Week Six is crucial to the ACC and its hopes to have a team from the conference among the last four standing in the College Football Playoff. We are not quite at the halfway mark because of bye weeks, but it has become obvious that the ACC needs a little help to reenergize its profile. While I do agree that every conference has taken a hit this year somewhere in the schedule, the ACC had a short leash to begin with.
ACC Week Six Crucial to Future Recognition
Florida State was finally taken out of the top spot by the Amway Coaches Poll. They have not been nearly as dominant as last season and I think there may be some unrest in the Seminoles locker room. The Noles could easily be 2-2 and no one would be surprised. Clemson did get a huge signature game out of Deshaun Watson, who threw for a record six touchdowns over an anemic North Carolina defense. However, the Pittsburgh and Boston College losses (to Akron and Colorado State respectively) have the ACC on a huge downswing. This league needs a better than average weekend to make some playoff noise.
Louisville at Syracuse: This Friday night tilt in upstate New York could be a bigger watershed game for Syracuse and its program, especially after Notre Dame and Syracuse left East Rutherford, NJ last week. The Orange are not as bad as they have looked so far, and the Cardinals are not nearly as good as we projected early in the season. Louisville had a good win over Miami, but a bombshell loss at Virginia to show for its ACC efforts. It will be interesting to see if Louisville can play well in another hostile environment. These former Big East schools have a bit of history, so expect the Carrier Dome to be rocking come Friday night. Quarterback Terrell Hunt is dealing with protection issues under center and hopefully will not be running for his life come Friday. Hunt has a good mix of receivers, and with some time in the pocket should be effective. Louisville should win in a squeaker, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the ACC feeds up another upset.
Virginia Tech at North Carolina: Oh, those Hokies and Tar Heels. Will the real Hokies show up in Tobacco Road or can the Tar Heels manage another run like last year? The only thing these schools have in common is they both got ambushed by the East Carolina Pirates. Both schools have ACC losses on their portfolio moving forward, which makes this match so pivotal to the Coastal Division standings. Marquise Williams at quarterback was marginal at Clemson last week, with some of that coming in mop up fashion in the fourth quarter. On the Hokies side of the ball, Michael Brewer has been a little more effective, but I haven’t seen that leadership role just yet. I think the Hokies win over a porous defense that has given up 120 points in the last two weekends, while the Tar Heels struggle against Virginia Tech’s front seven.
Pittsburgh at Virginia: This game is more like it. Both schools have one ACC victory, and both schools have identical 3-2 records moving to the halfway point of the season. After that, the similarities get tossed aside. Pittsburgh had an easily manageable five games to start the campaign, but it didn’t work out so good for the Panthers. Losing at home to the Akron Zips last weekend was like a death knell around campus, as the Panther faithful stood in shock and disbelief at this debacle. Virginia meanwhile, has played everyone tough and has a good ACC win over Louisville to crow about. If the Cavaliers can shut down running back James Connor, then Pittsburgh is looking at 3-3. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers will be 2-0 in conference play and Mike London’s on-the-job training methods will have sparked something special in Charlottesville. I like Virginia to win over the Panthers, with the game hinging on the tough Virginia defense getting the job done.
Wake Forest at Florida State: The Seminoles can gain no ground in the standings with a beat down of the Deamon Deacons. Wake Forest is a respectable 2-3, but their future doesn’t look bright with a tough schedule on their mantle. This game in Tallahassee could just crush the program for the rest of the season. Meanwhile, I still contend that something isn’t just right in Seminole land. I know it is tough to repeat as national champions, and I get the bullseye on your jersey mentality. However, FSU just hasn’t played very well and does not look like the cohesive unit from last season. Jameis Winston has not been the leader we all expected, and continues to make youthful bad choices off the field that certainly have affected his on-field teammates. The Seminoles will win and probably do so in blowout fashion, but they can’t move up the polls this week without an Alabama loss at Mississippi.
Miami at Georgia Tech: We always talk about crucial games and this one is no exception, as it will show how the Coastal Division is going to shape up real quick. The Yellow Jackets come in at 4-0 with a big win over Virginia Tech on its resumé. Miami has losses against Louisville and Nebraska on their portfolio, but a huge win last week over Duke gives the Hurricanes a glimmer of hope. Can Georgia Tech go to 5-0 and get into the conversation or is Miami tough enough to stop this three-headed monster of an offense? If Duke Johnson is healthy enough, then this will be a slow moving glacial event. Georgia Tech does not pass often and the Hurricanes must make the most out of the clock time they are given to beat the Ramblin’ Wreck at home. I give a slight edge to Georgia Tech because they’re playing in Atlanta.
North Carolina State at Clemson: I never figured this game as a marquee matchup, but the Wolfpack have far exceeded anyone’s imagination so far. NC State played tough and inspired football last week against Florida State, but will be hard pressed to do again in front of a raucous Tigers stadium crowd. I have seen what happens to teams that come to Death Valley. I would really like to see what Jacoby Brissett’s state of mind and body will be like after his terrific effort against the Seminoles last week. I expect a bit of a letdown and totally expect Deshaun Watson to continue his torrid pace at the helm of the Tigers offense. Watson is proving that Manziel and Winston were not fluke starters as freshmen. He has that physical ability and leadership quality that left when Tajh Boyd graduated. The Wolfpack will not be able to match up with this high octane offense, so I expect Clemson to win easily in double digits.
Interesting that Georgia Tech and Clemson with big wins could vault three ACC teams into the Amway Coaches Poll, while both teams losing will destroy any chance that a team other than Florida State gets a New Years Day bowl invite. Enjoy your weekend!
Thank you for reading. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport and @LWOSworld – and “liking” our Facebook page.
For the latest in sports injury news, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert.
Have you tuned into Last Word On Sports Radio? LWOS is pleased to bring you 24/7 sports radio to your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. What are you waiting for?
Main Photo:
