Tech Report: The Quiet Undefeated
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?
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ACC BCS Championship Odds
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 Confidential ACC Football Top 10 Poll: Week 3
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.
Report Card: Governors Cup review.
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…
Texas to the ACC?
Here we go again… A few months ago, the Confidential wrote about a future between Texas and the ACC, and just recently wrote about Texas’ questionable decision to promote Greg Robinson from “football analyst” to Defensive Coordinator (a.k.a. – Brown’s next Fall Guy).
The total ineptitude in Texas has many Longhorn bloggers and fans speculating that Deloss Dodds’ future as the Athletic Director will be ending at year’s end, while others at this point are hoping that Mack Brown will man-up and call it quits after the season.
That kind of sea change could have dramatic effects on the future of a Texas program that is watching the Aggies capture the national love-and-attention (OK…maybe just attention) while the Longhorns are entering a slippery-slope of irrelevancy.
Factor in the rumblings that the B1G has performed their due diligence on Oklahoma and Kansas, and we could be in for another round of conference realignment opening the door for Texas to the ACC.
Recap of the ACC Week 3
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…
The Confidential ACC Football Top 10 Poll: Week 2
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.
Governors Cup Preview
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.
State of the Pack: The season so far
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.
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