The Battle for the commonwealth cup and much more

This weekend when Virginia and Virginia Tech clash in Charlottesville a lot more than state bragging rights will be on the line. The winner of this game between these two instate rivals will earn a shot at Boston College in the ACC title game in Jacksonville. These two teams prepare for each individual game each week, but in reality, they are always preparing for this game. Virginia Tech leads the all time series between the two schools 46-37-5. The Hokies have also won the last three meetings by a combined score of 93-24. Virginia is the only team in the ACC to boast a perfect 5-0 record at home thus far this season. But the Hokies have an outstanding road record over the past four seasons, only losing one game. This is only the eight time in the history of this great rivalry that both teams come in nationally ranked. Virginia Tech sits at number 8 in the BCS poll while Virginia is number 16.

Tech is coming off a 44-14 thrashing of Miami last Saturday, while UVA enjoyed a much deserved bye week. Virginia Tech has the longest current winning streak in the ACC at three games. Virginia has won two straight, including a 48-0 thumping of Miami to close out the historic Orange Bowl, two weeks ago.

The last victory for the Cavaliers in this series was four years ago in Tech’s last season in the Big East before joining the ACC. The rivalry intensified when Tech joined the ACC in 2004. Since then, the Hokies have gotten the better of the Cavaliers each year.

And Then There Were Four.

Twelve teams began this season with a similar goal in mind, an ACC Championship. Here we are in mid November, and the two division champions will be decided in the next two weeks. When ACC expansion first got underway, many believed that we would see Florida State vs. Miami showdowns in Jacksonville every year. That has not been the case thus far. Florida State won the title the first year, defeating heavily favored Virginia Tech. Last year, Wake Forest defeated Georgia Tech in an unlikely match up. I still can’t believe that happened by the way. For the second year in a row, a Florida team will not make the trip to Jacksonville. The four teams vying for an ACC title are Boston College, Clemson, Virginia, and Virginia Tech. Lets take a look at each team’s path.

Boston College won their first eight games, earning themselves a number 2 ranking, and a potential shot at the national title. Quarterback Matt Ryan was putting together a Heisman campaign putting up 3269 yards, and 29 touchdowns. All during this impressive run, BC was criticized that they haven’t played any real teams. That all changed on Thursday October 25^th, when they traveled to Lane Stadium to take on Virginia Tech. The Eagles trailed the entire game, until the last two minutes. Thanks to two touchdowns by Matt Ryan, and a great special teams play, BC remained undefeated. Since then, things have not gone as well for the men in maroon and gold. The Eagles have lost two straight and are on the verge of being knocked out the ACC title picture. Boston College travels to Clemson this weekend for a primetime showdown. BC has never lost to Clemson since joining the league, but they will be facing a very motivated Tiger squad.

Once again for the Tigers, it has been a season of ups and downs. But unlike previous years, the ups have far outnumbered the downs. Clemson raced out to a 4-0 start on the season, earning a number 15 ranking in the AP poll. On September 29th, the season took a turn for the worse. The Tigers visited Georgia Tech, and lost 13-3. The dynamic rushing duo of James Davis and C.J Spiller were held to just 69 yards on the ground. The next week, the Tigers welcomed in the Virginia Tech Hokies. Despite a late rally, the Tigers could not overcome the defense and special teams of Virginia Tech. The Hokies scored 3 non offensive touchdowns, handing Clemson their second straight loss. This was familiar territory for Tiger fans, who had watched their team, crumble at some point these last few years. Since then, Clemson is one of the hottest teams in the league, winning 4 straight by a combined score of 191-51. The winner of the Clemson/Boston College game this week, will represent the Atlantic Division in the ACC title game.

For Virginia, from the ashes they rose. That statement pretty much sums up their season. After that pathetic 20 point loss at Wyoming, the Cavaliers have turned around their season in a remarkable way. Virginia has been nothing short of exciting this season, winning 5 of their games by 2 points or less. After that Wyoming debacle, the Hoos won seven straight including 3 on the road, something uncommon of a UVA team of recent memory. Virginia failed to reach a school record 8 straight victories with a heartbreaking loss to NC State on October 27th. Virginia responded with two huge wins, a one point victory over Wake Forest, and a historic win at Miami. Senior defensive end Chris Long has played a huge roll in Virginia's sudden rise this season. Long leads the ACC with 12 sacks, and 17 tackles for a loss. The Cavaliers get a much deserved week off this week, before their huge showdown with Virginia Tech next Saturday.

