The Confidential

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05 Nov 2012

ACC Football Rankings: November 5, 2012

This is particularly complex with Pitt and Syracuse not yet in the ACC, but it can still be done.  This is how the Confidential ranks the ACC football teams as of November 5, 2012:

1.  Florida State (8-1)–The Seminoles had a week off to prepare for Virginia Tech.  Although the Hokies lost again, they are usually tough at home.

2. Clemson (8-1)–Clemson obliterated Duke, raising serious questions about the Blue Devils.  It also answered a lot of questions about Clemson.

3. Duke (6-4)–The Blue Devils have been handled easily in their four losses.  Still, one cannot put any other ACC team ahead of them right now.  Sadly.

4. North Carolina (6-3)–The Tar Heels had a week off to prepare for the Yellow Jackets.  Georgia Tech finally got a win, making it a lot more likely to be competitive.

5. Miami (5-4)–The Hurricanes are impossible to figure out.  But after beating up on Virginia Tech, it is clear that Miami cannot be overlooked.

6. North Carolina State (5-4)–With four games left, the Wolfpack blew a win against what should have been an easy one–struggling Virginia.  And they lost big too.  Only so much room to drop though.

7. Wake Forest (5-4)–At 5-4, the Demon Deacons can show that they deserve the #6 spot on the field this week when they play NC State.  Wake took care of Boston College over the weekend.

8. Syracuse (4-5)–The Orange lost, but moved up in the standings somehow.  Syracuse has been doing a lot of good things, with wins coming when they can avoid doing bad things.

9. Pittsburgh (4-5)—The Panthers season turned around with a win over Virginia Tech.  The loss to Syracuse keeps them at #9 right now, despite playing Notre Dame very tough.

10. Virginia Tech (4-5)–The Hokies are struggling in a very odd way.  No chance at another 10 win season.  A bowl game is looking “iffy” right now.

11. Georgia Tech (4-5)—The Yellow Jackets finally got a win, albeit over Maryland and its 5th string QB.  Still, they’ll take what they can get.

12. Maryland (4-5)–Give the Terps credit, they have played tough this year.  And they played admirably with a QB that was never likely to see the field at his real position.

13. Virginia (3-6)–At 3-6, Virginia gets out of the basement and back up to #13.  The team can still win out and go bowling, but those wins will have to come against Miami, North Carolina, and rival Virginia Tech.

14. Boston College (2-7)–At 2-7, there will be no bowl for Boston College.  Again.  And a coaching change is likely.

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

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
01 Nov 2012

ACC Football Predictions for Week 10

The Confidential’s football predictions for this week’s games featuring ACC teams.  The Confidential limped to a 4-3 record, making the overall record a respectable 62-23.  On to the week 10 predictions:

Thursday November 1, 2012

Virginia Tech (4-4) @ Miami (4-4), 7:30 p.m.  Well, who the heck knows?  Will it be the Virginia Tech team that took care of business against Duke or the one that lost to Pittsburgh and Cincinnati?  Will it be the Miami team that has won 3 conference games or the one that has been blown out by Notre Dame and Kansas State.  Actually, those two teams are pretty good, as are North Carolina and Florida State.  Miami has lost to the better slate of opponents.  Been a long long time since Frank Beamer was below .500 this late in the season.  In fact, it was 1992, the last time the Hokies did not win 7 or more games.  Again, this one could go either way.  Edge to home team.  Prediction: Miami 27, Virginia Tech 24.

Saturday November 3, 2012

Syracuse (4-4) @ Cincinnati (5-2), 12:00 p.m.  Want to know the last time Syracuse won 3 conference games in a row?  2001.  That was Syracuse’s last 10-win season.  In fact, Syracuse has only one 3 games in a row three times since that season.  In 2002, Syracuse beat Rutgers, Central Florida, and Virginia Tech.  In 2006, Syracuse beat Illinois, Miami (OH), and Wyoming.  In 2010, Syracuse beat Maine (FCS), Colgate (FCS), and South Florida.  Cincinnati’s schedule is the reason they are 5-2, but the Confidential cannot help but note that it is not 2014 yet.  There will not be a 3-game winning streak for the ‘Cuse.  Prediction: Cincinnati 24, Syracuse 17.

