Thursday Bytes – ACC Takes Center Stage

'07 Football82

ACC

* If you haven’t been coming here daily and keeping up with the site, definitely take some time to peruse the items that we have on the front page right now. We’ve been working very hard to keep our content dynamic and feel like there are a lot of good items out there for your review and comment.

* Boston College takes on Virginia Tech tonight in a big game for the ACC. I’ve gotten so damn tired of the BC fans unwillingness to support their conference bretheren – see any pregame entry from EagleinAtlanta who has supported UCF, Wofford and ECU over the ACC’s Wolfpack – that I don’t care how good it is for the ACC…GO HOKIES.

* I know that this will sound backwards…but think through what I am getting ready to say – I don’t think that the ACC should necessarily WANT Boston College to go undefeated this year. Here is why — IF Ohio State remains undefeated and LSU (and maybe Oklahoma) end the season with only one loss, there is a STRONG possibility that the Tigers (or the Sooners) could jump an undefeated Boston College in the polls and play for a national championship. (Of course, BC fans will blame this on Tom O’Brien…when we all know that it is probably Herb Sendek’s fault). In this scenario, the ACC will be significantly embarassed and have egg all over our faces. Do we really WANT our ‘best’ team to demoted on a national scale in such an unceremonious manner?

* I simply can’t get over the irony that of the situation tonight where nobody from New England gives two shits about the ‘big game’ because the Red Sox are in the World Series. (And, don’t forget those Patriots!) Isn’t this EXACTLY WHY Coach O’Brien decided to leave despite having a team stocked with 5th year seniors and a Heisman candidate, quarterback?

* As much as I want our fellow-technical school (who is pretty-much-Southern) to beat the Eagles tonight, I’m not sure that they can do it. The Hokies offense is atrocious, primarily due to weakness at the quarterback position. (Sound familiar?) One has to wonder how far this team can go in light of the deficiency. How many games can your defense and special teams win for you? Especially when playing an offense as strong as Boston College’s?

* I’m not a huge fan of the Charlotte Observer’s Ken Tysiac, but he has a solid “Inside the ACC” article in today’s paper that includes the following:

FLORIDA STATE FLAGS. It won’t surprise N.C. State fans. With Chuck Amato coaching in Tallahassee, Florida State leads the ACC in penalty yardage with 77.9 yards per game.

* Speaking of Florida State, this is ludicrous. Could you imagine how big of a story that our AD would have made this incident had it happened in Raleigh? Would have been GREAT for attracting a new coach! ESPN’s Gameday will have a feature on the evolution of the Florida State program this weekend if you are interested.

* Speaking of spanning the ACC, here’s another quick hitter that is pretty good.

* The “Rasta Smurfs” are at it again. Over the last five years, has ANY ACC program had the problems and issues with the weed that Carolina has experienced? I’d love to see a hard-hitting analysis of all of the marijuana and weapons charges that have piled up in Chapel Hill this decade. Why don’t we hear about lack of institutional control when a problem like this is so prevelant? Heck…and this is with Rasheed Wallace and Jeff McInnis never officially getting busted!

* Virginia is RIPE for the picking this weekend in Raleigh. If NC State had a healthier and stronger offensive line then I would be picking the Wolfpack in an upset. (Or, at least to cover the spread).

* State definitely played our best game of the season on Saturday, but I fear too many people ignored the magnitude of the weakness of the East Carolina offensive and defensive lines that helped us immensely. Virginia is the complete opposite. The Cavs have a great OLine and Chris Long will be matched up on a freshman. In light of how bad our line has been vs ACC-level competition, Daniel Evans’ height concerns me. One knocked down ball at the line of scrimmage or a tipped ball for an interception could easily be the difference in this game.

* On the positive side, it isn’t far-fetched to believe that Tom O’Brien sincerely wanted to succeed George Welsh in Charlottesville. And, as this analysis indicates, you should beware a “motivated TOB”.

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'07 Football

82 Responses to Thursday Bytes – ACC Takes Center Stage

  1. Evroccck 10/25/2007 at 11:01 AM #

    Here’s a list I started last year of all the UNC violations. I need to update it, so if anyone has the recent violations, please post their name and violation and I’ll add them to the list

    http://www.evroccck.com/sports/university-of-north-carolina-violations/

  2. RickJ 10/25/2007 at 11:19 AM #

    That is an interesting point about someone jumping BC even if they remain undefeated. I hadn’t thought of that. From the BC perspective, they need to win convincingly tonight. If they squeak out a win, I can hear Les Miles already.

