The ACC: Week One

[Olympic Fan]

There are 13 games on tap for ACC teams this weekend -- three Thursday night, one Friday night, eight on Saturday and one Monday night.

Many of them are essentially exhibitions (including NCCU at Duke), but several are significant.

I think the three matchups between strong ACC programs and traditional SEC powers will go a long way towards determining the national perception of the ACC this season. We get:

North Carolina-Georgia in Atlanta (Saturday, 5:30 p.m., ESPN)

Clemson at Auburn (Saturday, 9 p.m. ESPN)

Florida State-Ole Miss in Orlando (Monday, 9 p.m., ESPN).

I also think the Boston College-Georgia Tech matchup in Dublin, Ireland (Saturday, 7:30 a.m., ESPN2) is significant. Both teams had disastrous 2015 seasons, but both have a ton of experience back. Last year, BC was No. 1 in the nation in total offense (No. 2 in rushing offense). Georgia Tech still runs the most dangerous option in college football with senior QB Justin Thomas and about a million good backs -- so many that Marcus Marshall and Clinton Lynch, who averaged 7.6 and 9.5 yards a carry respectively last year as true freshmen will be backups to a pair of new freshmen runners.

Seven Teams meet FCS opponents:
William & Mary at NC State (Thursday night, 7:30 p.m.)
Colgate at Syracuse (Friday, 7 p.m.)
Liberty at Virginia Tech (Saturday, 12:30 p.m., ACC Network)
Villanova at Pitt (Saturday, 1:30 p.m.)
Richmond at Virginia (Saturday, 3:30 p.m.)
NCCU at Duke (Saturday, 6 p.m.)
Florida A&M at Miami (Saturday, 6 p.m.)

Two teams face lower-level FBS teams:
Tulane at Wake Forest (Thursday, 7 p.m.)
Charlotte at Louisville (Thursday, 7 p.m.)

Note: If no TV listed, then the game is only available on the ACC Net Extra package.

It would be a major disappointment for the league to lose to an FCS (or one of the two lower FBS) opponents.

Personally, I'll be pulling for all the ACC teams except one (and I doubt I have to explain to the readers of this board why I can't pull for the Cheaters). If FSU and Clemson can win, it will more than offset the negative publicity of the Cheaters going down. It would also keep alive the hopes of putting two ACC teams into the playoffs.

[DU82]

I also think the Boston College-Georgia Tech matchup in Dublin, Ireland (Saturday, 7:30 a.m., ESPN2) is significant. Both teams had disastrous 2015 seasons, but both have a ton of experience back. Last year, BC was No. 1 in the nation in total offense (No. 2 in rushing offense).


You meant BC was the top rated DEFENSE.

[Olympic Fan]

You meant BC was the top rated DEFENSE.

Duh! You are right -- that's what I meant. Mea culpa.
BTW: They have eight starters returning off that defense.

[devildeac]

Duh! You are right -- that's what I meant. Mea culpa.
BTW: They have eight starters returning off that defense.

Yea, but we have one of their coaches now. ;)

[Bob Green]

Note: If no TV listed, then the game is only available on the ACC Net Extra package.



What exactly is this? TV channel? ESPN3 on steroids?

[Olympic Fan]

What exactly is this? TV channel? ESPN3 on steroids?

I think so ... you get it with the WatchESPN app or streaming on WatchESPN.com:

http://www.espn.com/watchespn/index/_/type/upcoming/startDate/20160901/sport/football/

It's LIKE ESPN3, but not quite the same thing.

[Bob Green]

I think so ... you get it with the WatchESPN app or streaming on WatchESPN.com:

http://www.espn.com/watchespn/index/_/type/upcoming/startDate/20160901/sport/football/

It's LIKE ESPN3, but not quite the same thing.

I plan on watching the Wake Forest game at 7 pm tonight so I've got four hours to figure it out. Thanks! :cool:

[cato]

Can you please tag these posts FB?

In all seriousness, thank you for taking the time to preview the week. I am more excited about Duke and ACC football than I ever have been, and for that I thank the Duke admin, Coach Cut and the dedicated football fans on this board. Keep all the discussion coming. I will be reading it all, without much to add.

Other than the basics: Go Duke!

[Bob Green]

Can you please tag these posts FB?

September: Football
Cops: Doughnut Shop
Peanut Butter: Jelly

[cato]

September: Football
Cops: Doughnut Shop
Peanut Butter: Jelly

Duke: Winning*

I find myself both much more engaged with DBR and Duke Football because of the fall focus around here. Living in San Diego, I would not follow the program 1/1000 as closely without people like you, Olympic Fan and others.

*Still a bit aspirational in FB, but we are on our way.

[Bob Green]

I'm scouting Wake Forest...

Halftime: Wake 7, Tulane 3

Demon Deacons playing two QBs not only alternating series but alternating plays in the same series. My takeaway from the 1st half is Wake Forest offensive line is less than impressive. Tulane field goal the result of a "roughing the punter" penalty on Wake Forest.

Lots of football left to play in this one.

[Olympic Fan]

I'm scouting Wake Forest...

