Some of the ACC heavyweights (Clemson, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech) got a much needed BYE week, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t some pivotal results. Let see what the Good, The Bad and The Ugly for the week was.
The Good
Going Bowling
The Mike London rebuilding project at Virginia continues to gather steam. The Cavaliers did what good teams do; they went on the road and won. It was 31-13 win against a terrible Maryland team, but when you are trying to get bowl eligible you’ll most certainly take it. When Virginia can get that power running game going like they did against the Terrapins, they can be a very tough team to deal with. Perry Jones ran for 139 yards in another solid game for him.
We own North Carolina.
What is the surest way for NC State and Tom O’Brien to get a win? It’s to play North Carolina. The Wolfpack won their 5th straight game against the arch rival Heels and did so in dominating fashion. NC State shutout North Carolina 13-0, and held the Tar Heels to 3 rushing yards yes 3 rushing yards. I would recommend to Tom O’Brien get several Tar Heel jerseys, and tell whoever they play the rest of the year hey can you put this on?
Cruise Control
Miller TimeFlorida State is on cruise control. There may not be a team in country outside of Alabama that has played better defense in the last month than the Seminoles. FSU easily defeated Boston College 38-7 on Thursday Night. That would be 30 straight bowl eligible years for the Noles. That is the longest active current streak and 2nd longest in NCAA history. Florida State gave up only 207 yards of offense to BC.
Miami’s Lamar Miller became the Cane’s first 1000 yard rusher since 2002. The Canes beat Duke 49-14 in one of team inconsistent good performances. Once you get David Wilson at one All-ACC RB position I think the other has to go to Lamar Miller.
The Bad
Overwhelmed
Boston College and Duke needed near perfect efforts to beat Florida State and to win at Miami. Neither got those kind of games. Boston College played hard, but had trouble running, throwing and picking up first downs against the Florida State defense. That’s not a recipe for success.
Duke looked spent after nearly beating Virginia Tech last week. They simply didn’t appear ready to play today against Miami. Those bowl hopes are fading fading away.
Missed Opportunities
Wake Forest had so many chances to really push Notre Dame in the 2nd half of their 24-17 loss, but time and time again they missed critical tackles, took a drive killing sacks and simply made too many mistakes to pull the upset. It could have been a landmark win, but just turned into a frustrating loss. The Deacs are still in position to win the ACC Atlantic, if they can win at Clemson next weekend. Yea I’m not seeing it either.
NC State owns us
Sorry Tar Heels when you can’t put up one single point in your 5th straight loss to the NC State, well you’re the Wolfpack’s you know… Please don’t bring the series record into the discussion, your offensive line made the NC State’s D-Line look like the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Ugly
Is this the bottom?
How much worse can things get in College Park? After a listless 31-13 loss to Virginia, I think you can really start questioning the Randy Edsall hire. Obviously after less than a year you can’t call for his firing, but if I’m a Maryland fan, I’m getting concerned. Edsall has managed in a few short weeks to completely destroy the confidence of two promising young QB’s, lose his team, lose the Maryland fanbase, and lose a bunch of games. With 3 road games remaining, the Terps may not win another game this year.
Leave a Reply