As November Approaches, The ACC Race is Still Wide Open.

The month of October will be a tough act to follow for all of college football. We saw upset after upset after upset in one of the wildest seasons in the history of NCAA football. The ACC has had its fair share of drama including an 8-0 team, a team that wins every game in the last minute, and two former national powers struggle to earn a spot in the middle of the pack. In the month of November, teams get sorted out between contenders and pretenders, and bowl teams or non bowl teams. Boston College and Virginia have secured their spot in a bowl game. Virginia Tech, Wake Forest , and Clemson are Bowl eligible. Miami , Florida State, and Georgia Tech are one win away from Bowl eligibility. And Maryland , NC State, and North Carolina still have a shot at making it to the post season. With that in mind, let’s take a look and see how all these teams did this past week.

#2 Boston College 14- #8 Virginia Tech 10. If you ever needed proof that football is a sixty minute game, this game provided it. Virginia Tech dominated the first 57 minutes of the game. Heisman candidate Matt Ryan completed only 25 of 52 passes, but went 9 of 15 on BC’s final two drives. The Eagles were down 10-0 late in the 4^th quarter, before Matt Ryan drove the ball 91 yards down the field. The drive was capped off with a 16 yard strike to Rich Gunnel to cut the Hokie lead to 3. After recovering the ensuing onside kick, Matt Ryan threw his second touchdown pass of the game, this time a 24 yard hook up to Andre Callender with 11 seconds left. What is ironic about this loss for the Hokies is they pride themselves on good special teams play, and failing to recover an onside kick was a major factor. This was arguably the first “real team” that Boston College has beaten all year. The Eagles are starting to gain more and more national attention. The Hokies on the other hand, still control their own destiny for a Coastal Division Championship and a possible rematch with the Eagles in the ACC title game. Tech sits at 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the ACC. VT was without the services of starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor, and was forced to go with back up Sean Glennon who has now lost 3 of his last 4 as a starter. Glennon went 15-for-25, for 149 yards. Brandon Ore rushed for 97 yards, the most rushing yards given up by BC’s defense all year. Virginia Tech has a tough November ahead of them, beginning this Thursday at Georgia Tech.

Clemson 30 Maryland 17. I’ve always been firmly against college players guaranteeing victory, but hey, whatever works. James Davis guaranteed victory early last week and his actions spoke louder than his words. The junior rushed for 129 yards, including 40 on one drive. Clemson quarterback Cullen Harper threw two touchdown passes to tie the single-season school record of 21, set by Charlie Whitehurst in 2003. The Tigers are now 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the ACC. Clemson is 3^rd place in the Atlantic division behind Wake Forest and Boston College, both of whom will travel to Death Valley this month The Maryland Terrapins were in great shape several weeks ago, sitting at 4-2 and coming off two straight big wins. The tide has turned for the worse if you are a fan of the Terps. Maryland has lost two straight home games and is in danger of missing out on the post season for the 3^rd time in 4 years.

NC State 29, #15 Virginia 24. Daniel Evans has looked like a different player these past few weeks. The senior threw for a career-high 347 yards and three touchdowns, two to Donald Bowens to lead the Wolf Pack to a 5 point win, and Tom O’Brien’s first ACC victory at NC State. The Pack converted two early Jameel Sewell interceptions into 10 points to set the tone for the game. With the win, NC State snapped a 9 game ACC losing streak dating back to last season. The Wolf Pack are 3-5 overall and 1-3 in the ACC. They have looked great the last two weeks, but this success is coming a lot later than Wolf Pack fans had hoped for. State must win 3 of their last four games to qualify for a bowl game. For Virginia , all good things must come to an end. The Cavaliers entered this game riding a 7 game winning streak, tied for the longest in school history. Two costly turnovers and bad coverage in the secondary played a large roll in Virginia suffering their first loss since that Wyoming disaster back on September 1^st. The Cavs had become experts at wining close games this year, with 5 of their wins by 5 points or less. Virginia had a 1 point lead in the 4^th quarter but could not hang on for the win. Despite the loss, the Cavilers are still in good shape. They are still atop of the Coastal Division and have two of their last three games at home. Virginia will open the stretch run of their season this Saturday at home against Wake Forest .

