ACC Best of the Blogs: Week 14

BOSTON COLLEGE

BC All-Access: Positives/Negatives from the regular season matchup
"BC cannot afford to turn the ball over or spot VT any points in Tampa. We also must do a better job of making Taylor 1-dimensional and taking away his running ability. If we do this BC will be in good position to avenge last year's loss."

BC Interruption: Good Cop/Bad Cop: Championship Game Edition
"Brian as Bad Cop: You won't be able to play the good cop on this one, Jeff, when BC beats Virginia Tech and the Champs Sports Bowl takes Virginia Tech over Florida State. That wouldn't necessarily be treating these teams equally now, would it? Besides, this is essentially providing disincentives for making the ACC Championship game and falling short. The ACCCG runner-up always seems to get jobbed here, since the other bowls don't want to wait until Sunday to fill their bowl selections. They'd rather get their selections out of the way early so they can sell more tickets. Don't you think the team that loses the Championship game would rather have been Georgia Tech, who at 9-3 (5-3) lost the tiebreaker to Virginia Tech to play in the Title game but gets to play in the ACC No. 2 bowl against the defending National Champions in their own backyard? The consolation prize for the ACCCG runner-up is a trip to Nashville against a 6-6 Vanderbilt team (a team that hasn't gone bowling since 1982) or a 6-6 Kentucky team that finished 2-6 in the SEC, DFL in the SEC East. These teams are hardly powerhouse SEC football programs. Some consolation prize!"

Eagle in Atlanta: A letter to a blimp pilot
"Since then it has been used to mock the conference and BC all over the internet. You can’t blame BC. These games were supposed to be battles between Florida powers. How was a private Catholic School from Boston expected to travel on relatively short notice? This year doesn’t look much better. Ticket sales are slow and the locals have resorted to giving the seats away. Most BC fans are resigned to our poor traveling reputation. At this point we only care about winning the game. A victory will do more to change perception than a few thousand more tickets sold ever would. That said, kind Sir, we could still use your help this weekend. Use your powerful zeppelin for good. Show off Tampa. Don’t try to embarrass the ACC."

CLEMSON

Block-C: A Play in the Life of Chris Smelley
"Droppin’ back. Drop-ping back. Here we go… SHIT, they’re rushing right at me so fast. Cross the legs, don’t shuffle, belly button to receiver. They’re coming…. *WOOP* fuck yeah, sidestep. Right trigger, motherfuckers."

Sporting Gnomes: TDP goes “All In’ for Dabo
"I just threw up a little in my mouth just typing that. I am already sick of the Dabo-aid laced media going crazy on this decision. As I previously stated, I think that there is nothing on the market that would get Clemson where they want to be so this may be the best decision as Dabo is Clemson’s greatest recruiter (along with Napier). Now a few points remain to be seen:"

DUKE

Dudespin: Victory Bell, or another Saturday Hell?
"In 1999, two young dudes traveled to Chapel Hill to see the 10th Airborne victory of their four-year college career. Optimism was high as UNC was suffering through a tough season filled with rumors that their head coach would soon be fired. Unfortunately, that 10th win did not happen, and the plucky young dudes graduated in the single digit win column. Sadly, had they returned for a Franchise-esque fifth year, they still wouldn’t have seen that 10th win. The Carl Franks era was not pretty."

FLORIDA STATE

Chant Rant: It was an ugly night at Doak, not even counting what happened on the field
"While our football Noles turned in a puke-poor performance against the Gators, our fan support was no better. Walking to the stadium, I saw twice as many fans dressed in orange and blue as in garnet and gold. In the stadium it appeared to be about half Gators. That tells me a lot of Nole fans sold out to the enemy. And because the Gator fans had something to shout about, they were louder than we were. So much for home field advantage. I actually heard a Gator fan telling a woman dressed in garnet and gold who was banging on her seat when Florida lined up on offense, to stop that, it was annoying. Thankfully, the spirited woman told him, "Welcome to Florida State's stadium...What did you expect?""

Scalp 'Em: Not To Pick On Tomahawk Nation Again, But…
"First of all, the jury for Jimbo is still out. FSU had craptastic first halves all year, shouldn’t an OC have a good gameplan going into the game and not always be making adjustments at halftime? What makes anyone think that his hand picking the defense would be any better. Frankly, I’d hope he picks a DC that then picks the guys HE wants for the staff. You know, since Jimbo’s an offense kind of guy."

