ACC Costal Division

Speedblog: ACC Coastal

What in the name of sports is going on in the ACC?

In a year where the ACC has been seen as the weakest of the power conferences, and where the MWC and WAC can boast that they might be just as good as the ACC this year, we cannot possibly predict who will come out on top.

Doesn’t anybody want to go to one of those BCS bowls? There’s a lot of money in it for your university if you go.

So let’s look at half of the ACC and see what the future holds for them. Let’s look at the Coastal Division and get an idea of how these teams may fare. Now I know it can be a bit complicated to remember which team belongs where, so I’ll list them out for you in order from “worst” to “best”.

Duke University (1-2 conference, 4-3 overall)

It used to be that Duke Football was as funny as a retro show of Sesame Street…in fact, I get warm feelings when I think of both. And if you read my blogs, you know I kid these guys a lot, but all in fun. But seriously, this has been the doormat of the conference for quite awhile. Yet this year, there is slight hope that maybe Duke won’t finish at the bottom and MAYBE they’ll qualify for a bowl. A surprising win over Vanderbilt brought hope to the Blue Devils.

It is possible that Duke could steal a game from either NC State or Clemson, but most people may not bet on that. But Duke is close to qualifying for a bowl and there might be a surge of hope that could get them a win…maybe two. They managed to beat Virginia but lost to Georgia Tech and Miami…getting 6 wins just doesn’t seem likely.

Miami University (2-2 conference, 5-3 overall)

It seems that the glory days of the “U” are gone, but there are still signs of a good team here. Yes they are at the bottom beside Duke, but they beat Duke, something Virginia can’t brag about. Losing to three quality teams, (Florida, Florida State and UNC) isn’t bad, but the loss to the Tarheels was a division game, one they needed. Now they’ve got to play the other 3 teams in their division, and it won’t be easy.

The “U” needs to qualify for a bowl as well, and has a hard road to get there. If you don’t count the Charleston Southern game, the Hurricanes need 2 more wins. I am not too sure they can get it from a surging Virginia team or a pretty decent Georgia Tech team. There might be a chance with a wounded Virginia Tech squad, and let’s face it, NC State isn’t going anywhere. There could be a chance for Miami, but it’s really a crap shoot.

Virginia Tech (2-2 conference, 5-3 overall)

When VA Tech lost to ECU, it was a big shocker, but having lost the last two games to Boston College and Florida State puts this team in some serious trouble. We know the injuries of last week was a main problem and will likely have in impact on whether this team can still compete for the ACC Title. I had Boston College and Virginia Tech playing in the ACC Championship, and although there is still a chance, it seems to be slipping.

To their credit however, they HAVE defeated UNC and Georgia Tech, so division wise they are in as good a shape as anybody. Even if they lose to Maryland next week, they can still take the division championship and go to the ACC Championship if they sweep Miami, Duke and finally Virginia. The Hokies have a better chance for post season than Miami or Duke…by a long shot.

North Carolina (2-2 conference, 6-2 overall)

Only two teams in the ACC are currently eligible for a bowl, having 6 wins…UNC is one of them. Strange, when they are not the best team in their own division. The problem is they lost 2 division games to Virginia and Virginia Tech, making it very hard for them to slide into the ACC Championship. With games vs. Georgia Tech and Duke, it is possible they can split that, but they also have games against NC State and Maryland. I can’t guarantee them more than one game (Duke), so the others are going to be tough to get.

You can call it a moral victory that the Tarheels are in post season already, but they’d like to compete for that ACC Championship and then a BCS game. But to make that happen, they need Virginia to lose a couple of games, as well as Virginia Tech. Again, odd that a team that has already qualified for bowl season is so low in the division, and needing a lot of help to get to the ACC title game.

Georgia Tech (3-2 conference, 6-2 overall)

Georgia Tech has 6 wins, just like UNC, but they have yet to qualify for a bowl. This implies to me that either the Jacksonville State game does not count, OR the Gardner-Webb game, or BOTH. In either case, they need to win some more games to qualify for a bowl. And like UNC, both their losses came to Virginia AND Virginia Tech. Yes they have wins over Clemson, Boston College and Duke, but only the Duke win counts for the division. Technically you can say Georgia is 1-2 in their division, with two more games to play in their division.

The hard part is that currently 3 of their last 4 games are against ranked foes. They play #15 Florida State next, then #22 UNC before a game vs. Miami and finishing the regular season vs. #6 Georgia. None of these games are easy. If GA Tech needs one win, they will have to scrap to get it….if they need 2 wins, I am not sure they can get it.

Virginia University (3-1 conference, 5-3 overall)

Who woulda thought that this team would be sitting on top of the Coastal Division of the ACC? I certainly didn’t when they lost to Duke. Getting embarrassed by USC early can be overlooked, but losing to Duke must have really woke these guys up. From the point they lost to Duke, they were 1-3, with their only win over Richmond. But since then, they have beaten Maryland, once-ranked ECU, and currently ranked UNC and Georgia Tech. It’s interesting what an embarrassing win will do for a football team.

Once this team looked doomed and would never see post season unless they watched it on television like the rest of us. But now, they have a chance. If we assume that the Richmond game does not count, then Virginia needs at least 2 wins to qualify. And I gotta tell you, the way they have been playing, I can see them getting it. The next game vs. Miami could be key, because winning that sets up some interesting games vs. Wake Forest and Clemson, games I can see them winning. It is theoretically possible that Virginia could be 8-3 before seeing Virginia Tech at the end of the season. And if the Hokies are still wounded…could the Cavaliers be 9-3 and in the ACC Championship?

Stay tuned and we’ll all find out at the same time.