The Confidential

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Archive for the tag “Football”

31 Jan 2013
1 Comment

The Rare Shout-Out to Other Blogs

The Confidential’s two favorite general blogs on the Internet, other than this one, are Frank the Tank and ACC Football Rx.  They should be part of any ACC fan’s regular reading.

ACC Football Rx is ACC-focused, which is great.  With a focus on football and expansion, the primary author, Hokie Mark, does a great job of picking subjects, accumulating data, and being realistic/positive about the ACC.  Really, there are far too many good articles over there to point out just one.  Add it your list.

Frank the Tank is expansion-based and Big 10 centric (to say the least), but there are a fair share of commentators who hold an allegiance outside the Big 10.  And the author is quite-evenhanded in discussing other conferences.  The commentariat is a little less reasoned, but are a great source for expansion ideas.

That blog’s latest entry discusses the Big XII and the ACC, the alliance discussed here last week, and other topics.  As always, the blog is quick to note that the assumption that the ACC in jeopardy is more fantasy than reality right now:

So, that’s where I see the threats of the ACC becoming completely coming apart end up failing.  UNC, in particular, has Texas-esque influence (even if it’s more perceived than real) in the ACC, and the actions of Deloss Dodds and the Longhorns have shown that power and big dog status can be even more important as making the most TV money from a conference.  (Notre Dame feels the same way.)  As a result, the thought that UNC and UVA are going to bolt because they are scared that the ACC will collapse doesn’t hold water with me.  Those 2 schools can keep the ACC together alone and they have enough powerful alums with massive pocketbooks and politicians backing them where getting more TV revenue isn’t going to carry the same weight with them as it did with Maryland.

That’s some good stuff too. And it really underscores why the ACC’s biggest problem is worrying about what the rest of the conference schools might be thinking.

If you care about the ACC, expansion matters.  These two blogs are two more to add to your required reading list.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Opinion and tagged , , , , ,
24 Jan 2013
2 Comments

Great 24 hours for the Miami Hurricanes

Why is it a great day as a Cane?

Yesterday, at 12:oo PM, the NCAA discovered improper conduct in its investigation against Miami. Many people are speaking out against the NCAA, could the NCAA just drop the case overall?  It is now investigating itself. The NOA (Notice of Allegations) is not expected anytime soon.

A few hours later The Canes pulled off one of the greatest upsets in College Basketball history. Miami was a heavy underdog against Duke, but just beat the ranked #1 Blue Devils 90-63. Durand Scott scored 25 points for Miami, and Kenny Kadjishot  added 22. Shane Larkin had 10 rebounds, and dropped 18 points. Julian Gamble also got 10 rebounds. But one of the big stories of the night was Reggie Johnson’s unexpected return. Although he scored just 2 point, his 5 rebounds in just 16 minutes really fueled the Canes. It was one of the biggest losses ever suffered by a number one team and  the first time Miami has beat a team ranked 1 in College Basketball.

This morning, James Coley, Florida State’s Offensive Coordinator, accepted a job offer from Miami at the same position. Not really a surprise, Miami will give him a chance to call the plays. FSU, didn’t, Head Coach Jimbo Fisher called the plays when he was at FSU

The only time Coley has actually called plays, was at FIU in 2007, FIU went 1-11 that year and finished dead last in scoring offense, they averaged just 15.5 ppg. Although this is attributed to the lack of talent FIU had at the time, we won’t know until next year if he’s a capable play caller. On a more positive note, Coley is praised as an elite recruiter though. Only time will tell if this is a good hire.

Posted by jakekess in Basketball, Football, Game Review and tagged , , ,
22 Jan 2013

ACC Basketball Rankings: January 22, 2013

This is particularly complex with Pitt, Louisville, Notre Dame, and Syracuse not yet in the ACC, but it can still be done.  This is how the Confidential ranks the ACC basketball teams as of January 22, 2013:

1.     Syracuse (18-1) – The Orange eked out two impressive wins over #1 ranked Louisville and plucky Cincinnati, all without their 6th starter, James Southerland. Syracuse may have the #1 spot in the conference right now, but the margin of error is very slim. Next up: @ Villanova.