Virginia Tech much like Clemson, has had a season of ups and downs as well. After an emotional win over East Carolina in their first game since the horrific events of April 16th, the Hokies traveled to second ranked LSU. This one was one to forget if you are a VT fan; LSU bulldozed the Hokies 48-7. LSU’s offense dismantled the well-reputed Virginia Tech defense, amassing 598 total yards. Following the loss, Virginia Tech looked less than impressive in their next three wins against Ohio, William and Marry, and North Carolina. The turning point of the season was Virginia Tech’s 41-23 win at number 22 Clemson. Virginia Tech won this game with defense and special teams, registering three non offensive touchdowns. Ever since then, other than the last two minutes of the Boston College game, tech fans have nothing really to complain about, other than several injuries. This senior class would like to end their careers at Virginia Tech just like they started them, as ACC Champions. The Hokies take on Miami this weekend, before travled 157 miles to Charlottesville to take on arch rival Virginia, in a battle for the coastal division title.

ACC Football Weekend Wrap Up

November is here, and guess what folks; the conference race is still wide open. Boston College was the clear cut favorite to represent the ACC in a BCS bowl game, and maybe even the national title game, but thanks to Florida State, they might not even win the division. Eleven out of twelve teams are in contention for post season appearances. Boston College, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Clemson have already assured themselves of a bowl bid. Wake Forest and Florida State are bowl eligible, and Miami, Georgia Tech, Maryland, NC State, and North Carolina are still fighting to make it to a bowl. It was an exciting several days in ACC Football. All twelve teams were in action. The road teams were victorous in 4 out of the 6 games.

Florida State 27- #2 Boston College 17. And you thought this season couldn’t get any crazier. Florida State spoiled BC’s chances of an unbeaten season. Starting in place of the suspended Xavier Lee, Drew Weatherford looked as good as ever, completing 29-of-45 passes for 354 yards and two touchdowns. But it was the Seminole defense that got it done for them on Saturday night. The Noles picked off three Matt Ryan passes, one for a touchdown. With the win, Florida State becomes bowl eligible. It doesn’t get any easier for the men in garnet and gold, The Noles still have to travel to Virginia Tech, and defending National Champion, Florida this month. This is just me talking, but if FSU goes 4-0 in the month of November, I believe that Bobby Bowden should be in the discussion for ACC coach of the year. Boston College joins USC, Cal, and South Florida in the ranks of number 2 seeds losing this year. For the second straight week, the Eagles were down 10-0 before mounting a comeback. This time, it was not meant to be. Matt Ryan led BC on a four-play, 70-yard drive culminating with a Brandon Robinson touchdown to move the Eagles within three. Ryan answered an FSU score with a touchdown of his own, a 6 yard strike to Ryan Purvis to make the score 20-17. Ryan had one more chance to lead the Eagles to victory, before he found Geno Hays for a touchdown. The only problem is, Hays plays for Florida State. BC has only lost two games at home since joining the league, both to Florida State. The Eagles will look to rebound this week, when they travel to Maryland.

North Carolina 16- Maryland 13. The Tar Heels kept their post season hopes alive with a 3 point victory over the Terrapins. Connor Barth kicked three field goals, and Hakeem Nicks hauled in a touchdown pass. UNC snapped a two game losing streak to keep their bowl hopes alive, but they have no margin for error. The Heels sit at 3-6 overall and must win all of their remaining games to become bowl eligible. Maryland however, is in trouble. The Terps fell to UNC despite out gaining the Tar Heels 302 to 259. Maryland is now 4-5 overall and have a losing record for the first time this season. What I find ironic is that last year, the Terps win at Virginia is what turned their season around, but this year, their loss to the Cavaliers lead to their downward spiral. Maryland will hope to turn their season around this week, as they welcome in Boston College on Senior Day.

