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
How are the picks so far? SU:
17-4 ... ATS: 3-8
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ACC Week
Three Predictions
North Carolina State (1-1) at
Clemson (1-1),
12:00 EST, ESPN GamePlan
Why to watch: Clemson
took its first step toward
stability following the
devastating loss to Alabama,
disposing of The Citadel, 45-17.
The next order of business will
be to flex its muscles against
an ACC opponent. The Tigers have
the next three games with
overmatched programs to prepare
for their Oct. 9 showdown at
Wake Forest, a game that could
decide the league’s Atlantic
Division champion. North
Carolina State would love to
have Clemson’s problems. The
Wolfpack had a win over an FCS
program of its own, but didn’t
look especially potent holding
off William & Mary. There was a
ray of hope, as QB Harrison Beck
threw for 246 yards and a couple
of touchdowns. Still, Russell
Wilson is set to return from his
concussion, and is expected to
start.
Why NC State might win:
While the offense remains a
work-in-progress, the Pack
defense has played better than
the scores have indicated.
Fueled by the outside pressure
of Willie Young and Shea McKeen,
and the run stuffing ability of
LB Nate Irving, State is capable
of keeping the high-powered
offense of Clemson from
unleashing all of its weapons.
The Wolfpack has eight sacks and
six picks in two games, while
doing an underrated job in pass
defense.
Why Clemson might win: NC
State can plug the holes for
only so long before James Davis,
C.J. Spiller, or Jacoby Ford
busts through for a
momentum-changer. No matter what
happened in Atlanta two weeks
ago, this is still the most
talented attack in the ACC.
Plus, how many points is Clemson
really going to need to get to
2-1? The Wolfpack offense is
facing the type of problems that
aren’t going to be solved by
playing the veteran Tiger D in
Death Valley.
Who to watch: It’s time
for Cullen Harper to start
playing like the quarterback
that caught the rest of the
league off guard in 2007.
Through two games last year,
he’d already thrown seven
touchdown passes and no picks.
This fall, he’s only reached the
end zone once. The talent is
there, but now he needs to start
producing more results.
What will happen: As
Clemson begins the slow ascent
up the ladder, NC State will
provide a step up in competition
from a week ago, but nothing
particularly daunting. The
Tigers will jump out to an early
lead and never look back,
creating three turnovers and
adding to the Pack’s headaches
on offense
CFN Prediction: Clemson
44 … NC State 13 ... Line:
Clemson -18.5
Must See Rating: (5
Hole in the Wall - 1
First Blood) … 2.5
-
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Consultants FREE selections
Chattanooga (1-1) at Florida
State (1-0),
3:45 EST, ESPNU
Why to watch: Noting that
Western Carolina was on the
other sideline, Florida State
still had to be pleased with its
69-0 demolition in the opener.
Even with a bunch of players
serving suspensions, the ‘Noles
cranked out 561 yards and got
some big plays from
complimentary quarterbacks
Christian Ponder and D’Vontrey
Richardson. If nothing else, the
scrimmage gave the
offense some much-needed reps
and confidence. It’ll get a
similar test from Chattanooga
this Saturday before the
all-important trip to Wake
Forest a week later. Coming off
a 47-6 win over Cumberland, the
Mocs will be picking up their
second big check this month,
having played the punching bag
for Oklahoma in Week 1.
Why Chattanooga might win:
After beginning the season in
Norman, the Mocs won’t be
overwhelmed by the prospects of
playing in front of a large
crowd in Tallahassee. In Clint
Woods and Blue Cooper,
Chattanooga has a nice pair of
receivers who combined for 18
catches and three touchdowns
last weekend. Florida State will
still be shorthanded due to
suspensions and prone to looking
ahead to next Saturday’s huge
game with Wake Forest.
