Opie's Rampage

Georgia Tech QB Taylor Bennett's reputation skyrocketed in the hearts and minds of many last week when he roughed up starting DE Darrell Robertson during a scrimmage. The altercation between the two then resulted in a skirmish among several players.

Robertson had to be helped off the field by trainers. God help the opposing DB who tries to return a pick on Opie - excuse me, Mr. Bennett - this season.


The last thing you see before his fist crashes through your skull

Virginia Preview

2007 Schedule

2006 Results: 5-7 overall, 4-4 ACC (3rd Coastal Division)

Offense: This will be a work in progress at best, and things could get messy considering some of the deadly defenses they'll face in the ACC this season. Soph. QB Jameel Sewell did the best he could with his surroundings last year, and the Virginia offense would look a lot steadier heading into the fall if he hadn't had offseason surgery on his left (throwing) wrist. Both the RB and WR positions are unsettled as the most experienced running back, Cedric Peerman, notched just 153 yards on 46 carries last year. 2006's top wideout, Kevin Olgetree, blew out his ACL in the spring and is gone for the season. It appears as if the two starters at receiver will be a redshirt frosh (Chris Dalton), and a junior (Maurice Covington) with just 11 career receptions. Look for the TEs (Tom Santi, Jonathan Stupar) to take the lead in receiving until the wideouts develop their game-legs.

Defense: This is the unit that could keep the Hoos afloat all year. Ten starters are back from one of last year's most underrated defenses (#17 nationally), headed up by son-of-Howie Chris Long at DE. The other two starters on the line return as well, and even better, all three starting LBs - led by Jon Cooper (81 tackes in '06) - are back, making this DE/LB corps the steadiest front seven in the nation. Three out of four starters are back in the secondary as well. There is a rare embarrassment of riches for the Cavaliers this year on this side of the ball, and it's a shame that the offensive unit could prevent it from getting the recognition it deserves.

Special teams: Steady kicker and sometimes punter Chris Gould returns, along with co-punter Ryan Weigand. Neither are spectacular, but both are serviceable. The return game features Mike Brown and Andrew Pearman fielding punts, with Cedric Peerman fielding kickoffs. Again, not spectacular, but steady and serviceable.

Coaching: Captain Sweatshirt enters his 7th season in Charlottesville, and hasn't come within the same hemisphere of fulfilling the national championship promises issued upon his hire. Yours truly has made it clear that I'm not a fan of the Chessmaster, but in an odd way I believe he turned in one of his best coaching jobs last year. The Cavs were absolutely gutted by coaching and personnel departures heading into the '06 campaign, and a 3-9 record wouldn't have surprised me. Getting to 4-4 in a weakened ACC was a decent accomplishment, and salved some of the wounds from the terrible start (which included three awful out-of-conference losses). That said, the offense is still a disaster and that falls directly on the shoulders of Groh and his OC offspring, Mike. Must we be reminded of how family dynamics can royally muck up a football program? That said, 2nd year DC Mike London has kicked things up a notch from the steady days of Al Golden and could be leading one of the best UVA defenses ever this season.

For What It's Worth: George Welsh in his final six seasons at UVA: 45-27 overall, 33-15 ACC; Al Groh's six seasons at UVA: 42-33 overall, 25-23 ACC....goose eggs aplenty- Virginia pitched two shutouts last season (@Duke and vs. UNC), but were shutout twice as well (@FSU and @Va Tech)....from 1955-1989, the Cavaliers went 0-29 against Clemson; from 1990-present, they've notched an 8-6-1 record against the Tigers....Virginia's highest ever poll finish was at #13 in the 1994 coaches' poll

Schedule Analysis: Extremely favorable. Five of the first seven opponents did not go to a bowl last year, and four of those first seven games are at home. A 6-1 start, however unlikely, is not out of the question. Even more fortunate for the Cavs, they skip Florida State, Clemson and Boston College from the Atlantic Division in this year's scheduling rotation. They also get a bye week before the season finale at home with the Hokies. This is by far the friendliest schedule for any ACC club this season.
Projected Wins- Duke, Pittsburgh, @Middle Tennessee, Connecticut
Projected Losses- Georgia Tech, @Maryland, @Miami, Virginia Tech
Toss-Ups- @Wyoming, @North Carolina, @NC State, Wake Forest

