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More Weirdness in ACC
By BJ Bennett
SouthernPigskin.com
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SouthernPigskin.com ACC Columnist Marc Hudgens reflects on an odd weekend in ACC football.
By Marc Hudgens
SouthernPigskin.com ACC Columnist
SouthernPigskin.com ACC Columnist Marc Hudgens reflects on an odd weekend in ACC football.
ACC continues winning ways out of conference, more weirdness in conference
ACC teams made the most out of their nonconference matchups last weekend, winning both games. It wasn’t a huge spike due to only two matchups but it did help.
If North Carolina got drunk off its big win over Miami in Coral Gables last weekend, it wore off in time for the Tar Heels to put a whooping on No. 24 UConn, 38-12, in Chapel Hill. Butch Davis’ men continue fighting the good fight and, with each passing week, the Heels have gained more and more respect, culminating this past Sunday when North Carolina finally entered the AP poll at No. 22.
No. 20 Virginia Tech won weakly over Western Kentucky, 27-13. Decent win, but am I the only one who thinks the Hokies, two-time ACC champion over the past four years, should have blasted the 2-4 Hilltoppers? Yeah, it’s a win but this is proof that a win isn’t always a win. But again, the ACC needs all they can get.
There were four intraconference matchups and they all painted a picture. Like a Salvador Dalí piece, this painting captivated you but still made zero sense in the end, to the point you just asked yourself ‘what the hell was that?’ Florida State’s 41-39 win over Miami was the most expected outcome of the bunch, as the ‘Canes simply are not good this year. But here’s what’s strange—the Seminoles’ much maligned offense scored four rushing touchdowns and one through the air against the conference’s No. 3 total defense. More specifically that’s four rushing touchdowns and 281 ground yards against the ACC’s top-ranked rush defense.http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/bc/sports/m-footbl/auto_action/2355438.jpeg
After ripping Virginia 31-3 last weekend, Duke traveled to Atlanta and somehow blew it against Georgia Tech, a 27-0 shutout. The same putrid Virginia team that got reamed by Duke last weekend came home and ripped Maryland a new one, 31-0—the same ‘Terp team who upset Clemson last weekend, kicking the Tigers out of the top-25 for the second time this season. Boston College went into Raleigh and beat North Carolina State 38-31, which was expected. Well, somewhat—the Eagles’ win was expected but how they won wasn’t. What was screwed up was the ACC’s second-best total defense (Boston College) allowed the conference’s second-worst scoring offense (N.C. State) to rack up 31 points.
Year to date, ACC teams are 29-9 overall in nonconference play but are a so-so 9-7 versus Big Six teams. This Saturday pits four ACC teams against non-conference opponents; East Carolina travels to Virginia, Georgia Tech hosts Gardner-Webb, George O’Leary’s Central Florida travels to Miami and the Tar Heels host Notre Dame. The only in-conference matchup to be had is No. 21 Wake Forest hosting Clemson on Thursday night. If there was one marquee matchup this weekend, clearly it would be the North Carolina/Notre Dame game. The Irish are coming off an important win over Pac-10 mid-carder Stanford so a win over coach Charlie Weis’ men will be huge for the Heels and the conference. Virginia will likely still be drunk off the win over Maryland so it’s likely the Pirates win that one. Miami should beat UCF and Paul Johnson’s Jackets should have zero problem beating Gardner-Webb in a tune-up. Important upcoming weekend for the ACC, expect a 2-2 or 3-1 non-conference mark.
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