Wake Forest 37 North Carolina 10. This year Wake Forest is on mission to prove that last year’s title run was no fluke, and they are still a force to be reckoned with. The Demon Deacons certainly made a statement on Saturday with a dominating win over North Carolina . The Deacs scored on offense, defense, and special teams. Josh Adams rushed for two touchdowns, Aaron Curry returned one of his two interceptions 77 yards for a touchdown. The highlight of the game was when Kevin Marion returned a kickoff 98 yards for a score. Also for Wake, kicker Sam Swank became the school’s all-time leading scorer. The senior connected on two field goals, and three extra points to set the record. After dropping their first two games of the season, Wake Forest has now won six in a row, and is a game behind Boston College in the Atlantic division. For North Carolina , freshmen quarterback, T.J Yates continues to show progress. Yates completed 26 of 33 passes for 236 yards. Once again, despite losing the game, UNC managed to get more yards than their opponents. Carolina out gained Wake 313-269. The Tar Heels are now in a real tight spot. UNC must win out to become bowl eligible.

Florida State 25 Duke 6. After being contained the last few weeks, the Seminole offense exploded racking up a season high 534 yards en route to a victory on blackout night. Junior Drew Weatherford came off the bench to start for the first time in four games. Weatherford went 35 of 47 for 339 yards, despite not having the services of his top target, Greg Carr. Preston Parker scored two timely touchdowns, one through the air and 1 on the ground. The Seminole defense stepped up in a big way as well, holding Duke to 222 yards and 9 first downs. The Noles might be celebrating now, but one look at their November schedule would quickly put out that fire. Their November is somewhat suicidal to say the least. Their month from hell includes trips to undefeated Boston College , 11^th ranked Virginia Tech, and defending national champion, Florida . Duke has now lost their 22^nd straight conference game. Their last ACC win was back on November 13^th 2004 against Clemson. Duke’s lone touchdown of the game came when Thaddeus Lewis connected with Brandon King from three yards out. One bright spot for Duke, is they did force two FSU turnovers. The Blue Devils are now 1-8 and are eliminated from bowl contention.

Another Exciting Weekend in ACC Football

This has been one of the craziest seasons in the history of college football. Nobody is safe, not even at home. Conference titles are wide open all across the country. The ACC is no exception, with the season half over; many teams still have a realistic shot of making it to Jacksonville. This past weekend 9 out of 12 teams were in action. Let’s take a look at what went down.

#4 Boston College 27, Notre Dame 14. Another day, another victory for Boston College. The Eagles are sitting pretty right now, 7-0 overall and 3-0 in the ACC. Heisman candidate, Matt Ryan continued to establish himself as one of the nations elite quarterbacks. The senior threw for 291 yards and 2 touchdowns. Andre Calenderer turned in a solid performance as well. BC might be 7-0 now, but they’re about to run the gauntlet. 3 out of their 5 remaining games are on the road. Road contests include trips to Virginia Tech, Maryland, and Clemson. Yikes! South Florida jumped ahead of Boston College in the rankings this week. The Eagles will have their chance to silence the critics on October 25, when they travel Blacksburg.

Virginia 17 Connecticut 16. For the fourth time this season, the Cavaliers won in thrilling fashion. Chris Gould came through again with a late 4th quarter field goal. Jameel Sewell was inconsistent at times, but in the end he got the job done. Sewell completed 14 of 24 passes for 149 yards, but he also threw 2 costly interceptions. UVA is winning the same way that Wake Forest did last year, close and ugly. But hey, a win is a win. The Cavaliers have been exciting even though some of their fans might go into cardiac arrest if these close games continue. For the first time since 2005, UVA is ranked in a major poll. The Cavaliers are ranked 24^th in the USA Today poll, and 19^th in the all important BCS standings. The Hoos have a huge test this weekend, under the lights at Maryland.

#7 South Carolina 21 North Carolina 16. Despite out gaining the Gamecocks 398 to 285, UNC suffered their 4^th close loss of the season. The Gamecocks raced out to a 21-3 half time lead, and withstood a late Tar Heel rally. Hakeem Nicks had 8 receptions for 144 yards against the nations best pass defense. North Carolina (2-5) is still in the bowl picture, but the margin for error is very slim. UNC has 5 games remaining on their schedule, and I see 4 of them as potential wins. The Tar Heels look to avenge last year’s nail biting loss to Wake Forest, this Saturday in Winston Salem.

Virginia Tech 43 Duke 14. The Status quo. For the first time in awhile, Virginia Tech looked like Virginia Tech, and Duke looked like Duke. The Hokies out gained Duke 445 to 195 en route to an easy win. Back up quarterback, Sean Glennon took the place of injured starter Tyrod Taylor early in the 1^st half. Glennon threw for 248 yards, and two touchdowns. With the win, the Hokies are eligible to compete in a bowl game for the 15^th straight season. I know this was against Duke, but Hokie fans must have been thrilled to witness their team turn in an impressive offensive performance for the first time this season. Duke on the other hand, is not in a very good position. The Blue Devils showed tremendous heart in their previous games; not backing down from anybody. But they are going to have to pick it up, and fast! The Devils are 1-6 and must win every remaining game to become bowl eligible.