For More Opinionated, Yet Delightful, Cavalier Insight: The Good Ol' Blog

Blast-From-The-Past, Feel-Good YouTube:

"Touchdown.....No!" (actually, I think it was, but whatever)

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Clemson Preview

2007 Schedule

2006 Results: 8-5 overall, 5-3 ACC (T2nd Atlantic Division); lost to Kentucky 28-20 in the Music City Bowl

Offense: Just five starters are back from last year's bipolar unit (43.5 ppg in the first 8 games, 17.4 ppg in the last 5). With the departure of we-hardly-knew-ye Will Proctor, the Tigers break in a new starting QB for the second straight year, this time either Jr. Cullen Harper or true-Fr. Willy Korn. The best backfield in the ACC - if not the nation - is back with a vengeance, in TBs James Davis (1219 rushing yards, 17 TDs in '06) and CJ Spiller (960 rushing yards, 7.3 yards per carry, 10 TDs last year). Last year's top wideout, Chansi Stuckey, has departed leaving Aaron Kelly (30 catches, 355 yards in '06) as the top returning receiver. The rest of the receiving corps has sparse game experience. The OL returns just one full time starter in All-ACC LT Barry Richardson. At a quick glance, this certainly appears to be a shell of last year's manic-depressive attack.

Defense: At first, the loss of #4 NFL draft pick Gaines Adams looms large, but upon closer inspection, it appears as if this defense could be better than last year's unit (#3 ACC, #13 nationally). Depending on which depth chart you look at, two or three starters are back on the line, with the entire two-deep having solid game experience. The LB corps returns two starters from '06 (Nick Watkins, Antonio Clay) and one from '05 (Tramaine Billie, injured last year). The secondary has both safeties back, while the corner spots are manned by sometime-starter Chris Chancellor and candidate for the all-name-team Crezdon Butler (3 picks as a backup last year).

Special teams: Kicking and punting duties are in the hands of Richard Jackson and Jimmy Maners, who collectively have zero game experience. Jacoby Ford and CJ Spiller are back to split time on both kickoff and punt returns.

Coaching: Tommy Bowden returns for a 9th season as Clemson head coach, still waiting for that one breakthrough year, and firmly back on that proverbial hot-seat. Aside from his best season in 2000 (9-3 overall, 6-2 ACC), Bowden has four 4-4 finishes and three 5-3 marks in ACC play. The end result each season is maddeningly consistent (anywhere from 7-9 wins, and 4-6 losses), but the journey is not - sluggish starts and fast finishes in '03, '04 & '05, hot starts and late season fades in '01 & '06. Bowden's Clemson trek is similar to Tom O'Brien's at Boston College (7 to 9 wins per year, no conference titles), but a tad more dramatic what with the Tigers' penchant for impressive wins (Georgia Tech '06, Miami '04, Florida State and Tennessee '03) and monumental duds (Kentucky '06, Duke '04, Wake Forest '03). BC ran out of patience with O'Brien (and he with them) at 10 years....you'd think Clemson wouldn't be nearly as accommodating to Bowden, given their resources, tradition and rabid fanbase. Switching gears, OC Rob Spence and DC Vic Koenning are back, each in his third season here, which is the longest Bowden has kept both coordinator positions stable during his time at Clemson. The rest of the coaching staff returns as well, save for new RB coach Andre Powell.