Georgia Tech (3-5) @ Maryland (4-4), 12:30 p.m.  Before the season, the Confidential would have predicted a 30-point win for the Yellow Jackets.  If Maryland had a QB, the Confidential would predict a win for Maryland.  Using a linebacker–even a struggling Georgia Tech team HAS to be able to win this game.  If not…. wow.  Prediction: Georgia Tech 24, Maryland 10.

Virginia (2-6) @ North Carolina State (5-3), 12:30 p.m.  Well, it is safe to say that Virginia has not lived up to expectations.  North Carolina State is right where it always seems to be–too good to look past, too bad to assume a win.  The Wolfpack have to be able to take care of a struggling Virginia team though.  That 6th win is sitting there hoping to be achieved.  Prediction: North Carolina State 28, Virginia 15.

Boston College (2-6) @ Wake Forest (4-4), 3:00 p.m.  Boston College got a win!  Boston College got a win!  Remember, this team closed strong last year.  But winning on the road, even against a vulnerable Wake Forest team, seems unlikely.  It’s games like these that may get the Demon Deacons a bowl.  And if they lose this one, they do not deserve a bowl.  Prediction: Wake Forest 20, Boston College 13.

Pittsburgh (4-4) @ #3 Notre Dame (8-0), 3:30 p.m.  On paper, Notre Dame has one big game left–its tilt against rival Southern Cal.  On paper, Pitt, Wake Forest, and Boston College do not pose a threat.  On paper, the favorite always wins.  In real life, the favorite occasionally gets upset.  But there is something about a Notre Dame coach named Kelly proving that the Fighting Irish are “back.”  They might not go undefeated, but this one seems to easy to predict an upset for Notre Dame to be looking past the Panthers.  Prediction:  Notre Dame 27, Pitt 17.

#13 Clemson (7-1) @ Duke (6-3), 7:00 p.m.  The ACC game of the week.  This is two weeks in a row for the Blue Devils.  Last week was terrible.  This week may be terrible again.  Clemson is not that much inferior to Florida State.  However, Duke is at home for this one–unlike its losses to Stanford, Va Tech, and FSU.  So Dick Vitale will not have to close his eyes during this game–it will be closer.   Not close.  Closer.  Prediction: Clemson 38, Duke 21.

Idle: North Carolina & Florida State

The Confidential apologizes in advance for not picking your team.  A lot of close games here.  Feel free to share why we are wrong. 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Predictions and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,
29 Oct 2012

ACC Football Rankings: October 29, 2012

This is particularly complex with Pitt and Syracuse not yet in the ACC, but it can still be done.  This is how the Confidential ranks the ACC football teams as of October 29, 2012:

1.  Florida State (8-1)–The Seminoles left no doubt that Duke still has a ways to go before joining the football elite.  Florida State gets some extra time off before traveling to the Hokies.

2. Clemson (7-1)–Clemson took care of the Demon Deacons on Thursday night, winning comfortably.  And now it is their turn to beat up on Duke.  In theory.

3. Duke (6-3)–The Blue Devils have been handled easily in their three losses.  Still, with a win over North Carolina, Duke holds on to the #3 slot.

4. North Carolina (6-3)–The Tar Heels move up into 4th place with a win over North Carolina State.  If only the Tar Heels were bowl eligible…

5. North Carolina State (5-3)–NC State missed a golden opportunity to get to bowl eligibility over rival North Carolina.  With Virginia, Wake Forest, and Boston College still on the schedule, they should get it done though.

6. Virginia Tech (4-4)–With six 4-4 teams to rank, it gets difficult to split hairs.  But Virginia Tech has the best win of the six teams–surprisingly it is Duke.

7. Miami (4-4)–The Hurricanes had the week off before entering the final third of the season.  Miami gets to prove it is worthy of leapfrogging the Hokies when they play this week.

8. Wake Forest (4-4)–The Demon Deacons win over North Carolina gets them the spot ahead of Syracuse.  North Carolina is a 6-3 team, while Syracuse has yet to beat a team above .500.

9. Syracuse (4-4)—The Orange rallied from 20 down to beat a desperate South Florida team that played well.  Syracuse’s head-to-head win over Pittsburgh justifies the move up to 9th place.