  3. charger17 10/25/2007 at 11:29 AM #

    Maybe this is a no brainer, but I can’t find anything about our depth chart. Will Evans start against Virginia?

  4. noah 10/25/2007 at 11:48 AM #

    “I simply can’t get over the irony that of the situation tonight where nobody from New England gives two shits about the ‘big game’ because the Red Sox are in the World Series. (And, don’t forget those Patriots!) Isn’t this EXACTLY WHY Coach O’Brien decided to leave despite having a team stocked with 5th year seniors and a Heisman candidate, quarterback?”

    Irony is when the opposite of an expected outcome takes place. A mouse eating a cat, for instance.

    I don’t see any irony in this situation at all. Boston College is a private, catholic school in a town with about 200 other college in it and it’s located in one of the biggest professional sports markets on the planet.

    Yes, it’s exactly why Tom O’Brien left. You guys DO know that college sports aren’t that big of a deal outside of the south and certain parts of the midwest, right?

    It’s something to gamble on…but they certainly don’t have the emotional attachment to it the way we do.

  5. Sam92 10/25/2007 at 11:54 AM #

    gotta pull for the Hokies tonight, if only because BC is like a spoiled brat. i don’t think they get it that we didn’t really want them in the ACC anyway, it just made sense to get a 12th team to neatly establish the divisions and championship game. they need us way more than we need them.

  6. RAWFS 10/25/2007 at 12:01 PM #

    BC thinks that they are better than anyone else in the conference. I’m not talking about only sports. They think they have the best college, the best city AND the best teams.

    They really don’t get it that they were the ACC’s “safety school” the whole time. The ACC really wanted Notre Dame, and when push came to shove, took BC when the Irish didn’t leave the Big East and football independence for membership in the ACC.

    I can think of three schools off-hand that would have been a better for the ACC: Penn State, South Carolina and Pitt.

  7. burnbarn 10/25/2007 at 12:11 PM #

    Saw this from Atleagle today.. ” In the past we’ve gone into Blacksburg playing not to lose and it would usually get ugly. That mentality is gone. So I expect our stinkers against Beamer to be gone too.”

    I would love a loss for them although this game probably does not matter in terms of a league championship for them.

  8. BJD95 10/25/2007 at 12:14 PM #

    On one hand, I hate to root for the Hokies. The overblown sentimentality that accompanies EVERY mention of Hokie football makes me gag. The last thing I want is to turn the ACC or even national title race back into the equivalent of a Lifetime movie, or worse, an episode of The View. I remember the coverage prior to VT/ECU and VT/LSU. I really don’t want more of that.

    But winning this game, to the BC fans, would be their ultimate “validation” of why they wanted rid of Coach O’Brien. I’m sick of that nonsensical bullshit even more.

    GO HOKIES!

  9. RabidWolf 10/25/2007 at 12:15 PM #

    RAWFS Says:
    I can think of three schools off-hand that would have been a better for the ACC: Penn State, South Carolina and Pitt.

    Come on, wouldn’t Campbell be a better fit than BC?

    Aren’t they unbeaten for like 50 years? Think of that! 😛

  10. RegularExpression 10/25/2007 at 12:33 PM #

    Blaming FSU’s penalty problems on Chuck Amato is a cheap shot and completely ignores history. FSU’s conference rank in penalty yardage over the last 4 years:

    2006: 10th
    2005: 12th
    2004: 11th(out of 11 teams)
    2003: 8th(out of 9)

    We were 11th, 7th, 10th and 9th in those same 4 years.

  11. McPete 10/25/2007 at 12:48 PM #

    Wow, i never realized until now how retarded this eagelinatlanta guy is. did TOB not autograph his t-shirt once? seems like, aside from major flaws in his reasoning, he has a personal axe to grind with him.

    i was also going to point out that FSU doesn’t need chuck amato to finish near the bottom of the league in penalty yardage.

  12. McPete 10/25/2007 at 12:52 PM #

    I’m also on board with the Go Hokies! at least for this week.
    Either way, the ‘tards like eagle will try to find a way to blame TOB for their failures this year and yet give any and all credit for success to Jags. Life has to be great when you can apply selective reasoning to prove you’re always right.

  13. VaWolf82 10/25/2007 at 1:04 PM #

    Georgia Tech running back Tashard Choice won’t play against Virginia Tech next Thursday and maybe not again this season after undergoing knee surgery.

