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. PackerInRussia 10/25/2007 at 3:29 PM #

    In my above list, I forgot this from an ESPN.com story:
    “No. 2 Boston College’s great benefit, up to this point, no one in Boston cares. The Red Sox and Patriots are using up every breath of oxygen in New England. The Eagles’ big test at No. 8 Virginia Tech will take place simultaneously with Game 2 of the World Series. Asked quarterback Matt Ryan, ‘You think they’ll watch us during the commercials?'”

    http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/notebook?page=iform078

  2. PackerInRussia 10/25/2007 at 3:34 PM #

    Wow, that Charlotte Observer piece (of crap) was terrible. ECU’s marquee win was against a 2-5 team? Put that one in the record books.
    Granted, as fans we were hoping for a better outcome to the season, but wasn’t the media in agreement that the season would pretty much turn out this way? What expectations and bowl bid are they talking about?
    Good ol’ Carolina. Those 2 wins are enough to stand tall and be proud of. Bad NC State. Only two wins? Didn’t Carolina recruit much better players over the last few years. Shouldn’t having the same record mean that UNC has done less with more? I guess that all depends on perspective, right?
    OK, I’ve written too much. You can have your website back now.

  3. JimValvano 10/25/2007 at 4:21 PM #

    I think the ACC would’ve been better off adding South Carolina or East Carolina to the league, but they wanted to add some big cities into the mix which is why we ended up with Miami and Boston College. The other aspect to that was getting Duke and Wake to vote in favor of the expansion. They both wanted schools that were private institutions. That is why we ended up with Boston College after Notre Dame returned little interest.

  4. statered 10/25/2007 at 4:28 PM #

    East Carolina instead of Miami or BC??? Are you daft?

  5. TNCSU 10/25/2007 at 4:30 PM #

    EZU?? That would be like adding Western Kentucky to the SEC!!

  6. TNCSU 10/25/2007 at 4:38 PM #

    I wouldn’t have minded a school like Rutgers – fairly good (ACC) location – good national prominence, etc. Overall, I think BC was a pretty good choice. My next vote would have been for WVU or Louisville.

  7. LRM 10/25/2007 at 4:40 PM #

    Mr. O,
    I agree about that cliche. I hate it.

    Another example is Les Miles in both his fourth-down barrage against Florida and the game-winner against Auburn. Personally, I like the dude — he’s toes that fine line between fearless and reckless, but it makes for a fun game to watch. However, I’m not vested in whether LSU wins or loses. I doubt any of the 90,000 fans in attendance would have left Tiger stadium calmly accepting that while they had just lost to Auburn, at least they didn’t play to lose…or kick the FG to tie and extend the game.

  8. bTHEredterror 10/25/2007 at 4:44 PM #

    Frankly, EZU had/has nothing to offer. They don’t introduce a new media market, are embarassingly uncompetitive at every sport except football, and they don’t offer academic excellence like a Duke or BC to make up for it.
    USC had their chance, and they burned the bridge when they left back in the day. I would have supported Navy or Pitt first in terms of geography, but BC was a good choice. They have competed well in conference in both major sports, and they are developing rivalries in addition to VT and Miami. Namely us and while their fans are certainly annoying they pale in comparison to ECU and USC fans, both legendary in their delusional viewpoints.

  9. JimValvano 10/25/2007 at 4:55 PM #

    I think App St. would’ve been a better choice than Miami (bunch of damn thugs)…and Bwaustin Ciahlidge…honestly…I’d love to take Pittsburgh, West Virginia, The REAL CAROLINA, South Florida, or Central Florida over them.

    lol

    Realistically…I guess B.C. really ain’t all bad. At least they haven’t embarrassed the league in the same way Miami did with their gang fight they had last year.

  10. RochesterRedWolf 10/25/2007 at 4:56 PM #

    The reason i want BC to win, irrespective of their fans, and i mean seriously irrespective and in total disregard of their fans, is because it helps TOB in recruiting. Every recruit knows that TOB was THE coach at BC and TOB uses it to show “hey, those were our kids.”

    Also…i guess in thinking about BC fans like atleagle, it really rubs in their craw that TOB can still take credit for BC. I also only expect them to get a modest bump in recruiting even if they were to win the national championship because kids who have the grades still want to go to Notre Dame if it came right down to picking a private catholic school.

    The short and long run it helps TOB/NCstate more. Plus as others have mentioned I am a little burned-out by the overhyping of the VT tragedy. Plus the more success BC has, every reporter comes back and asks TOB “How does it feel knowing those are YOUR kids, the ones YOU recruited and developed at BC.” And then TOB can do that humble answer, its beautiful.

    We can root against BC next year! But you can NEVER, EVER root for UNC!

  11. noah 10/25/2007 at 5:33 PM #

    “Another example is Les Miles in both his fourth-down barrage against Florida and the game-winner against Auburn.”