10. Pittsburgh (4-4)–Syracuse’s win over Pitt forces the Panthers down to #2.  However, given that they lost to Youngstown State, one must be impressed with how the season has turned around.

11. Maryland(4-4)—The loss to B.C. hurts the Terrapins.  A win to get to 5-3 would have the fan base thinking bowl game.  4-8 seems like a distinct possibility now.

12. Georgia Tech (3-5)–Georgia Tech just lost to Brigham Young, which is bad enough.  Getting blown out must have the Yellow Jackets a bit worried about the Paul Johnson era.

13. Boston College (2-6)–At 1-6, it did not look like Boston College would ever win again.  But they beat a surprising Maryland team to get that first win over a FBS program.  Nicely done.

14. Virginia (2-6)–Along with Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech, Virginia is a huge disappointment for the A.C.C.  They deserve the basement this week.

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

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
25 Oct 2012
1 Comment

ACC Football Predictions for Week 9

The Confidential’s football predictions for this week’s games featuring ACC teams.  The Confidential surged to a 6-2 record, elevating the overall record to a respectable 58-20.  On to the week 9 predictions:

Thursday October 25, 2012

#14 Clemson (6-1) @ Wake Forest (4-3), 7:30 p.m.  Clemson needs to avoid a late season slump.  This is exactly the type of game that could easily lead to a loss and subsequent November swoon.  With the whole nation watching, Clemson needs to rise to the occasion.  Meanwhile, the Demon Deacons are still looking for a signature win this year.  It aint coming this week.  Prediction: Clemson 27, Wake Forest 17.

Saturday October 27, 2012

Temple (3-3) @ Pittsburgh (3-4), noon.  Temple has 2 Big East wins, while Pittsburgh has zero.  In the battle for Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh has the home field advantage though.  We’ll see how much pride the Panthers can display.  One has to figure that Pittsburgh will rise to the occasion.  Prediction: Pittsburgh 21, Temple 10.

North Carolina State (5-2) @ North Carolina (5-3), 12:30 p.m.  This is sort of the battle for North Carolina–at least with respect to the public Universities.  Both teams have been decent and the winner will get to 6 wins.  While there is no bowl eligibility for the Tar Heels, N.C. State has eyes on a bowl.  This is a tough one to call.  Prediction: North Carolina 28, North Carolina State 20.

Maryland (4-3) @ Boston College (1-6), 1:00 p.m.  At the beginning of the year, this would have seemed like a key game for Boston College to get a conference win.  Now, it is hard to envision Boston College defeating the surprising Terrapins.  With Maryland starting to smell a bowl game, and Boston College floundering, look for the visiting team to pull out a win.  Prediction: Maryland 21, Boston College 14.

Brigham Young (4-4) @ Georgia Tech (3-4), 3:00 p.m.  Brigham Young has had trouble scoring, which is usually not a problem for Georgia Tech.  But BYU looked great against Notre Dame.  Still, the Yellow Jackets have too much pride to let a team come into Atlanta and steal a win.  Prediction: Georgia Tech 28, Brigham Young 9.

Duke (6-2) @ #11 Florida State (7-1), 3:30 p.m.  The ACC game of the week.  Duke is bowl eligible, which may mean that they will have a let down.  And Florida State is at home.  This game will be the true test of just how far the Blue Devils have come.  After losing to Virginia Tech and Stanford on the road, the Confidential has to go with the Seminoles.   Prediction: Florida State 44, Duke 9.

Syracuse (3-4) @ South Florida (2-5), 7:00 p.m.  Florida State struggled to beat South Florida on the road.  Syracuse is a 3-4 team with no wins on the road.  If Syracuse wants to get to a bowl game, they will need to win this game.  If South Florida wants to go to a bowl, losing here would be catastrophic.  Syracuse wants to win, but the Bulls must win.  Prediction: South Florida 28, Syracuse 20.

