It feels good to win. And why wouldn’t it? It’s exciting. It’s exhilarating. It’s motivating. But sometimes winning just doesn’t seem possible. Kansas football. Clemson basketball in the Dean Dome. The Big Ten in population growth. Hopeless causes. Or are they? Maybe they’re just a few moves away. I think the NCAA is too.
So, Georgia Tech goes 3-0 (2-0 ACC) after their 28-20 home win over UNC. But all anyone wants to talk about is Clemson or Florida State, with a reluctant side order of Miami. How can the Jackets earn some respect?
What are the odds of an ACC team winning the BCS national championship this year? How has the odds changed since the preseason? The Vegas odds makers are still favoring an Alabama and Oregon final with Ohio State in third but what do they have to say about the ACC?
Coming into the season Louisville actually had the best odds of any ACC team at 16-1 which had them tied at 4th nationally. Although they have moved up in the polls from 9th to 6th their odds have dropped to 25-1 which puts them tied for 11th nationally and 4th in the ACC.
Clemson began the season with 20-1 odds for 9th nationally. Their odds have improved to 15-1 which keeps them 9th nationally and 2nd in the ACC.
Florida State shared the same preseason odds with Clemson but have improved their odds to 12-1. They now share the same odds with Stanford and LSU who are tied at 4th nationally.
Notre Dame has fallen from 50-1 to 250-1 after their loss. Miami has gone the other way, improving their odds from 33-1 to 18-1. They began 14th nationally but now find themselves in the top 10 and third best in the ACC.
By the current odds the ACC and the Pac each have three teams in the top ten nationally. The SEC and the B1G each have two with the Big 12 trailing with just one. True we are only three weeks into the season but the odds show that the ACC is holding their own against the other power conferences. The big boys in the ACC have come to play this year and has the ACC among the top three conferences.
Here are the top ten odds according to Vegas Insider for this week.
1 Alabama 2-1
2 Oregon 9-2
3 Ohio Sate 11-2
4 Stanford 12-1
4 Florida St 12-1
4 LSU 12-1
7 Michigan 15-1
7 Oklahoma St 15-1
7 Clemson 15-1
10 Miami 18-1
Other ACC notabes;
Louisville 25-1 (tied at 11th nationally.)
Notre Dame 250-1
Georgia Tech 300-1
Virginia Tech 1000-1
North Carolina 5000-1
This isn’t intended for gambling purposes but to measure the ACC chances of winning a national championship compared to the rest of the country.
The Louisville Cardinals came away with an unimpressive 27-13 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats in their anual rivalry game for the Governors Cup trophy. This extends their win streak to 3 games over the Cats. Read more…
The ACC is home to several marquee rivalries, both in and out of conference. N Carolina & Duke, Fla State & Florida, Clemson & S Carolina and now Louisville & Kentucky. This Saturday the Battle for the Governors Cup resumes in Lexington, Ky. The Cards are currently a 14.5 point favorite but the underdogs have faired well recently.
This is a big game for U of L as they need to finish 12-0 to have a chance at a national championship. The final score will be used for or against them as it will be compared to UK future SEC opponents final margin.
It is a big game for UK as new head coach Mark Stoops looks to make an impact and to erase their humilating season opening loss to Western Ky. UK has historically struggled against SEC competition so it is dire that they win their OOC games. Should they pull off the upset I could see their AD waiving a lifetime contract at Stoops during his post game interview.
The Cards will look to continue Teddy Bridgewaters Heisman campaign and to look for one of their three runningbacks to step forward and finally take control of the #1 spot. Max Smith will make his second start and look to deliver the “air raid” offense their fans were promised in the preseason.
U of L and UK first met 1912 in football and 1913 in basketball. UK leads the overall football series 14-11 after winning the first seven meetings (1912-15, 22, 24 and 1994). After UK dominated the first six games, holding U of L scoreless, they stopped playing. In 1994, after 70 years, they began the modern era of the series with U of L holding an 11-8 advantage. The Cards has won the last two meetings, includung 32-14 last year.
Louisvilles move to the ACC has already effected this rivalry. It was recently announced that starting next season this game will be moved to the last game of the year as part of the ACC/SEC challenge. Tradionally this has been the opening game of the year to help build the local hype during the offseason which has helped to improve the quality of football in the state. UK later moved it to the third game when in Lexington. I loved this as the opening game but this should help preserve the game when/if the SEC goes to nine games.
Finally my game prediction. Stoops has the Cats on the right path as reflected by his recruiting but he will need a couple of more years. Teddy and the AFROS should easily be able to pick apart the Cats thin secondary. The Cards has the advantage at nearly every position. If the Cards can jump out to an early lead and silence the Commonwealth Stadium crowd it will be a blow out, if not the Cards still win. The Cards win 38-14.
Pack fans! It’s football season again! Time to shake off the rust and run over the naysayers!!