    You ought to see the Michigan fans tear themselves apart over the Les Miles yea-nay topic. You know you’re in trouble if you are Lloyd Carr when you regain a top-25 standing, are PROBABLY going to wind up winning the Big 10 and go 10-2 and be the Rose Bowl representative…and still, the top topics on the Michigan boards are about les Miles.

  12. Mr O 10/25/2007 at 7:42 PM #

    Interesting interview/confrontation between Chad Johnson and Keyshawn Johnson on ESPN. Keyshawn is calling him out on his celebrations since they are not winning. Not sure how many NFL fans are out there, but it is a pretty interesting conversation between the two. IMO, they make too big a deal out of the celebrations by TO, Randy Moss, Steve Smith, Chad Johnson, etc…let the guys have some fun on the field assuming they are clean off of it. TO is obviously an idiot and Randy Moss has been at times, but S. Smith and C. Johnson are good guys for the most part.

    LT is boring to me.

  13. Wulfpack 10/25/2007 at 7:48 PM #

    ^What gets me is Keyshaun is the one criticizing a plyer for being too flashy. Who would have ever thought that?

    I do tend to agree with the idea that if you are 1-4, you ought to just shut your mouth and do your job. You don’t see an offensive lineman that delivers a nice block putting on a H.O.F. cape.

    This is all just makes me appreciate Marvin Harrison that much more.

  14. Mr O 10/25/2007 at 8:42 PM #

    Marvin Harrison is boring too…at least to me. He might be the least interesting player in the NFL.

  15. RabidWolf 10/25/2007 at 8:47 PM #

    Can anybody tell me what the hell is up with the “cardiac wahoos” thing…for the love of God, be original, and at least make it SOUND good…….cardiac wahoos….cardiac cavs….

    Kinda like Nevada and their ‘wolf_pack’

  16. noah 10/25/2007 at 8:58 PM #

    I hate Chad Johnson. Absolutely DESPISE Chad Johnson.

    Football is the ultimate team game. Chad Johnson is the ultimate “me player.” He ought to play tennis or be a sprinter or something.

  17. McPete 10/25/2007 at 9:04 PM #

    RochesterRedWolf:
    I doubt BC winning big this year would help TOB much, especially in the ’08 class, since NC State and BC are recruiting some of the same kids. one team goes to a BCS, the other wins 3-4 games, where do you want to play?

  18. BoKnowsNCS71 10/25/2007 at 9:06 PM #

    Regarding ECU to the ACC — some Greenville Legislators were trying to push hard for it. But the truth is — there were 4 ACC schools from NC in the ACC (1/3) — no way the others were going to give us a 5th one.

    Plus it was also about media market share (until Va got pressured to insist on VT) and places like Syracuse and Boston looked good. But then no one in Boston seems to care about college ball. Go figure

  19. BJD95 10/25/2007 at 9:21 PM #

    Good thing TOB isn’t around to hold back the BC offense tonight, huh?

  20. noah 10/25/2007 at 9:54 PM #

    South Carolina and ECU will join the ACC right around the same time Campbell and Peace join.

  21. Wulfpack 10/25/2007 at 10:29 PM #

    I find nothing at all boring about Marvin Harrison’s game. What it is is refreshing. Just does his job night in and night out. One of the best of all time. Don’t think I can say the same for Chad.

  22. BJD95 10/25/2007 at 10:48 PM #

    Funny how BC doesn’t loo so hot against a legitimate Division 1 defense, yes?

  23. PackerInRussia 10/25/2007 at 11:03 PM #

    Pack has a commitment from a Georgia S–Roy Mangram. 2 star player with offers from SC and Clemson.

    So, is BC playing not to lose or not to win tonight?

  24. choppack1 10/25/2007 at 11:07 PM #

    Is it me or are ACC refs about as bad at your job as you can get. I think they botched several key calls tonight? First off – pass interference call against BC. Then the roughing call – what the hell – are you even allowed to touch a punter these days? Friggin’ absurd…

    One thought on ATLEagle – he says some contradictory things.

    He notes:
    Beamer is 1-3 against the spread in his last four games against BC.

    But then he notes:
    In the past we’ve gone into Blacksburg playing not to lose and it would usually get ugly.

    Now, I’m not sure, but it would seem that if VaTech’s covered 3 out of 4 times against VaTech – it’s not that bad.

    Right now, VaTech is making some shaky play calls on offense. BC needs a steady dose of Ore right now.

    Ryan looks confused so far. But that’s not surprising. He didn’t look like a Heisman trophy winner vs. us.

  25. RochesterRedWolf 10/25/2007 at 11:17 PM #

    McPete…ive looked at alot of the targets and there are very few where BC is also in the mix for the player. In addition to where BC is…and where NCSU is…whether or not that player could get past BC’s admission staff, etc. Look at BC’s commits so far and look at ours. What you say I would normally agree with, but not in this special case.

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