2.     Duke (16-1) – Duke recovered from their loss against NC State with a win over Georgia Tech, all while missing Kelly from the line-up. Next up @#25 Miami, vs. Maryland.

3.     Louisville (16-2) – Louisville was about 15 seconds away from taking down the Orange and staying atop the rankings, instead their time on top ended prematurely. Next up: @ Villanova, @ Georgetown, @ Pitt.

4.     Miami (13-3) – Miami’s record has been flawless for the first half of January, notching recent wins against Maryland and Boston College and garnering a top-25 ranking. Things are going to get a lot tougher for the ‘Canes when Duke brings their talents to South Beach. Next up: vs. Duke, vs. Florida State, @ Virginia Tech.

5.     North Carolina State (15-3) – The Wolfpack follow-up their monumental win against Duke by losing a heartbreaker to Maryland, but righted the ship by getting the job done against Clemson. Next up: @Wake Forest, @UNC.

6.     Pittsburgh (15-4) – The Panthers were able to move-on from the OT loss to Marquette and picked-up two nice wins against Villanova and UConn and should pick up two more this week. Up Next: @Providence, vs. DePaul, @ Louisville.

7.     Notre Dame (15-4) – The Irish bounced back from tough back-to-back losses against UConn and St. John’s by barely beating a surprising Rutgers team. And then a loss to Georgetown.  Up next: @ USF, vs. Villanova.

8.     Virginia (12-5) –Did you see what Virginia did to Florida State?  Allowing 36 points in a game is just unreal.  Up Next: @ Virginia Tech, vs. Boston College.

9.     Maryland (14-4) – The Terps have been very mercurial since league play started in January, particularly struggling offensively; perhaps just getting ready for their future in the Big Ten. Next up: vs. Boston College, @ Duke, @ FSU.

10.  North Carolina (12-5) – It’s too early to tell if Roy’s Boys are back on track, or if the past two wins over Florida State and Maryland are just an aberration. Up Next: vs. Georgia Tech, @NC State, @ Boston College.

11.  Florida State (10-7) – It’s a good thing that the Seminoles haven’t played many games lately, because they have just been down-right bad. One expects the football team to score 36 points, not the basketball team. Sheesh. Next up: vs. Clemson, @ Miami, vs. Maryland.

12.  Clemson (10-7) – The Tigers needed a win against North Carolina State to help keep the positive momentum going. Next up:@ Florida State, vs. Virginia Tech, and vs. Georgia Tech.

13.  Boston College (9-8) –  Boston College looks to stem the losing streak and avoid slipping to the bottom of the ACC. Next up: @Maryland, @ Virginia, vs. UNC.

14.  Virginia Tech (11-6) – VPI beat Georgia Tech and Wake Forest, but lost to Boston College. Next up: vs. Virginia, @ Clemson, vs. Miami.

Right/wrong?  Disagree?  If not, let us know.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
18 Jan 2013
1 Comment

New Atlantic Coast Confidential Member Added

Good afternoon ladies & gents!

My name is Jeff and I’ll be contributing to the Atlantic Coast Confidential website on a weekly basis moving forward.  I wanted to give you a brief introduction before I get started.  First of all I’m a huge sports fanatic & a big stat guy.  I prefer college over professional sports, but I like it all, especially the ACC.  I’m a South Carolinian and partial to the Clemson Tigers, however I find a way to pull for one team in nearly every match-up.  Some of my earliest childhood memories involve attending Clemson football games with my family, particularly my grandfather and cousin.  After years of dedication, I now bleed Clemson orange.  In my spare time I like to hit the gym, play golf, do anything involving good friends or the outdoors, all while giving you a new sports article to read each week.  I look forward to reading your comments and receiving your feedback in the near future.

