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09 Sep 2012

ACC Football Week 2 Recap

Well, with Week 2 in the books, here is how it all went down in ACC-land:

GOOD NEWS:

The ACC elite beat up on lesser opponents handily.  There were no Arkansas-like upsets.  Florida State defeated Savannah State before the mercy rule kicked in, 55-0.  Georgia Tech destroyed Presbyterian, 59-3.  Virginia Tech took care of Austin Peay, 42-7.  Does the Confidential even need links to these games?  Just go here.

Don’t look past the fact that Boston College won convincingly, defeating Maine 34-3.  Maine usually gives FBS schools fits, as further confirmed by leading after the first quarter 3-0.  But BC did what it needed to do.

Clemson looked the part in defeating a decent Ball State squad, 52-27.  So now Clemson sits at 2-0.  Oh and they get Sammy Watkins back next week too.

ACC>Big East.  Nobody is claiming that UConn/Temple are LSU/Alabama, but two underwhelming ACC schools with a host of their own problems rolled into the home stadiums of two 1-0 Big East schools and pulled out victories.  North Carolina State rebounded nicely from its Tennessee loss by defeating a UConn team that has an outstanding defense, 10-7.  And how about Maryland getting to 2-0 by defeating Temple 36-27.  After last week’s offensive debacle against William & Mary, putting up 36 points on Temple is not too shabby.

Tough call here, but let’s put the Syracuse loss to USC in the “good news” department.  Losing 42-29 to a team with more offensive talent than several NFL rosters is nothing to be ashamed about.  In fact, despite being 0-2, Syracuse seems to be ready to return to college football relevance.  They MUST win the next two games though.

THE OK NEWS:

Virginia beat Penn State 17-16, which is a heck of lot better than losing to the undermanned Nittany Lions.  But this is not your grandfather’s Penn State team.  Frankly, this is not even your 2011 Miss America’s Penn State team.  And it’s hard to get too excited about a win over a team that misses an extra point and four field goals, including a 42-yarder.  With Penn State’s best players scattered throughout the country, Virginia did not look too good.

While the Confidential is proud to have picked Wake Forest to beat North Carolina, this still means that North Carolina lost.  Wake Forest showed little in their 28-27 victory to suggest that they can repeat last year’s upset of Florida State next week.  Still, 2-0 is better than the alternatives.

THE BAD NEWS:

The ACC had two games where it traveled to ranked, out-of-conference opponents.  The results were tough to swallow.  Miami completely imploded against Kansas State in the Little Apple, losing by an embarrassing score of 52-13.  Nothing good to take from this game.  And Stanford walloped Duke, 50-13.  Nobody expected Duke to win, but there was hope that this would be a competitive game.  Instead, the two ACC games featuring road games against ranked opponents resulted in a combined 104-26 trouncing.

Meanwhile, the ACC can pretend to ignore Pitt this year, but the Panthers are 0-2 and looking fairly inept in the process after losing to Cincinnati on Thursday, 34-10.  If you watched the game, you saw a coaching staff that appears overmatched.  At the very least, all of these coaching changes have Pitt a step behind its opponents.

On to Week #3…

 

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
06 Sep 2012
2 Comments

ACC Football Predictions for Week 2

The Confidential’s football predictions for this week’s games featuring ACC teams.

Last week was a bit tough… only 8-4.  And with all the ACC-FCS games, that’s not even good.  Although the Confidential did predict the Pitt game to be a two touchdown affair.  On to week 2:

September 6, 2012

Pitt (0-1) @ Cincinnati (0-0), 8:00 p.m.   This is an absolute disaster to predict.  A lot of improvement can happen between Week 1 and Week 2.  Meanwhile, Cincy has to go through its Week 1 jitters.  Can Ohio be responsible for three defeats of Pennsylvania teams (Youngstown St. and Ohio)?  The Confidential says “yes.”  Prediction: Cincinnati: 27, Pitt 17.

