taylor was the better QB and the better fit for the Hokies heading into this season, but stubbornness reigned and a Glennon-aided loss to ECU in the opener was the result. The V-Tech victory over G-Tech this Saturday is proof positive of Taylor's value, as he turned busted plays into gains and generally kept the Jacket defense guessing. Taylor's stats weren't impressive, but it's what he could do that made a difference, as well as what he didn't do (turn the ball over). Tough, tough loss for the Ramblin' Wreck but just think how much damage they'll do when they figure out how to hold onto the football.

FLORIDA STATE 46 - CHATTANOOGA 7
The Seminoles have had many problems over the last three years, but one largely unmentioned factor in their recent struggles has been the way they've opened each of those seasons - on Monday night, against Miami ('05 and '06) and Clemson ('07). In each of those years, the Noles then suited up again on the following Saturday and played like excrement against opponents they otherwise should've clobbered. Being cursed with Jeff Bowden (and the fallout he left behind) and sub-par offensive line play is bad enough, but being thrown to the wolves in game one each year and then having to take the field 4 1/2 days later stalled the FSU offense right out of the gate in each of those seasons. Not so in 2008, as the suspension-depleted Seminoles smartly scheduled two tune-ups (holy alliteration overload) prior to the showdown with Wake, and boy does it appear to have worked. Quarterback Christian Ponder has been laser sharp and error-free, along with backup D'Vontrey Richardson; the receivers are the best in a decade, although they suffered the dropsies against the Mocs on Saturday; and the line has played well, but still coughed up a few sacks. As for the defense, FSU stifled Chattanooga all day aside from one busted play - the Mocs' lone TD on a busted-coverage 62-yard strike. The Seminole defense surrendered just 73 yards otherwise.

CONNECTICUT 45 - VIRGINIA 10
Let's be honest here - both USC and UConn let up on the Cavs in what could've been 66-7 and 59-10 punishments if Pete Carroll and Randy Edsall graduated from the Urban Meyer School of Stat Padding and General Jerk-Offishness. And that's all that really needs to be said about the current state of Virginia football under Al Groh and Son. Well that, and a third ass-kicking is going to be administered in nine days...by Duke.

Drive-By Musings

--Paul Johnson is going to show the rest of the ACC how criminally lame Al Groh, Ralph Friedgen and Tommy Bowden have been the last several years.

--Love the Cutcliffe...sure, Duke lost a close one to Northwestern tonight but 472 yards of total offense against the Wildcats means that actual competence on offense is slowly returning to the flotsam that is ACC football.

--Kudos to the Miami defense for the first 50 minutes in Gainesville. Holding the Gators and ESPN Gameday's Official Boycrush to nine (actually seven) points and 200 total yards until early-4th quarter was impressive. Too bad OC Patrick Nix still sucks all over the place.

--I don't care that their lone performance this year was against Western Carolina...Florida State's offense looks to be the best in the ACC thus far. NC State, Virginia and Maryland combined wouldn't hit 70-points on the Catamounts. The Seminoles scored 69 on a wet field without their best player.

--Frank Beamer and Bryan Stinespring keep playing Sean Glennon at their career peril. Why Tyrod Taylor doesn't see every single snap for the Hokies from now on is beyond me.

--East Carolina makes me sad for Wolfpack, Terp, Wahoo and Tiger fans. Shall we compare the salaries of Tom O'Brien, Ralph Friedgen, Al Groh and Tommy Bowden to Skip Holtz? We shan't, as Scanners-style cranium detonation is sure to ensue.

--Execution by Husky-frat-row-march to the officiating crew of the BYU-Washington fiasco.

--Jim Grobe, Riley Skinner and Sam Swank saved the ACC today. The way the Deacons confidently rallied with a minute left after an amazingly-stupid go ahead Ole Miss touchdown was so un-ACC-like that I wanted to hug someone.

I'm out for the next two days. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

About Armageddon Saturday...

Just about every aspect of the ACC's 2008 demise this past Saturday has already been touched upon around the blogosphere and in media circles. That it took just three sorry performances for such a collapse to occur (NC State's loss to South Carolina on Thursday was not helpful to perception but was not all that unexpected) speaks volumes as to the fragile foundation on which ACC football lies. A few thoughts about that:

OFFENSIVE ON OFFENSE
In the four highly visible non-conference defeats, the ACC's offensive production was pathetic...

--NC State (138 total yards, 4 turnovers, 0 points)
--Virginia (187 total yards, 4 turnovers, 7 points)
--Clemson (188 total yards, 2 turnovers, 3 points*)
--Virginia Tech (243 total yards, 2 turnovers, 13 points**)
*Clemson's lone TD was a kickoff return
**Nine of the Hokies' points were scored by defense or special teams

In the four biggest games of the weekend, offense was a no-show. It's bad enough to lose those four, but it's worse when each team ranged from criminally bad (the Wolfpack) to merely inept (the Hokies) when attacking the opposing defense. And it's not like these four teams hadn't had issues before. Clemson's underachieved with all that talent for years, NC State hasn't had a pulse on offense since Phillip Rivers left 5 years ago and Virginia Tech amazingly keeps putting Sean Glennon on the field. At least Virginia can say their QB and OL are young and inexperienced. Still, these are old and known problems that should have been fixed by now.

1-AA SCARES
Miami and Georgia Tech dropped the hammer on their lower division foes Thursday night. Maryland and North Carolina had fourth quarter dogfights with FCS opposition that further deepened the atomic crater of last Saturday....

-Maryland 14, Delaware 7
-North Carolina 35, McNeese State 27

As predicted by anybody with two eyes and the experience of watching Maryland football a handful of times the last few years, Jordan Steffy was once again ineffective at QB and was replaced by both Chris Turner and Josh Portis. The fact that the Terps O-line and RB Da'Rel Scott looked fantastic is totally obscured by that final score. When a league is perceived as bad, 14-7 escapes over 1-AA foes only solidify that perception.

North Carolina did not help matters at all by trailing McNeese in the third quarter, and by giving up nearly 400 yards and 27 points to the Cowboys they did little to dispel the bumfuzzlement of the hiring of Everett Withers as their new defensive coordinator. For those unaware, Mr. Withers was Minnesota's DC last year. Minnesota finished 119th - dead last - in total defense last year. So of course he gets hired at an ACC program.