Thanks,
Jeff

Posted by JBCoop in Uncategorized and tagged , , ,
15 Jan 2013

ACC Basketball Rankings: January 15, 2013

This is particularly complex with Pitt, Louisville, Notre Dame, and Syracuse not yet in the ACC, but it can still be done.  This is how the Confidential ranks the ACC basketball teams as of January 8, 2013:

1.  Duke (15-1)–The Blue Devils lost.  But they have beaten Louisville–so how can the Cardinals slide up to #1.  Yet.

2. Louisville (16-1)–The ACC’s newest addition is now #1 in the country.  They beat UConn on Monday and get Syracuse this weekend.

3.Syracuse (16-1)–The Orange have another academic casualty–James Southerland.  They still did pretty well without Fab Melo last year though.

4.North Carolina State (14-2)–The Wolfpack did what nobody else could do this year–beat Duke.  Still, with two losses, hard to move them into the top 3.

5. Notre Dame (14-2)--The Irish were on a roll, but then they ran into UConn.  The Irish will hold onto a top 5 spot for now.

6. Miami (12-3)–Miami has nice wins over Michigan State, North Carolina, and Maryland.  3-0 in the ACC is a great start.

7. Maryland (13-3)–The Terps do not have many good wins.  The losses to Miami and Florida State do not help the resume either.

8. Pittsburgh (13-4)–The Panthers were looking good at 12-1 with its only loss being to Michigan.  They have now lost 3 of 4 Big East games.  The win over Georgetown is nice though.

9. Virginia (11-5)–The Wahoos do not have a more impressive resume than North Carolina.  But they did beat North Carolina, whose resume is not that great either.

10. North Carolina (11-5)–North Carolina is not looking great this year at all.  It is going to be a battle to make the Big Dance.

11. Florida State (10-6)—The Seminoles are looking decent at 10-6, at least compared to how the season started.  A win over UNC would have been nicer though.

12. Wake Forest (9-6)–The Demon Deacons were #16 a week ago.  But now they are 2-1 in conference, with the only loss being to Duke.  12-16 is a crapshoot anyway.

13. Clemson (9-6)–The Tigers have the best win among the bottom 4–Virginia.  Better than nothing.

14. Boston College (9-7)–The Eagles have a win over Virginia Tech.  So that gets them the #14 spot this week.

15. Virginia Tech (10-6)–After starting 7-0, the Hokies have lost 6 of 9.  They even lost to Boston College.

16. Georgia Tech (10-5)–The Yellow Jackets are 0-3 in conference play, so that means the cellar.

Right/wrong?  Disagree?  If not, let us know.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
13 Jan 2013

The Confidential’s College Football Top 25 & Bottom 4: Final

Each week, the Confidential will provide its ranking of the top 25 teams in College Football, as well as the Bottom 4 BCS-level teams.  Here is the Final version, with analysis of the top 10 and bottom 4:

  1. Alabama (13-1): The SEC proves again that it can take care of business on the national stage.  But Alabama deserves special credit for turning into a dynasty. Wow.
  2. Notre Dame (12-1): The Fighting Irish played a tough schedule and came out 12-0.  Sure, they lost to Alabama.  That just makes them #2.
  3. Ohio State (12-0):  The Buckeyes were idle during bowl season, due to an improvident decision by its athletic director to not sit out last year’s bowl.  Urban Meyer has things going in Columbus though.
  4. Oregon (12-1): A great January for Oregon.  They beat Kansas State by a decent margin and, most importantly, kept Chip Kelly.
  5. Georgia (12-2): Georgia’s only losses were to South Carolina and Alabama.  Hard to argue with that.
  6. South Carolina (11-2): South Carolina lost two games all season–to LSU and Florida.  Gives them the edge over Texas A&M.
  7. Texas A&M (11-2): The Aggies showed that they belonged in the SEC.  The only losses were to LSU and Florida.
  8. Stanford (12-2): The Cardinal have that inexplicable loss to Washington and a loss to Notre Dame.  Otherwise, Stanford beat Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA (twice), Wisconsin, and USC.  That’s all.
  9. Florida (11-2):  The Gators were dismantled by Louisville, but had a very good season overall.  Hard to have Florida State leapfrog them when Florida won the head-to-head game.
  10. Florida State (12-2): Florida State had a great season.  That loss to North Carolina State remains hard to justify though.
  11. Louisville (11-2).
  12. LSU (10-3).
  13. Clemson (11-2).
  14. Kansas State (11-2).
  15. Oklahoma (10-3).
  16. Northwestern (10-3).
  17. Boise State (11-2).
  18. Utah State (11-2).
  19. Northern Illinois (12-2).
  20. Cincinnati (10-3).
  21. Nebraska (10-4).
  22. Kent State (11-3).
  23. Vanderbilt (9-4).
  24. Oregon State (9-4).
  25. Penn State (8-4).