For What It's Worth: The Tigers led the ACC in average home attendance in 2006 (81,506)....Six different programs (Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Virginia, Wake Forest) have won or shared an ACC crown since Clemson won their last in 1991....the Tigers have a winning record against seven of their eleven ACC brethren; only Florida State, Georgia Tech and Miami have the historical advantage over Clemson, while the Boston College series is deadlocked....something of peculiar interest that I was unaware of before researching and writing this preview: Dwight Clark, he of "The Catch" fame, played at Clemson

Schedule Analysis: Pretty run of the mill. The opener with Florida State in Bowden Bowl IX notwithstanding, the first four games as a whole are the easiest, while the middle four and final four each have their share of pitfalls and breathers. It's as good a slate as any to make a run for the division crown in the uncertain ACC-Atlantic.
Projected Wins- Louisiana-Monroe, Furman, @NC State, Central Michigan, @Duke, Wake Forest
Projected Losses- @Georgia Tech, @South Carolina
Toss-Ups- Florida State, Virginia Tech, @Maryland, Boston College

For More Opinionated, Yet Delightful, Tiger Insight: Sporting Gnomes, Danny Ford Is God

Blast-From-The-Past, Feel-Good YouTube:

Look away, Georgia Tech fans. I mean it.

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Friday News & Notes

...ESPN's Mark Schlabach opines on the 2007 edition of coaches on the hot seat; Clemson's Tommy Bowden has managed to earn tenure on these lists, as he makes his 38th consecutive appearance and is the headliner this year. Ted Roof at Duke and Al Groh at Virginia make unwanted appearances as well.

...Backhanded motivation, or straight-up candor? Seminole OC Jimbo Fisher says that the QB job is now a three-way race, with redshirt freshman Christian Ponder in consideration. My guess is that this is but another tool in Fisher's bag o' tricks to motivate Drew Weatherford and Xavier Lee to make solid, concrete cases for themselves. There's no way the Noles are going to throw a redshirt frosh out against Clemson on Labor Day evening with less than a month's work with the first team.

...UNC is still searching for their starting QB as well, which may be good news for last year's sometime-starter Cam Sexton; real and considerable playing time (albeit a bit unimpressive) would have to be a tiebreaker if everything else is even among the QB trio.

...Miami's feared voodoo magic in the old Orange Bowl stadium may come to an end as early as next season. As one who has attended games there as a fan of an opposing team (Florida State, '96 and '98 contests), this is certainly welcome news and I'm much more likely to attend a Cane game in Dolphin Stadium, which is an actual 20th century facility, located in the northern part of Miami-Dade county, and likely too far for the riff-raff to carjack their way up to the game.

...This story would be mildly comical if it didn't involve the athletic director of one of our military service academies. Navy AD Chet Gladchuk had his wittle feewings hurt - and is apparently still sobbing into his pillow each night - when the Academy's instate "rival", Maryland, opted to play in the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando last year instead of the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, in which the Midshipmen lost to Boston College. Hmmm...December in Central Florida, or in 30-degree, roll up the streets at 9pm downtown Charlotte? You'd think that anyone in any kind of executive position at Annapolis would have a slightly better disposition than that of a spurned 14-year old girl, but apparently you'd be wrong.

USA Today/Coaches' Top 25

So last week the preseason coaches' poll was unveiled, and it featured exactly two ACC teams in the Top 25...America's sentimental favorite Virginia Tech at #9, and Atlantic Division favorite/Wake Forest biotch Florida State at #21. Needless to say, this was not the type of reputation the suits in Greensboro had hoped to engender when clumsily expanding the conference in 2004.

That said, there is some silver lining; the top three in "other's receiving votes" are Georgia Tech, Boston College and Miami, while Wake Forest (#31) and Clemson (#36) also garner votes (and no, I'm not counting Steve Spurrier's increasingly lame and tiresome annual Duke vote).

It's quite clear that the ACC has to prove itself on the field this year based on the last few seasons, and that's fair. Sure, I could gripe about some of the more questionable rankings...UCLA at #17, four ahead of FSU who pummeled them in the bowl and had the same record? Texas A&M in the rankings ahead of any of the "others receiving votes" ACC clubs? The Aggies went 9-4 last year, got obliterated by Cal in the Holiday Bowl, return 14 starters, and are karmically haunted thanks to Dennis Franchione. I'll take the Jackets, Eagles, Canes, Deacons and Tigers over them any week this year (and Miami better prove me right on Sept. 20).

