ACC Fearless Predictions, Oct. 25

Previews and Predictions for the Week 9 ACC Games.

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 

How are the picks so far? SU: 41-19 ... ATS: 20-26

- ACC Predictions, Oct. 25, Part 2 (Virginia vs. Georgia Tech)

ACC Game of the Week

Virginia Tech (5-2) at Florida State (5-1), 3:30 EST, ABC
Why to watch: Is it possible that Florida State, of all teams, is sneaking up on the rest of the ACC? A couple of days after escaping a Thursday game with North Carolina State, the Seminoles got a huge break when Maryland upset Atlantic Division-leading Wake Forest. It created a four-way tie in the division and gave a jolt of energy to a ‘Nole team that had already lost to the Deacons. With the anticipation slowly beginning to grow again around Tallahassee, a win over Virginia Tech could ignite Florida State for the second half of the year. The Hokies had their five-game winning streak snapped Saturday night at the hands of Boston College, 28-23. An inability to generate any offense against the Eagles pushed them out of the Top 25 and back into the Coastal Division pack. Tech still controls its own destiny, having already beaten Georgia Tech, but that’ll change with a second-straight loss this weekend.
Why Virginia Tech might win: The defense remains the glue of this program, accounting for more points than the offense last week and leading the country in turnover margin. DE Orion Martin and CB Victor Harris are a pair of game-changers, who are capable of retarding the growth of QB Christian Ponder in his first year as the starter. Ponder has been up-and-down, and the offense, in general, has lacked the consistency and scoring punch to have sustained success versus the Hokies. The last time Florida State faced a quality defense at home, it scored three points and turned the ball over seven times in a loss to Wake Forest.
Why Florida State might win: Virginia Tech is having all kinds of problems scoring this season. Things won’t get any easier for Tyrod Taylor & Co. with this week’s trip to Tallahassee to face the nation’s third-ranked defense. The Hokies have no passing game, and young RB Darren Evans is going to hit a brick wall when he tries to move the chains between the tackles. DE Everette Brown, LB Derek Nicholson, and S Myron Rolle are the key pieces of a defense that’s allowing just 79 yards a game on the ground. Unless the Tech defense or special teams can get points on its own, the team will labor to get into double-digits by traditional methods.
Who to watch: Ponder isn’t going to carry the Seminoles this week, so it’ll be up to RB Antone Smith to be the catalyst on offense. He’s been the workhorse over the last three games, all wins, pounding the ball 72 times for 366 yards and eight touchdowns. He’ll be counted on to soften the Virginia Tech defense and help open things up for Ponder on play-action passes.
What will happen: Barring turnovers or special teams scores, Virginia Tech won’t have much success scoring points the way it’s executing these days. The Seminoles have the speed and depth to key on Taylor and make sure he doesn’t burn them with his legs. The offense will grind out a couple of scores from Smith and a touchdown pass from Ponder for the margin of victory.
CFN Prediction: Florida State 24 … Virginia Tech 16 … Line:  Florida State -6.5
Must See Rating: (5 SNL with Palin – 1 Jose Canseco: Last Shot) … 4
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Saturday, October 25

