As the final hours of 2013 tick down, the Confidential wants to take the time to thank its many readers and followers. So… THANK YOU! Let’s hope 2014 is even better for the ACC, the Confidential, and their fans!
What were the most popular articles of 2013? Here you go:
If you doubt whether ACC football can be huge, the moments prior to kickoff of Clemson-Florida State should quickly disabuse you of that. What a great job by the Clemson athletic department and fans to make the scene truly memorable. Unfortunately, Clemson did not follow through on the field. But let’s take a look across the ACC.
Well, another interesting week in the Atlantic Coast Conference comes and goes. The team that needed to win the most to help the conference’s standing–Clemson–pulled off the win. Narrowly. But let’s take a look across the ACC.
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…
Believe it or not, the college football season is 25% complete for many teams. One minute it is Labor Day, the next minute we are talking bowl eligibility. Sigh. Anyway, Week 3 provided some useful information for analyzing the ACC teams. Such as…
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.
The 2013 NBA draft is complete. There were some surprises. There were some disappointments. But what is done is done. Representatives of the various ACC schools did quite well in the draft.
The NCAA will be implementing new rules for college basketball. While the sporting world awaits refbots, the rule changes will help the games and the officals. The womens’ game will now be featuring a 10-second backcourt rule, which is fairly self-explanatory. But there will be several changes to the mens’ game.
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