Nonetheless, all of us in the ACC family would do well to zip it and let the season play out. Not that I'm going to follow my own advice or anything...

Duke Preview

2007 Schedule

2006 Results: 0-12 overall, 0-8 ACC (last Coastal Division)

Offense: With a respected new offensive coordinator and all eleven starters returning, if the Blue Devils can't make a dent on the scoreboard this year, they likely never will. Duke was shutout three times last season and held below 20 points in five other games as they they shuffled through a stable of running backs (due to injury), while breaking in a freshman QB in Thaddeus Lewis (53% completions, 2134 yards, 11 TDs, 16 picks). The top two wideouts (Eron Riley, Jomar Wright) combined for 1200 yards and 6 TDs last year. All five starting O-linemen return, although whether that's a good thing or not remains to be seen, considering they accounted for just 2.9 yards per rush and allowed 43 sacks last year. Ole!

Defense: Five starters return, although due to inuries and substitution patterns, the new starters all have game experience, however two of them (LBs Marcus Jones and Tim Ball) played on the offensive side last year. 2006's leading tackler and defensive leader Mike Tauiliili apparently believes he plays for Florida, considering he was just busted for DWI, hit and run, assault with a firearm, and other Gator-esque crimes. Let's just say that Tauiliili won't be taking the field for awhile. DT Vince Oghobaase is a beast and All-ACC candidate. The secondary returns three starters from a unit that ranked - shockingly - last in the ACC in 2006.

Special teams: Let's just hope that Duke doesn't need this unit to come through on the Devils' probable one chance to win a game this year. K Joe Surgan returns, along with his 30% field goal average and 75% extra-point completion rate. P Kevin Jones redshirted last year. Both kick (Jabari Marshall) and punt (Leon Wright) returners are back, although neither of them were all that special in '06.

Coaching: From everything I've read and gathered, Ted Roof is a very capable and bright coach who is wasting his career in Durham. The embarrassing lack of support from the administration, athletic department and fan base has made the Duke head coaching position the most difficult of all 1-A programs. New OC Peter Vaas from Notre Dame is the fourth OC in five years under Roof, while DC Scott Brown has the position all to himself this year after his co-coordinator of the past three seasons, Jerry Azzinaro, was fired. Still, without a massive influx of committment from the Blue Devil administration, Duke is likely to never have a winning season anytime soon in today's college football environment, no matter who patrols the sidelines.

For What It's Worth: That new OC, Peter Vaas, was quarterbacks coach at Notre Dame the last two seasons and was a big reason for the resurrection of Brady Quinn's career; the Blue Devils meet the Irish on Nov. 17....Duke's average home attendance in 2006 (19,850) was by far the lowest of any BCS-conference program; second-lowest was the Big 10's Northwestern, who averaged 28,000....the Devils have just one win over a 1-A program in the last three years (16-13 over Clemson in '05, in one of those Tommy Bowden WTF? Specials)....the Devils have scared the bejesus out of two SEC powers in recent years; Tennessee led just 10-6 late in the 3rd quarter in an '03 matchup, while the Dukies led Alabama 14-10 in the 3rd quarter in Tuscaloosa last year before blowing it

Schedule Analysis: This is not a great schedule in which to change the perpetual downward trajectory of the program. After opening at home with Connecticut (likely their best shot at a win) the next four are on the road (Virginia, Northwestern, Navy, Miami). Further, the Devils get arguably the three-toughest teams from the Atlantic Divison (FSU, Clemson, Wake) in this year's rotation. At least no mediocre 1-AA teams will be able to embarrass the Dukies this year.
Projected Wins- none
Projected Losses- @Virginia, @Navy, @Miami, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, @Florida State, Clemson, Georgia Tech, @Notre Dame, @North Carolina
Toss-Ups- Connecticut, @Northwestern

For More Opinionated, Yet Delightful, Blue Devil Insight: If anyone's aware of a Duke blog that at least somewhat discusses football, clue me in

Blast-From-The-Past, Feel-Good YouTube:

Woo-Hoo! We won! Let's celebrate by sleeping in a tent for hoops tickets!

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