Is your head spinning after this weekend in College Football? Virginia Tech started the weekend not even in the BCS Title discussion, and by the end of tomorrow they could be 4th in the BCS as top 10 imploded.
If Clemson had won at NC State they would be right there with Virginia Tech, but instead were crushed by a near perfect NC State effort. I think you can figure out which awards those teams won.
The Good
Not in our house
Clemson came to NC State 9-1 having just clinched the ACC Division title and looking to get back into the national title race. The Wolfpack said forget it. I’m not a Tom O’Brien fan, but he had his team prepared and motivated in a scintillating performance. Literally at one point in the game it looked liked the Wolfpack had 15 players on defense. It may have been the best single performance by any ACC team this season. The Wolfpack still need one more win to get bowl eligible. Good things it’s Maryland.
Frank Lloyd Wright
Mike London’s rebuilding project at Virginia just keeps going. It was nice little story all year. The Cavaliers yea great will go to a bowl, good for them. Now after they went to Doak Campbell and beat Florida State 14-13, London has UVA on the verge of an improbable ACC Coastal Division. As always if you want to win the Coastal Division you have to beat Virginia Tech. The Cavs get their chance at home next week.
Safely at home
Virginia Tech beat UNC 24-21 on Thursday, then sat home Saturday while top 10 team after top 10 team fell. Suddenly the Hokies are in the National Title Race. They don’t control their own destiny, but if the Hokies win out and get a couple of breaks then it could happen, and I’m not kidding.
Taking Care of Business
With upsets happening all over the place, Georgia Tech played a trap game at Duke and won 38-31. It wasn’t pretty and the secondary struggled, but Tevin Washington led the offense to 549 yards of total offense. The Jackets are 8-3 and a surprisingly good season can still be a great one with a win over in-state rival Georgia next week.
Wake Forest also had a surprising season, and took care of an awful Maryland team 31-10 to get bowl eligible. Tanner Price threw for over 300 yards and Jim Grobe has quietly done one of the best coaching jobs in the ACC this year.
Who needs style points?
Miami won an ugly 6-3 game against South Florida. Who cares? The win got Miami bowl eligible, and avenged a 23-20 loss last year to the Bulls. The defense held the Bulls to 249 total yards and the Canes could get to 7-5 with a win over Boston College next week. I’ve read where the Canes may self-impose a bowl ban, and forgo the post-season. I hope they don’t do that. By and large most of the Miami players had nothing to do with the NCAA allegations. They deserve a bowl. Just reduce scholarships if you do anything
The Bad
Lost Respect
All year long Clemson had been fighting for national respect. When were they going to have a “Clemson” moment? Week after week passed and even with a loss at Georgia Tech the Tigers looked like the ACC’s best team until today. In a disastrous performance the Tigers lost at NC State 37-13, and it could have been worse. The nation finally said Clemson had their “Clemson” game. It’s a shame but you can’t explain it. The Tigers were without Sammy Watkins, but played uninspired sloppy football, and were beat in every phase of the game by NC State.
No Progress
This was supposed to be FSU’s year to again become the ACC’s premier team. They weren’t even close. Sure there have been some injuries, but after losing 14-13 to Virginia you have chalk this up as a lost season for Jimbo Fisher. Even if they win out and finish 9-4 that is not what FSU fans were looking for.
Same goes for Duke as they fell to 3-8 after losing by 7 to Georgia Tech. It was just another season of close losses and missed opportunities in Durham.
No Moral Victories
Boston College and North Carolina played a couple of games against teams that were better than they were. Boston College was at Notre Dame and lost 16-14. North Carolina lost 24-21 at Virginia Tech. In both games BC and UNC could have laid down and not competed, but both scored late TD’s to make things interesting. In the end both were just two more losses, and I’m sure neither BC nor UNC takes much joy in a moral victory.
The Maryland
Wake Forest 31 Maryland 10. The Terps fall to 2-9. In a wild day in college football you can always count on Maryland to lose. That’s 7 losses in a row for the Terps.
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