September 8, 2012

North Carolina State (0-1) @ UConn (1-0), noon.  Credit NC State for playing a tough couple of opening season games.  But a win would be nice too.  UConn supposedly has an outstanding defense.  Edge to the home team.  Prediction: UConn 17, NC State 13.

Maryland (1-0) @ Temple (1-0), noon.  Sheesh… there is an article about Temple not “looking ahead” to its game against Penn State.  Wow, how far has Maryland fallen?  Not that Penn State has not fallen even farther.  Temple’s schedule is breaking pretty well.  Prediction: Temple 24, Maryland 10.

Penn State (0-1) @ Virginia (1-0), noon.  Penn State has fallen, but Virginia is a program on the rise.  Perhaps the Nittany Lions just need to get out on the road?  Nah.  Prediction: Virginia 28, Penn State 13.

Miami (1-0) @ # 21 Kansas State (1-0), noon.  Is Miami back?  This game will tell the world quite a bit.  The Confidential believes that Miami is the better team and will pull it out.  Prediction: Miami 30, Kansas State 27.

Ball State (1-0) @ #12 Clemson (1-0), 12:30 p.m.  Clemson looked very good against Auburn.  Ball State is a good team, but not as good as Auburn.  Clemson wins its home opener.  Prediction: Clemson 41, Ball State 28.

Maine (0-0) @ Boston College (1-0), 1:00 p.m.  Boston College better be very careful, as Maine always plays well on the FBS stage.  An upset here should shock nobody.  Prediction: Boston College 27, Maine 19.

Austin Peay (0-1) @ #15 Virginia Tech (1-0), 1:30 p.m.  Virginia Tech has been upset early before.  Still, it’s not happening this week.  Prediction: Va Tech 44, Austin Peay 10.

North Carolina (1-0) @ Wake Forest (1-0), 3:00 p.m.  The only ACC game of the week features two in-state rivals.  North Carolina looked great in destroying Elon, Wake Forest looked poor in barely beating Liberty.  Naturally, this means that North Carolina must win, right?  Wrong.  Prediction: Wake Forest 28, North Carolina 20.

Syracuse (0-1) @ #2 U.S.C. (1-0), 3:30 p.m.  Coming off a win over Hawaii, and with Syracuse already saddled with a loss, it’s easy to predict a USC win.  Still… this is one game that has some upset potential.  It really does.  No balls to predict it… but do not discount an upset.  Prediction: USC 37, Syracuse 23.

Savannah State (0-1) @ #6 Florida State (1-0), 6:00 p.m.  You probably read that Savannah State struggled a bit against Oklahoma State, losing 84-0.  It will be better this week, but not by much.  Prediction: Florida State 59, Savannah State: 7.

Presbyterian (1-0) @ Georgia Tech (0-1), 7:00 p.m.  Well, only one of these two teams has a win.  Neither of these teams will have two wins next week.  Prediction: Georgia Tech 31, Presbyterian 10.

Duke (1-0) @ #25 Stanford (1-0), 10:30 p.m.  Duke looked OK in its opener, while Stanford survived Game 1 of the post-Andrew Luck era.  Duke will not handle the road trip well.  Prediction: Stanford 38, Duke 23.

The Confidential apologizes in advance for not picking your team.  There is also a lot of chalk here.  However, predictions are made to be accurate, not controversial.  Feel free to share why we are wrong. 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Predictions and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
04 Sep 2012
1 Comment

North Carolina Academic Issues: No Punishment Looming For Now

Previously, the Confidential observed that North Carolina’s academic “scandal” seemed highly overblown.  Then, the Confidential had some fun at North Carolina’s expense.  But now it looks like North Carolina has a good chance of being cleared of any wrongdoing.  Indeed, it issued a statement yesterday indicating that the university and the NCAA did not find any violations.  This means no punishment is currently looming for North Carolina.

The key parts of the statement are as follows:

The University first notified the NCAA that it had identified potential academic issues involving student-athletes in African and Afro-American Studies courses on August 24, 2011.  We asked the NCAA to join us in our investigation of these issues, and they agreed to do that. A member of the NCAA enforcement staff traveled to Chapel Hill several times in the fall of 2011 and participated throughout the investigation.

