ACC Football Week Two Predicitons

It was a great first week for the ACC, with the conference finishing 10-2, with losses coming from UNC to LSU and Virginia Tech to Boise State. But this week brings our first conference game, and some pivotal non conference matchups that could shape how the nation views the conference as whole.

 

Both of these teams first game landed on different ends of the spectrum. Georgia Tech got off to a great start in their opener, as they ran over South Carolina State 41-10. The Yellow Jackets ran for six touchdowns, with three of them coming from Josh Nesbitt. Kansas, on the other hand, lost to North Dakota State, and only scored three points in their debut under new head coach Turner Gill. They did only allow 168 total yards to North Dakota State, and allowed 2.3 yards per carry. But the challenge is greater this time. They will have to face one of the top rushing attacks in the country, while Georgia Tech will have to face a quarterback with the last name Pick, who did throw one last week, and was benched. One concern for the Yellow Jackets is the rush defense, as they allowed Asheton Jordan of South Carolina State to run for 129 yards and a 7.2 rushing average. But Kansas struggled mightily in the running department, and other than a 51 yard run, basically did nothing. I think Georgia Tech will be able to run around the Jayhawks defense. Georgia Tech 31, Kansas 14

These two kick off the conference schedule. Wake Forest took off and looked dominant against Presbyterian, with the starters basically playing the first half. Ted Stachitas threw for 84 yards and ran for 76 yards and a touchdown in his one half of play. Duke put up 41 points on the board, but had difficulty stopping Elon. But nobody could stop Sean Renfree, as he went 31-39 for 350 yards and two touchdowns. Wake Forest did have some trouble stopping Presbyterian’s passing game, as they put up nearly 300 yards against Wake’s defense. Conversely, Duke didn’t stop Elon’s rushing attack, as they ran for six yards per carry against Duke. This one will be a shootout, and I think Duke will be able to do just enough to pull this one out on the road. Duke 38, Wake Forest 31

If there’s one team I don’t want to be this week, it’s James Madison. They’re going to face a team that’s coming off a heart breaking loss to Boise State, and the Hokies are going to be out for blood. Even though Virginia Tech is coming off of a Monday game, the short week of preparation won’t matter. Virginia Tech 55, James Madison 7

This will be the third straight year these two teams will meet. Boston College won both prior meetings by a combined score of 55-7. Both teams won last week. Boston College looked a little sluggish against Weber State, as they weren’t able to stop the Weber State passing game very much, except for a DeLeon Gause touchdown on an interception. On the plus side, Montel Harris picked up where he left off last season, rushing for 115 yards and a touchdown. Dave Shinskie didn’t look that great, only completing 50% of his passes and throwing two interceptions. But Shinskie won’t be needed to throw much, as they can rely on Harris alone, and get a win. Boston College 28, Kent State 10

This game will be another tune up for Clemson, and they will need it. They did not look very good against North Texas. Kyle Parker was not very sharp, and the defense allowed over 460 yards to the Mean Green. Clemson definitely needs a game like this to get sharper heading in to conference play. Clemson 48, Presbyterian 10

This is one of those games that Miami needs to win for the sake of the ACC. But they are travelling to one of the toughest places to play in all of college football against a team many think will be a national title contender. If they are going to do it, they will need a career day from Jacory Harris, and they need to be able to stop Terrelle Pryor. My thinking is that Harris will have a nice game, but not the kind of game needed to pull off the upset, as I think Terrelle Pryor will be able to win the game with both his arm and his running ability. Ohio State 30, Miami 17

 

This is another game Florida State needs to win for ACC prestige. They looked really impressive against Samford last week, and weren’t caught looking ahead, unlike Oklahoma, who was outgained and needed a late interception to hold off Utah State. But we shouldn’t expect Oklahoma to put up a repeat performance, as I think their defense will be a lot more ready for this game than the previous game. This game will be close, but with this game at Oklahoma, I think they will prevail. Oklahoma 35, Florida State 27

The most surprising result amongst ACC teams was Maryland’s upset of Navy, which probably wouldn’t have happened had Navy not made so many mistakes in the red zone. But a win is a win, and you take them however you can get them. This week they will take on a Morgan State team that barely beat a Division II school in Bowie State. This has the smell of Jamarr Robinson running wild all day. Maryland 44, Morgan State 10

This is an interesting non conference game. The Wolfpack travel to Orlando to take on a Central Florida team that won eight games last year, and won their opener in convincing fashion. NC State also won their opener over Western Carolina, but this a much tougher opponent, and a much tougher venue. UCF only lost once at home last year, which was to Miami. This one is a tough game to predict, and since this seems to be a pretty evenly matched game, I will go with the home team. Central Florida 28, NC State 27

Big, bad USC looked a little vulnerable on defense, allowing 36 points and 588 yards to Hawaii. Virginia scored 34 points against Richmond and looking pretty impressive against one of the better teams from the FCS. But that’s a different level of competition. And not only that, the mental clock in the Cavs heads will be 10:30 at night when the game starts, and that could be an affect on the Cavs, although it will only be 7:30 on the west coast when the game kicks off. Most people are thinking Virginia won’t do much against USC’s defense, but giving up 588 yards and 36 points to Hawaii gives Virginia fans reason to put up some points. But it won’t be enough to win. USC 35, Virginia 21