CHOKERS AT THE TOP
Since ACC title favorite Clemson was so thoroughly violated by the collectively regarded 4th or 5th best SEC squad, any achievement that could be regarded as repairing the league's image as the season plays out will be tempered by that loathsome factoid. That Coastal Division favorite Virginia Tech was beaten straight up - and at their own game - by the 2nd or 3rd best Conference USA team will further squash any potential improvement in perception for awhile as well. On opening weekend, the two division favorites were beaten on neutral fields by unranked non-conference opponents. That is P.R. death.

EXPOSURE
Miami, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Boston College and Duke all posted nice wins on Thursday and Saturday. Unfortunately, those games were watched by a total of about 82 people nationwide. Thankfully, the Maryland and UNC struggles were limited to about the same viewing audience. The big problem is that the four big losses were all nationally televised. NC State-South Carolina was ESPN's Thursday night kickoff game. Virginia Tech-ECU was ESPN's kickoff game at noon on Saturday. Clemson-Bama was the much publicized night game on ABC. USC-Virginia was the 3:30pm ABC game that covered 80% of the country. The ACC got pounded on the field and in a lot of living rooms and sports bars this weekend. The perception game is already lost. First impressions are hard to overcome and the ACC left an impression of enormous suckitude for millions.

So the ACC has been pummeled in early season action once again. We're used to this position. It's frustrating, it's maddening and it's getting all the more sickening each year when you consider how much money has been invested at improving the product. And the yapping each year about how the league is finally turning a corner....just stop it already. That goes for me, the media and especially for the overpaid coaches and underperforming players.

The Champs

Virginia Tech 30, Boston College 16

This was a trying season for the Hokie faithful, and for fully half of it, Virginia Tech looked nothing like a championship football team. But after going through the lowest of football lows, a different Hokie team emerged...your 2007 ACC champions. After a most difficult year for everyone in Blacksburg, the Virginia Tech Hokies gave their school and their city a big reason to smile on Saturday. Well done, gentlemen.

About Last Saturday...

Thoughts on the final ACC regular season weekend:

VIRGINIA TECH 33 - VIRGINIA 21
Was the Matt Ryan Miracle the best thing to actually happen to the Hokies? Since that kick in the nads 4 weeks ago, the Hokies have increased their offensive output by 70 yards a game, against the supposed meat of their schedule (GT, FSU, Miami, UVA). Virginia came up short yet again in the Commonwealth Cup, but a solid showing against the Hokies and a chance at ten wins for the first time in school history is a fantastic ending to a season that seemed a wreck after week one.

BOSTON COLLEGE 28 - MIAMI 14
Conversely, the Thursday Night Theatrics in Blacksburg was the teetering apex of the BC season, as they stumbled down the mountain a bit after that win. Two subsequent losses to Florida State and Maryland - games in which the Eagle defense was carved to pieces by previously struggling offenses - dropped them not only out of BCS title contention but put them behind the 8-ball in the ACC. They redeemed themselves with a gutsy road win at Clemson followed by a methodical victory over the dead-in-the-water Canes. Speaking of which, Miami lost 6 of their final 7 with the only win coming at Florida State. Damn rivalries.

MARYLAND 37 - N.C. STATE 0
Mystery solved. I pondered last week whether Maryland's 42 point outburst against Boston College in week 11 was an aberration or the start of a new chapter in Terp football, and I believe a 5-touchdown win on the road answers that quite completely. 37-0...forget about taking the proverbial wind out of State's sails, the mast broke apart and knocked everyone overboard. The Wolfpack's year began and ended in different but equally excruciating losses at home (25-23 in the opener to UCF, and then this stinkpile). In between were five wins and five losses. Progress was made, but no one in Raleigh's all that happy about it right now.

WAKE FOREST 31 - VANDERBILT 17
So the Deacons prevailed in the battle of former patises turned scary-as-hell opponents. In true Wake form, they led 31-3 early in the 4th despite being outgained by a bazillion yards, and held on for a comfortable victory. If Jim Grobe remains in Winston-Salem (word has it that Nebraska is interested in his services), the Deacs look set for an ACC title run again with much of their roster returning in 2008. Now it's on to the Meineke or Emerald Bowls. Well done.

NORTH CAROLINA 20 - DUKE 14 (OT)
A few days after Butch Davis secured a contract extension despite a then 3-8 record in his first year, how does he thank his employers? By nearly losing to his 1-10 archrival, at home, when everyone else on planet earth has kicked around said archrival for the last six weeks. At least Butch got Ted Roof fired.

GEORGIA 31 - GEORGIA TECH 17
What Florida has been to Georgia for most of these past 17 years, UGA has been to Tech the last six seasons...that is, an opponent with an unmistakeable mental and psychological edge, regardless of record. Shoot, I was so certain of this outcome that I even picked the score correctly...almost (I said 30-17). At least Mark Richt got Chan Gailey fired.

FLORIDA 45 - FLORIDA STATE 12
That thing I said about the Seminoles having turned the proverbial corner a few weeks ago...yeah, go ahead and disregard that. But not necessarily for the reasons you're thinking. Despite the abominable performance on offense against the Gators (except for new folk hero Gary Cismesia), progress was made this season, albeit very slow and sputtering. It's now the defense that threatens to keep the Seminoles in 8-4/7-5 land for the near future. The shocking dearth of talent on defense - particularly at safety - compounds the problems Mickey Andrews has always had when facing a spread offense or anything resembling such. If he hasn't figured it out in the last few years, he likely won't next year or the year after. And the overwhelming talent is no longer there to bail him out.

CLEMSON 23 - SOUTH CAROLINA 21
Collapse averted. The Tigers reached nine wins in the regular season for just the second time in Tommy Bowden's tenure, and in most thrilling fashion. Down one with two minutes to go, Cullen Harper drove the Tigers down to field goal range, allowing the oft-maligned Mark Buchholz to kick the game winner at the gun, ensuring his place in Tiger lore and earning himself free beers for life in bars around the Palmetto State. In other news, no word yet on whether Steve Spurrier is still a genius.

About Last Saturday...

FLORIDA STATE 24 - MARYLAND 16
Ladies and gents, the 2007-2009 success or failure of the Seminoles lie in great part in the talented hands of superb sophomores Preston Parker and Patrick Robinson. Parker, moving from WR to RB to fill the void left by the injured Antone Smith and Jamaal Edwards, tore through the Terrapins to the tune of 133 yards on 20 carries, while cornerback "P-Rob" snagged his 6th interception in his last 7 games. Parker has become a revelation after being buried on the depth chart in the preseason and being utterly ignored his freshman year by the Jeff Bowden Project. As for the Terps, the hangover from the BC win appeared to carry over as they found themselves at the wrong end of a 21-3 score early in the second quarter, before sobering up and playing decent football the rest of the way. QB Chris Turner outplayed his Seminole counterpart Drew Weatherford and the Maryland defense completely manhandled the Nole offense in the 2nd and 3rd quarters.