* * *

Based on the joint review, UNC and the NCAA staff concluded there were no violations of current NCAA rules or student-athlete eligibility issues related to courses in African and Afro-American Studies. As a result, the NCAA did not add any allegations or include this issue during the University’s appearance in October 2011 before the Committee on Infractions.

* * *

On Aug. 23, 2012, University Counsel Leslie Strohm and Senior Associate Dean Jonathan Hartlyn provided an update to the enforcement staff.  The NCAA staff reaffirmed to University officials that no NCAA rules appeared to have been broken.

The boldface was added by the Confidential.  The import is that the NCAA will not be punishing North Carolina.

Yet.  Indeed, the statement concludes that North Carolina will keep the NCAA informed as developments warrant.  So, if anything new develops, the Tar Heels may yet run into trouble.

But, for now, Tar Heels fans can rest easily.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Scandal and tagged , ,
04 Sep 2012

ACC Football Rankings: September 4, 2012

This is particularly complex with Pitt and Syracuse not yet in the ACC, but it can still be done.  With only only one week of games played, this is how we rank the ACC football schools as of September 4, 2012:

1.  Clemson (1-0)–Clemson had the toughest opponent of Week 1 (Auburn) and still won.  Not sure that Florida State will wait long to  surge past, but Clemson gets the nod for Week 1.

2. Florida State (1-0)–Hey, a 69-3 drubbing of Murray State could be worse.  See the bottom part of the standings.

3. Virginia Tech (1-0)–An important 20-17 win over Georgia Tech in overtime gets the Hokies off to a good start.

4. Georgia Tech (0-1)–Despite stumbling to Virginia Tech on the road, the Yellow Jackets get the nod over Miami and Virginia due to the opponent.

5. Miami (1-0)–Miami went on the road to B.C. and avenged last year’s loss.  32 points was a lot to give up, but the offense looked good.

6. Virginia (1-0)–Richmond is a tough FCS foe, but Virginia handled them appropriately.  Started strong and ended strong, en route to a 41-16 win.

7. North Carolina (1-0)–Well, that was a great way to start the Fedora era–a 62-0 drubbing of Elon.  Not sure we learned much about UNC though.

8. Syracuse (0-1)–If you watched the game, Syracuse dominated a very good Northwestern team.  Silly special teams mistakes made this game close enough for Northwestern to pull it out.

9. Duke (1-0)–Duke looked pretty good in beating a game Florida International team, 46-26.  This was not a squeaker.

10. North Carolina State (0-1)–No shame in losing to an improving Tennessee at a neutral site.  It would have been a great win to take the next step though.

11.  Wake Forest (1-0)–Looked pretty vulnerable in barely beating Liberty, 20-17.  Unlike Maryland, will give Wake the benefit of the doubt that this was just opening week jitters.

12.  Boston College (0-1)–Unfortunately, B.C.’s opening week draw of Miami was too much.  They kept it close but that’s little consolation.

13. Maryland (1-0)–A 7-6 win over William & Mary is not exactly inspiring.  Especially when that TD comes in the 4th quarter.

14. Pitt (0-1)–You lost to an FCS team, you go to the bottom.  You lose at home, but 10+ points to an FCS team?  Wow.

Do you agree with these rankings?  If not, let us know.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
29 Aug 2012

ACC Football Predictions for Week 1

The Confidential’s football predictions for this week’s games featuring ACC teams:

August 31, 2012

Tennessee vs. NC State (in Atlanta), 7:30 p.m. This is a great opening week game.  A neutral site.  Two teams that may or may not be ready to take the next step.  It’s a classic coin toss.  We’ll go “homer” on this ontoe.  Prediction: North Carolina State 28, Tennessee 20.

September 1, 2012

Northwestern at Syracuse, 12 p.m.  With all the ESPN employees that graduated from these two schools, you have to figure this will be a big gambling week in Bristol.  But this one is even more of a coin toss than Tennessee/NC State.  This Syracuse team could be 3-9 or 9-3.  Homer on the “coin toss’ again.  Prediction: Syracuse 30, Northwestern 20.