Wake Forest 24 Florida State 21. Florida State came into this Thursday night’s contest looking to avenge last years 30-0 embarrassing loss at home to Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons had other plans. In front of a rocking Grove Stadium crowd, quarterback, Reily Skinner, threw for 215 yards and two touchdowns. Red shirt freshmen, Josh Adams, had a solid a game on the ground as well, racking up 140 yards and two touchdowns. But it was the Wake Forest defense that lead them to victory on that night. The Demon Deacons forced five second-half punts, and intercepted two passes. After dropping their first two contests, Wake has won their last four games and look to be on the right track towards returning to a bowl game. Florida State did not get very long to enjoy their #21 ranking in the AP poll. After the loss to Wake Forest, the Noles are now unranked in every major poll. This was a critical Atlantic Division game, and a chance for Florida State to gain some ground on division leading Boston College. Quarterback, Xaiver Lee, finished 24-of-45 for 283 yards and two touchdowns in the losing effort. FSU sits at 4-2 overall, but the rest of their schedule is down right brutal. Their final six games include road trips to Virginia Tech, Boston College, and Florida.

Georgia Tech 17 Miami 14. Georgia Tech may be the most inconsistent team in all of college football. After dropping three out of their last four ACC contests, the Jackets stormed back with a huge conference road win. GT is only the 4^th team since 1978 to beat Miami three straight times. Tashard Choice rushed for a career high 204 yards, and quarterback Taylor Bennit rushed for two touchdowns in the Yellow Jacket Victory. Much like last year, Georgia Tech has stacked several of their weaker opponents toward the end of the season. 3 out their next 5 games are against teams with losing records. Sandwiched between these winnable games are contests with Virginia Tech and Georgia. What is the deal with Miami? The Canes have already lost more games in their 4 seasons in the ACC, than they have in all of their years in the Big East. They had that one impressive win against Texas A&M, but other than that, these guys have given me no reason to believe that they are legitimate. Their other four wins come against 3 teams with a combined 1 win. They got blown to pieces by Okalahoma, and have lost their last two ACC games. The Hurricane defense is also not what used to be. The Canes gave up 244 yards in the second half alone, and were kept on the field for the majority of the game. The Canes return to action this weekend at Florida State, in a rivalry game that used to have a lot more on the line.

ACC Scores Big in a Stellar Weekend.

September is now over, and conference play is well underway. The race for Jacksonville is completely up in the air right now. You heard it from me first, I’m calling an NC State vs. Duke title. I’m kidding, but seriously its going to be anybody’s race. Eleven out of twelve teams were in action. Virginia Tech, Duke, and Miami opened up conference play, while Virginia, Florida State and Maryland picked up big out of conference victories. Let’s take a look back at the games.

Boston College 24 Army 14. The Eagles have jumped out to a 5-0 start on the season, their best in 50 years. BC also cracked the AP top ten this week at number 7. BC raced out to a 17-0 lead and just coasted from there. Despite the win, Matt Ryan turned in his worst performance of the season. Ryan completed 24 of 42 passes for 204 yards and 1 touchdown. That’s a pretty solid game for an average qb, but its nothing like the numbers that Ryan put up in their previous 4 games. The Eagles play two more out of conference cup cakes before their big showdown with Virginia Tech on Thursday October 25^th.

Maryland 34, (#10) Rutgers 24. The Terps do this to me every year, just when I think they’re down and out, they storm back in a big way. Maryland came into this game, losers of their last 2, including a 31-24 heartbreaking overtime loss to Wake Forest. The Terps fell behind 17-14 at the half, before back up quarterback Chris Turner (Who happens to look a lot like Napoleon Dynamite) led Maryland to 20 second half points en route to a victory in front of the second largest crowd in Rutgers history. This was Maryland’s first win over a top ten team since beating Florida State in 2004. Lance Ball also turned in a solid performance rushing 12 times for 90 yards and two touchdowns. Maryland welcomes in Georgia Tech this week in their home ACC opener.

