ACC Football Week Three Predictions

It wasn’t a great week for my picks. I went 6-4 last week, but I’m not the only person to not get the JMU upset of VA Tech. I’d actually like to meet the person who picked that who either currently doesn’t go to JMU, or is a JMU alum. It just wasn’t a great week of the ACC in general. But let’s hope things go better this week.

 

A Thursday night matchup in Raleigh kicks off the week for college football. NC State is off to a 2-0 start, beating Western Carolina and Central Florida, and Cincinnati is 1-1, losing to Fresno State and beating Indiana State. This clearly isn’t close to the same Cincinnati team from last year, and they are not off to the greatest of starts. I think this game is pretty even, and with NC State being the home team, I give them the advantage. NC State 24, Cincinnati 20

 

This is the lone conference matchup of the week. Georgia Tech is reeling from a loss at Kansas. UNC had the week off after losing to LSU on opening night. That gave Butch Davis and his staff an extra week to prepare for the vaunted Georgia Tech rushing attack. If they can do that, they can force Josh Nebsitt to throw, and his accuracy has not improved from last year. Nesbitt is completing less than 40 percent of his passes this year. If Georgia Tech wants to stay in this game, I think Nesbitt will need to give the ball to Anthony Allen and Embry Peeples more. But I’m not sure it will still be enough. North Carolina 27, Georgia Tech 17

 

This is a very interesting game. Maryland obliterated Morgan State 62-3 last week, and is off to a 2-0 start. West Virginia needed overtime to beat Marshall in a game they should have lost. West Virginia is 2-0 on the year as well, but hasn’t looked that great in the process. They have a great running back in Noel Devine, and Geno Smith is a pretty solid quarterback. Maryland’s done a lot of their damage on the ground as well, as Davin Meggett and Jamarr Robinson have done the bulk of the work. The two teams are only about four hours apart, and I think it will help Maryland. This my upset pick of the week. Maryland 28, West Virginia 24

 

Not very often do you say the third game of a season is pivotal. But this is one of those rare cases. With Virginia Tech off to a 0-2 start after looking lethargic in a loss to JMU, the Hokies have a stiffer challenge on their hands in East Carolina. This will be the first non-conference game for the Pirates, who have defeated Conference USA foes Memphis and Tulsa, scoring a total of 100 points in the process. The question here is how Virginia Tech rebounds from last week. If they start out slow, they could be in for some trouble. If they come out of the gates on fire, then they should be able to handle ECU. I’m going to bank on that. Virginia Tech 30, East Carolina 21

A rematch from last season that saw FSU go to Provo and beat the Cougars pretty handily. Now BYU looks to extract revenge on a Florida State team recovering from a shellacking at the hands of Oklahoma. BYU itself is coming off of a bad loss at Air Force. I think with the home crowd behind them, FSU will be making a statement to show last week was a fluke. Florida State 38, BYU 17

This will be the first time since 2002 Alabama will be the road team in a game against a BCS opponent. As you can tell, Alabama doesn’t like to schedule very tough. Duke is playing the defending national champion at home for the first time since 1957. Alabama will get the returning Heisman Trophy winner back in Mark Ingram, and logically. Duke’s defense is not that good, and they will probably be putting their offense in tough situations because of it. Duke may be able to throw on them a little bit, but it won’t be enough. Alabama 35, Duke 17

 

ESPN will televise this battle of the Tigers. Clemson is off to a 2-0 start, looking unimpressive despite a 35-10 win over North Texas, and rolling over Presbyterian. Auburn is also 2-0, defeating Arkansas State and Mississippi State. Clemson will need Kyle Parker to have a big game. He did not come out of the gate well against North Texas, and only threw nine passes against Presbyterian. Defensively, the Tigers will have to contain Cam Newton, a dual threat quarterback who has accounted for 563 yards in the first two games. This game will be close, but I think the home team will prevail. Auburn 27, Clemson 20

The final game of the night features a rematch of last year in which Wake Forest was able to prevail. If you plan to stay up for this game, get a pot of coffee on, and hope you can make it for an 11:15 start time, and hope to be in bed by 2:30. This year’s offense is a little different for Stanford, as last year they relied on running back Toby Gerhart most of the time. This year, they’ve relied on the passing game a little more, and quarterback Andrew Luck has had a nice season so far. Luck has thrown for 467 yards and six touchdowns through two games. Wake Forest will hand the reigns over to freshman Tanner Price, who played very well in relief of Ted Stachitas. Price went 12-19 for 190 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 56 yards on 10 carries. It will be tough for a freshman to make his first career start on the road, and the Stanford defense just pitched a shutout against UCLA. And that will be the difference in this game. Stanford 31, Wake Forest 17