Race For The Coastal Division

With the ACC championship game fast approaching and the top contenders beginning to flex their muscles, the race for the ACC's Coastal Division title could not be tighter. Florida State, NC State and Maryland are all tied at the top of the division with two losses a piece. With a spot in the conference championship game up for grabs, each of these three teams still has a chance to play in Charlotte in mid December.

NC State could very well be an 8-1 team. With an overtime loss to ECU and a 14-13 loss to Clemson last weekend, the Pack has been on the losing end of two games they could have very well have won. The final two games for the Pack will be tough road tests, but they have shown how good they can be when they play to their potential, so an ACC title game trip is not unrealistic. NC State now controls their own destiny. If the Wolfpack wins their final three games, home against Wake Forest tomorrow, @ North Carolina 11/20, and @ Maryland 11/27, they will own the tiebreaker against both Maryland and Florida State no matter how they finish.

Florida State has shown their ability to be an ACC champion, but after a 4-0 start in ACC play the Seminoles have dropped their last two. For Florida State to be able to represent the Coastal Division they not only need to beat Clemson tomorrow and beat Maryland in College Park on the 20th, they need NC State to lose one of its final three games.

Probably the most under-the-radar team of the ACC this year, Maryland has quietly played their way into contention for the Coastal Division title. Although they've played a rather weak ACC schedule so far (11-18 combined opponent ACC record) they have shown the ability to pull out the win. Like NC State, Maryland controls their own fate. If the Terps can pull out wins @ Virginia tomorrow, vs Florida State 11/20 and vs NC State 11/27, they will be representing the Coastal division come December. They have a tough road ahead, but it looks that Maryland may have as good a chance as either FSU or NCSU.

With all that said, the final three weeks of ACC play should be nothing short of exciting.