But what are your impressions of this team so far? Really hard to tell after only two games, so here are two viewpoints…
The Glass is Half Empty:
The team did win their opener vs Louisiana Tech 40-14 but in the process lost starting QB Brandon Mitchell to a foot injury which will keep him out 4-6 weeks. They followed this up with a nail-biter vs Richmond of the FCS 23-21, scraping by on a field goal by Niklas Sade within the final minute after trailing by 11 points at the half.
In relief of Mitchell, Pete Thomas achieved a QB rating of 128.7 on zero TDs and two picks. Against an FCS defense. Woe is the Pack!!
The Glass is Half Full:
Hey, Louisiana Tech is not just any old team. They posted a 9-3 record in the WAC last year and defeated both Illinois and Virginia in the process. Sure, the Richmond game was closer than expected, but they are probably looking ahead a little as they will begin conference play following a bye next week. This will be a Thursday night game against a conference – make that a national – powerhouse. More on that at the end of the post.
So What Should We Take Away?:
Let’s face it. The Wolfpack isn’t set up for a BCS bowl run. But a decent bowl invite should be in the cards. That’s not bad for a first-year coach teaching a whole new system with recruits that aren’t, for the most part, his own.
Next year, with Jacoby Brissett eligible to play QB and more of Dave Doeren’s guys coming in, should be even better.
But that brings us to the other point of view, the one I didn’t want to mention but can’t leave out…
Who Broke That Glass???:
Remember that marquee game? The one on Thursday night, Sept. 19?
Run!! Clemson is coming!!
Seriously, have you seen those guys? As much as we would all like to think another Pack upset is brewing, there is very little chance the Pack will be Textile Bowl champs this season.
By now, we all know about ESPN’s hype machine. For the last few years, “no one” has been as good as the Big Ten in basketball (despite zero national championships in over 10 years). “No one” has been worse than Tim Tebow (despite him having a better playoff record than many current starters). It is what it is. As fans, we’re used to it. But last night, ESPN’s “excuse machine” was in full motion. I’ve never heard them try so hard.
I can hear the comments now from the four letter network’s talking heads: “The ACC loses more BCS conference match ups….” The presumption is that the ACC is a weak football conference if they lose lopsided match ups like unranked Virginia Tech vs. #1 Alabama. I’m not convinced. Conferences should not be judged by the performance of middle or bottom tier teams. Would an Illinois victory over Kentucky indicate that the Big 10 is a better conference than the SEC? No way.
The biggest game this weekend for the ACC is Clemson vs. Georgia. As a matter of fact, it is the only game that really matters on the national front.
A Clemson victory would likely catapult them into the Top 5, put them in the national title conversation, and set up a nationally relevant game against Florida State on October 18th. Florida State, the other ranked ACC team, has it’s own responsibility for carrying the ACC flag. The Noles need to win their games against inferior competition and continue their presence near the Top 10 for a majority of the season.
How many years has it been since an ACC football team has been in the national title conversation in November? It’s up to you Clemson and Florida State to buck the trend.
Non-Conference Schedule
How many non-conference ranked opponents will be played by conferences this year?
ACC: 11
Big 12: 2
Big 10: 4
Pac 12: 8
SEC: who cares
Winston Debut
As Florida State finishes up preparations for the Pittsburgh Panthers, most fans are eagerly anticipating the debut of freshman QB Jameis Winston. Winston has generated a significant amount of hype since his MVP winning Elite 11 camp in 2011. The hype reached epic proportions after Winston’s spring game performance highlighted by a 58 yd strike against All-ACC conference corner Lamarcus Joyner.
The Louisville Cardinals come into the 2013 football season with a top 10 ranking and lofty expectations after their stunning upset of #3 Florida in the Sugar Bowl. Being the favorite in all of their games has the fans dreaming of an undefeated season and a possible shot at the national championship. Perhaps their biggest challenge will be overcoming complacency. To help keep the team focus they will wear wristbands that say “earn it”. Earn it has been often mentioned during August camp and the players seem to be buying in, some even turning away from the social media. To give them more drive and focus is the lingering memory of their two upset loses last season to Syracuse and UConn. With only a few starters missing from last year team the 2013 Cardinals should be even better. Read more…
To any Syracuse fans that have been unable to drink-away the painful memories of the Greg Robinson Era, the words “Orange Pride” – a phrase that GRob tried to popularize, and even had painted inside the walls of the football facilities – bring back terrible memories of lousy football, lopsided final scores, and ugly uniforms. In fact, one of the first things that former Head Coach, Doug Marrone did upon taking over the reigns at Syracuse was to paint over the large words, along with other cleansing techniques including burning the players’ old cleats, as a way of starting over without the bad mojo.
Despite the fact that Syracuse’s practices have been closed to the public for the final two weeks of preseason camp, there have been reports that new Head Coach Scott Shafer and Athletic Director Darryl Gross have been working on one way in particular to highlight the players’ pride: Helmet Stickers. Read more…
The Confidential 