"Versatility and stop-on-a-dime shiftiness reminiscent of Peter Warrick? To hell with that crap." - Jeff Bowden

GEORGIA TECH 27 - NORTH CAROLINA 25
Equilibrium achieved. A classic Chan Choke (UNC took their first and only lead with 5:50 remaining) was averted when the infallible Chan Gailey Equilibrium rearranged time and space to provide the Jackets with their 7th win of the season on a 27-yard field goal with 18 seconds left. While no one can look at the Tar Heels this year and say they are anything but improved over the last six seasons, their 3-8 record heading into the Duke game still looks awfully Bunting-esque and may spur Butch Davis into going home to momma (who happens to reside in Fayetteville, AR; I hear there's a job opening there).

The Equilibrium cannot be stopped. Hell, it can't even be contained. It devours all in it's path.

WAKE FOREST 38 - NC STATE 18
Leave it to a Jim Grobe team to extinguish a completely en-fuego NC State club. Up 21-3 in the third quarter, the Deacons withstood a Wolfpack rally and pulled away with their 724th (okay, 8th) INT return for a score this season. Despite the loss, the Pack still showed a pulse on offense but were done in by the pesky interception bug. Wake likely clinched a Muffler Bowl spot while State needs a win over Maryland next Saturday to become amazingly bowl eligible after the 1-5 start.

They call me the fireman. That's my name.

NOTRE DAME 28 - DUKE 7
It's a strange season when a loss to the Fighting Irish can get a Duke coach fired.
Sure, there's been no word on Ted Roof's status, but after such a promising beginning to the season, the Devils have again sunk to "Worst BCS Conference Team" status after getting drilled by the former owners of that title, the now 2-9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Coughing up 414 yards to one of the all-time worst offensive units in major college football history, and avoiding a shutout only by scoring a cheap TD in garbage time, is simply a total disgrace to Duke - and the ACC by association - and we'll have no more of that, dammit. I hope.

The Roof...the Roof...the Roof is now fired. Well, probably.

VIRGINIA TECH 44 - MIAMI 14
Miami sucks. Quite horribly, in fact. And in the distance, Larry Coker laughs impishly but with a morose undercurrent. That is all.

It takes a special coach to lose 92-14 to the Commonwealth of Virginia in a seven-day span. Ths is not that coach.

BOSTON COLLEGE 20 - CLEMSON 17
Sure, Matt Ryan gets all the glory for his eerily familiar scrambling-for-dear-life late 4th quarter TD toss to win the game, but Eagle RB Andre Callender was the true hero for BC on Saturday night. 92 yards receiving and 75 yards rushing aren't quite legendary numbers, but it was the third down conversion daggers thrust into the gut of the Clemson faithful by Callender that was the theme of the night. Well that, and the inevitability that a Tommy Bowden club will be always be so damn predictable and consistent, even in this year of lunacy.

The wind beneath Matt Ryan's wings. Ugh, did I actually just type that?

About Last Saturday (and Thursday)...

VIRGINIA TECH 27 - GEORGIA TECH 3
The foul stench emanating from my preseason preview continues to permeate this blog, and the Hokies' impressive bounce-back beatdown of the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta did little to disperse the noxious odor. Silly me, I thought the Ramblin' Wreck could excel this year in spite of their head coach, but alas I was idiotically mistaken. The Jackets' biggest on-field problem - quarterback play - has been mostly dismal over the entire Chan Gailey Era, from AJ Suggs to Reggie Ball to Taylor Bennett. That's not bad luck - that's either shoddy recruiting, piss-poor coaching/preparation, or both. Gailey's QB woes on Thursday night were only magnified by the kick-ass performance of the usually cringe-inducing Sean Glennon, who carved up Jon Tenuta's defense despite wearing a white Georgia Tech jersey with his name scrawled on the back with a Sharpie. When Glennon wasn't threading the needle against the Jacket secondary, the Hokies' running game was pounding out 185 yards. That's the same Hokie offense that ranks 108th nationally, even after Thursday's festivities.

VIRGINIA 17 - WAKE FOREST 16
Water is wet, the sky is blue, the Cavaliers win by a point. What earlier seemed like a combination of crazy luck and so-so competition has now evolved into a methodical formula for Al Groh and Co. What has largely gone unmentioned throughout the Wahoo season of wonder is their superb conditioning - 7 of their last 8 games have gone down to the wire, and they've prevailed in 6 of the 7 nailbiters. That's a team that can still grind it out, rush the passer, and cover receivers in the 59th minute of a ballgame, over and over and over. Well done Mr. Virginia Strength & Conditioning Coach, whoever you are. Tough loss for the Deacs, but having Sam Swank line up for a game-winning kick is usually a precursor to victory. Not this time.

N.C. STATE 19 - MIAMI 16 (OT)
I don't know which is more horrifying - Kirby Freeman's stat line over his last two games (5 for 25, 143 yards, 2 TDs & 5 INTs), or that Florida State allowed Freeman to march down the field and beat them with a minute left two weeks ago, and that it took an overtime period for NC State to knock off the Canes last Saturday. A two-game stat line like that from your QB should equate to a pair of 35-7 floggings, but in this screwy year anything goes. That said, the Wolfpack probably don't care that it took them five quarters to beat Miami in the Orange Bowl's penultimate appearance, especially considering the State offense did jacksquat after blowing up Virginia the previous week. The Pack now stand at 4-5 overall and are out of the basement in the Atlantic Division....quite a turnaround engineered by Tom O'Brien.

CLEMSON 47 - DUKE 10
A lot of points, but a curiously modest sum of total yards for the Tigers (350...5.7 per play). Nonetheless, a turnover free day and a scoring frenzy appear to have Clemson headed in the right direction with a difficult final three game stretch (Wake and BC at home, then the finale at South Carolina). QB Cullen Harper has very quietly developed into one of the better signal-callers in the nation, and easily leads the ACC in passing efficiency. However, his horrid performances in the losses to the Techs still cast a shadow entering the final three game stretch. As for the Blue Devils, it appears that the Ted Roof Era may be winding down. A promising September (by Duke standards) that saw them beat Northwestern on the road and scare the crap out of Virginia, Miami, and Navy has devolved into a three straight blowout losses (@VT, @FSU, Clemson) heading into the final stretch. At Notre Dame in two weeks appears to be the only possible win from here on out; good God it's a weird year when I'm typing that last sentence about Duke.