* * *

121.  Illinois (2-10).  The Illini were overmatched in the Big 10 this year.  2013 should be better though.

122. Kentucky (2-10).  Kentucky beat Samford and Kent State.  That Kent State win looks pretty good now!

123. Kansas (1-11).  Kansas was the only Big XII team to not make a bowl.  Going to be a tough rebuilding process.

124. Colorado (1-11).  The Buffaloes actually kept it close against Utah to finish the season.  But there was too little of that in 2012.

So there it is.  If you do not like it… sorry.  But feel free to share your reasons why…

Posted by acaffrey in Football, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , ,
11 Jan 2013

ACC Releases College Football Schedule for 2013.

The Atlantic Coast Conference, set to expand to 14 teams for 2013, has released the football schedule for this fall.

First, the divisions.  The ACC insists on eschewing the geographical split, instead opting for this setup:

Atlantic Division Coastal Division
Boston College Virginia Tech
Clemson Georgia Tech
Florida State Miami
Maryland Virginia
NC State North Carolina
Syracuse Pitt
Wake Forest Duke

Obviously, each team plays every team within its division.  Then, in order to get to 8 total games, each team has a primary crossover and a rotating crossover.  The team’s primary crossovers are listed in the above chart, with Boston College being paired with Virginia Tech, etc.  Syracuse and Pitt will be primary crossovers.

The secondary, rotating  crossovers are not as straightforward.  For 2013, the secondary crossover pairs are: Boston College-North Carolina; Clemson-Virginia; Florida State-Pittsburgh; Maryland-Virginia Tech; NC State-Duke; Syracuse-Georgia Tech; and Wake Forest-Miami.

Pittsburgh begins ACC conference play with home games against Miami, North Carolina, Virginia, and Florida State.  It will travel to Syracuse, Georgia Tech, Duke, and Virginia Tech.  Syracuse begins conference play by hosting Boston College, Wake Forest, Clemson, and Pitt.  Syracuse will travel to Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, and North Carolina State.

In notable games, Florida State will travel to Clemson in 2013.  Florida State will host Miami.  Miami will travel to North Carolina.  North Carolina will travel to Georgia Tech.  Georgia Tech will travel to Clemson.  With the ability to host both Florida State and Georgia Tech, Clemson has to be considered the early favorite.  The return of Tajh Boyd helps that too.

The Confidential does not know about you… but football cannot come around again soon enough!!!

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Conference News, Football and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
10 Jan 2013

Football Safety and Expansion

For many years, Americans have been told that eventually “soccer,” or football as the rest of the world knows it, will take take over as the most popular sport here.  To date, nothing has prevented football (American), baseball, and basketball from being the dominant sports in the United States.  Even auto racing, hockey, tennis, and golf enjoy spectator sport status that seems unlikely to be rivaled by what we call soccer.  However, there was once a time when boxing was high on the list.  Although boxing’s decline might have been caused by sheer mismanagement, the barbaric nature of boxing may have expedited its fall from grace.  The question is this–on the news of yet another brain being damaged by playing football, is there a risk of football declining in popularity over the long term?  The follow-up question is–why engage in all of this realignment for football purposes if football’s future has serious question marks?