The Confidential apologizes in advance for not picking your team.  A lot of close games here.  Feel free to share why we are wrong. 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Predictions and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,
22 Oct 2012

ACC Football Rankings: October 22, 2012

This is particularly complex with Pitt and Syracuse not yet in the ACC, but it can still be done.  This is how the Confidential ranks the ACC football teams as of October 22, 2012:

1.  Florida State (7-1)–With a win over Miami, the Seminoles stay comfortably ahead of Clemson for the best overall record in the ACC.  Florida State cannot look ahead to the Florida game and MUST continue to take care of business.

2. Clemson (6-1)–Clemson defeated Virginia Tech, maintaining its safe spot at #2 in the conference.  The Tigers did what they needed to do against a struggling Hokies team.

3. Duke (6-2)–The Blue Devils rebounded from a loss at Virginia Tech to defeat North Carolina at home.  The Blue Devils are bowl-eligible for the first time in nearly 20 years.  Congratulations!

4. North Carolina State (5-2)–The Wolfpack moved to 5-2 by defeating Maryland in College Park.  NC State is now one win away from bowl eligibility with 5 games left.

5. North Carolina (5-3)–The Tar Heels had a chance to get to bowl-eligibility, but lost to rival Duke.  One wonders if the sanctions take some of the juice out of the thrill of getting that 6th win.

6. Miami (4-4)–The Hurricanes have lost to some pretty good teams this year.  They have lost ugly though.

7. Virginia Tech (4-4)–This is just not the Hokies’ year.  Really, Virginia Tech could be a few slots lower too.

8. Maryland (4-3)–The Terps get the nod over Wake Forest here as they won the head-to-head matchup.  What great character this team has shown in being above .500 this late in the season.

9. Wake Forest (4-3)—The Demon Deacons took care of Virginia–a nice road win.  A bowl is still readily in sight.

10. Syracuse (3-4)–Syracuse salvaged its chances for a bowl game by defeating UConn handily over the weekend.  They’ll need to win 3 out of the 5 remaining, but all opponents look somewhat vulnerable.

11. Pittsburgh (3-4)—Pitt gets the edge over Georgia Tech by virtue of beating Virginia Tech.  Pitt’s wins over Buffalo and Gardner-Webb are not all that impressive otherwise.

12. Georgia Tech (3-4)–Georgia Tech is half-way to bowl eligibility with a convincing win over Boston College.  The Yellow Jackets are still searching for a good win though.

13. Virginia (2-6)–At 2-6, Virginia really needs a bye week.  Fortunately, they’ll get one this week. 

14. Boston College (1-6)–After losing yet again, the Eagles don’t need a bye week–they might STILL lose.  Gotta figure a coaching change is an inevitability.

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

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
19 Oct 2012

ACC Football Predictions for Week 8

The Confidential’s football predictions for this week’s games featuring ACC teams.  The Confidential struggled to a 3-3 record–the worst week of the season.   Still, the Confidential is at a respectable 52-18 so far.  On to the week 8 predictions:

Friday October 19, 2012

Connecticut (3-3) @ Syracuse (2-4), 8:00 p.m.  The Orange simply cannot lose this game.  If the Doug Marrone era is not going to fall completely off the tracks, Syracuse needs to win this much of a winnable game.  UConn is struggling and coached by the guy Syracuse fired.  Just a must win.  Prediction: Syracuse 24, UConn 17.

Saturday October 20, 2012

Virginia Tech (4-3) @ #14 Clemson (5-1), noon.  This is a rematch of last year’s conference title game, but the teams are headed in different directions right now.  Virginia Tech had to rally to beat Duke, while Clemson has only lost to Florida State.  Given that Clemson is at home, as well as Virginia Tech’s defensive mortality, it is difficult to pick Virginia Tech to pull the upset.  Prediction: Clemson 35-Virginia Tech 24.

Wake Forest (3-3) @ Virginia (2-5), 12:30 p.m.  The Demon Deacons have been absolutely, positively mediocre.  Virginia is jealous of that right now.  Again, however, Virginia is the home team, which has to count for something.  The Confidential just does not see Wake Forest taking the win here.  Prediction: Virginia 21, Wake Forest 20.

Boston College (1-5) @ Georgia Tech (2-4), 3:00 p.m.  Boston College has been downright awful this year, with no wins over FBS teams.  Georgia Tech has been equally bad lately.  This two teams are at and/or near the basement in the ACC right now.  Like Syracuse, Georgia Tech simply MUST win this game.  Prediction: Georgia Tech 38-Boston College 13.

