ACC
Atlantic
Boston Coll
|
Clemson
| Florida
St
|
Maryland
|
NC State
|
Wake Forest
Coastal
Duke
|
Georgia
Tech |
Miami
|
North
Carolina |
Virginia
|
Virginia
Tech
ACC Fearless Predictions
Aug. 30
|
Sept. 6
|
Sept. 13
|
Sept. 20
-
Sept. 27
|
Oct. 4
|
Oct. 11
|
Oct. 18
|
Oct. 25
|
Nov. 1
|
Nov. 8
|
Nov. 15
-
Nov. 22 |
Nov. 29
How are the picks so far? SU:
62-33 ... ATS: 37-43-1
Virginia Tech (8-4) vs.
Boston College (9-3)
Dec. 6,
1:00 p.m. ET, ABC
Maybe inviting those interlopers from the Big East into the ACC a
few years back wasn’t such a great idea after all. Over the last two
years, not a single original member has played in the league
championship game.
When the dust finally settled on an incredibly competitive ACC race,
a couple of familiar faces, Boston College and Virginia Tech, were
left standing from the Atlantic and Coastal Divisions, respectively.
The schools squared off in last year’s league title game, and will
be meeting for the fourth time in the last two seasons. Playing in a
conference that saw its divisions go to tiebreakers and not be
decided until last weekend, both the Eagles and the Hokies have been
in playoff mode for the past month.
 |
|
National
Rankings |
|
Boston Coll. |
Virginia Tech |
|
Total Offense |
|
94th 319.33 ypg |
103rd 301.33 ypg |
|
Total Defense |
|
8th 276.67 ypg |
6th 274.50 ypg |
|
Scoring Offense |
|
53rd 26.67 ppg |
92nd 21.58 ppg |
|
Scoring Defense |
|
14th 17.58 ppg |
16th 17.92 ppg |
|
Run Offense |
|
56h 151.17 ypg |
40th 169.42 ypg |
|
Run Defense |
|
7th 87.33 ypg |
19th 112.17 ypg |
|
Pass Offense |
|
99th 168.17 ypg |
110th 131.92 ypg |
|
Pass Defense |
|
35th 189.33 ypg |
6th 162.33 ypg |
|
Turnover Margin |
|
24th 0.58 |
20th 0.83 |
|
Boston Coll
at Kent St W 21-0
Ga Tech L 19-16
UCF W 34-7
Rhode Isl. W 42-0
at NC State W 38-31
Va Tech W 28-23
at N Car. L 45-24
Clemson L 27-21
Notre Dame W 17-0
at Fla St W 27-17
at W Forest W 24-21
Maryland W 28-21 |
Virginia
Tech
East Carolina
L 27-22
Furman W 24-7
Ga Tech W
20-17
at N Car W 20-17
at Nebraska W 35-30
West Kent W 27-13
at Bos Coll L 28-23
at Florida St
L 30-20
Maryland W 23-13
at Miami L 16-14
Duke W 14-3
Virginia W 17-14 |
|
Position Ratings
relative to each
other |
|
BC |
5 highest
1 lowest |
VT |
|
2 |
Quarterbacks |
3 |
|
3 |
RBs |
4 |
|
3 |
Receivers |
2.5 |
|
4 |
O Line |
3 |
|
5 |
D Line |
4 |
|
4.5 |
Linebackers |
4.5 |
|
3.5 |
Secondary |
4.5 |
|
4 |
Spec Teams |
3 |
|
4 |
Coaching |
4.5 |
|
At one time or another, 10 of
the ACC’s 12 members were in the
hunt for a championship. North
Carolina and Wake Forest were
trendy. Maryland and Georgia
Tech had their chances. Florida
State and Miami were never far
from the action. But Boston
College and Virginia Tech? The
Eagles and Hokies had every
reason
not
to be in this position this
year. BC was attempting to move
forward without its entire 2007
backfield, including Matt Ryan.
Surely, head coach Jeff
Jagodzinski would get exposed
without his franchise
quarterback and security
blanket, right? Uh-uh. Instead,
the Eagles rallied like a
thoroughbred around the final
turn, winning their last four
games to zip past the rest of
the field. Coach Jags’ second
team has no stars, relying on a
blue-collar, turnover-happy
defense and a couple of true
freshmen to carry the running
load. Oh, and when senior QB
Chris Crane broke his collarbone
two weeks ago, redshirt freshman
Dominique Davis stepped in and
kept the offense afloat.
Although it’s a win away
from another BCS bowl game, this
has been anything but a vintage
Tech team in Blacksburg. The
Hokies lost the opener to East
Carolina, were forced to scrap a
plan to redshirt QB Tyrod
Taylor, and lost three of four
games down the stretch,
including one to Boston College.
Yet, they’re back on the
doorstep of a third ACC
championship since joining the
league in 2004. A ton of credit
goes to Frank Beamer, defensive
coordinator Bud Foster, and the
rest of a staff that milked
eight wins from an average
collection of talent, and pushed
the right buttons in a bunch of
nail-biters. If Beamer and Co.
can get this team, with the
nation’s 103rd-ranked
offense, to the Orange Bowl,
they ought to start building the
statues outside the stadium on
Sunday morning.
Five years ago, Boston College
and Virginia Tech weren’t even
in the ACC. Today, they’re the
standards in their respective
divisions. Had the league known
then what it knows now, it might
not have been so hospitable.