The most recent news is that Junior Seau’s brain examination confirm what many expected–he suffered from the chronic brain damage that has afflicted many former NFL players.  Specifically, Seau was determined to have “chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurodegenerative disease that can lead to dementia, memory loss and depression.”  The very popular Seau committed suicide in May 2012.  Amazingly, according to ESPN, Seau was never listed as having a concussion.  Nevertheless, it is obvious that Seau had numerous head collisions during his career.  There is no reasonable dispute as to where the brain damage came from–it was football.

One wonders whether football can be made safe.  While helmet technology can advance, there is nothing stopping the players from growing larger, stronger, and faster.  The collisions are only going to get more violent.  One can only hope that there is a way to use technology to prevent these collisions from devastating the lives of the players–both in the short-term and long-term.

To be sure, the NFL appears serious about addressing player safety.  It is a double-edged sword.  The players seem to question the sincerity of the NFL, as fines for violent hits seem more based on public relations than actually protecting the players.  The addition of a weekly Thursday game seems to support the players’ position that the NFL is more interested in money than safety.  At the other extreme, as the violent nature of football is curbed, a segment of the population (including the players) are going to resent the changes.  So making the sport safer for the players may not necessarily lead to an equally popular product.  Needless to say, football has a problem.  As others have noted, there is no inherent reason why football must be popular.

But as this data continues to stream out, at some point parents are going to question whether they can responsibly allow a child to play football.  We are already seeing that shift to soccer.  In more affluent communities, lacrosse is surging in popularity.  Perhaps the popularity of football has peaked.  If football begins being perceived as a barbaric sport akin to boxing, it’s decline will be inevitable.  Can football can avoid the appearance of being a modern-day sport of gladiators?  We enjoy the bone-crushing hits, but we also enjoy it more when the recipient gets back up and walks to the huddle.  That is a level of toughness that inspires awe.  We don’t want our heroes, or even opponents, being seriously hurt.  This is not Rome.

Moreover, unlike boxing, football requires a significant amount of equipment for each player.  At some point, it may no longer be economical for schools to offer football.  Or, stated otherwise, there may be eroding support for incurring the expense of football equipment.  Football cannot sustain its level of popularity if fewer and fewer people are participating at the scholastic level.

In the college landscape, football is the cash cow.  That cash cow depends on continued popularity.  The football money is the reason why there has been realignment discussion daily for the past several years.  It is also the reason why the Big East–with lagging football prowess–runs the risk of extinction.  While basketball can pay for itself, football is so popular and profitable that it pays for all other sports.  In fact, the revenue has gotten so enormous that it is justifying colleges shifting their allegiance from one region to another.

But what if football ceases to be as popular as it is now?  Will all of this realignment have been for naught?  Perhaps this is the reason that schools like Florida State are not so eager to run off to the Big XII.  While football money is nice, a college exists to provide an education.  Abandoning regional comraderie for a few extra football dollars may be shortsighted, especially if football’s popularity is peaking.  At the very least, the aftermath will be a lot of strange bedfellows.  One can only wonder what happens if and when the “buzz” of football money gives way to the hangover of football retreating in popularity.  Those profiting from college football should be keeping a sharp eye on the health of the players.  If the perception of football changes, the profitability of football will not be far behind.

Posted by acaffrey in Football, Opinion and tagged , ,
08 Jan 2013
1 Comment

ACC Basketball Rankings: January 8, 2013

This is particularly complex with Pitt, Louisville, Notre Dame, and Syracuse not yet in the ACC, but it can still be done.  This is how the Confidential ranks the ACC basketball teams as of January 8, 2013:

1.  Duke (14-0)–The Blue Devils are either loved or hated.  But you have to hand it to this team–they are really taking care of business.

2. Louisville (13-1)–The ACC’s newest addition’s only loss came to Duke.  Louisville has better wins (Missouri, Kentucky) than Syracuse (Arkansas).

3.Syracuse (13-1)–The Orange overcame a scare against South Florida.  Only blemish on the season remains Temple.

