Week 3 ACC Power Rankings

ACC POWER RANKINGS

Hello, Tarheeltds reader(s).

It’s been a great week for UNC football, and a pretty good week for the ACC. So let’s celebrate the good times with the first edition of my ACC Power Rankings.

1)      Miami (2-0 ACC)- Miami looks exceptional so far. Offensively, Jacory Harris is throwing beautifully to a very deep and finally productive group of wide receivers. At running back, Javarris James looks better than he has in years. On defense, the Hurricanes wiped out Georgia Tech with a blend of speed, power, and pure talent. I’ll spare you the commentary on their “swagger,” but this looks like a 9 to 11 win team to me.

2)      North Carolina (3-0)- UNC will have a chance in every game thanks to its dominant defense. Offensively, the Heels seem to be coming of age at wide receiver and offensive line while TJ Yates looks like the 2^nd best passer in the conference.

3)      Florida State (2-1)- FSU recovered big time from their 19-9 win over Jacksonville State with a 54-28 blasting of the #7 BYU Stormin’ Mormons. We knew Ponder and the offensive line would be solid but the receivers have been a plus too, helping the offense rank 27^th in the nation in total yards. The defense has struggled, but it won’t face another truly great offensive team until it plays Florida in the last week of the season.

4)      Virginia Tech (2-1)- Who would have thought that Virginia Tech would be the third best team in its own division at this point in the year? The Hokies escaped with a 16-15 win over a ranked Nebraska team this week, but that doesn’t mean I’m sold on their performance. Their passing game is atrocious, and the running game doesn’t look much better. Defensively, they look more vulnerable than they have in years.

5)      Georgia Tech (2-1)- What on Earth happened to the Jackets on Thursday night? They looked uninspired and uninterested, and in a key divisional game, too. RB Jonathan Dwyer has been ineffective so far this season, and he’s the key to their offense. Last year, Georgia Tech lost almost every game when Dwyer was held in check. Defensively, I haven’t seen much either, especially in the secondary.

6)      Clemson (2-1)- Clemson gave up just 51 total yards to Boston College on Saturday. The Tigers are a dominant defensive unit, but offensively they’ve had their share of problems. The passing game, thanks to a lack of WRs not named Jacoby Ford, is spotty, while the running game isn’t scaring anyone. And guess what? CJ Spiller’s hurt again!

7)      NC State (2-1)- NCSU is hard to judge because they’ve only played one big boy game, a 7-3 loss to South Carolina. In that game, their offense looked god awful (note: Georgia scored 40 points on South Carolina the next week, so I don’t think it’s just the Gamecock defense). Defensively, they’ve been sharp, but I don’t expect that to last after they stop playing the Murray States and Gardner Webbs of the world.

8)      Wake Forest (2-1)- Wake seems to have revitalized its rushing attack, but I can’t see this offense threatening any of the elite defenses in this conference. One bright spot for the Deacons seems to be their offensive backfield where a number of guys have stepped up and played well.

9)      Boston College (2-1)- BC put up 51 yards this past week in a game at Clemson. They didn’t have a first down that wasn’t caused by a Clemson penalty until there were two minutes left in the third quarter. Just let that sink in for a second as we continue sinking into the depths of ACC football.

10)   Duke (1-2)- Just cancel your season, Duke. You lost to Richmond at home. You lost by 4 touchdowns to Kansas on the road. Save yourselves the agony, and just call it a year.

11)   Maryland (1-2)- The Terps gave up 268 yards rushing to James Madison. With upcoming games against Rutgers, Clemson and Wake Forest, these guys could be 1-5 heading into their epic showdown with Virginia on August 17^th. Can you say hot ticket?

12)   Virginia (0-3)- And speaking of the mighty Cavaliers, here’s Al Groh’s squad checking in at number 12. After blowing a 17 point lead with 7 minutes left in the 3^rd quarter against Southern Miss., the Hoos might have blown their best chance to get a win this season. Still, I say Al Groh has this team right where he wants them. Some say he’s the greatest ACC coach of all time when it comes to job-saving victories. He’ll get a big chance when the Cavaliers come to Chapel Hill in 2 weeks. This blog has been programmed to self-destruct in case of a UNC loss in that one.