    If GT can’t find another RB, then they’re done. Their passing offense appears to be terrible.

  14. choppack1 10/25/2007 at 1:09 PM #

    Here are my thoughts on Evans (from another thread)
    Just some thoughts on Daniel Evans thus far. I wasn’t sure that our OL could play good enough to give the Pack a chance to win.

    With Evans – you know what you’ll get. He throws an accurate, easy to catch ball – he’s good at quick reads and quick throws. He’s not going to win any games relying on his arm or his legs to make plays. The staff did a solid job against FSU 2 weeks ago but he made a couple of bad decisions late in the first half and early in the 3rd quarter. Against ECU, he played about as good as he can play.

    Statistically, here’s a comparision between this year and last year:
    2007: 7 TDs vs. 6 INTs.
    2006: 6 TDs and 11 INTs.

    2007: Completion % 63.4% – 27th out of the 120 QBs rated.
    2006: Completion 53.1% – 95 out of 110 QBs.

    2007 – QB rating is 68th out of 120.
    2006 – 104 out of 110.

    So Evans has improved pretty significantly thus far. The bad news is that last year, he started off good and struggled at the finish. But w/ 5 games left, he’s surpassed his TDs from last year. More importantly, the more I become convinced that he can’t do the job, the better he plays. So on second thought – he’s still terrible.

    Regarding VaTech vs. BC – we’ll see what VaTech’s D does against BC. The good news for Hokies fans is that BC’s D is weak – yardage wise – against the pass. So, their weakness may dovetail nicely w/ BCs. This will be the first game BC has played in an electric environment in a while.

    Make no mistake about it – the ACC is on the national stage tonight. Hopefully, VaTech won’t lay another egg. If BC gets past VaTech, Clemson may present a tough match-up. But there is no telling which Tiger team will show up.

  15. LRM 10/25/2007 at 1:11 PM #

    I’ve never understood why we care what BC fans think of TOB — are we looking for validation?

    I wonder if they worry this much at Arizona State over why we didn’t like Herb Sendek?

  16. VaWolf82 10/25/2007 at 1:15 PM #

    Along with serious QB issues, VT’s OL absolutely stinks.

    Consider VT’s cupcake schedule to this point….ECU, William & Mary, Ohio, UNC, and Duke. Their two toughest games were against Clemson (who they killed) and LSU (who destroyed VT). With only one bad game to this point in the season, you would think that VT’s offensive rankings are at their highest point, right?

    Current Rankings

    Rushing Offense: …90th (8th in ACC)
    Passing Offense: …101 (10th)
    Total Offense: ….112 (12th)
    Sacks Allowed: … 109T (10th)

    Defense and Special Teams has kept their scoring “offense” ranked 55th and 4th in the ACC. I guess we’ll get another chance tonight to see how far that will get VT. Their OL and QBs aren’t going to add much to the equation.

    I don’t have any links, but my VT co-workers expect Glennon to play in place of the injured Taylor (ankle). Theiir RB (Brandon Ore) has been dinged up all year and no one is sure if he is really 100% or not. But even if he is, how long will he stay that way with VT’s OL?

  17. DRW 10/25/2007 at 1:57 PM #

    Is that atleagle guy bitter, or what?

  18. primacyone 10/25/2007 at 2:08 PM #

    ^”(Of course, BC fans will blame this on Tom O’Brien…when we all know that it is probably Herb Sendek’s fault).”

    Not to call you out or anything, but if the sceniorio you descibed plays out, I’m certain the fault and blame would 100% belong to Lee Fowler.

  19. Mr O 10/25/2007 at 2:31 PM #

    I just read that atleagle blog about tonights game. One thing he mentioned is that with TOB against VT, BC always played to lose. He says now they have gotten rid of that mentality.

    Is there anyone else who hates this cliche more than anything? IMO, it is the classic fan rationalization to explain away about any situation in which your team loses. I know people use it in reference to what they percieve as conservative play calling, not going for it on 4th down, etc…

    The goal is to win. Being aggressive in every situation and taking high risks doesn’t mean that you will win the game. It was like Pitt this year when they went for it on 4th down in overtime when all they needed was a FG against Navy to send it to another overtime. They didn’t even come close to making the play. I thought it was one of the stupidest calls considering the circumstances(they had been running the ball down Navy’s throat all night and they were at home) I have ever seen in the history of football.

