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.