Once again Notre Dame makes a liar out of me. All they have to do is hold on to a 3 point lead with 30 seconds to play and I would have gone 6-0 like I promised, damn Catholics! Still, 5-1 isn’t too shabby. Week 3 finds the ACC in the spotlight. Sports talk show hosts in Richmond have been yakking all week about how vital it is for the ACC to make a “statement” this weekend. Well, that’s because the ACC conference has been a national joke in football for many years and they are desperate for a quality win against a quality non-conference opponent. We’ll see about that:
Auburn vs. Clemson
Auburn qualifies as a quality opponent. Although not as good as last years national championship team, they are still a SEC powerhouse. I learned in week one of this enterprise that I should never pick against the SEC in a “big, high profile game”. However, this game is neither, except in the fevered imagination of Clemson fan. I go out on a limb, against my better judgment and predict that Clemson actually wins this game 24-21.
West Virginia vs. Maryland
Maryland won against Miami only because of the blinding, audaciously hideous, nervous-system destroying shock and awe that was their uniforms. Millions of viewers all around the country spent the first 30 minutes of that game adjusting their TV sets and yelling obscenities at the cable company. It was as if these uniforms were designed by a team of sugared-up pre-schoolers, and graphic designers on acid. Well, unfortunately for the Terrapins, West Virginia will be ready for this visual tsunami, becoming the first college football team to play an entire game wearing 3-D glasses. The Mountaineers win 30-17.
Arkansas State vs. Virginia Tech
You can’t really blame Tech, I suppose. I mean, when every time you schedule a quality non-conference opponent, you get your ass kicked, after awhile you get tired of it. “Play somebody!!”, Tech haters are always saying. Well, enough of that. There are no Alabama’s or Boise State’s on this year’s schedule. Arkansas State will have to do. Tech wins again 20-10.
Ohio State vs. Miami
Too good to be true, this match up. It practically writes itself. The Buckeyes all show up at the Orange Bowl driving Escalades and showing off the latest in cutting edge body art. Then Miami’s entire squad pulls up at a nearby dock in a 100 foot party boat being served Dom Perignon by a bevy of strippers. If there ever was a game that perfectly captures what college football in 2011 is all about, its this one. Picking a winner here will make me feel dirty either way, so I will hold my nose and predict that Ohio State will feel overwhelmed by all the hot chicks hanging off the Miami players when all THEY got were those lousy tattoos. Miami 30- 24.
Oklahoma Vs. Florida State
This is the big kahuna for ACC fans seeking redemption and a measure of pride in their football prowess. But here’s the problem. The last 31 times an ACC school has teed it up against a non-conference team that was ranked in the top five in the country at kickoff, they have lost, mostly by embarrassing scores. The last win? In 2000, Florida State beat Florida. Yep, its been a long time. After today, its gonna be 32 straight. The Sooners win 38-14.
UVA vs. North Carolina
My finely tuned football instincts tell me that an ACC school will win this game. Although both teams are 2-0, they seem to be headed in opposite directions. After finally getting his first road win as coach last week against Indiana, Mike London finds that he really enjoys winning on the road. The Cavaliers go 3-0 by beating the Tar Heels 17-14. Then all the Hoos in Hooville completely lose their minds, actually thinking that their team doesn’t suck.
So, there it is. In this pivotal weekend for ACC pride, the conference goes 3-2. It will be lost on ACC fan that the game that put them over the top was the Hokies thrilling win over that perennial powerhouse..Arkansas State.
I like the Oklahoma pick. The Clemson game is a toss up. Clemson let Wofford, a Division I-AA team put up 27 points on them in their last home outing. While Auburn's D-fense is no where close to stifling, allowing Utah State & #16 Miss State put up 38 & 34 points respectively, I still give the edge to the team that has actually played another ranked opponent. Call me a homer for the SEC, but until proven otherwise I like the SEC over the ACC any day.
ReplyDeleteStaying inside the SEC, whats a brother got to do to get a UK game prediction on your blog? They're playing Louisville, their in state little brother, and it's setting up to be a war of attrition to see who can make it to the end of the game with the least injuries. I'm predicting a terribly played football game, with the Cats pulling out the "W". Final score, 27-17.
Slagle, I promise that I will make a Kentucky pick at some point. I was caught up in the ACC stuff this week. Do feel sorry for you guys having to suit up every week in the SEC.
ReplyDeleteJae
ReplyDeletefirst off im gonna say im sad to see how low acc football is slipping to. it has soo much potential but so many teams fall flat on their face. outside of Tech/fsu it doesnt have many other flag ship teams that can "flex" with the big name teams. and even then tech record against big name teams isnt pretty and fsu is still 2 years away from truly being back to the old fsu of the 90s.
as for you picks i like the clemson upset..ive always said when you dont give clemson a chance thats when they make noise. but auburn has shown ways to win games i expect a 40-35 type of game bc neither teams have shown good defenses.
the wvu/umd game is tricky bc danaH has an offense that makes me cringe bc of what it can do to anyone defense(put 41 against neb last year and our D was top10) but wvu is okie st so i wouldnt be surprised if md won but people need to realize they beat a miami team that was basically starting second string players. miami also had to crucial fumbles/int return back for 14pts which made the difference in the game. this will be a high scoring affair which i think favors geno smith and danaH "air-raid" offense. wvu in a good ole fashion acc-bigeast shootout.
miami n OSU will be playing in the first ever ncaa violation bowl(haha) i like miami bc everyone is back they are fast n hungry and its in the "U". osu hasnt been sexy and if you ask me they are lucky to have beaten toledo which isnt saying much. i like the U to get revenge in the first ever ncaa violation bowl
OU/Fsu this game is hard to pick but from my experience with OU and seeing them alot i have notice something very weird about them. THEY CANT PLAY ON THE ROAD. jones is 4-5 on the road with OU in which they have lost at miami, neb, tamu and they look very very different on the road. this is why i think FSU has a chance to win and why i will lean with them. OU doesnt lose at home and the same teams they lost to on the road they have spanked at home putting 50 and 60 on neb/miami in those games. so im gonna lean and say Fsu wins 49-45 this will not be a game for defensive minded fans. Ou hurry up offense is legit and would give some lower level nfl teams trouble. fsu has speed every where but they havent seen Ou tempo like this since no acc team runs it.
uva/unc. i love the uva coach as ive seen him do great things at UofR.so first i wanna say this. UVA in 3-4 years will win the acc and will make the tech/wahoo rivalry good again. but this unc team is still talented(no consistent tho) but i like to give them the edge. but my gut tells me uva wins this bc in football uva has had unc number. uva 24-21 slow defense minded game mistakes every where.
as for mike and uk...i watch the uk vs wku game and it was very very very hard to watch. anyone will tell i love football whether its high school games on espnU to college i love it. but that game was hard and until uk understand it needs to show an agressive nature recruiting wise...uk will get swallowed alive in the SEC. as the media call the sec the best conference(i dont
OK..you guys DO know that I'm doing this for fun right? Jae, you look like you actually know something about these teams. I base my picks on which games are easiest to write something reasonably funny about!! But I will see how I stack up against your picks. If I win, you'll have to buy me lunch at Big Al's or something. Looks like the only one we differ on is Fl.State vs. Oklahoma.
ReplyDeleteJae
ReplyDeleteDoug I hope I'm right early season matchups are hard bc you don't know wha t or which version of each teamare gonna show up. I thought for sure miss st would smack auburn but the opposite happened. I think I should start a college football blog site,bc I take so much pride in my understanding for college football.