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Thanks for reading, and go Tar Heels!

What We Learned in Week 1: ACC

What we learned in Week 1:

1) Virginia Tech (still) has an offensive offense.

We heard all summer about the improvements in the Virginia Tech passing game, but I didn’t see much in the Hokies’ disappointing 34-24 loss to Alabama. Tyrod Taylor was spotty, and the receivers didn’t look much better. Highly touted redshirt-freshman RB Ryan Williams breathed a little bit of life into the offense (113 of the Hokies’ measley 155 yards), but as long as Bryan Stynespring has his hands on the controls, the Gobbler attack is as good as dead. Quote me on this one: Virginia Tech will not beat a top 10 team until Bryan Stynespring is gone. And in other bad news for Virginia Tech fans, the UNC and Miami defenses look more than capable of taking away the Hokies ground attack.

2) The only thing Virginia can spread is cheese on crackers.

Gregg Brandon’s offensive spread experiment got off to a disastrous start in Charlottesville as the Cavaliers totaled just 268 yards and gave the ball away 7 times. All three Virginia QBs were terrible in the passing game, but can you really blame them? Spread offenses thrive by utilizing speed on the outside, and speed is one cheese not available at Gregg Brandon’s UVa offensive tailgate. The 7 turnovers given to the in-state visitors from Williamsburg were certainly a nice gesture by the host Hoos, but if the Hoos are that hospitable against the #17 Horned Frogs of TCU this coming week, they’ll lose by 4 touchdowns—or more.

3) Georgia Tech still has a case of fumble-itis.

One fallacy about option teams like Georgia Tech is that they decrease their fumbles with more experience in the offensive system. That may be true to a degree, but almost all of Paul Johnson’s teams—experienced or not—have coughed up the football a lot. The Jackets fumbled 5 times against Jacksonville State, losing three of them, and that should concern Georgia Tech fans. Coach Johnson blames the butter fingers on a lack of QB contact during practice, but I disagree. A rare downside of the option offense is a tendency to give away the rock, and that could factor into the Jackets’ success this year.

4) Duke football is still…Duke football

David Cutcliffe can talk about bowl games if he wants to, but he won’t be attending any as the head coach of the Duke football program. Duke failed to run the ball against an FCS opponent, and that does not bode well for their chances to run the ball against dominant defensive fronts at Miami, UNC, Virginia Tech, and Georgia Tech. Without a running game, the Devils will be exorcised in at least 7 of their 8 ACC games.

5) Stop chiseling Russell Wilson’s ACC Hall of Fame plaque.

Russell Wilson struggled mightily against South Carolina while Miami sophomore Jacory Harris looked like the next Charlie Ward. Preseason writers were ready to induct Wilson into the ACC Hall of Fame, but remember—he’s still a sophomore on a struggling NC State football team. Look for Harris to snatch the 1st team All-ACC QB position.

ACC Weekend Forecast

ACC Weekend Forecast- Week 1

"As you can see behind me, there are some ACC upsets brewing."

Anyone who’s ever seen the weather channel knows how hilarious dramatic weather predictions can be. Dave Barry certainly knows. (http://www.frankjuval.com/FLstorm/). In honor of the Weather Channel, I’ve decided to do this weekend’s ACC forecast by picking a “storm category” for each of the games to be played. Allow me to demonstrate exactly what I mean with a handy key.

Category 5- Hurricane Hugh-miliation

The favored team destroys the underdog; hide the women and children!

EX: 2008 Clemson 45 Citadel 17

Category 4- Tropical Storm Spanky

The favored team wins handily, but you can’t change the channel to American Gladiators reruns until the late 3^rd quarter

EX: 2008 GT 27 Duke 0

Category 3- Tropical Depression Duke

The favored team triumphs, but the game’s sloppier than a Duke Lacrosse party.