Pittsburgh (2-4) @ Buffalo (1-5), 3:30 p.m.  The Steelers and Bills face off in a clash of old industrial towns.  Wait, what?  Pittsburgh lost its momentum after the Virginia Tech win.  Buffalo has never really had any momentum yet.  One has to think the Bulls will be fired up for this rare visit from a BCS-level team.  Still, Pitt has to win this one, right?  Prediction: Pittsburgh 36, Buffalo 10.

North Carolina State (4-2) @ Maryland (4-2), 3:30 p.m.  While North Carolina State is not too much of a surprise, Maryland certainly is.  Good thing that Terrapins fans did not run Randy Edsall out of town.  Most likely.  Maryland does have to play a bunch of good teams down the stretch.  Reality sets in this week.  Prediction: North Carolina State 27, Maryland 14.

North Carolina (5-2) @ Duke (5-2), 7:00 p.m.  Obviously, a great basketball matchup, this is a pretty darn good football game this year.  For Duke, the season-ending slate is simply brutal.  This may be their last, best chance to get to bowl-eligibility.  Who better than the Tar Heels to stop them?  Prediction: North Carolina 24, Duke 20.

#12 Florida State (6-1) @ Miami (4-3), 8:00 p.m.  Miami has been tough to figure out.  There is really nothing in their performance to suggest that they can win this game.  Then again, there is everything out there to suggest that Florida State could simply lose it.  Typically, however, Florida State stumbles most egregiously in North Carolina.  Prediction: Florida State 45-Miami 20.

The Confidential apologizes in advance for not picking your team.  A lot of close games here.  Feel free to share why we are wrong. 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Predictions and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,
16 Oct 2012

ACC Football Rankings: October 15, 2012

This is particularly complex with Pitt and Syracuse not yet in the ACC, but it can still be done.  This is how the Confidential ranks the ACC football teams as of October 15, 2012:

1.  Florida State (6-1)–A week after doing what it normally does (losing to teams from Tobacco Road for no reason), Florida State did what it was supposed to do–annihilate Boston College.  Halfway to a BCS bowl for the Seminoles.

2. Clemson (5-1)–Clemson was idle, but nobody below it did anything worthy to leapfrog them.  Sitting nicely in the #2 slot.

3. North Carolina (5-2)–The Tar Heels defeated a tough Miami team on the road.  This team looks like it might be ready to take the next step.

4. North Carolina State (4-2)–The Wolfpack was idle this week, but will look to have a strong second half en route to another bowl appearance.

5. Virginia Tech (4-3)–The Hokies finally put something together–defeating upstart Duke at home.  Giving up 20 points in the first quarter was a poor start, but the final score was all Hokies.

6. Duke (5-2)–Duke’s second half schedule will be brutal–they need to get that 6th win ASAP.  They had the Hokies on the ropes too.

7. Maryland (4-2)–Without question, Maryland is battling Duke for the surprise team of the year.  The difference is that Maryland very well could end up with a better record due to Duke’s tough schedule.  This is why you do NOT fire head coaches after one year.

8. Miami (4-3)–Miami had a chance to take the next step, but faltered against the Tar Heels.  This is still an OK team, but not ready to be classified as “good.”

9. Wake Forest (3-3)—Wake Forest is sitting at .500, a mediocre record after a mediocre first-half of the season.  Not going to get any easier for the Demon Deacons.

10. Syracuse (2-4)–Syracuse lost to undefeated Rutgers, but the Orange continue to self-destruct.  Looking at the results up and down these rankings, Syracuse fans need to be careful in losing patience with their coach.  That being said, Doug Marrone needs to re-evaluate what he is doing.

11. Pittsburgh (2-4)—Pitt also lost to an undefeated Big East team–Louisville.  Pitt did not keep it quite as close as Syracuse did, but that is not a surprise.

12. Georgia Tech (2-4)–Georgia Tech needed the bye week to regroup and gather its thoughts.  There are still opportunities on the schedule, but becoming bowl eligible will take some work.