Halftime: Wake 7, Tulane 3

Demon Deacons playing two QBs not only alternating series but alternating plays in the same series. My takeaway from the 1st half is Wake Forest offensive line is less than impressive. Tulane field goal the result of a "roughing the punter" penalty on Wake Forest.

Lots of football left to play in this one.

Wake's defense is dominating an absolutely inept Tulane offense. The Green Wake simply can't -- or won't throw the ball -- and their running game (mostly a stacked pistol) is very low on deception.

[Olympic Fan]

ACC starts 3-0 ... with Louisville's 70-14 victory over Charlotte headlining the night. N.C. State scores 48 to beat W&M.

The real surprise was Wake Forest's 7-3 victory over an awful Tulane team.

The Deacs had little offense and absolutely could not run the ball. Their defense looked very good, but to me it looked more like an inept Tulane offense.

We'll see next week. They say teams improve a lot between the first and second weeks -- I'd be very, VERY happy if we get to see the same Wake team I watched tonight.

[IsInTheDetails]

Wake pulled off an impressive feat - totaling only 175 yards of offense, 10 first downs, and 25 minutes TOP...without turning the ball over a single time.

Tulane's offense was inept to the tune of 280 total yards...which was 105 more than Wake.

I hope that's the same team we face in 9 days.

[Bob Green]

We'll see next week. They say teams improve a lot between the first and second weeks -- I'd be very, VERY happy if we get to see the same Wake team I watched tonight.


I hope that's the same team we face in 9 days.

I quit watching with a couple of minutes left in the 3rd quarter. Wake Forest looked horrible on offense. Nothing I saw last night raises concern for next Saturday. Duke is bigger and more talented than Tulane. If, always a big if, we play up to our capability we will win the game.

The one question I come away with is will WF make a quarterback decision or keep rotating both guys? Neither was impressive but Hinton did score the TD.

[PackMan97]

Aside from W&M's first drive of each half, NC State looked really good. Something they hadn't done in recent years in their tuneups.

262 yards passing on 23/30. Starter, Ryan Finely was 17/21 for 174 and 2 TDs but backup Jalan McClendon played quite a bit as well. He was 6/9 for 88 and a INT. 11 different players caught a pass with Jaylen Samuels leading the bunch with 5 catches and a TD.
259 yards rushing with Matt Dayes leading with 138 yards and 2 TD.

State's defense yielded only 168 yards total with a mere 62 coming on the ground. W&M's first drive of the game was 75 yard and their first drive of the second half was 65 yards, leaving a grand total of 28 yards for the rest of the Tribes drives. :eek:

[AustinDevil]

Aside from W&M's first drive of each half, NC State looked really good. Something they hadn't done in recent years in their tuneups.

262 yards passing on 23/30. Starter, Ryan Finely was 17/21 for 174 and 2 TDs but backup Jalan McClendon played quite a bit as well. He was 6/9 for 88 and a INT. 11 different players caught a pass with Jaylen Samuels leading the bunch with 5 catches and a TD.
259 yards rushing with Matt Dayes leading with 138 yards and 2 TD.

State's defense yielded only 168 yards total with a mere 62 coming on the ground. W&M's first drive of the game was 75 yard and their first drive of the second half was 65 yards, leaving a grand total of 28 yards for the rest of the Tribes drives. :eek:

State looked really good, I agree. And William & Mary is not a pushover; they beat UVa in Charlottesville in 2009 and their FBS games since then have included a six-point loss at UVa, a seven-point loss at West Virginia, a one-point loss at Maryland, and a four-point loss at UNC.

[Bob Green]

The Boston College/Georgia Tech game being played in Dublin is live on ESPN2. I'm watching a little before packing up the family car for the trip to Durham.

[devildeac]

Go:

6626

[Tripping William]

GaTech and BC coming down to the wire.

[Wander]

I wasn't expecting BC to pull it out, but that was a pretty pathetic attempt at a respectable last drive. False starts, pass easily beyond the line of scrimmage, crazy lateral attempts before they're necessary...

[Olympic Fan]

What a great game -- BC's defense -- looking every bit as good as last year's (No. 1 in the nation), totally dominates Georgia Tech's option.

But down 14-10 and two minutes left, Georgia Tech converts a 4th-and-19, hit another big pass (when the defender slipped on the wet grass) and gets the winning TD with 28 seconds left.

Ninth straight ACC loss for BC ... but I think they win a few along the way. As I said, the defense looked as good as last year and their offense looked better with Patrick Rowles (a transfer from Kentucky) at QB and Jon Hillman back at RB. Just too many mistakes today, including two missed FGs (one blocked, one shanked), plus a fumble inside the 20.

[Dev11]

I only watched the fourth quarter of the rugby match, but it seemed like both teams showed some ability on offense. For BC, it may have been a short-lived period of competence.

[Isaac Sours]

James Conner scored Pitt's first touchdown today. Good to see him back on the field and healthy.

[Tripping William]

UGA in victory formation.

[Olympic Fan]

Well, Virginia became the first ACC team to lose, going down to Richmond. Welcome to the Bronco Mendenhall era.