Tomahawk Nation: Did the Florida State Seminoles improve in 2008?
"Hmm, that doesn't seem like much of an improvement, but it is some improvement. The advanced data says we got better. What could be at work here? First, tougher competition, much tougher. Second, the Noles often threw underneath on 3rd and long in 2007, picking up yards, but failing to convert. Those 7 yard completions look good in the scorer's book but don't offer much to help the team. In 2008, the Noles picked up 1st downs much better, because they took risks, but they also failed on occasion and those failures hurt the total."

GEORGIA TECH

GT Sports: "The Man Who Broke Our Drought" by James Demby
"In the comments from our post about the Drought, we learned that the late Mr. Walker's grandson James Demby ended up at Tech, despite his whole family being Dawgs. After Saturday's game, James wrote a poem of his own. His poem follows this funny story he sent along with it."

The Legacy x4: ACC football demands respect
"Expansion added Beamer. The Amato, Bunting, Roof, and Gailey departures improved the conference's coaching talent astronomically. And look what we have to show for it in 2008: a 6-4 record against our primary rival of a conference. I expect continued success against the SEC as we've shown in the NFL draft that we've had comparable talent all these years. Now, we have comprable if not superior coaching. What do you all think about the conference debate?"

MARYLAND

Turtle Soup: A Football Wrap
"First of all my initial thoughts on the entire program are that we have lost something. I have many games on tape from Ralph’s first 3 years here and there is so much of a difference between the team they were and the team they are now. First, it has nothing to do with talent. Yeah, they may have had a little more talent in the past, but would you compare Gulian Gary to DHB?"

MIAMI

All Canes: NC State 38, Miami 28
"I believe the writing is on the wall. Nix is unimaginative and coaches scared. He's reactive instead of proactive and seems content to milk a lead or bleed out a clock, as opposed to putting a foot on an opponent's throat and piling on. He officially lost me the fourth game of the season."

Hall of Canes: Deeply Disappointing
"Coaching? Please. Offensive coordinator Pat Nix is on the hot seat and may be dismissed. Veteran defensive coordinator Bill Young was brought in after he had a great year at Kansas but did not live up to the hype after a good showing against Florida."

NORTH CAROLINA

Carolina March: Somebody's Going to Charlotte, Somebody's Going to Get Screwed
"The ACC's top two sub-BCS bowls have gone ahead and picked their teams, with Georgia Tech going to the Peach and Clemson headed to the Gator. That's 7-5, bowl-eligible only after its final game, coach-firing, technically 5th in the Atlantic Division Clemson, taking one of the ACC's most prestigious slots, and the only one against a Big 12 team for the next two years. Just a friendly reminder that the football postseason is just broken at the top, it's rotten all the way down the line; Clemson leapt at least three more worthy teams because a bowl organizer somewhere thinks it's 1982."

Tar Heel Fan: UNC 28, Duke 20
"The offense played much better this week with TJ Yates regaining his form on 15-19 for 190 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT. Shaun Draughan had a big day with 110 yards rushing and one TD of his own. Overall the offense was balanced which is what you love to see. A performance like this gives the Heels a high note to end the season on and gets everyone back on the same page heading into the bowl game."

Tar Heel Mania: Carolina is 8-4. WHOOOOOOO
"Considering where we were two years ago, this is a very, very big deal. This not lost on most Heels fans; if 41-10 freaked you out and took your mind off of the big picture for a while, you’re forgiven. Just as long as you also remember 44-12, 38-12, 45-24 and 28-7 with equal intensity. Carolina has had the most regular season wins and the fewest losses since 1997, and the greatest improvement in wins since 1990."

NORTH CAROLINA STATE

Section Six: Frickin' Lasers
"If anyone's worthy of wacky-computer-graphic-superheroization, it's Russell Wilson, who quite possibly is a superhero. I don't know how else you explain a quarterback that throws one INT in 252 attempts as a freshman and then goes on to commit zero errors while OPSing 1.000 (.335/.443/.557, to be exact. I've seen the future.) for the baseball team in the spring. No telling what his summer plans are, but I get the feeling they'll involve rescuing old ladies from burning buildings."