Elon at North Carolina, 12:30 p.m.  A new season dawns for the Tar Heels and new coach Larry Fedora.  There is too much talent left over for Elon to remain competitive.  Prediction: North Carolina 45, Elon 10.

William & Mary at Maryland, 3 p.m. Maryland started last year 1-0, before disaster struck.  They cannot start 0-1 this year.  Despite some offensive growing pains in the first half, they will not.  Prediction: Maryland 24,William & Mary 9.

Richmond at Virginia, 3 p.m.  Virginia head coach Mike London knows that Richmond is capable of winning.  So this game will not have any concerns about looking past an FCS foe.  Still, Virginia has too much talent to lose.  Prediction: Virginia 31, Richmond 17.

Miami at Boston College, 3:30 p.m.  Both teams really need to win this opener.  While Boston College closed strong, the Confidential has a lot of faith in Al Golden.  Prediction: Miami 21, Boston College 12.

Murray State at No. 7 Florida State. 6 p.m.  Florida State is going to be great this year.  It has been written everywhere.  This experienced, talented team will destroy Murray State.  Prediction: Florida State 45, Murray State 10.

Youngstown State at Pittsburgh. 6 p.m.  Pitt should have no trouble with Youngstown State.  But that does not mean that they will not, especially with the injuries.  Prediction: Pitt 27, Youngstown State 13.

Liberty at Wake Forest, 6:30 p.m.  Wake Forest had a tough loss in the opener last year, but will avoid that this year against an FCS foe.  Wake has a chance to make some real noise this year too.  Prediction: Wake Forest 31, Liberty 14.

FIU at Duke, 7 p.m.  This is a tough game to call.  Duke should be improved, but FIU is no slouch.  This just seems like an upset waiting to happen.  Prediction: FIU 24, Duke 20.

Auburn vs. No. 14 Clemson (in Atlanta), 7 p.m.  In another Atlanta-based, SEC-ACC battle, Clemson gets a chance to move past the disappointing finish of last year by defeating a sound SEC program.  Even without Sammy Watkins, the Confidential likes Clemson to do that.  Prediction: Clemson 31, Auburn 23.

September 3, 2012

Georgia Tech at No. 16 Virginia Tech, 8 p.m. Virginia Tech is capable of losing to anyone in September.  Georgia Tech is a very tough foe.  But Virginia Tech’s defense will rise to the occasion.  Prediction: Virginia Tech 24, Georgia Tech 20.

The Confidential apologizes in advance for not picking your team.  There is also a lot of chalk here.  However, predictions are made to be accurate, not controversial.  Feel free to share why we are wrong. 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Predictions and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
28 Aug 2012
2 Comments

Realignment News: SEC Looking at Clemson (+ NC State?) & Florida State Willing to Do Anything to Leave ACC

After a quiet several weeks on the conference realignment front, and despite the football season being 2 days away, here come some more rumors.  Specifically, there is scuttlebutt that the SEC will be looking to add Clemson as its 15th team and then invest some time deciding on which team would be the best fit for team #16.  Naturally, with the ever-wandering eye, Florida State is shaving its legs and hiking up its skirt to attract attention from any conference willing to look its way.

First, the SEC motivation appears based on the desire remove the geographical split and create an All-Tigers pod.  Although the conventional wisdom is that Florida State or Virginia Tech would be the logical 16th team due to prowess, the SEC has long coveted entry into the North Carolina market.  So North Carolina State is actually in the lead for the last spot.  Plus, again, it helps make fun pods.  After all, consider these pods, which are so much smoother with North Carolina State:

  • The Tigers pod: LSU, Auburn, Missouri, Clemson
  • The Dogs & Cats pod: Georgia, Mississippi State, Kentucky, North Carolina State
  • The People pod: Texas A&M, Tennessee, Mississippi, Vanderbilt
  • The Potpourri pod: Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, South Carolina

With all the trouble that the SEC has had trying to figure out a balanced schedule with an East-West split without losing so many important traditional rivalries, it looks like the conference is ready to just throw its hands up in the air and use the nicknames to “randomize” the distribution.

Second, Florida State remains eager to find any conference that will take it away from the Inner Circle of Hell Atlantic Coast Conference.  At this point, the Seminoles are willing to do whatever it takes to convince a conference to allow them to spare them the agony of overreacting to things handed down by the conference.  And we mean anything.  These are the only things that can be printed in this blog:

  • Changing its team nickname to the Tigers to try to get in on the Tigers thing that the SEC obviously has going on;
  • Changing its name to East Texas State to get the Longhorns to cease opposing Big XII expansion;
  • Committing major violations to land on probation so that the B1G will feel more comfortable adding them to the mix of its all-sanctioned kings: Nebraska, Penn State, Ohio State, and Michigan; and
  • Stressing to the “soon-t0-be 65% as rich as the ACC, but also 0% ACC (which is all that matters)” Big East that its basketball team having more success than its football team is a trend that will continue.

To its credit, Florida State is not trying to join the Pac-12.  Although the Florida collegiate system deems its Tampa-university to be “South Florida,” apparently there is SOMEONE in the state who pays a little attention to the map.

Never a dull moment when it comes to real or pretend expansion news.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Conference Realignment, Non-Serious, Sarcasm and tagged , , , , ,
27 Aug 2012

The Confidential ACC Football Rankings (Week # 1)

With the football season a mere three days away, the time has come for the Confidential’s First Football Rankings.  As with last year, Syracuse and Pitt will be included in these rankings.  Here they are:

  1. Florida State: It’s put up or shut up time for Florida State.  Well, not really.  After all, the Big XII may be crossing its fingers when it says it is not interested in expansion.
  2. Virginia Tech:  Until someone proves otherwise, you might as well pencil in Virginia Tech every year for the conference championship game.
  3. Clemson: After a long off-season trying to forget about the Orange Bowl, the Tigers get to take it out on an opponent.  Unfortunately, it’s not a cupcake–it’s Auburn.
  4. Virginia:  Virginia hopes to maintain the momentum it regained last year.  Need to care of business against FCS Richmond.
  5. North Carolina State: A win against Tennessee, even if the SEC foe is down, would be a great start.  The ACC needs wins like this.
  6. Georgia Tech: It’s hard to predict a win over Virginia Tech in the opener, but Virginia Tech can be vulnerable early in the season.  Ask James Madison. Well, not the former President.
  7. North Carolina: Elon?  Ugh.  Enjoy that game.
  8. Pittsburgh: Because of WVU leaving the Big East, Pitt has two games against FCS foes.  First up… Youngstown State.
  9. Wake Forest: After the disappointing opener loss at Syracuse last year, Wake gets an easier foe in Liberty.  Should start 1-0 obviously.
  10. Miami: Boston College is a tough opener.  At least Miami will not have to deal with all the suspensions like last year.
  11. Syracuse: With Syracuse’s schedule, they pretty much NEED to win against a good Northwestern team.  We’ll see.
  12. Boston College: BC went 0-6 against FBS foes to start last year.  A win over Miami would be a great way to start this year out.
  13. Duke: Florida International may not be a strong team, but Duke has no business looking past anyone.
  14. Maryland: If Maryland is going to turn it around, they absolutely cannot lose to William & Mary.  Last year they opened with a win and the season imploded.

This will get all mixed up soon enough.  Let the games begin….

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
25 Aug 2012

Week 1 Preview: Do Maryland, Syracuse, Duke, BC, and Wake Forest Have Legit Bowl Chances?

I hope you had your fill of summer because it is about to come to an abrupt stop.  Sure, there is plenty of nice weather in September.  But it is also the time of year that your football team–even the Washington States and Dukes and Mississippis–are still alive for a bowl game.  After all, it takes six losses before a team is ineligible for bowl and even that is perhaps going to be loosened up.  So nobody gets eliminated in September.  So… with Week 1 of College Football JUST around the corner, here is a look at what the bottom 5 teams (excluding teams that are automatically ineligible–North Carolina and likely Miami) in the ACC have to do to become bowl eligible this year.