Players to watch:
The most intriguing battle of
the afternoon will be between
the freshmen backs, Boston
College’s Montel Harris
and Virginia Tech’s Darren
Evans. Each school’s leading
rusher, they’ve got to be
successful if their team is to
have any chance of keeping
drives going. Harris will be
running against the league’s No.
2 run defense and will get
little help from Davis through
the air. Evans will be running
against the league’s top-rated
run defense and will get little
help from Tyrod Taylor or
Sean Glennon. If either
back gets regular daylight, an
unlikely occurrence, it’ll give
a huge advantage to his
team.
When Davis drops back to pass,
he better know where No. 1 is at
all times. Virginia Tech CB
Victor Harris is an
unabashed thief and one of the
best defensive playmakers in the
country. This type of stage was
made for him. He’s an
outstanding cover corner with 15
career picks and four defensive
touchdowns. Unfortunately for
the Boston College passing game,
junior Stephan Virgil
offers little comfort on the
other side. He’s got four picks
and great ball skills, which is
yet another reason why the
Eagles must get something out of
the running game.
The headliner on defense for
Boston College is LB Mark
Herzlich, the heart and soul
of the unit. He was excelling
before injuries hit the D, but
has been playing possessed since
Brian Toal was lost for the year
with an injury. Not only is
Herzlich fifth nationally in
solo tackles, but he’s matched
Harris’ six interceptions and
two returns for touchdowns. A
complete football player with a
non-stop motor, he’ll never be
far from the ball.
Boston College will win if...
it continues to create a slew of
turnovers. Only one team in the
country has more takeaways than
the Eagles, a key reason why
they’re playing a bonus game.
They’ve got to manufacture
points and give the offense a
short field, especially with a
novice behind center. Boston
College failed to pick off a
pass just twice all season. It
lost both times. In a game
that’ll be dominated by the
defenses and special teams,
turnover margin will be even
more critical than ever.
Virginia Tech will win if...
someone other than the
offense gets in the end zone. To
put it bluntly, the Hokies
offense is awful. Sure, they can
win a 12-9 game, but they’d be a
whole lot safer if Harris
produces a pick six, Dyrell
Roberts returns a kick for a
touchdown, or the special teams
hosts a block party. The first
time these two schools met on
Oct. 18, there were three
non-offensive touchdowns, two
from the Hokies and one from the
Eagles. Tech needs to be
plus-one in this category again
on Saturday.
What will happen:
It’s a toss-up. The only
certainties in a game between
two evenly matched schools are
that it’ll be physical, fueled
by defense and special teams,
and generally unappealing on
offense. Whoever can run—and
protect—the ball will be dodging
a barrage of oranges at the end
of regulation. In a game of this
magnitude, the edge goes to the
program with the better staff,
more experienced quarterback,
and sharpest kicker. In all
three cases, that’s Virginia
Tech, which will survive on the
strength of Dustin Keys’ leg and
a timely non-offensive
touchdown.
Line: Boston College -1
... CFN Prediction:
Virginia Tech 23 ... Boston
College 20
2007 ACC Championship
Virginia Tech 30 ... Boston
College 16
Tied at 16 midway through the
fourth quarter, Eddie Royal
caught a 24-yard touchdown pass
to give the Hokies the lead for
good. The Tech defense held on
with an interception on fourth
down deep in its own territory,
and a 40-yard interception
return for a score from Xavier
Adibi with 11 seconds to play.
In a strange first half, BC got
on the board first as Jamie
Silva snatched the ball and took
it for a 51-yard score. A Matt
Ryan 14-yard touchdown run gave
the Eagles a second quarter
lead, but the extra point was
blocked and returned for a
two-point conversion to spark a
run of 23 unanswered points.
Sean Glennon threw three
touchdowns passes to three
different receivers.
Player of the game:
Virginia Tech QB Sean Glennon
completed 18 of 27 passes for
174 yards and three touchdowns
with an interception.
Stat Leaders: Virginia Tech - Passing: Sean
Glennon, 18-27, 174 yds, 3 TD, 1
INT
Rushing: Branden Ore, 19-55. Receiving:
Josh Morgan, 8-55, 1 TD
Boston College - Passing: Matt Ryan, 33-52, 305
yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Andre Callender,
15-51. Receiving: Andre
Callender, 13-92
2006
ACC Championship
Wake Forest 9 ... Georgia Tech 6
On a sloppy field with the two
teams combining for 548 yards of
offense, Wake Forest's Sam Swank
hit three field goals, including
a 22-yard shot with 2:55 to
play, Tech went three-and-out,
and the Demon Deacon offense was
able to run out the clock thanks
to a 19-yard Willie Idlette end
around run. Georgia Tech only
managed two Travis Bell field
goals from 21 and 34 yards out
and hung on to the ball for just
3:54 in the fourth quarter.
Calvin Johnson, in a losing
cause, caught eight passes for
117 yards.
Player of the game ... Wake
Forest LB Jon Abbate made 15
tackles, a sack, and two tackles
for loss
Stat Leaders: Georgia Tech - Passing: Reggie
Ball, 9-29, 129 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Tashard Choice, 21-100 Receiving:
Calvin Johnson, 8-117
Wake Forest - Passing: Riley Skinner, 14-25,
201 yds
Rushing: Kenneth Moore, 16-39 Receiving: Nate
Morton, 4-40