Saturday, August 21, 2010

August Boredom Post VI: 10 (non-BC) ACC games I'd like to watch this year

I've put together a list of ten games, in chronological order, that I'd like to see this year out of our conference. Some are non-conference matchups while some are internal ACC affairs, but all should be high on entertainment value. I had trouble narrowing it down to ten games with ACC teams which aren't named the Eagles, but here is my list:

1. Boise State vs. Virginia Tech
Monday, September 6, 2010 - Landover, MD

Two very highly-ranked teams going head to head in the first game of the season. For Virginia Tech, it's another quality opponent and a chance to set themselves up as a legitimate contender from Week 1. For Boise State, it's their annual "well, we have to play ONE good team" game, and a Broncos win could basically clear a path straight through to the BCS yet again.

2. Florida State at Oklahoma
Saturday, September 11, 2010 - Norman, OK

Both of these teams are believed to be much improved over their 2009 incarnations (though both teams might be overrated -- Oklahoma far more so than FSU), so this should be a good early test for the Seminoles and the Sooners. There will be a BC game on at the same time, but that game is likely to be a blowout, and this one should be far more compelling, should I decide to flip back and forth. But wait, there's more...

3. Miami at Ohio State
Saturday, September 11, 2010 - Columbus, OH

This game starts ten minutes after BC/Kent State and FSU/OU. That's right, I'll have three games of interest to me going on at the same time. In any case, Ohio State is the nation's #2 team, so this will be a chance for us to see just how legit the Hurricanes are at the outset. Could be a very entertaining contest.

4. Florida State at Miami
Saturday, October 9, 2010 - Miami, FL

Both of these Florida teams are beloved by the media this year, and both plan on being in Charlotte in December (though not if a few other teams can help it). Fairly curious to see how this one goes, as it's a reasonably good opportunity to see FSU sustain a critical ACC loss.

5. Georgia Tech at Clemson
Saturday, October 23, 2010 - Clemson, SC

Rematch of the 2009 ACC Championship Game. The Tigers went 0-2 last year against the defending conference champions, and will no doubt be very motivated to hand the Jackets a Death Valley loss.

6. Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech
Thursday, November 4, 2010 - Blacksburg, VA

The last two teams to be crowned ACC champions meet in Virginia in early November.  Both of these teams will probably be in the ACC Coastal mix.

7. Miami at Georgia Tech
Saturday, November 13, 2010 - Atlanta, GA

One of the few blemishes on Georgia Tech's 2009 season was a pasting in Miami. Last year, these were two of the conference's best teams, and I can't imagine this will be a bad game to watch (unlike last time).

8. Clemson at Florida State
Saturday, November 13, 2010 - Tallahassee, FL

Of obvious interest to Boston College fans. How fortunate for the Seminoles that both of their expected main division rivals have to go play in Tallahassee this year. One of these two teams is going to lose, and I hope it's whatever team's defeat is best for BC at the time.

9. Virginia Tech at Miami
Saturday, November 20, 2010 - Miami, FL

If the preseason poll is right (for a change), these two teams are looking like the one and two of the ACC Coastal. Much like BC-FSU seems like a potential de facto division title game, this game in Miami feels somewhat the same for the Coastal.

10. Florida at Florida State
Saturday, November 27, 2010 - Tallahassee, FL

Florida's annual Who's-is-Bigger game, the "Sunshine Showdown," has been decidedly lopsided lately. The Gators have won six in a row -- and only two of those games were close -- but St. Timothy of Gainesville is now a mile high and Florida State is on the way up.

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