13. Virginia (2-5)–All that momentum from last year has stalled.  Maryland and Virginia seemed to have swapped teams somehow.  A bowl seems unlikely.

14. Boston College (1-5)–After losing to the Seminoles by 40+ points, Boston College is squarely in the basement.  A bowl seemed highly unlikely.

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

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
11 Oct 2012
2 Comments

ACC Football Predictions for Week 7

The Confidential’s football predictions for this week’s games featuring ACC teams.  The Confidential struggled to a 4-4 record–the worse week of the season.   Still, the Confidential is at a respectable 49-15 so far.  On to the week 7 predictions:

Saturday October 13, 2012

#18 Louisville (5-0) @ Pittsburgh (2-3), 11:00 a.m.   Pitt has been an enigma.  When you believe in them, they fail.  When you give up on them, they pull the upset.  The Confidential believes that they have the best coaching staff in the Big East.  But Pitt will rise to the occasion and defend its home turf.  Prediction: Pittsburgh 24, Louisville 21.

Syracuse (2-3) @ #20 Rutgers (5-0), Noon.   It is no secret that the Confidential is a “homer” when it comes to Syracuse, but rarely predicts based on that homer nature.  It is a jinx-risk thing.  But Rutgers will have the better season when it is all said and done.  Rutgers schedules smart and develops the confidence of its teams.  Syracuse’s challenging schedule has undermined its team confidence.  Prediction: Rutgers 21, Syracuse 19.

Duke (5-1) @ Virginia Tech (3-3), 12:30 p.m.  In most years, this would be a 30-point spread and an easy selection of the Hokies.  But those records cannot be ignored–they are saying something else.  The Confidential has been burned by the Hokies repeatedly this year, but will give them one more chance to show that they are not imploding.  Prediction: Virginia Tech 33, Duke 21.

North Carolina (4-2) @ Miami (4-2), 2:30 p.m.  The Sanctions Bowl!  Look, North Carolina has had a nice season, and Miami has been blown out by top foes on the road.  But note that Miami is home for this game.  That is a huge edge for the Hurricanes.  Prediction: Miami 30, North Carolina 22.

Maryland (3-2) @ Virginia (2-4), 3:00 p.m.  Who saw this coming?  Maryland with more wins than Virginia?  One of Virginia’s wins being a luck win against Penn State?  It is what it is.  If it is a fluke, this will be the week that puts the teams back on their expected course.  Prediction: Virginia 24, Maryland 14.

Boston College (1-4) @ #12 Florida State (5-1), 5:30 p.m.  The Seminoles could not avoid a letdown last week.  They were their own worst enemy.  Boston College just does not have the horses to play with Florida State.  If the Seminoles lose, they have the wrong coaching staff, plain and simple.  Prediction: Florida State 56, Boston College 10.

The Confidential apologizes in advance for not picking your team.  A lot of close games here.  Feel free to share why we are wrong. 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Predictions and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,
08 Oct 2012

ACC Football Rankings: October 8, 2012

This is particularly complex with Pitt and Syracuse not yet in the ACC, but it can still be done.  This is how the Confidential ranks the ACC football teams as of October 8, 2012:

1.  Florida State (5-1)–With its win over Clemson, the Confidential simply cannot punish the Seminoles for its road loss to North Carolina State THAT much.  There is plenty more time for Clemson to show it deserves this spot over the team that it lost to.

2. Clemson (5-1)–In beating Georgia Tech, Clemson has itself set up nicely to pounce if/when Florida State disappoints next.  The Tigers need to focus on running the table in the ACC and worry about its conference rival South Carolina only when that game week approaches.

3. Duke (5-1)–Duke keeps winning.  That Stanford loss looks worse now, but who had the Blue Devils playing for bowl-eligibility in mid-October?  Give credit where it is due.

4. North Carolina State (4-2)–Before the weekend, Florida State was in the national title picture.  After this weekend, they are not.  Credit North Carolina State for making that happen.

5. North Carolina (4-2)–The Tar Heels finally beat someone with some talent–the very talented Virginia Tech Hokies.  They’ll have to prove that the deserve to stay in this spot when they visit Miami this week.