The Confidential does not care what any outsider thinks, the ACC is going to be fairly strong this year.  The weakest teams in the conference–as per the Confidential’s pre-preseason rankings–all have a conceivable shot of making a bowl game this year.  Consider:

  • MARYLAND.  Maryland was abysmal last year.  The new coach, Randy Edsall, decided to ignore what has failed for many new coaches by running players out of the program and blowing things up completely.  As we saw with RichRod in Michigan, one has to be very careful when dismantling and rebuilding.  Edsall permanently lost some of the fan base last year.  Winning 10 games over 3 seasons will mean no 4th season.  The good news is that Maryland has a tough OOC schedule, but one that was perfectly designed, in the Confidential’s opinion.  Maryland opens with FCS William and Mary.  They then move up to play Temple, before moving up one more step to UConn.  Those are three winnable games.  West Virginia is probably a loss most seasons and should be this year.  Wake Forest is at home–winnable #4.  Boston College is away, but that has to be a winnable game for #5.  Now all Maryland needs is to steal a game from the group of North Carolina, North Carolina State, and the even tougher portion of the slate.  With 5 “winnable games,” a 6-win season is not at all impossible.  Likely?  Nah.  But possible.
  • DUKE.  Unlike Maryland, Duke slated its toughest OOC game for Week #2, with Stanford.  But this is a post-Luck, post-Harbaugh Stanford team.  Still, that has to be considered a loss.  Nevertheless, with Memphis, North Carolina Central, and Florida International filling up the OOC slate, a 3-1 OOC record is very reasonable.  Finding the next three wins for Duke is a challenge though.  The best chances are Wake Forest (even if on the road) and the sanctions-laden North Carolina and Miami games.  Both of those games are at home.  It’s possible.
  • BOSTON COLLEGE.  Boston College will be better than last year, but will it translate into victories?  BC opens with Miami at home.  Who knows the mindset of Miami.  But it’s a possible win.  Maine is next, which should be a win.  Northwestern on the road will be tough, especially if Northwestern loses its season opener to Syracuse and is desperate.  Still, Northwestern’s small stadium is not imposing.  It’s winnable.  The Game 5 road game against Army is a winnable game, obviously.  Maryland visits in October, which is yet another winnable game.  Finding the next two is a bit tougher.  Wake Forest is a road game, but still a possibility.  That still leaves a home game against Notre Dame and a road game against North Carolina State.  Bowl eligibility is within reach if Boston College can not only meet its potential, but exceed it.
  • SYRACUSE.  Poor Syracuse.  They have a 5th-year Senior quarterback, but inexperience at running back and the continued trend of underwhelming wide receivers.  The defense will have one more year of experience, but lost two guys to the NFL.  But what really makes this a tough season is the daunting OOC schedule.  As previously noted, Syracuse is doing all but scheduling NFL teams this year, with USC, Missouri, and Northwestern on the slate.  Minnesota is a battle tested BCS program, while even FCS foe Stony Brook is primed to repeat its college baseball run.  In order to go to a bowl, Syracuse HAS to beat Northwestern, Minnesota, and Stony Brook.  Even then, Syracuse has struggled so much in  conference games since firing Paul Pasqualoni, it is hard to envision going 3-4 in conference.  But if they do, the wins will likely come on the road against Rutgers, at home against UConn, and on the road at Temple.  About the only good thing is that Syracuse has been 5-2 each of the past two seasons, before imploding due to lack of depth.  If Syracuse can somehow get to 5-2 this year, all they will have to do is beat Temple.  We’ll see.
  • WAKE FOREST.  Notably, all of the current ACC teams above are looking at Wake Forest as a necessary win to get to bowl eligibility.  So that’s three winnable games for Wake Forest right there–with only Maryland being a road game.  Wake Forest also has winnable games against Army and Liberty.  And given that Wake Forest has Florida State’s number lately…. well, let’s not go there.  Let’s get win #6 from the group of North Carolina, Vanderbilt, and North Carolina State.  Actually, Wake Forest could end up winning 7-8 games the way the schedule breaks down.

