2007 ACC Championship Fearless Prediction

Preview and Prediction for the 2007 ACC Championship - Boston College vs. Virginia Tech

ACC
Atlantic Boston Coll | Clemson | Florida St | Maryland | NC State | Wake Forest
Coastal Duke | Georgia Tech | Miami | North Carolina | Virginia | Virginia Tech

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Oct. 6 | Oct. 13 | Oct. 20 | Oct. 27 | Nov. 3 | Nov. 10 | Nov. 17 | Nov. 24

How are the picks so far? SU: 67-28 ... ATS: 42-44-2

Virginia Tech (10-2) vs. Boston College (10-2)

Dec. 1, 1:00 p.m. ET, ABC

From the moment Matt Ryan’s 24-yard touchdown pass to Andre Callender quieted the Lane Stadium crowd on Oct. 25, Virginia Tech has been dreaming of another shot at Boston College.  That chance for redemption comes Saturday afternoon in Jacksonville, with the winner earning an automatic berth in a BCS bowl game.

National Rankings

Boston Coll.	Virginia Tech
Total Offense
25th  440.50 ypg	97th  335.08 ypg
Total Defense
26th  334 ypg	4th  285.33 ypg
Scoring Offense
47th  29.67 ppg	54th  29.25 ppg
Scoring Defense
19th  19.50 ppg	2nd  15.42 ppg
Run Offense
105th  108.75 ypg	78th  136.5 ypg
Run Defense
2nd  65.58 ypg	5th  86.17 ypg
Pass Offense
7th  331.75 ypg	86th  198.58 ypg
Pass Defense
106th  268.42 ypg	20th  199.17 ypg
Turnover Margin
41st  0.25	8th  1.08

Boston Coll
W Forest W 38-28
NC State W 37-17
at Ga Tech W 24-10
Army W 37-17
UMass W 24-14
Bo Green W 55-24
at No Dame W 27-14
at Va Tech W 14-10
Florida State L 27-17
at Maryland L 42-35
at Clemson W 20-17
Miami W 28-14

Virginia Tech
East Carolina W 17-7
at LSU L 48-7
Ohio W 28-7
Will & Mary W 44-3
No Carolina W 17-10
at Clemson W 41-23
at Duke W 43-14
Boston Coll L 14-10
at Ga Tech W 27-3
Florida St W 40-21
Miami W 44-14
at Virginia W 33-21

Position Ratings relative to each other
BC	5 highest 1 lowest	VT
5	Quarterbacks	3.5
4	RBs	4
3	Receivers	3.5
4	O Line	3.5
4	D Line	5
4	Linebackers	5
3.5	Secondary	4.5
3.5	Spec Teams	4
4	Coaching	4

Rather than wallowing in self pity after losing a 14-10 heartbreaker to the Eagles, the Hokies used the game as a launching point, winning four straight convincingly, including last week’s defeat of Virginia to cop the ACC Coastal Division.  In many ways, Tech is a very different team, a better team, than the one that gagged in Blacksburg over a month ago.  That team didn’t have QB Tyrod Taylor, a change-of-pace to starter Sean Glennon that makes defenders whiff in the open field, and gives the offense a unique dimension, especially near the goal line.  It also didn’t have Vince Hall, one of the league’s best linebackers and a run-stuffer extraordinaire, who’s returned from a wrist injury to play two solid games.  Most important, however, has been the return to form of RB Branden Ore, who’s coming off his best game of the year, running behind a Tech line that has finally shown signs of gelling into a cohesive unit. 

With a tweak here and an addition there, Virginia Tech believes it’s perfectly positioned to erase the painful memory of its regular season loss to Boston College, and get to the Orange Bowl.  If the Hokies fail, they’ll be haunted by the Eagles throughout the offseason.

Like Virginia Tech, Boston College took its division outright by winning a game in hostile territory, surprising Clemson in Death Valley two weeks ago.  Now, the program is a win away from its first outright conference championship in school history.

Although Ryan, who's still a fringe Heisman contender, is clearly the marquee attraction on The Heights, the Eagles are much more than just their multi-millionaire-to-be quarterback.  Led by mammoth OT Gosder Cherilus, Boston College boasts a fortress of protection around Ryan, and the defense has gone unnoticed all year, despite picking off 20 passes and finishing No. 2 nationally in run defense.  The Eagles had a mini two-game slump in November, but were able to work out of it with a familiar formula, clutch passes down the stretch from Ryan, and the play of a no-name defense that bends occasionally, yet broke only once all year.

