Week 11 ACC Picks

Here's a quick rundown of today's matches and who I've got:

 Miami (6-3, 4-2 ACC) @  Georgia Tech (5-4, 3-3 ACC)

With Miami's Harris still injured, look for freshman QB Stephen Morris to show the GT defense what he's got. Morris looked sharp last week in a big win against Maryland, so I'm picking him as the game's key player. If Morris fails to produce, Georgia Tech might be able to sneak out a crucial home win. 

• Pick- 27-21 Miami

 Boston College (4-5, 2-4 ACC) @  Duke (3-6, 1-4 ACC)

The Blue Devils' thought this was going to be a breakout year for the program but after a slow start, they've struggled to recover. On paper it looks to be a pretty evenly matched game, but look for Duke to come out with a little aggression and play like they've got something to prove against BC. 

• Pick: 34-24 Duke

 Wake Forest (2-7, 1-5 ACC) @  NC State (6-3, 3-2 ACC)

The Wolfpack will take no hostages in Raleigh this afternoon. Coming off a tough loss to Clemson last Saturday look for ACC passing leader Russell Wilson have a big day against the Deacs' struggling defense (giving up more than 40 points a game in their 7 losses this season).

• Pick: 44-17 NC State

#20 Virginia Tech (7-2, 5-0 ACC) @  North Carolina (6-3, 3-2 ACC)

Virginia Tech has been red hot after opening the season 0-2, ripping off 7 straight wins. I see this streak coming to an end Saturday in Chapel Hill. Carolina has improved steadily since week 1 and looked very strong at Florida State last week. Butch Davis will have his team ready for this match up; if the Tar Heel defense can contain Hokie QB Tyrod Taylor and UNC QB Yates can create on offense, Carolina will be on its way to a big win.

• Pick: 28-27 UNC

 Maryland (6-3, 3-2 ACC) @  Virginia (4-5, 1-4 ACC)

Maryland looks to bounce back after a last minute loss last weekend in Miami. Virginia's defense doesn't look strong enough to hold off QB O'Brien's arm. Look for him to have a big day against the shaky Cavalier secondary.

• Pick: 27-14 Maryland

 Clemson (5-4, 3-3 ACC) @  Florida State (6-3, 4-2 ACC)

Huge Coastal Division match in Tallahassee. With a Clemson win, the Coastal Division would be wide open, with 4 teams having a legitimate shot at taking the title. With a Florida State win, they will move one step closer to a spot in the ACC Championship game in Charlotte. Look for Ponder's leadership to prove the key and for the Seminoles to bounce back from last weeks loss to UNC at home. 

• Pick: 17-7 Florida State

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.

ACC October Wrap-Up

Boston College (3-5, 1-4 ACC): Dissapointing October for the Eagles, going 1-4 overall and 1-3 in ACC play. A tough schedule for BC this month (Notre Dame, @NCSU and @#16 FSU) but not the result the Eagles were looking for.
 - October Grade: C-

Clemson (4-4, 2-3 ACC): Not an impressive month for the Tigers, going 2-3 during October. The Tigers lost two games, #16 Miami and @ UNC to start the month. Sophomore QB Kyle Parker needs to step up in order for Clemson to finish strong.
 - October Grade:  C

Duke (2-6, 0-4 ACC): Duke is the only remaining ACC team without a win. Needless to say, their October performance was not good (1-3).
 - October Grade: D+

#24 Florida State (6-2, 4-1 ACC): Not a bad month for the Seminoles. QB Ponder is playing well and the defense is standing strong, giving up less than 20 points a game. The only loss of the month was a Thursday night game @ NCSU.
 - October Grade: Solid B

Georgia Tech (5-3, 3-2 ACC) : The defending ACC champion Yellow Jackets rebounded nicely in October after a shaky start. A loss to Clemson on the 23rd will bug them but an otherwise soft schedule (@WF, UVA, MTSU) played to their advantage.
 - October Grade: B-

Maryland (6-2, 3-1 ACC): What a surprise out of the ACC Coastal Division. Who had the Terps picked to have one conference loss at the end of October? Maryland is red hot and is in the hunt for a possible ACC title. They would like to have another chance at an Oct 16th loss to Clemson 31-7. Overall, not a bad month.
 - October Grade: B

Miami (5-3, 3-2 ACC): Dissapointment in South Beach. Miami has fallen out of the top 25 rankings and went just 3-2 in ACC play for the month. A blowout loss to #23 Florida State and a 24-19 loss to UVA have put a damper on Miami's high expectations.
 - October Grade: C+

North Carolina (5-3, 2-2 ACC): Good, solid month of football from the Tar Heels. Going 4-1 in October, Carolina has rebounded nicely from early season woes.
 - October Grade: B+

#25 North Carolina State (6-2, 3-1 ACC): Up and down month for the Pack. After leading much of the game vs VT and @ECU, the Pack couldn't finish. A big win against #16 FSU to close out the month helped them to rebound and make it an somewhat successful month.
- October Grade: B-

Virginia (4-4, 1-3 ACC): Terrible start to October, giving up three blowout losses but the Cavaliers were able to rebound and knock off #22 Miami to close the month out.
 - October Grade:C-

#22 Virginia Tech (6-2, 4-0 ACC): The Hokies are on fire. Going 4-0 during October, VT has been able to overcome their early season woes and get back on track.
 - October Grade: A+

Wake Forest (2-6, 1-4 ACC): Dismal month for the Deacs. Wake Forest went 0-4 in October, giving up 52 and 62 points in their last two games. Much improvement is needed to save their season.
 - October Grade: F

Week 2 Wrap-Up

Week 2 of College Football is all wrapped up with the highest ranking ACC teams not fairing so well in their weekend match-ups. The top teams were, well, disappointing.

• Starting off with the headline match-ups of the weekend, the Florida State-Oklahoma and the Miami-Ohio State games:
• The 17th ranked Florida State Seminoles came out flat, went down early, and stayed down. The 47-17 final score shows the dominance by Oklahoma throughout.
• Miami put up a little better fight, but were down the whole game to a much better performing team. Miami had the talent, they just didn't have it together from the start. They played sloppy and QB Jacory Harris' four interceptions did not help.
• Maybe the biggest surprise of the weekend, #13 Virginia Tech took an enormous loss to FBS James Madison. With talks of VT being a national title contender this year in preseason camp, an 0-2 has all but ended those dreams for the Hokies. 

• The defending ACC champions, Georgia Tech, were unsuccessful on their road trip to Kansas. Kansas, coming off a tough loss to the FBS team North Dakota State, showed up with a lot of heart and pulled out the huge 28-25 upset against the 15th ranked Yellow Jackets.
• Wake Forest held off the up-and-coming Blue Devil football program with a 54-48 victory in a offensive showdown. With 70 points scored between the two teams in the first half, the defenses settled a bit in the second half. Wake Forest pulled ahead in the fourth quarter and never looked back.
• UVA put up an impressive effort but fell short on the road to #16 USC.
• On the contrary, NC State pulled out a road win against the 4 point favorite UCF this weekend in Orlando. The Wolfpack's offense was impressive and posted 134 rushing yards on the evening.
• Rounding out the ACC action this weekend, Clemson, Maryland and Boston College all posted home victories.