Boston College (5-1) at North Carolina (5-2), 12:00 EST, ESPN GamePlan
Why to watch: This past weekend couldn’t have gone much better for Boston College. Not only did the Eagles knock off Virginia Tech for their first quality win of the year, but Wake Forest lost its first league game of the season. The result is a four-team logjam atop the Atlantic Division involving the Eagles, Deacons, Florida State, and Maryland that isn’t likely to be decided until the final weekend of the regular season. The win did come at a price, however, as inspirational LB Brian Toal was lost for the year with a broken leg. North Carolina was on the opposite spectrum Saturday, dropping a heartbreaker in overtime to Virginia after blowing a lead in the final minute of regulation. While the loss doesn’t eliminate the Heels from contention in the Coastal Division, it did leave them with no wiggle room going forward and still a win away from bowl eligibility.
Why Boston College might win: Even without Toal, the Eagle defense will remain among the stingiest in the country. The unit leads the country in pass efficiency defense and has yet to allow more than 300 yards in a game. North Carolina doesn’t have the playmakers to change that trend, especially with WR Brandon Tate on the shelf and QB Cam Sexton struggling to make plays over the last three games. The Heels offense will again have problems reaching the end zone against a rock solid unit that’s being led by LB Mark Herzlich and DT B.J. Raji.
Why North Carolina might win: The Heels may be laboring to move the ball, but Boston College hasn’t been much better. In their only two challenging games with Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech, the Eagles  managed just 202 yards on the ground, and erratic QB Chris Crane was picked off five times. Carolina will produce similar results behind a ball-hawking secondary and a front seven that’s shut down the Notre Dame and Virginia running games the last two weekends. The speedy Heels have taken three interceptions back for touchdowns, a troubling omen for Crane.
Who to watch: Where would Carolina be without the emergence of RB Shaun Draughn, the converted defensive back, who’s rushed for 338 yards over the last three weeks? He’s helped keep the offense from completely sinking, while allowing Greg Little to shift to wide receiver after Tate’s season-ending injury. Draughn is going to earn every yard he gets against that brick wall of a Boston College defense.
What will happen: Like most ACC games these days, this is a toss-up that’ll go back and forth until the last tick is off the clock. The Tar Heels are going to need something from their defense or special teams in order to generate points because the offense alone won’t get it done. With a little help from Crane, they’ll get the boost they need, turning a couple of forced passes into shorter fields for Sexton and Draughn to navigate.
CFN Prediction: North Carolina 23 … Boston College 17 … Line:  North Carolina -3
Must See Rating: (5 SNL with Palin – 1 Jose Canseco: Last Shot) … 4
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Wake Forest (4-2) at Miami (4-3), 12:00 EST, ESPNU
Why to watch: For a change, Wake Forest and Miami switched roles last weekend. While the Demon Deacons were doing a disappearing act in Maryland, the Hurricanes located some long-lost offensive firepower at the expense of Duke. The ‘Canes got a glimpse of the future from true freshman QB Jacory Harris, who replaced Robert Marve and accounted for five touchdowns in just three quarters of work. Although he’ll remain a backup, he’s clearly earned a larger role going forward. If Miami can catch fire in the next few weeks, the Coastal Division still isn’t out of reach. Wake Forest is struggling with an offense that has completely bogged down in the last few weeks. The Deacons lost their Atlantic Division lead in College Park last Saturday, and could lose a whole lot more if they can’t turn things around beginning this weekend in South Florida.
Why Wake Forest might win: The defense remains a pillar of consistency in Winston-Salem. Led by NG Boo Robinson, LB Aaron Curry, and CB Alphonso Smith on the first three levels, the Demon Deacons are giving up just 16 points and 306 yards a game. They’re also prone to attacking offenses and making young quarterbacks perform like rookies. Marve and Harris are still first-year players, whose mistakes will be costly against a team that already has 20 takeaways in six games. The ‘Cane quarterbacks have thrown a dozen picks between them, and won’t be able to take chances with this opponent.
Why Miami might win: While this is not a vintage Hurricane defense, it might look that way for three hours on Saturday afternoon. The Wake Forest offense is a mess, largely because it’s not getting any push up front. Making matters worse, starting C Trey Bailey was lost for the year Saturday, forcing Jim Grobe to reshuffle the deck and insert freshman Joe Looney into the lineup. Miami will control the line of scrimmage and pressure Riley Skinner with a variety of blitzes from its athletic linebackers and safeties. The Deacons have scored just one touchdown in three ACC games, putting a ton of pressure on the defense to create points.
Who to watch: While Miami has no reservations about using Graig Cooper as the feature back, it’ll be thrilled to get a healthy Javarris James back in the mix. He’s missed most of the season with an ankle injury, returning last week for three carries. Randy Shannon said his back didn’t feel comfortable in his return, but expects him to be in a better position to contribute this Saturday. With so much uncertainty at quarterback, the ‘Canes will take all they can get from one of the league’s best running tandems.
What will happen: Shannon is a defensive coach, who shouldn’t have to get too creative to stop this Wake Forest attack. His unit will play inspired, forcing plenty of three-and-outs against the disjointed Deacon offense. While the ‘Canes won’t light up the scoreboard for a second straight week, they’ll get enough from Harris, Cooper, and James to finally snap the five-game home losing streak in ACC games. .
CFN Prediction: Miami 27 … Wake Forest 17 … Line:  Miami -3
Must See Rating: (5 SNL with Palin – 1 Jose Canseco: Last Shot) … 3.5
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- ACC Predictions, Oct. 25, Part 2 (Virginia vs. Georgia Tech)