Why Florida State might win:
After looking diverse and
explosive at the expense of
Western Carolina, expect more of
the same against an overmatched
and undersized Chattanooga
defense. Ponder will start, but
Richardson will also play in
certain packages that make the
most of his athleticism. The
Seminole defense remains the
cornerstone of the program,
featuring an All-America
candidate at each unit and
enough speed and depth to open
the season with back-to-back
shutouts.
Who to watch: If Bert
Reed can build on his first
game, the Seminoles will finally
boast a corps of receivers that
can truly challenge ACC
secondaries. A blazer, he had
three catches for 77 yards and a
touchdown, flashing signs of his
enormous potential. With rangy
Greg Carr already in the mix and
versatile Preston Parker
expected back in two weeks,
Ponder could have a plethora of
good targets to choose from when
the meat of the schedule
arrives.
What will happen:
Although the outcome will never
be in doubt, it’ll still be
interesting to monitor the
progress of a Seminole offense
that holds the key to the
program’s fortunes in 2008. Even
against an FCS foe, such as
Chattanooga, another whitewash
will start getting the locals
cautiously optimistic about the
rest of the season.
CFN Prediction: Florida
State 55 … Chattanooga 0 ...
Line: No Line
Must See Rating: (5
Hole in the Wall - 1
First Blood) … 1
-
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Consultants FREE selections
Virginia (1-1) at Connecticut
(2-0),
7:30 EST, ESPNU
Why to watch: Connecticut
added another chapter to its
book on Winning Ugly for
Dummies, outlasting Temple
in overtime, 12-9. Randy
Edsall’s time-tested formula of
a stout defense and a relentless
running game was enough for the
Huskies, who are 2-0 for the
fifth time in the last six
years. They have a ton of work
to do, primarily in the passing
game, and just a couple of weeks
before the start of the Big East
portion of the schedule. If
Connecticut’s win on Saturday
was ugly, Virginia’s was
downright hideous. The Cavs
narrowly escaped Richmond, 16-0,
managing just a field goal in
the first 53 minutes. While no
one is surprised that Virginia
is rebuilding, the first two
games have shown that its
timetable for success will be
longer than originally expected.
Why Virginia might win:
If Connecticut can’t produce
more points on offense, it’s
going to play tight games all
season long. Although the
running game has been fine, the
passing attack has been awful,
producing no touchdown passes in
two games. The Cavaliers have
enough talent in the front
seven, namely linebackers
Antonio Appleby, Clint Sintim,
and Jon Copper, to stack the
line of scrimmage and force
Husky Tyler Lorenzen to beat
them.
Why Connecticut might win:
Virginia had trouble moving the
ball on Richmond. How will it
navigate a nasty UConn defense
that’s yet to allow a touchdown
in eight quarters? The Huskies
boast a terrific D that swarms
to the ball, creates takeaways,
and doesn’t give up many yards
after the catch. They’ll clamp
down on a Cavalier offense
that’s not blocking well for the
running backs and is suffering
through growing pains at
quarterback. This is a terrible
match up for the Cavalier
offense.
Who to watch: For the
second straight week, Husky RB
Donald Brown has been the savior
for Randy Edsall’s program.
Second nationally in rushing, he
ripped through a good Temple
defense for a career-high 214
yards and the game-winning
score. For Virginia, the big
problem is at quarterback where
Peter Lalich didn’t make the
trip thanks to legal problems
stemming from an underage
drinking charge. It’ll be up to
sophomore Mark Verica to take
over and come through in his
first start.
What will happen: If
you’re looking for fireworks and
offensive execution, locate the
nearest remote control. This
will not be a pretty game
between two schools that are
really struggling on offense.
Brown will keep the chains
moving with his third straight
100-yard day, but LB Scott
Lutrus, DE Cody Brown, and the
rest of the defense will
preserve another close win for
Connecticut.
CFN Prediction:
Connecticut 23 … Virginia 16 ...
Line: Connecticut -11
Must See Rating: (5
Hole in the Wall - 1
First Blood) … 2
-
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Consultants FREE selections
-
ACC Week
Three Predictions