Trap Games for Each #ACC Coastal Division Football Team

Good evening, Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) sports fans.

We are missing college football.  So much so that I’m watching the Canadian Football League when broadcasted on the mothership of ESPN.

So I figured it would be time to look at the 2018 college football season trap games for each ACC Coastal Division team.

Urban Dictionary defines a trap game as:

a game played against an opponent generally deemed to be easy to defeat. As a result a person or team may not prepare as thoroughly as they would for a formidable opponent. Often this attitude and its attendant lack of preparation lead to a loss.

Without further ado, here are the trap games for each ACC Coastal Division football team:

1. North Carolina – The last time Syracuse and North Carolina played was in 2003.  The teams have split a series of games (both have two wins and two losses). North Carolina goes on the road to Syracuse this year.  Syracuse has one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the ACC in Eric Dungey – and we know defense isn’t really North Carolina’s thing.  Interesting things happen at the Orange Dome. Just ask Virginia Tech and Clemson.
2. Duke – There are two answers for this question – one could stay a rebuilding Baylor who the Devils play on the road might be a challenge, but I’m not quite sure the Bears have enough recruits yet for Matt Rhule’s system (Rhule will eventually make Baylor a better team).  The take here is that Duke better watch out for Virginia. Yes, Duke has had a good series of games vs. the Hoos, but that is when Mike London was Virginia’s coach. Bronco Mendenhall will have his defense ready.
3. Pittsburgh – Pittsburgh has a tough schedule this year.  The Panthers play Penn State, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, and Miami.  Sandwiched between the Panthers game with Virginia Tech – and Miami is this game vs. Wake Forest University (and it’s on the road in Winston-Salem, NC).  The Panthers should better pay attention to the Demon Deacons. Dave Clawson is in his fifth year at Wake Forest – and his teams are getting better and better (their records show it).  This is Clawson’s best team in five year. Here’s thinking Wake Forest pulls an upset.
4. Miami – Miami is taking a risk – and going on the road in a nationally televised match-up at Toledo. Last year, Toledo won the Mid-American Conference (MAC) SB Nation’s Bill Connelly (on Twitter @SBN_BillC) think that the Rockets have the deepest and most athletic group of talent in the MAC.  Here’s thinking Miami wins this game, but if they come out slow out of the game, we will all be watching the fourth quarter.
5. Georgia Tech – Why aren’t the Yellow Jackets playing an FCS team prior to the week that they play their hated SEC rival, Georgia?  Well, because the Jackets play an ACC football team instead in the University of Virginia. Believe it or not, the Jackets have lost two out of three vs. the Hoos (yes, this is a true statement).  Georgia Tech had better not come out of the gate slow vs. the Hoos – or you might see the same thing happen. I think this is bad spot for Georgia Tech – the Jackets should win this game but can’t take it lightly.  Virginia is a common theme here for a couple of teams – mostly because I don’t know what I’m getting from the Hoos when they get on a football field. Virginia can look serviceable – or it can look really bad.
6. Virginia Tech – You take a look at the Hokies 2018 football schedule – and in past years, East Carolina would be considered a trap game.  No more. Once Ruffin McNeil left East Carolina, that demon left the Hokies.  The Hokies are going to fired up out of the game for Florida State (I’m not saying the Hokies will win – but this isn’t a trap game).  The Hokies have too much talent for ODU or Liberty to be a trap game. Where’s the trap game for Virginia Tech? The Hokies play Notre Dame on October 6, 2018.  One week prior to that game, the Hokies are on the road at Duke on September 29, 2018. Redshirt Junior Quarterback, Daniel Jones, comes back – and he’s likely a top 3 quarterback in the ACC.  The temptation to look ahead to Notre Dame (which will be a monster national primetime matchup) could cause problems for the Hokies vs. Duke.
7. Virginia –  Bronco Mendenhall was pretty blunt in his remarks to the university’s Board of Visitors.  Mendenhall sized up the Hoos roster in basically said that there are 27 ACC caliber football players on the roster. (h/t David Teel also on Twitter at @DavidTeelatDP).  The Hoos ended up last year at 6-7 – and I don’t see them improving on that record this year.  Given that I think Virginia will be lucky to get to .500, it’s hard to pick a trap game for the Hoos.  However, Virginia has to defeat the Ohio Bobcats if the Hoos want to be bowl-eligible. And Connelly of SB Nation gives the Bobcats a 46% chance of winning this game.  I personally think that Frank Solich, the Bobcats head football coach, is awesome.  So, yeah, not only do I think Ohio is a trap game, but it’s also necessary for Virginia to win this game to be in the postseason.  Some would say that this is not a trap game for the very reason that I’m saying it is necessary win for postseason eligibility. I disagree.  Ohio has many players coming back – and is likely to win the MAC.

And that’s it – what are your trap games?

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