When the architect of Boston College’s current success, Tom O’Brien, up and left for NC State, the administration went on a hunt for a head coach that could get the program beyond eight or nine-win seasons and a second-rate December bowl game.  The school came up with unknown Jeff Jagodzinski, who has a chance to achieve that goal in just his first season on the payroll.        

Players to watch: Ryan has attracted more national attention than any Boston College player since Doug Flutie, and he’s worth it.  Looking as if he was built in some NFL scout’s laboratory, he’s 6-5, makes all the throws, and is effective at scrambling out of trouble when the pocket breaks down.  However, it’s Ryan’s intangibles that make the Virginia Tech coaching staff queasy.  Now a fifth-year senior, he’s an outstanding leader, will play through pain, and is in his happy place during crunch time, something the Hokies witnessed in person.  The ACC Championship game is the first of a few key auditions that could catapult Ryan to the top of next April’s NFL Draft.  Since pocket time may come at a premium this weekend, he’ll be locked into Ryan Purvis, a sure-handed tight end, who’ll be looking to do damage on the underneath routes.

Ryan’s biggest concern on the opposite side of the field will be No. 49, Virginia Tech DE Chris Ellis.  One of the ACC’s premier pass rushers, he’s got speed off the edge, yet also has the power and strength to handle multiple blockers and stop the run.  The Hokie leader with 8.5 sacks, he also has the long arms needed to bat down balls and obstruct the vision of opposing quarterbacks.  When Ellis is getting into the backfield, he makes everyone on that Tech defense better, a frightening concept about a unit that’s allowed just 12 points a game since getting rocked by LSU on Sept. 8.  The outcome of his battle with Cherilus and freshman Anthony Castonzo will go a long way to determining who’s celebrating an ACC title Saturday night.       

Boston College will win if... it neutralizes a Virginia Tech pass rush that’s No. 4 nationally in sacks, and completely abused it for the first 57 minutes when the schools met in October.  Ryan is good, but like any quarterback, he needs a few seconds to survey the field in order to be fully effective.  When the Hokies applied the heat in Blacksburg, the Eagles couldn’t get out their own way.  When the Hokies got conservative, Ryan was unstoppable down the stretch.    

Virginia Tech will win if... Ore rushes for more than 100 yards, something only Lance Ball has done this year in a Maryland upset of Boston College.  The Hokies won’t wow anyone with their passing attack, so it’s incumbent upon the backs to move the chains, and help make play-action a viable option for Glennon and Taylor.  It’s when the Tech quarterbacks are forced into obvious throwing situations that S Jamie Silva becomes especially dangerous at picking off passes. 

What will happen: After developing a blueprint for how to beat Boston College, Virginia Tech will follow it for 60 minutes this time around.  The Hokies will suffocate Ryan all afternoon, forcing him into his 17^th and 18^th interceptions, one of which will be returned for a game-changing touchdown.  Tech will get its revenge, and a return trip to Florida to play in the Jan. 3 Orange Bowl.  

Line: Virginia Tech -5.5 ... CFN Prediction: Virginia Tech 23 ... Boston College 17 

2007 Previous Game
Oct. 25
Boston College 14 ... Virginia Tech 10
Shut down cold for roughly 55 minutes, Boston College and QB Matt Ryan woke up to pull off the improbable comeback thanks to a 24-yard touchdown pass to Andre Callender with 11 seconds to play. Down 10-0 and the ball on his own eight, Ryan took the Eagles 92 yards in just over two minutes, finishing up with a 16-yard scoring pass to Rich Gunnell. With 2:11 to play, BC went for the onside kick and got it as the ball bounced off a Hokie before the Eagles recovered. Ryan went 66 yards in seven plays for the game-winning score. Virginia Tech got a 44-yard Jud Dunleavy field goal and an eight-yard Eddie Royal touchdown catch for the lead, but only finished with 265 yards of total offense, while BC finished with 32 rushing yards.
Player of the game: Boston College QB Matt Ryan completed 25 of 52 passes for 285 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions
Stat Leaders: Boston College - Passing: Matt Ryan, 25-52, 285 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Andre Callender, 7-29. Receiving: Brandon Robinson, 5-86
Virginia Tech - Passing: Sean Glennon, 15-25, 149 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Branden Ore, 21-101. Receiving: Eddie Royal, 4-77, 1 TD

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