StateFans Nation: Jimmy V’s Farewell Speech In Reynolds
"Jimmy V Week is underway on ESPN, and while my wife and I were out at dinner, we saw V’s incredible speech at the ESPY Awards in 1993 replayed on the World Wide Leader. It was moving, as always, but the farewell speech I remember the best from Jim Valvano was one far more direct and personal for State’s fans — his last visit to Reynolds Coliseum on February 21, 1993, the night that NC State honored the tenth anniversary of the 1983 NCAA Champions:"

Yet Another...: Is it Right to Feel This Good About a Team That's 6-6?
"Russell Wilson...what can you say, other than "wow." The kid continues to amaze, turning busted plays into scores, breaking the will of opponents just when they get a glimmer of hope. I know he may be a couple of games late to the Player of the Year discussion, but there simply can't be another contender for Rookie of the Year in the ACC, and without a doubt NO other player in the conference means more to the success or failure of their team than Wilson."

VIRGINIA

From Old Virginia: Al's not leaving after all. Duh.
"As I've said before, I think Al deserves one final year to prove himself. I also think these are pretty clearly the sunset years of the Al Groh era, as evidenced by Littlepage overruling him on the Peter Lalich issue and booting the starting quarterback off the team. However, it's really a shame that the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately attitude is bringing out such vitriol among the general population. Groh not being fired has saved me the effort of writing the Al Groh Era Retrospective post I had half saved-up, but a little reflection for perspective's sake is in order."

Good Ol' Blog: What should happen next
"1. The buyout is just too freakin’ big to justify firing last season’s ACC Coach of the Year who simply got whacked upside the head with the worst unexpected attrition in college football this season. Losing the top two quarterbacks, the star defensive lineman, a top round offensive lineman, and a host of others was enough to make this a rebuilding season from the get go. In the end, it’s hard to justify spending that kind of cash to fire a guy one season removed from one of the best in Virginia history, especially given this season’s bad luck."

VIRGINIA TECH

Beer Control Offense: The BCO's
"Cody Grimm, I bet that lil guy can pound some beers and barely act drunk. Probably do something crazy and make the wiminz swoon over him. BCO is sure to pick up some leftovers. BCO almost picked Taco since he has a cool nickname."

College Game Balls: GameDay Signs - Stillwater, Oklahoma
"The phrase “I’m Lou Holtz’d” will replace “cocked”, “smashed” and “hammered” in my lexicon."

Fire Bryan Stinespring: I Can Tell You 2 Teams We DON'T Look Like...
"Finally, there's Stiney, who throughout this season has made MANY bonehead calls, and has missed nearly as many. Many remember his 3rd and Pickle call, but of greater concern to me is that we had no apparent play call set for 4th down. Seriously! It's as if Stiney was so confident in Pickle that he expected to have time while they moved the chains to call in the next play. Call both plays. Hell, call a series on the sideline before they go in, and throw the no-huddle at them for a series. He doesn't have the talent to make this scheme work, nor does he have the people or the time."

Tech Sideline: One Reason Why Basketball Attendance Isnt What it Used to Be
"So the attendance problem, particularly at weeknight games, is two-fold: (1) about half as many student tickets as there used to be; and (2) the season tickets are now purchased by donors in relatively far-flung locales like Northern Virginia, Richmond and Tidewater/Peninsula/Hampton/etc. (Please don’t email me if my terminology about that area is sloppy; I’ve never lived there, but you get my drift: “Eastern Virginia,” 5-6 hours away.)"

Tech SuperFans: Game Preview - ACC Championship
"I don’t know that this year’s Hokie squad has poised themselves to accomplish this as well as last year. Last year, the team used the regular season loss to build motivation for payback over a number of weeks with a feeling of assurance that they’d reach the ACC championship with another shot at playing Boston College. This year, both the Hokies and the Eagles have hobbled into first place of their respective ACC divisions with the help from other key ACC contests. Given how the Eagles defense emasculated the Hokie offense in this season’s regular season game, I’d say that the Eagles have the wind at their backs."

VT Fan: Immediate Impressions: UVa Game
"Tyrod Taylor is a special player, and I don’t think Virginia Tech fans fully realize it yet. After the Duke game and the turnovers, I read many who were down on him. I won’t go into how unfair it is to critique a QB that has been thrown into the situations that he has, but simply watching the things he can do in the game on Saturday, I’m convinced he will be a star. He simply makes plays - with his feet, and increasingly more with his arm. And let’s face it, he doesn’t exactly have the nation’s best scheme or supporting cast around him."