NORTH CAROLINA 16 - MARYLAND 13
This is a much better win for the Heels than it appears. Despite a lackluster performance from heretofore all-everything QB TJ Yates (16 of 26, 2 INTs), UNC was able to generate enough offense to get into the endzone once and to get kicker Connor Barth in position for makeable field goals, while the defense slammed the door on the Terp comeback before it ever got too dangerous. Winning games against decent comptetition when you don't bring your "A" game is a great sign of progress for Butch Davis' young crew...there are now no more "moral victory" losses. As for the Terps, despite last year's weird 9-4 season in which they were terrible on both offense and defense yet managed to catch their opponents at their worst, they are the picture of a program that has stalled. You may have noticed that the "genius" tag has been dropped from nearly all mentions of Ralph Friedgen, and for good reason - in three of the last four years, the Terps have ranked 88th or lower nationally in total offense. For whatever reason, the Fridge was able to orchestrate some superb offensive fireworks with talent he inherited, but he can't seem to find the right talent on his own to get his offense going. With the loss to UNC, they look to finish with their third losing campaign in four years.

FLORIDA STATE 27 - BOSTON COLLEGE 17
It took a little longer than expected, but the influx of new coaches on the offensive side of the ball for FSU is beginning to have it's effect. I mean, seriously, was that really Drew Weatherford out there that looked like the Heisman candidate? And was that really the same offensive line that just three weeks ago looked like human turnstiles in a loss to Wake Forest? The damage wrought on every facet of the offense during Jeff Bowden's reign-of-error was much more extensive than previously imagined, but after 9 games under Jimbo Fisher and Friends, the corner appears to have been turned. How far around the proverbial corner the Seminoles are is a question that Virginia Tech will help answer next Saturday. As for BC, the shot at the national title - longshot that it was - is over. As for Matt Ryan, the Heisman shot is likely over (un-Heismanlike stat: he ranks just 8th in the ACC in pass efficiency). Opportunities for national titles and Heismans don't come around often at a program like Boston College - how they respond to those missed chances will determine whether they can still make the Orange Bowl, or whether they plummet all the way to a late-December Disappointment Bowl.

About Last Saturday (and Thursday)...

Sorry for the delay in posting the weekend recap. The wife and I have been catching up on our movie watching, highlighted by the eminently quotable and exponentially-funnier-after-repeat-viewings Blades of Glory. As such, today's photo captions are brought to you by that fine slice of cinematic genius, since I am too lazy to actually think of anything creative on my own...

BOSTON COLLEGE 14 - VIRGINIA TECH 10
Alabama in 1992 and Ohio State in 2002 won several games like this (although perhaps not nearly as dramatic), were summarily dismissed throughout those seasons as unworthy of being mentioned with the big guns, yet in the end won their national championship bowl games in which they were huge underdogs (curiously, both against supposedly dominant Miami teams looking to repeat). To play like ass for 55 minutes and still come out of Blacksburg with a victory is nothing but positive. Every great team in every season turns in a clunker or two. Winning the clunkers is what separates a Music City Bowl team from a BCS Championship Game team. As for the Hokies, the offense is still a wreck, but the defense turned in the most dominant performance of any 1-A defense this season...for 55 minutes. Prevent-D and all of the quasi-prevents are the scourge of college football.

I just threw up in here people...that's the reality. Another layer to the legend.

WAKE FOREST 37 - NORTH CAROLINA 10
Distracted much? Coming off a bye week, Butch Davis' Tar Heels were flatter than a Huddle House pancake against the Demon Deacons, leading folks like me to speculate whether Davis may be a tad preoccupied with the goings-on at his alma mater, Arkansas. He's been mentioned in connection with that job for nearly two years, and appeared to be a shoo-in for it 14 months ago, when Houston Nutt was entering a make-or-break season, and then started 10-1 and won the SEC West. Can't fire a guy after that. Now that the Nutt-house is falling apart, ol' Butch is back in the running. Remember, the nanosecond Miami was "back" in the national picture, Butch bolted for the Cleveland Browns approximately 27 seconds after saying he was staying in Coral Gables. Now that Arkansas is back in the mix, here is Davis' response when asked if he'd leave for Fayetteville: "I just told you, I’m thrilled to be at North Carolina." Is this guy running for public office? But I digress. Distraction is one thing that Jim Grobe will never be accused of, and Wake is playing like a team focused on a repeat ACC title. And this year's Deacons are better than last year's version.

I am never satisfied! It's a curse...

CLEMSON 30 - MARYLAND 17
Not much to take away from this one, other than maybe - just maybe - the Tigers could avoid their annual slip into mediocrity. Winning on the road at Maryland (and up 30-3 in the 4th before the damned prevent made the game and stat-sheet appear much closer than it actually was), in order to stay alive in the Atlantic race, is something I didn't expect, especially in this goofy season. James Davis and CJ Spiller each surpassed the century mark on the ground and Cullen Harper was the Cullen Harper we all grew to love before the Georgia Tech fiasco. The injury-depleted Terps probably cost themselves a bowl bid with this loss, as three of their remaining four games are on the road (@UNC, @FSU, @suddenly resurgent NC State) and oh by the way, BC visits College Park in two weeks. The supposed genius that is Ralph Friedgen is dangerously close to posting his third losing season in the last four years.

It's over. All the endorsements, everything, gone. Oh my God, I can't get a real job; it'll kill me!

N.C. STATE 29 - VIRGINIA 24
Ladies and gentlemen, introducing Donald Bowens - #80 in your playbook, #1 in your hearts. His 11 receptions for 202 yards and 2 TDs against the Cavaliers nearly equaled his entire season output coming into the game and gave the Pack a bonafide offensive attack, considering that QB Daniel Evans had his second 300+ yard outing in a row. Even better, State RB Jamelle Eugene ground out 112 yards on the ground, freeing up space for Bowens and vice versa. After starting off 1-5, the Wolfpack are now 2-0 after their rejuvenating bye-week, ready and able to spoil the Miami, Wake and Maryland seasons over the next month. As for Virginia, the charmed season finally came to an end...nonetheless, they were without QB Jameel Sewell for the last seven minutes and that was just after the Pack had taken the final lead. Who knows what could've happened if Sewell had those seven minutes to forge a comeback? The good news in Hoo-ville is that he'll be back for next week's showdown with Wake Forest. And oh yeah, they still have a half-game lead over Virginia Tech in the Coastal race.