    Should the Pitt fans have felt better that their coach “played not to lose” even when the choice he made resulted in a loss? Or was the aggressive play call actually “playing to lose” since they lost the game?

    There isn’t a cliche in sports that bothers me more.

    I just don’t get it.

  20. TNCSU 10/25/2007 at 2:41 PM #

    ^^^Yes, it’s exactly why Tom O’Brien left. You guys DO know that college sports aren’t that big of a deal outside of the south and certain parts of the midwest, right?

    BLASPHEMY!! ‘course I’ve never been outside of the South, so I don’t care what they like up North and out West! 🙂

  21. bTHEredterror 10/25/2007 at 2:56 PM #

    As far as BC goes, really only Wake has been anything close to on their level, thats not the case from here on out. They go to Clemson and Maryland after hosting FSU next week, and then close with Miami. I see them losing at least two of those games, and expect they will lose a 3rd, in a classic WTFer. Then they will blame TOB for having fostered a “late season letdown mentality” that will take Jags a couple of years to filter out. Funny how the late season coincides with increased interest in the Pats and Sox.

    As for whether or not BC winning helps the conference or not, I don’t care. If UNC was in this spot, we’d unanimously pull against them. Treat BC equally to other haughty, whiny fanbases in our league and enjoy their come-uppance this evening.

    I think with Bowden and Paterno both chasing the all-time wins record and being within a hair’s breadth of each other, what we have is an old fashioned staredown with FSU and Penn St. Who will force out their geriatric coach first due to continual 6-5 seasons and sacrifice that coache’s chance at the record? I predict FSU due to their rivals success. Pitt is going nowhere at light speed and PSU is still the ruler of that roost despite their smaller national footprint.

  22. primacyone 10/25/2007 at 3:08 PM #

    ^”I just read that atleagle blog about tonights game. One thing he mentioned is that with TOB against VT, BC always played to lose. He says now they have gotten rid of that mentality.”

    Note to ateagle: Running your field goal kicker strait up the middle on a fake field goal attempt is the “anti” of playing “not to lose”.

  23. RAWFS 10/25/2007 at 3:13 PM #

    TOB is conservative, no doubt. At the same time, considering how hard it is to recruit to BC (TOB only lured a single 5-star player to BC) you can hardly blame him if he tried to keep the games close in order for BC to have a chance to win.

    At NC State, he’s taking more chances, for example, going for it on fourth down and with fake field goal attempts, etc. He may not yet have his own players in the program in Raleigh, but you can bet he’ll recruit better here. Considering the impressive list of commits already, he’s off to a good start.

    With more speed and size, TOB should have more weapons and more ways to use those weapons. That will be a luxury BC may not have, ever.

  24. PackerInRussia 10/25/2007 at 3:18 PM #

    A few things:

    First, a quote by Mike Vrabel when talking to the D.C. media:
    “The Red Sox are winning, the Patriots won in Miami and Boston College didn’t play so everyone was happy and everyone had a smile on their face Monday morning”
    I’m not sure if it came out the way he intended, but saying that BC not playing made people happy was funny.

    Second, EagleinAtlanta (or however his name is written) can say that he expects certain things from this year’s team based on a new coaching staff without us thinking that he is simply digging at Tom O’Brien. I mean, just because we talk about certain things being better with Sid vs. with Herb doesn’t mean that we are saying it just to jab at Sendek does it? OK, bad example.

    Third, I was thinking about the year State went 9-0 to start the season. If that team had played this year, they would be a top 3 team most likely whereas that year they were undefeated along with about 8 other teams. Of course the 3 losses in a row would have dropped them, but the final two wins might have been enough to put them in the Top 10 at the end of the season if you put that same record into this year’s season. Point? First, it’s fun to imagine. Second, BC fans can say that this year’s ranking is because TOB is gone, but a large part of that ranking has to do with the way everyone else’s season has gone (like moving into 2nd in the rankings without even playing a game for example). That’s not to say they aren’t a good team. Just saying.

    Fourth, Herb Sendek’s fault? Lee Fowler’s fault? I thought all blame for everything lay at the feet of Tyrone Willingham for not bringing in better recruits. Curse him.

  25. bTHEredterror 10/25/2007 at 3:24 PM #

    Here is Charlotte Disturber logic at its finest. Both State and and the Holes are 2-5, but of course using deductive reasoning honed to a butterknife dullness at UNC journalism school will lead you to this conclusion:

    http://www.charlotte.com/colleges/story/333108.html

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