Of these teams, you can feel strongest penciling in Wake Forest for a bowl.  But this is why the week leading up to Week 1 is great.  The injuries (excluding Maryland) still seem manageable.  Nobody has lost a “winnable game” yet.  Even September will retain some enthusiasm.  And for the 5 teams with the toughest roads to bowl-eligibility, there is a path.  Now they just have to go walk it.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Predictions and tagged , , , , , , ,
22 Aug 2012

Around College Football

With the college football season only 8 days away, the Internet debates and discussions are really starting to heat up.  The Confidential notes that there are some great arguments being tossed around the blogosphere these days.  Please go check out these blogs.

First, Frank the Tank is always sharing something useful.  Today’s blog was about Notre Dame, everyone’s favorite punching bag.  Frank the Tank does a good job providing an objective analysis of Notre Dame and its position in college football.  The Confidential with paraphrase substantially, but the gist is that, even if you hate the Domers, you have to admit that they are doing nothing “wrong.”  They have a contract with NBC and a deal with the BCS that it deserves because that was given to them in arms-length negotiations.  If and when Notre Dame does not deserve these things, they will cease getting them.  So the haters should just go back to rooting for Notre Dame to lose and stop being bothered about Notre Dame’s perks.  The Confidential agrees (and not just because it wants to brown nose Notre Dame until it joins the ACC).

Second, ACC Football Rx has its preseason projections out.  At first, I thought there were a lot of ties for a sport that has an overtime.  But then I realized the formula being used.  Anyway, the website is projecting Florida State and Virginia Tech, which is incredibly hard NOT to do with most ACC seasons.  Anyway, check out the team-by-team analysis too.

Third, poor Maryland is trying to figure out how its angered the football gods, which is obvious given the # of injuries that have befallen the team.  The Friedgen Curse obviously.  As the Confidential commented over there, the football Gods LOVE mediocre coaches.  That is a blog discussion unto itself.

Finally, this an oldie, but a goodie.   A Northwestern blog, Sipping on Purple, had a great analysis of private schools and their football success.  It certainly demonstrates how Northwestern’s performance has been respectable on the field.  And off, unlike superior performing Miami and USC.  The blog does point out that Boston College has had a pretty nice performance run.  Of course, B.C. then went out and stunk up the joint last year.  So, so much for that.  But, with all the private schools in the ACC, this is a good read.

Enjoy!

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Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football and tagged , , ,
22 Aug 2012

2012 ACC Football: The Quarterback Situations

The Confidential just wanted to provide a brief rundown of the quarterback situations for each of the 14 ACC schools.

RELYING ON SENIORS.  It is a great situation to be in for any college team in any sport–relying on Seniors.  Given the amount of maturity that can take place, both on and off the field, between the ages of 18 and 22, it is obvious that most teams will consider themselves lucky to have a Senior quarterback running the show.  And there are a LOT of Senior quarterbacks in the ACC this year.

Virginia Tech’s Logan Thomas

Florida State’s EJ Manuel

North Carolina State’s Mike Glennon

Georgia Tech’s Tevin Washington

Syracuse’s Ryan Nassib

Duke’s Sean Renfree

Pitt’s Tino Sunseri

That’s fully half of the ACC teams relying on senior quarterbacks.  Not surprisingly, there are some big expectations for these teams.

RELYING ON JUNIORS.  The ACC has some very talented Junior quarterbacks as well.  Perhaps the best quarterback in the league is a Junior–Clemson’s Tajh Boyd.

Clemson’s Tajh Boyd

Wake Forest’s Tanner Price

Virginia’s Mike Rocco

Boston College’s Chase Rettig

North Carolina’s Bryn Renner

Miami’s Steven Morris

RELYING ON PRAYERS.   Only one school is in deep trouble at quarterback-Maryland.  In fairness, the primary trouble is that the training camp injury to CJ Brown.

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football

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