EX: 2008 Virginia 16 Richmond 0

Category 2- Tropical Breeze Biankabatuka

The underdog sneaks out a win by the tip of the football. It truly is a game of inches…

EX: 2008 Virginia 16 North Carolina 13 (OT)

Category 1- Windless sails

The underdog wins big over a favored team that presumably got hammered at the Holiday Inn the night before and is still puking during warm ups.

EX: 2008 Virginia 31 Maryland 0

At this point, you might be asking yourself: what does the Weather Channel have to do with football? And why did this guy ever watch the Weather Channel anyway? I will deflect both of those questions by asking a question of my own: how is it that Virginia went 3-0 on my Storm Category Explanation Chart and 1-8 in the rest of the 2008 season? At this time, I think it’s suitable to quote Cat Stevens.

“The answer, my friends, is blowing in the wind; the answer is blowing in the wind.”

"Read the rest of the article, or I'll never cut my hair again."

WEEK 1: ACC WEEKEND FORECAST

CATEGORY FIVE- Hurricane Hugh-Miliation

1) Citadel @ #21 North Carolina (No line) – North Carolina blows the running-back deprived Citadel all the way back to Charleston.

SCORE: UNC 37 Citadel 9

2) Jacksonville State @ #15 Georgia Tech (No line) – Georgia Tech sweeps through Ryan Perriloux University* like a Category Five ravaging a trailer park. Cows and roofs go airborne.

SCORE: GT 45 JSU 17

*Ryan Perriloux, as is customary, has been suspended for the game.

CATEGORY FOUR- Tropical Storm Spanky

1) Middle Tennessee State @ Clemson (-18.5)-Last year, Clemson was the overhyped Category 5 Hurricane that ended up just knocking 3 shingles off a condemned house in Miami. This year, Clemson spins powerfully under the radar. Start buying plywood, MTSU. You’ll need it.

SCORE: Clemson 38 MTSU 12

2) Maryland @ #12 California (-21.5) – When you’re rebuilding in the front 7 as Maryland is, you don’t want to play Heisman candidate RB Jahvid Best and the Bears.

SCORE: California 41 Maryland 23

CATEGORY THREE- Tropical Depression Duke

1) Miami @ #18 Florida State (-5.5)- The Hurricanes weaken and drift off on the first leg of their 0-4 start. Miami is officially not threatening enough to be shown on the ominous Tropical Update segment.

SCORE: Florida State 21 Miami 10

2) #7 Virginia Tech vs. #5 Alabama (-6) – Alabama QB Greg McIlroy more than replaces frat-helmet superstar John Parker Wilson. Virginia Tech coaches cannot find RB Ryan Williams after the game. Police identify the now 550 lb Terrance Cody as the prime suspect.

SCORE: Alabama 13 VT 10

"Great job Terrance. Now what'd you do with that little running back?"

3) Northeastern @ Boston College (N/A)-This is without a doubt the least interesting matchup in the history of ACC football. I’d rather watch UVa play William and Mary in the in the House of Burgesses 390^th Anniversary classic at Scott Stadium.

SCORE: BC 16 Northeastern 7

4) William and Mary @ Virginia (No line)-This game has two interesting storylines. First, will 50% of Scott Stadium fall asleep during the game? Secondly, can Gregg Brandon’s spread offense conquer the Tribe defense without offending Native Americans or the NCAA? No to both questions.

SCORE: Virginia 26 William and Mary 17

CATEGORY TWO- Tropical Breeze Biankabatuka

1) Richmond @ Duke (No line) – The Blue Devils have been dreaming about Meineke Car Car bowls this offseason. The Spiders? Well, they have been talking about repeat FCS national titles.

SCORE: Richmond 16 Duke 10

2) South Carolina @ NC State (-3.5)- Mike Glennon will get his chance to shine after the South Carolina defense knocks out Russell Wilson…again.

SCORE: USC 17 NCSU 12

CATEGORY ONE- Windless sails

1) Baylor @ Wake Forest (-1.5)-The Big 12 is the like the ACC’s much cooler, much lazier older brother. I don’t know where I was going with that, but speedy QB Robert Griffith leads the Bears to big win.

SCORE: Baylor 34 Wake 16