Better step aside homeschool, there's a new Sheriff in town.

FLORIDA STATE 25 - DUKE 6
One of those games in which the scoreboard fails to tell the full story. The Seminoles had five trips into the redzone against the Blue Devils in the first half, yet only had nine points (on three field goals) to show for it at halftime (a missed FG and a fumble were the end results of the other two drives). They punched the ball into the end zone twice in the second half and as a whole looked the best and smoothest they had all season on that side of the ball. The fact that the steadier Drew Weatherford was back under center, that Antone Smith ran for 146 yards, and that it was Duke...all of that played a part in perhaps this game being the one in which the proverbial light turned on for the beleagured Seminole offense. Now that Weatherford clearly has the job to himself (thanks to this development), he should settle into the position over the next few weeks without having to worry about getting an early hook. And that's just in time, as a trip to Boston College looms this Saturday - the scene where Weatherford had his breakthrough as a freshman two years ago. As for Duke, it's doesn't get any easier, with Clemson and Georgia Tech up next. The buzz they generated after the Northwestern win and the close calls with Navy, Miami, and Wake Forest is gone.

But I remember Boston, and that victory was as sweet as the cream pie for which the town was named.

About Last Saturday (and Thursday)...

WAKE FOREST 24 - FLORIDA STATE 21
The Seminoles may be the one team in the nation that could legitimately have gone 12-0 or 4-8 this year. This is a team that is - with the new offensive coaching staff - so close to greatness while at the same time straddling the border of sub-.500ville. One only needs to watch Xavier Lee to know that he is an exponential upgrade over Drew Weatherford, but that upgrade is severely diminished by working behind perhaps the single-worst offensive line in college football. No exaggeration...the single worst. The Noles were thisclose to taking a 21-7 lead late in the 3rd quarter at Wake, but a stumble by Greg Carr in the endzone turned a jumpball TD into an endzone INT and everything changed after that. That's not to diminsh the Wake Forest effort on Thursday night...they played like garbage for the first half but managed to stay within 7 and then went in for the kill after one too many mistakes by FSU. If Wake played BC today instead of in week one, I'd be plunking cash down on the Deacs.

GEORGIA TECH 17 - MIAMI 14
Jon Tenuta owns Patrick Nix. That's about all that can be gleaned from the Yellow Jackets' second-straight win over Miami in the Orange Bowl (and their third straight victory overall in the series). Tech still has serious problems at QB, and it's a credit to their offensive line that they could open up enough holes to allow 264 yards on the ground when the Canes knew full well that QB Taylor Bennett was a threat to do nothing but throw panicky incompletions. Things get a little darker for Miami as they now head to Tallahassee for their annual showdown with archrival Florida State...and the Noles have had two extra days to prepare for the Hurricanes.

VIRGINIA TECH 43 - DUKE 14
You can't just say, "Yeah, but that was against Duke". Ask Northwestern, Navy, Virginia, and Wake Forest about what it's like to suit up against the Blue Devils this year. Sean Glennon relieved injured QB Tyrod Taylor and managed to have the best game of his Hokie career (16-for-21, 258 yards, 2 TDs) to lead Virginia Tech to a rout of Duke, despite a seemingly incurable anemic rushing attack and porous OL. The Blue Devils appear to have peaked, and even if they drop their remaining five contests (@FSU, Clemson, Ga Tech, @Notre Dame, @UNC), they'll be the best 1-11 team ever...which may be the lamest praise ever offered in recorded sports history.

SOUTH CAROLINA 21 - NORTH CAROLINA 15
**Paranoia alert**....if this had been Virginia Tech travelling to Ole Miss, only to see the Hokies scrape past the Rebels by six points, national pundits aplenty would be messing their pants over how powerful the SEC is, in that one of their bottom-feeders could nearly knock off an ACC power. On the flipside - and in reality - #6 South Carolina nearly kakked away a game to a 2-5 UNC squad and we hear....crickets. The Tar Heels outgained the Gamecocks by 116 yards and we hear....is there an echo in here? What we can gather from this game is that Butch Davis appears to have been a fantastic hire for UNC, and that there are way too many college football pundits and experts that are either too lazy or too biased to even consider or mention that the ACC is stacking up fairly well against other conferences this season, despite the horrific start.

VIRGINIA 17 - CONNECTICUT 16
You may now consider me sold on the Cavaliers. In this absurd football season, that Wyoming loss may as well have been six years ago instead of just six weeks ago. Without the services of leading rusher Cedric Peerman last Saturday, Virginia nonetheless found enough offense to claw past previously unbeaten UConn and finally get ranked in at least one national poll. **Paranoia alert**...if the Cavs were in the SEC, they would have been ranked - by special poll - at halftime of the Pitt game. Anyway, the Hoos' six game winning streak is now something like the third longest in the nation, and with four of their six wins being decided by 5 points or less, something is gelling in Charlottesville. We'll see how firm this gelatinous UVA season really is over their last five games (@Maryland, NC State, Wake, @Miami, Va Tech).

BOSTON COLLEGE 27 - NOTRE DAME 14
In a show of just how gonzo this season is, the Eagles now need to justify how they only beat the Fighting Irish by 2 TDs in South Bend. Allow me, BC fans. The Eagles played far from their best game yet still managed to double-up Notre Dame in total yards and gave the Irish a touchdown on one of the ten or so bad passes Matt Ryan has tossed all year. And Boston College managed to stifle the Irish running game to 27 total yards, while giving up 222 yards passing only because Notre Dame chucked the ball almost exclusively in the second half, as they were losing by 3 TDs for most of the game. **Paranoia alert**...has an undefeated rookie head coach ever gotten less publicity than Jeff Jagodzinski at BC this year? Wanna bet that ESPN and CBS would be devoting large segments of GameDay and Scoreboard Updates to him if he was 7-0 at, say, Arkansas? Yeah, me too.

About Last Saturday...

This will undoubtedly be a subpar effort, but I've got things aplenty at home and work to take care of, now that I'm back from my weekend getaway. Off we go...

MARYLAND 28 - GEORGIA TECH 26
Here's a question I never thought I'd have to ask...can Georgia Tech even reach the Chan Gailey Equilibrium this year? Before the season, I thought I was oh-so-clever in picking the Yellow Jackets to be the class of the conference. The talent is there. Both lines were stacked. Patrick Nix bolted. Taylor Bennett had to be an upgrade over Reggie Ball, right? Whatever. It's still The Chan Show and the ending is always in the vicinity of 7-5, a loss to Georgia, and a late-December-afterthought-bowl. As for the Terps, another huge lead nearly melted away, shades of the Wake fiasco. Fix that second-half defense and Maryland just may be a darkhorse ACC Title Game participant.

