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.
With four weeks wrapped up, the Confidential correspondents generated a lot more similarity in their polls this week. So how do the ACC teams stack up? Well, here is the Confidential Correspondents Football top 10 Poll for Week 4. Remember, we include Notre Dame and Louisville. This year, we’ll start with team number 10 and work our way to #1.
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.
With two weeks wrapped up, the Confidential correspondents generated a lot more similarity in their polls this week. So how do the ACC teams stack up? Well, here is the Confidential Correspondents Football top 10 Poll for Week 3. Remember, we include Notre Dame and Louisville. This year, we’ll start with team number 10 and work our way to #1.
With two weeks wrapped up, the Confidential correspondents generated a lot more similarity in their polls this week. So how do the ACC teams stack up? Well, here is the Confidential Correspondents Football top 10 Poll for Week 2. Remember, we include Notre Dame and Louisville. This year, we’ll start with team number 10 and work our way to #1.
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.
An interesting thought crossed the Confidential’s mind yesterday. Suppose your team is not a football factory. There are several in the ACC–Syracuse, Wake Forest, Boston College, Pitt, NC State, Virginia, and Duke come to mind. Some of those schools have done a great job upsetting Clemson and Florida State in recent years. In the small picture, that is a great win for your team. In the big picture, is it bad for your school? Think about it.
Syracuse looked rough tonight. The 48-27 score was perhaps a bit misleading as it seemed as if Northwestern could have scored a lot more, had they chosen to keep throwing. There is plenty of wailing and gnashing of teeth by Syracuse fans tonight. But the Confidential just wants to remind Syracuse fans that they need to come in off the ledge. There are many reasons why.
9-3. 10-3. 11-3. 9-5. 8-5. 7-6. Six straight bowl games after joining the ACC. Two ACC Championship game appearances. Are we talking about Miami or Boston College? Actually, we are talking about Boston College. Since that great start to joining the ACC, however, Boston College has fallen on hard times, with those hard times “peaking” last year with a 2-10 record. But guess who is off to a 2-0 start this year? Boston College! Are they back?
Continuing with our Mount Rushmores… the last school left… Florida State. Look, we all watched the game Monday. Obviously, we are going to have Jameis Winston on the Florida State Mount Rushmore. See who joins him…
The Confidential 