Virginia 17- #21 Wake Forest 16. Virginia was up to its old tricks again. The Cavaliers bounced back from their first conference loss if the season, and recorded their 5^th win of the year by 2 points or less, with a one point upset of 21^st ranked Wake Forest. Mickell Simpson scored a one yard touchdown for the go ahead score, just like he did two weeks ago at Maryland. Maurice Covington had a good game for the Cavs as well. The junior caught his first career touchdown, and converted a key 4^th down play on Virginia’s final scoring drive. One interesting statistic to point out about Virginia is that they haven’t scored a touchdown in the third quarter since October of last year. This year, their only third quarter points came against Maryland, a Chris Long sack resulted in a safety. UVA sits at 8-2, 5-1 in the ACC. For Wake Forest, much like Virginia last week, they found out that all good things must come to an end. The defending ACC champion’s six game winning streak was ended with Saturday’s loss to Virginia. All American kicker, Sam Swank came into this game 13-14 on field goals this season. The junior missed a first half kick, and then with a chance to win it, Swank missed from 47 yards out. The Deacs will look to bounce back this weekend when they travel to division rival Clemson.

#11 Virginia Tech 27- Georgia Tech 3. The Hokies rebounded from their devastating last minute loss to Boston College with a dominating win at Georgia Tech. Sean Glennon returned under center for the second straight week, and looked like a completely different player. Other than the fact that he was wearing a modified Yellow Jacket jersey, the junior threw for 296 yards and two long touchdowns in his most complete performance of the season. The Tech defense looked stout as usual. The Hokies intercepted four passes, and kept the ball on their side of their field for most of the night. Virginia Tech is one of those rare teams that play better on the road, than they do at home. Since joining the league, the Hokies are 14-1 away from Lane Stadium in ACC contests. Georgia Tech is now mathematically eliminated form a possibility of returning to Jacksonville for the ACC title game. A 28 yard field goal by Jud Dunleavy took an early 3-0 lead for Georgia Tech. But that was just about all that Yellow Jacket fans had to cheer about. Following a Virginia Tech score, the Hokies recovered a surprising onside kick, and from there on out, the night belonged to the men in orange and maroon. The Jackets still need one more win to qualify for a bowl game. The good news for them is two of their remaining 3 games are against Duke and North Carolina.

#25 Clemson 47- Duke 10. The Tigers recorded their seventh win of the season on Saturday, with a 37 point win over Duke. Clemson was paced by 23 point second quarter. The thunder and lightening duo of C.J Spiller and James Davis played a big role in the dominating win. C.J Spiller returned a kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown, and James Davis rumbled down the field, 70 yards for a score. Cullen Harper also set a school record for touchdown passes. With Boston College falling to Florida State, The Tigers now control their own destiny for a division title. Clemson will host the Eagles in two weeks but this week, they will host the defending ACC Champions, Wake Forest. Duke’s amazing conference losing steak continues. The Blue Devils have now lost 23 straight conference games. Their last conference win came at home in 2004 against Clemson. It was a completely different story last Saturday, as Duke was dominated on both sides of the ball. The Devils are now playing for pride as they are eliminated from bowl contention.

NC State 19- Miami 16, OT.

Just when you thought they were down and out, the Wolf Pack is the hottest team in the ACC, winners of their last three games. Pack quarterback Daniel Evans continued his impressive streak, completing 19-of-40 passes for 207 yards and one touchdown. Kicker Steven Hauschka connected from 31, 35, and 47 yards out in the fourth quarter And again in overtime to give to the Wolf Pack the victory. NC State is now 4-5 overall and 2-3 in the ACC. For Miami, I don’t think there’s a word in the English dictionary to describe quarterback Kirby Freeman’s performance. The junior completed 1 of 14 passes for 84 yards and 3 interceptions. Ouch! Kicker Daren Daly missed two field goals, including a 27-yarder on the first possession of overtime. Miami has now lost 3 more games in their 4 years in the ACC than they did in their entire time in the Big East. Prior to last week’s game, the Canes had outscored their opponents 81-0 in the first half of games at the Orange Bowl this season. Speaking of the Orange Bowl, it should be an emotional day this Saturday as the Orange Bowl will close its doors after 71 years, as the home of the Miami Hurricanes. Miami will host Virginia for a 7:15 kickoff on ESPN 2.