NORTH CAROLINA 33 - MIAMI 27
Before we get too excited UNC fans, let's remember that John Bunting upset Florida State 41-9 and Clemson 38-3 in his first year, poundings that were supposedly harbingers of Tar Heel dominance to come. First year results under new coaches are usually a bit out of whack from what transpires over the coach's tenure...and that also applies to all you Cane fans bashing your head against a wall over Butch Davis' smackdown of Randy Shannon. Nonetheless, it's safe to say that the team in powder blue was much better prepared to hit the field last Saturday, and that too many Miami kids just thought that they could throw their helmets onto the field and walk out with a win. Shannon and crew still have a bit of work to do with their squad in terms of mental preparation...and history lessons.

BOSTON COLLEGE 55 - BOWLING GREEN 24
Now that was the kind of performance worthy of the Eagles' newly-minted #4 ranking. Well, except for giving up 401 passing yards to the Falcons. Sure, Bowling Green only gained 65 yards on the ground (on 23 carries), but 401 yards through the air - especially when you know that the Falcons are going to fling it all around - is concerning. Nonetheless, the five picks tallied by the BC defense certainly made up for the otherwise difficult defensive day. And that Eagle offense - 'tis a thing of beauty when Matt Ryan is in a groove. And how good is BC? Bowling Green coach Gregg Brandon had this to say: "That might have been the best team, arguably, that we've ever played since I've been coaching here." Brandon came aboard in 2003, and during his tenure the Falcons have played Ohio State (2006), Wisconsin (2005 & 2006), and Oklahoma (2004).

WAKE FOREST 41 - DUKE 36
I haven't been right about much this year, but I am usually dead-on about Wake Forest and their maddening propensity to play to the level of their competition. The score of this game isn't quite indicative of how the game was played (Wake trailed 9-0 early, but went up 34-9 by mid 3rd quarter before Duke rallied to make it interesting). The Deacs' all-everything Kenny Moore continues to be one of the most unheralded players in the nation this season (100 receiving yards, 84 rush yards, 22 return yards against the Blue Devils). Duke has garnered quite a bit of respect this season despite only closing the deal once; sooner or later another victory needs to be chalked up or they'll start to pack it in.

FLORIDA STATE 27 - N.C. STATE 10
In a game that probably should've been 37-10 or even 41-10, the Seminoles nonetheless displayed continued improvement on the offensive side of the ball, while the defense again blanked an opponent for three quarters...the only difference this time was that the Pack racked up their 10-spot in the first rather than fourth stanza. Xavier Lee was efficient, calm and steady...which in cold print reads a lot like Drew Weatherford, except that Lee kept the chains moving, froze the Pack defense at times with the threat of a scramble, and was deadly accurate with the long ball. The one huge thorn in FSU's potentially rosy future this season is that the OL is now down to just eight roster players, four of them true or redshirt freshmen...hence the disappointing rushing stats. As for the Pack, it's still all about the turnovers (four on their part, none by the Seminoles) and the increasingly obvious mismatch of the Tom O'Brien approach to current NCSU personnel. It's easy now to say that O'Brien is in the running for magna cum laude in the Shelley Long/David Caruso (pre-CSI Miami) School of Career Moves...but we really won't know that for another three to four years. Unless of course Jeff Jagodzinski's Eagles are facing off against LSU in New Orleans on Jan. 7; in that case, O'Brien gets that career-move-school named after him and Shelley Long can finally fade away into blissful obscurity.

VIRGINIA TECH 41 - CLEMSON 23
If anything has been consistent and unsurprising in this wacked-out season, it's been Clemson. Beat FSU, start out 4-0 and move into the Top 15, and then the cave in. So why did I predict the Tigers to beat Georgia Tech last week and Virginia Tech last Saturday? Because they should have. But as is too often the case with the Tigers under Tommy Bowden, being the better team does not equate to winning, and in fact tends to result in spectacularly interesting defeats. Virginia Tech had been unable to do much of anything on offense or special teams throughout their first five games, but their trip to Tiger Stadium naturally resulted in two special teams TDs, a defensive score, a 31-8 halftime lead and merciful breathing room for an offense that still didn't do much other than not turn the ball over. And I think we all expect that the Hokies will somewhat struggle with Duke next week in a 20-10 type of ball game.

VIRGINIA 23 - MIDDLE TENNESSEE 21
This is why I'm still not sold on the Hoos (even though I finally ranked them on my Blog Poll ballot)...they leave everything on the field in their ACC games and just take the day off in non-conference play. Needing a field goal at the gun to beat Middle Tennessee? The same Middle Tennessee that lost to Western Kentucky? Well, I suppose it's better than kakking away your season to Stanford.

About Last Saturday...

Due to time constraints (life and work, yet again), my very brief review of last weekend's festivities....

--ACC 2, Big East 1....and we're almost getting to the point where NC State losses can be disregarded as "well, it's NC State for God's sake". Duke formerly held that illustrious distinction.

--Florida State 21, Alabama 14....the Noles just became a trendy pick to win the league, thanks to the unleashing of a now-properly-coached Xavier Lee on the hapless college football world.

--Lethargy from the Old Big East camp (BC, Miami, VT)....snap out of it fellas, Maryland and Virginia just buried your old league; try to look alive next time.

--Georgia Tech 13, Clemson 3....the most predictable result that I didn't actually predict.

In lieu of my usual drawn-out post-weekend analysis, please enjoy the following scenes from "The Office" - the appallingly unfair TV competition to Thursday night ACC football in the fall. Damn you, John Swofford...let me have my Dwight Schrute fix without having to sacrifice the usual Maryland-Georgia Tech and Boston College-Virginia Tech showdowns.

About Last Saturday (and Thursday)...

MIAMI 34 - TEXAS A&M 17
The Hurricanes notched perhaps the biggest perception-altering victory of the weekend with their beatdown of the Aggies. Miami completely flipped the tables in this win...their much maligned offense confused and then sped right past the A&M defense, while the highly touted Aggie offense appeared as if they were moving in quicksand against the Cane defense. A much needed, feel-good, recruit-impressing evening all-around for The U.

