The ACC Review: Week 12

November 19, 2008

The ACC Review: Week 12

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Miami clips Hokies to take control of Costal

The Hurricanes put Darren Evans back in his place, holding the running back to 43 yards on 17 carries after setting the Hokies single game rushing record the week before. Evans isn't that good of a back, but the Hokies relied on him and with the Hurricanes defense shutting him down, along with the rest of the run game, caused Virginia Tech to falter.

Neither team was spectacular. The Hurricanes had three field goals, two of which, were just longer then extra points. The third was in the redzone as well. Miami stopped the run, but they couldn't run either and Marve was only so-so passing failing to complete half of his passes.

Tyrod Taylor was the only thing clicking for the Hokies. And I only say that because he scored both touchdowns. Both teams need serious improvement like the rest of the ACC if they want any chance of winning bowl games in December and January.

Clemson soars by Duke

Although three of the four touchdowns were run plays, Clemson went to the air to take down the Blue Devils. Cullen Harper finally looked like the player that was hyped up so much during the preseason months of summer.

Even taking out an 83 yard touchdown pass that C.J. Spiller made happen with his lightning skills, Harper still had over 200 yards passing. He showed precision accuracy for the first time all year, connecting on 20 of 26 passes for almost 300 yards. And, he did so without throwing an interception for the second time all year. The other coming against FCS, the Citadel.

As mentioned earlier, Spiller had his lightning going and James Davis even had the thunder rolling at times. This was perhaps the first time all year that the entire team played up to their caliber.

A 24 point win over previous Duke teams might have been considered an embarrassment but this was a solid win even though Duke played most of the game without Thaddeus Lewis, who was injured early.

NC State ruins Wake's ranking

If anything can be taken from this game, it's that the "good" teams of the ACC aren't that great week after week and the "bad" teams aren't that bad. It's a conference of mediocrity.

Wake, who was supposed to be a power of the ACC has struggled to put any type of run together. NC State has now defeated two top 25 teams in a year that was expecting two or three wins at maximum.

The Demon Deacons moved the ball better through the air and the Wolfpack controlled the ground attack. The big difference in the game came down when the Wake Forest offense could not capitalize on a turnover that gave them the ball at the 13 of NC State. They had to settle for a field goal after barely moving the ball.

The defensive stand sparked the offense of NC State and they drove the length of the field to score the game-winning touchdown the next drive.

For Wake, they are not out of the Championship picture, but they have a chance to play spoiler for Boston College next week and give themselves a slim chance. NC State's bowl hopes are a long shot but they can look to go 4-0 versus teams from North Carolina next week and knock off another top 25 opponent.

Boston College takes advantage of wide receiver-less Seminoles

The Eagles shut down the Florida State running game, and left it to Christian Ponder to beat them without 5 wide receivers. And, Ponder cracked, completing less then half of his passes, unless you count the three interceptions thrown to the Eagles including a pick-six for 87 yards.

With that said, its hard to tell who really is the better team coming out of this game. Boston College led the statistical battle in most categories but the Eagles defense only had to prepare for a one legged attack as the Florida State passing game was short-handed.

In all, it came down to fatigue and nearly 40 minutes spent on the field will wear out a defense. They did manage 3 turnovers and without those, it could have been much worse for Florida State.

Even though they lost, Florida State still has a realistic shot to make the ACC Championship game as Boston College has tough games at Wake and then at home against Maryland. A Florida State win against Maryland will go along way next week.

Maryland does it again!

It's hard to believe it, but if someone asks you the question: Who is the only team in college football to defeat four ranked opponents, the answer would be Maryland.

The Terps must be kicking themselves right now because if you take away an embarrassing loss to either Virginia or Virginia Tech, the Terps could already get their plane tickets for Tampa.

And if you take out a loss to Middle Tennessee State, they could be looked at as a legitimate ACC opponent in the BCS, if there is one.

Chris Turner hasn't been great at Maryland, but he will go down as a legend, no matter what the rest of his stay in college park looks like because he has showed up to win on the big stage. His numbers weren't great, but he kept the Terps alive and improved them to 4-0 against ranked opponents this season on top of his tremendous play against ranked opponents last year.

They did two things in this game well. Last week, Maryland couldn't stop the run. This week, they held North Carolina to 75 yards. Last week, they couldn't run, totaling -12 yards. This week, Scott and Meggett combined for 215 yards. And, let's not forget Turner's scramble on fourth down to set up the winning field goal. How about the nick names Earth, Wind and Fire? Earth for Scott who pounds the rock, Wind for Meggett who has quick speed, and Fire for Turner because he's got that burning desire.

Power Rankings

1. Miami (7-3)

Last Week: W 16-14 vs Virginia Tech

This Week: @ Georgia Tech

2. Maryland (7-3)

Last Week: W 17-15 vs North Carolina

This Week: Florida State

3. North Carolina (7-3)

Last Week: L 17-15 @ Maryland

This Week: NC State

4. Boston College (7-3)

Last Week: W 27-17 @ Florida State