6. Miami (4-2)–Miami has yet to lose in conference play, but they have been simply awful against top 10 teams out of conference.  They have been outscored 93-16.  Not a typo.  Wow.

7. Maryland (3-2)–Well, the Terrapins are above .500.  They kept it as close against West Virginia as anyone all year.  The best wins are Temple and Wake Forest though.  Ugh.

8. Wake Forest (3-3)–The Demon Deacons beat North Carolina.  Virginia Tech did not.

9. Virginia Tech(3-3)—Not that Wake Forest has done THAT much to be ahead of Virginia Tech.  But Virginia Tech is struggling in a way that we have not seen under Frank Beamer.

10. Syracuse (2-3)–Syracuse was desperate for a win and got it, defeating Pitt 14-13.  A pretty ugly win though.

11. Pittsburgh (2-3)—At least Pitt has a nice win over Virginia Tech.  They lost a lot of momentum with that Syracuse loss though.

12. Georgia Tech (2-4)–The loss to Clemson was not bad, but the Georgia Tech resume is just not that impressive.  They did beat Virginia though.

13. Virginia (2-4)–That lucky win over Penn State looks nice.  But otherwise Virginia has been awful.

14. Boston College (1-4)–For a few weeks, the Confidential has been saying that Boston College doesn’t deserve to be #14.  Losing to Army?  There, now they deserve it.

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

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
07 Oct 2012

ACC Weekend Football Recap: October 7, 2012

Well, another week is in the books for the ACC and its national title hopes are in the dumpster.  It is not Florida State’s fault that the ACC is out of the national title picture, but it is Florida State’s fault that the Seminoles are.  The ACC’s other “BCS hopefuls” looked particularly poor also, with Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, and Miami all losing.  Simply put, the ACC continues to mire itself in football mediocrity.

Here are the current standings:

Atlantic Conference W-L Overall W-L
Maryland 1-0 3-2
Clemson 2-1 5-1
Florida St. 2-1 5-1
N. Carolina St. 1-1 4-2
Wake Forest 1-3 3-3
Boston College 0-2 1-4
Coastal Conference W-L Overall W-L
Miami (Fla.) 3-0 4-2
Duke 2-0 5-1
North Carolina 1-1 4-2
Virginia Tech 1-1 3-3
Georgia Tech 1-3 2-4
Virginia 0-2 2-4

So there you have it.  Maryland, of all teams, is leading the Atlantic division.  And Miami and Duke are pacing the Coastal division.  If you bet $5 in Vegas on a Duke-Maryland championship game, you’d be looking for an island somewhere to purchase.  But that’s a possibility (mathematically).

It was not all bad for the ACC.  Duke rising to the occasion to beat Virginia IS a good story.  Virginia remains a dumpster fire, but Duke has not beaten Wake Forest and Virginia–neither team expected to be as bad as they currently are.  A Duke surge in football will be national news.  Clemson beating Georgia Tech continues the legitimacy of the Tigers.  And if Clemson can run the table and defeat a very hot South Carolina team in the process, they will be a legitimate BCS entry for the conference.  Similarly, Florida State running the table would include a defeat of currently surging Florida, accomplishing the same thing.  North Carolina State deserves some kudos for defeating Florida State too.  And we’ll be generous and call the Syracuse-Pitt pillow fight on Friday night a “defensive struggle,” as both teams have had decent offenses all season that were stifled by good performances on the other side of the ball.  These are all good things.

But it was mostly bad.  The ACC could have used a return to relevance by Virginia Tech, but the Hokies lost to North Carolina.  Not sure what is going on with Frank Beamer’s team, but it is not good.  Georgia Tech looked better in losing to Clemson, but 2-4 really was not expected.  That close loss to Virginia Tech looks worse and worse each week too.  Boston College losing to Army simply confirms that the program is in trouble right now.  And Miami remains an enigma–showing no signs of being able to compete on the national stage with another out-of-conference blowout loss.  That suggests that the ACC is that weak nationally–a 3-0 team in conference cannot stay within 30 points of top 10 teams.

There is little to point to defend ACC football in 2012.  At this point, it will be a battle for respect once again.  It is disappointing that the conference is in “wait ’til next year mode,” but it is what it is.

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

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