USF 37 - NORTH CAROLINA 10
Despite the 1-2 start for Butch Davis' crew in '07, there were some real positives to look at and even some semblance of hope for the remainder of the season. Gone. The Bulls are every bit a Top 20 club, but for the Heels to look like John Bunting was back in charge was highly disconcerting. TJ Yates finally looked like the true freshman that he is (11 for 27, 4 picks) and he received no help from his teammates on either side of the ball. The Heels are lucky USF went on cruise control in the 4th quarter or the score could've been really Bunting-esque.

VIRGINIA 28 - GEORGIA TECH 23
"Oh come on! This is getting to be ri-g@ddamn-diculous!" - Frank Vitchard in Anchorman (and yes, there appears to be a theme going on here this week).

The ACC does this every freaking year. One (or more) potential contenders for the league title and/or Top 25 status will drop an enormous pile of excrement on the field in a non-conference game (see: Virginia vs. Wyoming), only to "find themselves" in time to knock off a few conference teams in a row (see: Virginia vs. Duke/UNC/Georgia Tech). Yet, they're still defined by the stinkstack they left in the non-conference game. Meanwhile, another ACC team makes a big splash into Top 25 status and conference championship talk (see: Georgia Tech in weeks 1 and 2), then lays an egg on national television (see: GT vs. BC) and the rest of the season subsequently caves in. Result: poor perception of the league and a dearth of ranked teams. The Hoo-Jacket game this year is just another chapter in this unaltering, tragic epic.


Virginia slices off Georgia Tech's season to spite the ACC's reputation

CLEMSON 42 - N.C. STATE 20
Now this was the game I had pegged as part of the ACC-destroying-itself-from-within saga, and happily for the league, I was wrong on a grand scale. The final score doesn't really do justice to the Tigers' domination (608 yards to 202 yards; 3 Pack turnovers to Clemson's 0; the Tigers knocking two State QBs out of the game). The Harper/Davis/Spiller trifecta of terror appears to have been fully unleashed, just in time to face the armless Yellow Jacket squad in Atlanta next Saturday. Oh, and despite the Wolfpack's embarassingly woeful showing against the Tigers, they have the perfect remedy for hapless football programs next week...Louisville!


Odd post-game scene in the N.C. State locker room when notified of their next opponent (I'm told that's Tom O'Brien in the cowboy hat)

NAVY 46 - DUKE 43
I'm stunned that Duke scored 43 points. FSU hasn't done it yet (and they played UAB). Miami hasn't done it yet (and they played Marshall and FIU). The last-second loss to the Middies obviously has to sting a bit, but with the losing-streak albatross gone, it's clear that the Blue Devils are a team with some seriously renewed vigor. They're ripe to knock off a dispirited Georgia Tech, UNC, or Notre Dame squad if any of those teams come into their meeting with Ted Roof's troops on auto-pilot. Hmmmmm, Duke over Notre Dame, in South Bend...allow an ACC guy to dream for a minute.

BOSTON COLLEGE 37 - ARMY 17
In a weekend when the Florida Tebows nearly cacked away their entire season at Ole Miss, it's fairly easy to forgive Boston College for a less than stellar first half against Army. The yardage the Eagles piled up by the end of the game was quite impressive (573 to be exact, 356 courtesy of the golden right arm of Matt Ryan), but the real chink out of this one has to be Ryan's 2 interceptions....that's 5 for the season and that has him currently buried at #42 nationally in passing efficiency. The TDs and yardage are very nice, but the picks have got to stop if Matty Ice is to make a downtown NYC appearance in December.

VIRGINIA TECH 44 - WILLIAM & MARY 3
In a week when my prognostication prowess was sorely tested, I must thank the Hokies for allowing yours truly to look like a college football oracle for a brief and fleeting moment. As for the Hokies, all is not sunshine and lollipops, as they still couldn't get the running game out of first gear (133 yards, 3.5ypc) and they were penalized a ridiculous 11 times...against a mediocre 1-AA squad. The defense was OK but surrendered waaaay too many passing yards (243) to Tribe QB Jake Phillips.

WAKE FOREST 31 - MARYLAND 24 (OT)
It's funny how one play can not only change a game, but a season, and potentially entire careers. Just such a play occurred late in the third quarter of this dandy little matchup, as Maryland - in the midst of a methodical 24-3 domination of Wake Forest - tried to get a little too cute on the Deacon 1-yard line by throwing into the endzone. Instead of a touchdown grab that would put the Terps up by 4 TDs, the pass was picked off and returned 100 yards the other way for a Wake touchdown, igniting a Demon Deacon rally and possibly the ample seat on which Ralph Friedgen plants his keister. Wake is a team reborn, while the Terps are now just kind-of all hollow inside.


The secret of Wake's success? Jim Grobe's post-game fondue parties

About Last Saturday (and Thursday)...

WEST VIRGINIA 31 - MARYLAND 14
An entirely predictable and unsurprising result, although I suppose I bought a bit too much into the weird Thursday Night voodoo with last week's prognostication.

This is year seven in College Park for the Fridge (a supposed offensive wizard of Gandalf-like prominence), yet from years four through six (seasons played out entirely with his own recruits), the Terps finished 108, 56, and 88 in total offense, and currently sit at 92 in 2007. Jeff Bowden had a better track record than that. I guess what I'm saying is that perhaps there was a reason ol' Ralphie couldn't land those head coaching gigs for all those years...see also: Weis, Charlie. And I'm not talking about their unhealthy girths, either; that's just a curiously disturbing coincidence. Or is it?

VIRGINIA 22 - NORTH CAROLINA 20
The somewhat-surprising UVA victory has been overshadowed by talk and analysis of one of the biggest officiating blunders since The Coin Toss and The Fifth Down. The ACC has long been bashed (largely by fans of member schools) for it's consistently incompetent officiating, but this error is simply unforgivable in it's simplicity, and given the fact that it would have cost the Hoos the game if not for instant replay.

As for the Cavaliers...stop saving your break-out performances for league games while stinking it up in non-conference matchups, K? You dare not botch the Middle Tennessee, Pitt, or UConn games in the next few weeks or you will earn my eternal enmity.

CLEMSON 38 - FURMAN 10
Guys...384 total yards given up on defense to a 1-AA school? One week after UL-Monroe churned out 419 yards and 26 points? These are reasons why you folks at Clemson rarely get the benefit of the doubt anymore. And why few will actually be surprised if the Tigers lose to NC State next week.

On the plus side, Cullen Harper looked fantastic for the second week in a row (after being merely efficient against FSU in week 1) and Davis and Spiller were top-notch in their all-too brief appearances last Saturday.