Virginia 44 Pittsburgh 14. The Cavaliers turned in their most impressive performance of the season which led to a 44 to 14 thrashing of Pitt. The win gave UVA their 4^th straight victory and they continue to look more impressive each week. The first quarter belonged to quarterback Jameel Sewell. Sewell completed all 7 passes and scored 3 touchdowns through the air. Cedric Peerman continued to establish himself as one of the conference’s elite backs. The junior rushed for 87 yards and two touchdowns. The month of October will really show what the Cavaliers are made of. Three of their four games are on the road, including contests at Maryland and NC State. UVA is in good shape right now sitting at 3-0 in the ACC. But there are still 7 more games left on the schedule. For Virginia to make a believer out of me, they need to win on the road somewhere besides the state of North Carolina. They’ll get their chance this week against Middle Tennessee State.

Virginia Tech 17 North Carolina 10. It was business as usual for the Hokies, the defense looked dominant only allowing 1 touchdown and forcing 2 turnovers. The offense on the other hand, looked sub par throughout the game. Virginia Tech was out gained by the Tar Heels 306 to 241. Tyrod Taylor was almost impossible to bring down at times. This kid is going to be a star one day. His numbers through the air weren’t that great but he can make plays with his feet. Brandon Ore also showed flashes of his old self rushing 19 times for 93 yards, and 1 touchdown. This week is a chance for Tech to show how far they’ve come since the LSU game. The Hokies travel to Clemson to take on the Tigers in a 6:00 showdown. The Tar Heels on the other hand suffer their 3^rd close loss of the season. Despite their 1-4 record, Butch Davis has this program heading in the right direction. Hakeem Nicks is one of the best offensive playmakers in the ACC. The junior hauled in 8 catches for 94 yards, and converted several key third downs for UNC. If Carolina wants to salvage their season, October is their chance to do it. The Heels are at home 3 out of 4 weeks, beginning this Saturday against Miami.

Miami 24 Duke 14. For the second year in a row, Miami narrowly escaped the Blue Devils in a close game. Kyle Wright returned from an injury to lead the Canes with 230 yards through the air, and two touchdowns. The win marks Miami’s first ACC opening win in three years. The Canes travel to Keenan Stadium this weekend to take on North Carolina. Three years ago, the Tar Heels handed Miami their first ever ACC loss in Chapel Hill. This maybe the scrappiest Duke team that I have seen in years. These guys don’t back down from anybody. The Blue Devils put up 302 total yards against one of the ACC’s best defenses. Duke is a much improved team from a year ago, the rest of the conference in far ahead of them. I wonder how they would do in a conference like the Sun Belt. The Blue Devils host Wake Forest on Saturday in one of their best chances to pull off an upset.

Louisville 29 NC State 10. What is the deal with the NC State Wolf pack? These guys couldn’t spell football if you gave them the first 6 letters! Seriously 5 turnovers and only scoring 1 touchdown against a struggling defense? This is NCSU’s 11^th straight loss against a Division 1A team. I know some of their struggles are due to injuries, but these guys need to get it together and fast. The Pack stand at 1-4, three of those losses coming at home. NC State returns to action on Saturday at Florida State. The Wolf Pack have been a thorn in FSU’s side for quite some time. If they want to turn their season around, a win at Florida State would go a long way towards doing so.

Georgia Tech 13 Clemson 3. Georgia Tech avenged last years humiliating 31-7 loss to Clemson by upsetting the 13^th ranked Tigers. The Jackets bounced back from 2 straight defeats to hand Clemson their first loss of the season. For the first time in 3 weeks, John Tenuta’s defense looked like John Tenuta’s defense. After giving up 20 plus points two straight weeks, the Ramblin Wreck shut down one of the ACC’s most high-powered offenses and held them to only 3 points. No longer bothered by injury, Tashard Choice got back on track. Choice amassed 145 yards rushing and 1 touchdown. For Clemson, their special teams were about as bad as it can get. The Tigers missed four field goals and had a punt blocked. Clemson put up a combined 153 points in their previous games, the most in the ACC. The dynamic Tiger rushing attack was held to just 69 yards. Quarterback Cullen Harper had looked solid all year. Yesterday the junior was just 17-39 and threw his first interception of the season. Clemson entertains 15^th ranked Virginia Tech in a key ACC battle this Saturday at 6:00.

Florida State 21,(#22) Alabama 14. It took awhile for this one to get going, but it was a battle. The Seminole defense looked like the Seminole defense of old, holding the Tide to just 78 total yards. The real story of the game was FSU back up quarterback Xavier Lee coming in and making the save. Lee came off the bench to throw 2 touchdowns and provide the much needed offensive spark for the Noles. Florida State’s Schedule this year is ambitious to say the least, with 7 out of 12 games away from Tallahassee. The Seminoles have answered the call thus far winning 3 of 4, two of which being away from home. FSU will host the pesky NC State Wolf Pack, who have had the Nole’s number the past few years.