Always good to see the Cheaters gag ...

I was actually pulling for Clemson, but they almost gagged too at Auburn. With 45 seconds left and Auburn out of timeouts, they run to convert at third-and-nine at the Auburn 30 And veteran running back Wayne Gallman -- who had played a terrific game to that point -- runs out of bounds, stopping the clock with 40 seconds left! Idiot!

That gave Auburn a shot with about 36 seconds left -- Auburn his two big passes over the middle and Clemson has to survive two throws into the end zone in the final 10 seconds.

So Clemson keeps their national title hopes alive.

Now if FSU can just handle Ole Miss Monday, it will actually turn out to be a pretty good first weekend for the ACC (and add to the SEC's lackluster showing).

[SCMatt33]

Well, Virginia became the first ACC team to lose, going down to Richmond. Welcome to the Bronco Mendenhall era.

Always good to see the Cheaters gag ...

I was actually pulling for Clemson, but they almost gagged too at Auburn. With 45 seconds left and Auburn out of timeouts, they run to convert at third-and-nine at the Auburn 30 And veteran running back Wayne Gallman -- who had played a terrific game to that point -- runs out of bounds, stopping the clock with 40 seconds left! Idiot!

That gave Auburn a shot with about 36 seconds left -- Auburn his two big passes over the middle and Clemson has to survive two throws into the end zone in the final 10 seconds.

So Clemson keeps their national title hopes alive.

Now if FSU can just handle Ole Miss Monday, it will actually turn out to be a pretty good first weekend for the ACC (and add to the SEC's lackluster showing).

Just a quick correction, The third down play started with 50 seconds and he ran out at 45, then they turned it over on downs with 40. I only bring it up because if third down ended with 40, falling inbounds would have been the final play of the game. Still it was a huge error, and I was even more surprised that neither Musburger nor Palmer mentioned how big that was. They could have run out the clock on fourth down with only 5-7 seconds left. Now, as bad as that was, just as inexplicable was going for it on 4th and 4. They were well within field goal range (the kick would have been under 40 yd iirc) and could have made it a two score game. Perhaps Dabo was gun shy from the shanked xp, but he had already made a 40 yarder earlier in the game and the risk of a block on a kick that short is relatively low. They also had some bad errors to even put them in that position. Auburn got its previous TD only after a very stupid and uneccessary roughing the passer on 3rd and long.

You also can't pretend that only Clemson was making these errors. Gus Malzahn refused to stop playing 3 QB Monty for more than 4 plays in a row and didn't recognize how many possessions were left in the game. They turned the ball over on 4th down well within FG range twice in the 4th quarter and lost by 6.

[jhmoss1812]

Bronco is even smarter than I originally thought. What a master plan he created yesterday. Lose to Richmond at home so that the rest of the teams on our schedule (the teams that actually matter) overlook us. You guys will recognize his greatness when we go in dry on Oregon next week in Autzen. Man, Bronco is the messiah. I'm in awe of this plan.

[Olympic Fan]

So FSU rallies from a 28-6 deficit to dominate the second half and win going away ...

That makes the ACC 10-2 on the opening weekend, including 2-1 against the not-so-mighty SEC.

Maybe more importantly, we have two of the top four teams in the country right now -- I'd guess Clemson and FSU are 2-3 in the new polls ... with Louisville climbing closer to the top 10.

All in all, a great weekend for the league -- and the cherry on the top is that the cheaters lost!

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

So FSU rallies from a 28-6 deficit to dominate the second half and win going away ...

That makes the ACC 10-2 on the opening weekend, including 2-1 against the not-so-mighty SEC.

Maybe more importantly, we have two of the top four teams in the country right now -- I'd guess Clemson and FSU are 2-3 in the new polls ... with Louisville climbing closer to the top 10.

All in all, a great weekend for the league -- and the cherry on the top is that the cheaters lost!

The FSU win was important for our conference optics and the chances of getting a team into the Little Big Dance.

[CDu]

The FSU win was important for our conference optics and the chances of getting a team into the Little Big Dance.

Especially because FSU (with a freshman QB) is likely to get better as the season progreses. If they had lost badly (as it looked destined trailing 28-6) and then thrashed the ACC, it would really make things look bad.

[BD80]

Should we have another thread entitled: "The SEC: Weak One?"

[A-Tex Devil]

The FSU win was important for our conference optics and the chances of getting a team into the Little Big Dance.

Notre Dame loss was more important, I think (unless there are folks here that consider them ACC for football purposes). Even with Kizer being as good as he is, I don't see them getting through their schedule without another loss.

In fact, I bet the ACC's odds of having at least one team in is better than every other conference right now. Alabama will likely drop at least one game, then SECCCG is a toss up. Big 12 and Pac 12 will be lucky to have any one loss teams coming out, much less undefeated teams. And the three big hitters in the Big 10 all have to play each other (I am not including Iowa in that, plus I expect them to lose several times this year).

If you made me pick the playoff right now, it would be 'Bama, Clemson, Houston (who should get in over any 2 loss team if they win out) and Ohio St. We'll see if that holds up.