VIRGINIA TECH 28 - OHIO 7
The defense recovered nicely from the abomination in Baton Rouge, and the offense finally showed some signs of life late in the game to make the score more respectable ('twas just 14-7 entering the fourth quarter).

That said, there are severe problems in Blacksburg if new QB Tyrod Taylor gets injured or is otherwise not taking every single snap from now on. The offensive line is atrocious and the running game still hasn't gotten out of first gear. The mere threat of Taylor running the ball opened things up on offense a bit, a threat that is laughably non-existent with Sean Glennon under center.

MIAMI 23 - FIU 9
In a true snoozer of a game - particulary sans riot-like fisticuffs - the Canes got a nice cheap non-conference win over the lowly Panthers. Kyle Wright was unimpressive but not cringe-inducing on a Kirby Freeman-level, while the defense coughed up 264 total yards to FIU, at least 164 more than they should have. With Texas A&M coming to town in just three days, I foresee The U embarrassing themselves and the conference yet again.

WAKE FOREST 21- ARMY 10
Rarely does a team so consistently play to the level of their opposition as the Demon Deacons. Wake scored just one offensive TD against the lowly Cadets (the other two scores came via a punt return and interception return) and were outgained and out-first-downed as well. And Brett Hodges is clearly no Riley Skinner. Young Riley needs to return to the Deacon lineup, stat.

N.C. STATE 38 - WOFFORD 17
In a year when Appy State beats Michigan and The Citadel hangs 31 on Wisconsin, this may actually have to go down as a damn fine win for the Wolfpack, except for the fact that - and this must be the theme of the week - they gave up waaaaay too many yards to the Terriers. 353 to be exact. And I won't mention the 11 penalties for 109 yards...except I just did, and that Wofford managed a tidy 15 flags of their own.

DUKE 20 - NORTHWESTERN 14
In what may be the first and last instance of it's kind in my lifetime, the Blue Devils managed to provide the highlight of the week. Sure, the Duke defense was like a sieve, but QB Thaddeus Lewis was calmly efficient and the Wildcats were so generously self-destructive (13 penalties and allowing the Devils to go a combined 8 of 15 on 3rd and 4th downs) that the outcome seemed joyously inevitable by the middle of the third quarter or so. Nonetheless, I truly hope Duke Nation enjoyed that delicious morsel of victory, because I don't think they get another one this year.

BOSTON COLLEGE 24 - GEORGIA TECH 10
Nonsensical. Completely, totally nonsensical. How a suspect Eagle defense walked into Atlanta and just stymied the Panzer-like Tech offensive line and rushing attack just completely baffles the mind. But that was not the story of the game, not by a long shot. Matty Ice clearly needs a seat reservation in New York in early December, for his calculated evisceration of the supposedly vaunted Jacket defense was something to behold.

All is not lost for the Ramblin' Wreck...the Coastal Division is so lame this season that they could afford another clunker like this one and perhaps even a third and still make it back to Jacksonville, where they'll likey face...a similar beatdown to these same Eagles. As for BC...you are the Chosen One in the league this year. Do not fricking blow it. And yes, I was way, waaaaay wrong about you in all my preseason previews and stuff.

FLORIDA STATE 16 - COLORADO 6
Drew Weatherford is not salvageable. A promising but at times bumpy freshman season in '05 has regressed into an 8-of-18 passing, 1-for-13 on third downs mess (against a shockingly slow defense to boot) after 25 starts. The criminally-negligent coaching he received his first two seasons has done irreparable damage to his psyche and decision-making process and ironically it's also what keeps him as the starter considering Xavier Lee received the same grotesque guidance but with a much shorter leash.

But hey, the Noles won on the road in a rowdy Big XII venue. In and of itself, that's a sweet accomplishment. Despite all that, unless the defense starts pitching near-shutouts on a weekly basis, another 6-6 campaign in Tallahassee is on the horizon.

Lest I Forget...

BOSTON COLLEGE 38 - WAKE FOREST 28
It certainly appears that Jeff Jagodzinski knows what he's doing, and that any apparent college-game rust has an effective cure-all called Matt Ryan. Let the Phillip Rivers comparisons begin (and the ABC guys calling the game wasted no opportunity in doing so), but for the Eagles' sake, let's hope Ryan can have a bit more overall success in the W-L department.

Wake, meanwhile, acquitted themselves nicely, churning out some decent offensive production if we ignore the fact that running the football is a part of most team's gameplans. In a league that is so incredibly quarterback deficient, it's amazing that the Demon Deacons can just plug in anyone on short notice and have him smoothly and cleanly throw the ball around (see: Skinner, Riley; and now Hodges, Justin).

GEORGIA TECH 33 - NOTRE DAME 3
The Pride of the ACC so far, the Yellow Jackets dropped the hammer on the Domers despite a somewhat clunky passing game (11 of 23, 121 yards) from UFC wannabe Taylor Bennett. All that is needed for the Jackets to win the league is for the running game - led by Tashard Choice and the powerful OL - to grind out 175+ yards per game, have Bennett dink-and-dunk and chuck it for 200 yards per contest, and make sure that Jon Tenuta's defense continues to screw with the minds of all those mediocre ACC QBs ("Matty Ice" Ryan aside). Just don't let The Chan get in the way.

MIAMI 31 - MARSHALL 3
You know big-time Hurricane football is back when the Orange Bowl is proudly half-full for a game against a non-Florida State, Virginia Tech, or Florida squad. 39,000+ saw Miami quietly control the game, scoring one touchdown per quarter and picking off Marshall QBs four times. Sure, Kirby Freeman was unimpressive (9 of 21, 86 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT), and he'll probably get abused like a fresh inmate at Oz next Saturday at Oklahoma, but for one week Miami football looks to be back on track.

CLEMSON 24 - FLORIDA STATE 18
Meh. I've rarely seen such a bipolar game as this one, and since the manic/happy side was delivered by FSU in the 2nd half, you can't help but leave this game thinking that the Noles - while still appearing to be a year or two away from prominence - will have a more encouraging future. Like many seasons prior, Clemson started this game HOT HOT HOT and then just sorta deflated in the third and fourth quarters, much like they've done over the second half of many a season under Tommy Bowden.

And for God's sake Tiger fans...act like you've been there before. Charging the field after hanging on against a #19 Florida State squad is almost as pathetic as the Noles' "offensive line" in the first half. FSU hasn't been rushing-the-field-worthy since about 2003.