4.Notre Dame (14-1)--The Irish have the same record as Syracuse, but Syracuse went on the road to beat Arkansas.  Notre Dame’s best win is over Kentucky–impressive, but just slightly behind the Orange.

5. Maryland (13-1)–The Terps have the worst resume of the four 1 loss teams.  The best win is over Northwestern, who has never made a Big Dance.  Yep, never.

6. North Carolina State (12-2)–The Wolfpack have not lost in a long, long time.  Sunday’s game against Duke will be a big one.

7. Pittsburgh (12-3)–The Panthers were looking good at 12-1 with its only loss being to Michigan.  Then Pitt lost to Cincy and (gasp) Rutgers.  What happened to Pitt hoops?

8.Miami (10-3)–Miami has nice wins over Michigan State and now Georgia Tech.  Only losses were to Arizona and Indiana.  Looking pretty good.

9. Virginia (11-3)–The Wahoos would have been behind the Tar Heels, but Sunday’s head-to-head win solves that.  A nice win over Wisconsin helps offset some bad early losses.

10. North Carolina (10-4)–North Carolina has not looked like a typical North Carolina team this year.  10th place?

11.Georgia Tech (10-3)—The Yellow Jackets are rebounding nicely after a poor 2011-2012.  Still looking for a high quality win though.

12. Virginia Tech (9-5)–After starting 7-0, the Hokies have lost 5 of 7.  Not exactly murderer’s row either.

13. Florida State (9-5)–The Seminoles seem  to have righted the ship slightly.  Still hard to explain losses to South Alabama and Mercer.

14. Clemson (8-5)–The Tigers are going to have a tough season, end of story.  Playing for a NIT bid.

15. Boston College (8-6)–The Eagles already look better than last year’s version.  Will it be enough to get farther away from the cellar?  We’ll see.

16. Wake Forest (7-6)–The Demon Deacons do not have a truly awful loss.  But they should have a few more wins, given the schedule.

Right/wrong?  Disagree?  If not, let us know.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
07 Jan 2013

ACC Football Rankings: January 7, 2013

This is particularly complex with Pitt and Syracuse not yet in the ACC, but it can still be done.  Next year, we’ll add in Louisville too.  Anyway, this is how the Confidential ranks the ACC football teams as of January 7, 2013:

1.  Florida State (12-2)–The Seminoles took care of business against Northern Illinois.  Only Florida and North Carolina State were able to trip up the Seminoles.

2. Clemson (11-2)–Clemson had itself a nice little season too, losing only to South Carolina and Florida State.  Improved on a very good 2011 season.

3. Syracuse (8-5)–The Orange demolished a good West Virginia team in the Pinstripe Bowl.  The five losses all came to bowl-eligible teams.

4. North Carolina (8-4)–The Tar Heels did get a bowl bid due to sanctions.  Still, this team looks to be on the rise.

5. Miami (7-5)–The Hurricanes once again missed out on a bowl to due self-imposed penalties.  Al Golden has the team pointed in the right direction though.

6. Virginia Tech (7-6)–The Hokies win over Rutgers in the Russell Athletic Bowl gives Virginia Tech the edge over North Carolina State.  The two schools did not play this year.

7. North Carolina State (7-6)–At 7-5, the Wolfpack fired their coach, Tom O’Brien.  And now they are 0-1 in the post-O’Brien era.  Nicely done.

8. Georgia Tech (7-7)–The Yellow Jackets were able to beat USC and its stable of NFL-ready talent.  A nice way to end the 2012 season.

9. Pittsburgh (6-7)—The Panthers were relegated to the BBVA Compass Bowl for the second year in a row.  Ole Miss handled them pretty well, winning 38-17.

10. Duke (6-7)–The Blue Devils beat North Carolina to move to 6-2 and bowl-eligibility.  They would never win again.

11. Wake Forest (5-7).

12. Virginia (4-8).

13. Maryland (4-8).

14. Boston College (2-10).

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

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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