Moving forward, the ACC looks to be in good shape heading into Week Seven. There are still some issues, but the conference came through last weekend’s games relatively unscathed. As a matter of fact there are now three teams in the Amway Coaches Poll Top 25. The chaos created by an unprecedented 11 top twenty five teams going down to defeat actually benefitted the ACC. Florida State reclaimed the number one slot, while Georgia Tech and Clemson came back in from the bottom side. The surprise team this year so far is the Virginia Cavaliers who are 2-0 in conference play and get week seven as a bye week.
Florida State at Syracuse, noon, ESPN: Florida State had a breakout second half against an anemic Wake Forest to stay unbeaten. The challenge is for the Seminoles to find a way to score early and often and not to look so darn vulnerable. I continue to be amazed that a team with so much talent struggles to get into their groove. Jameis Winston has all the rah rah we can handle, but there is something not right just yet in Tallahassee. The Seminoles travel to Syracuse this week and they had better not be looking too far ahead to the next team on their schedule, Notre Dame. The Orangemen will provide some challenges, but overall won’t be able to stay with Florida State for four quarters.
Duke at Georgia Tech, 12:30 pm, WatchESPN.com: Georgia Tech seems to be the ACC’s savior right now. The Yellow Jackets are also undefeated and have quietly dispatched Virginia Tech and the Miami Hurricanes. The home game this week is against last year’s surprise team, the Duke Blue Devils. It would be a stretch to say that this is their watershed game, although beating Duke would give Georgia Tech a big head start in the Coastal Division. Looking past the Blue Devils will be dangerous as David Cutliffe continues to impress the ACC with his plucky ability to get the most out of his players.
Duke would like nothing better than to be considered more than a one year wonder on the ACC football scene. Meanwhile, the Ramblin’ Wreck have a tough schedule the rest of the way with visits to North Carolina, Pittsburgh and NC State. Throw in a visit from Clemson and an end-of-season showdown with in-state rival Georgia and you can see why no one is just talking yet about Georgia Tech being the savior of anything. I give Georgia Tech a slight edge over Duke this weekend.
Louisville at Clemson, 3:30 pm, ESPNU: Clemson chose a couple of tough opponents early on in Georgia and then Florida State, although both were winnable to this inexperienced crew. The Tigers just finished off the Tar Heels and Wolfpack in back-to-back offensive displays and now face the Louisville. The Cardinals are 2-1 in conference play, with a great start against Miami and a poor showing at Virginia. Last week they took down Syracuse to improve to 5-1 overall. Now they get to play against the top defense in the ACC and try to deal with the dynamic Deshaun Watson at the helm of a revitalized Tigers offense.
My theory is that Louisville will come to Death Valley and face the same fate as the Carolina teams. Clemson is on a roll and can still see a New Year’s Day bowl game in their future. Yes they have to win out, including their rivalry game with South Carolina, but it is manageable and Louisville will not kick this Tigers team out of the coaches poll.
Boston College at North Carolina State, 3:30 pm, WatchESPN.com: The other intriguing game is between Boston College and North Carolina State. The Wolfpack has been a pleasant surprise to the ACC this year and owns a respectable 4-2 record. Their two losses are against the best of the ACC in Florida State and Clemson, which was to be expected. However coach Dave Doeren would like nothing better than to position his players for a shot at a bowl berth. Unfortunately the Eagles get in the way this week. The problem with predicting this game comes via Jacoby Brissett, quarterback for NC State and the Eagles themselves.
Two weeks ago Brissett put everything into the game against Florida State and came up flat last week, getting shut out against Clemson’s stout defense. Those two losses may hamper the Wolfpack moving forward. The Eagles meanwhile played poorly against Maine and even worse two weeks ago in a home loss to Colorado State. Sandwiched somewhere in there was a terrific effort and solid victory against USC, so we have yet to see which team goes into Carter Finley Stadium Saturday. A Wolfpack victory moves NC State one win away from being bowl eligible, which was unthinkable at the start of the season. Boston College desperately needs this one too, or they fall back to a .500 club.
North Carolina at Notre Dame, 3:30 pm, NBC: The last ACC match is more of a hybrid contest. Notre Dame is associated with the ACC and has promised to play ACC foes five times a year within the framework of their status as an independent. They host the defensively challenged North Carolina Tar Heels this week and Everett Golson can finally lick his chops with the offense. The Irish still have three tough away games on their schedule in Florida State, Arizona State and USC, so getting North Carolina while they are down is a small blessing.
The Tar Heels have given up a remarkable 154 points in the past three weeks, and the offense can’t seem to find a quarterback to lead them. Last week looked like another quarterback by committee scenario, as Marquise Williams continued to struggle and Mitch Trubisky threw an interception in his first series at the helm. Golson meanwhile had his storybook ending against Stanford to continue Notre Dame’s quest for an invitation to the final four at season’s end. North Carolina will not be able to move against the Irish defense and this will be a very long afternoon for UNC.
The top three teams in the ACC, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Clemson should all win this weekend and keep the league with all three in the Amway Coaches Poll.
Enjoy the weekend!
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