Week 9 in the ACC: Recap

Oops!  The first game we saw on Thursday night (well, some of you saw, I didn't), was North Carolina shocking Virginia Tech, 20-17 at Lane Stadium.  The Hokies were something like 17-point favorites in this game, which just happened to be the number of points they managed.  For UNC, it means they won't go winless in the conference this year, and for VT, it means they're done in the ACC Coastal and therefore the BCS.  They're 1.5 behind Georgia Tech with 3 to play, and GT has the tiebreaker.  It would take a complete collapse by the Jackets for them to have a shot.

In Tallahassee, Florida State got by NC State, 45-42.  The defenses might as well have stayed in their dorms, as the two offenses combined for 1,093 yards.  The calls for Tom O'Brien's head are getting louder as the Wolfpack are the only winless team remaining in the ACC (0-4).

Clemson beat Coastal Carolina, 49-3, at home.  Borrrrrrrrr-innnnnng.

BC beat Central Michigan, 31-10, at home.  Also relatively boring but the win gets BC bowl-eligible.  The spread ended up being much bigger than I expected.

I saw how Miami beat Wake Forest, 28-27, and it was some ending.  Wake absolutely choked this one up.  Once the Hurricanes converted on 4th & 16 inside the final two minutes of the game, you just knew they were going to win.  For Wake, this one's going to sting.  The Deacs led by 13 in this one, and having lost to both teams ahead of them in the ACC Atlantic (Clemson and BC), we can just about eliminate them from the mix barring a miracle.

Hey look, I got an upset pick right!  I had a feeling the Blue Devils would win, and Duke did in fact beat Virginia, 28-17.  Believe it or not, Duke is now in 2nd place in the ACC Coastal at this late stage in the season.  They're a win away from bowl-eligibility themselves (haven't made a bowl since 1994), so if you haven't already, I think it's time to acknowledge them as an improved team this year.

This final game was close in the first half, but Georgia Tech beat Vanderbilt, 56-31.  As I expected, the triple-option carved Vandy's porous run defense to pieces (404 yards on the ground, just shy of 600 overall) as the Jackets controlled the ball for nearly 40 minutes.  From the second quarter on, GT outscored Vanderbilt 49-17.  It was about as ugly as I expected.