2008 Eaglebank Bowl

2008 Eaglebank Bowl

One of the first bowls of the season features a game with a team that was slated long ago for this bowl. The Eaglebank Bowl was one of just a couple of games where half of the matchup was already decided…if they qualified for a bowl.

That team was Navy. The only other bowl with a specific name on it would have been any bowl in the state of Hawaii, because you KNOW the home team would have been invited unless they were going to a greater bowl.

So we have Navy vs. an ACC foe in Wake Forest. Hmm, interesting. Anyway, let’s look at these two teams, and who may win.

Wake Forest comes in off the strength of the ACC schedule, but at the same time, underachieving in the season that could have been. Wake Forest won big in their first game vs. Baylor, then knocked off Mississippi… interesting, an ACC team beating a Big 12 and SEC team back to back…

But I digress…

When Wake Forest knocked off then ranked Florida State, people started singing hymns about the Demon Deacons. But there seemed to be questions about the offence of Wake Forest.

Then comes Navy, beating the Deacons in their home 24-17. YEP, these two teams have already met before. So I guess you wonder why they would match up a bowl of two teams that have already played? Let’s think about that later.

After Wake Forest defeats a troubled Clemson, they lose two straight away games before rebounding against Duke. Another home game win vs. Virginia before losing again on the road to NC State. Tack on one more loss to Boston College before Wake Forest finds themselves again to beat Vanderbilt at the end of the season.

I think 5 of those teams had been ranked during the course of the year, and to their credit, Wake Forest is 3-2 against those teams. Other than Baylor, Duke and Virginia, I think all those other teams are in bowl season too. This proved to be a tough schedule for Wake Forest, and to come out of it 7-5 is actually quite impressive.

Now, for Navy…

This team has no conference to call home, so we are going off the strength of an independent schedule. One of only 4 independent teams in the nation, Navy started off with a win vs. Towson before losing two in a row to Ball State and Duke….

You lost to DUKE?????

Both games were away games, and we now know that Ball State turned out to be pretty good this year. But losing to Duke in football…wow. This put Navy behind the curve to qualify for their own bowl unless they turned things around. And turn around they did.

Their next 3 games were very tough, and yet, Navy won all three. Beating Rutgers when they were down was opportunistic, but knocking off ranked Wake Forest….

Wake Forest? Isn’t that who they are playing in a bowl…

And a third win against Air Force put the Midshipmen at 4-2, and looking pretty good. Then comes ranked Pittsburgh to hand Navy their 3rd loss of the year. I remember personally blogging about whether this team could actually make the bowl, because there were some concerns.

With 5 games left, only Notre Dame seemed to poise any problems, even though they were having major issues (ha!). Navy won their next two games vs. SMU and Temple, which should have been the case anyway. While they had every opportunity to beat Notre Dame, they slipped, losing that one.

The Midshipmen rebounded by not only beating, but shutting out their last two opponents (Northern Illinois and Army).

Six teams on the Navy schedule should see a bowl, and of those six, Navy split it 3-3. A decent schedule, with a few “cupcakes” mixed in.

So, who wins, and why make this matchup anyway?

I think Wake Forest has a good chance to win this game with great defense, but has had a very hard time with the “O”. It will be interesting to see how Navy’s offence is going to match up against a very stout Wake Forest team. On merit of a very competitive conference, I believe Wake Forest has a pretty good chance of evening the score on Navy, but the last game showed who was better…did Wake Forest learn from that?

Now, why make this matchup? Navy certainly had other teams they could have played, right? This could be dangerous because a Navy team that has already beaten Wake Forest could be misled to think that it could be done twice in the same year. That could spell problems.

Why pick Wake Forest? Well, we know that this bowl will be in Washington DC, and if you factor in that bowls are looking for the closest teams to make traveling minimal, then you’d have to keep it mainly in the Maryland, Virginia and NC area. You don’t want teams traveling too far, and you have to ensure that tickets can be sold. Right of the top of my head, you’d have teams like Virginia Tech, Maryland, ECU, UNC and NC State on that list. Well, we know Virginia Tech was not available, neither UNC. With ECU being the Conference USA Champs, they have bigger aspirations. So between the remaining 3 ACC teams, I supposed it was based on where those teams or schools selected. Seems kinda odd to go to a bowl vs. a team you have already played, but hey, if that is what Wake Forest and Navy wants, so be it.

I think that Wake Forest will come looking for revenge, and if Navy isn’t careful, they will get it. But I am still not convinced of Wake’s offense, which may prove fatal when they fall behind. I will give it to Navy, 28-17.

Speedblog: Clemson vs Wake Forest

Speedblog: Clemson vs. Wake Forest

I walked away from the television with the last 90 seconds left of this ball game as Wake Forest will win this game, 12-7.

Clemson was ranked as high as #8 in the nation…what’s up with that? And neither team had any offense. One might say that the defenses were very good, and I would agree, but Wake Forest should have had many more points than that. If you just looked at highlights and not look at the score, you’d swear the score was something like 21-7 or 24-7, Wake Forest.

If Wake Forest represented the second best team in the ACC (or best) then the whole conference is in a serious depression. You can say that it’s competitive, and in truth it is, but right now NOBODY in the ACC is going to scare anybody for the BCS crown. You can go ahead and mark off this conference for a serious contender. Of the six major conferences, I think the ACC and Big East are the weakest.

Having said that, I really did enjoy the play calling for Wake Forest. It’s like they wanted to dazzle the fans and confuse the Clemson defense. And for many parts they did, until they got to the red zone, and completely forgot how to play.

And one thing I kinda get tired of hearing is the guys calling the game saying silly stuff like, “he’s gotta make that catch” or “he’s gotta make that play”. You notice how they ALWAYS say that about the receiver, as if the quarterback is never at fault? I agree that there are some catches that are dropped and is the receiver’s fault, but if a quarterback throws a pass too high, too low, or behind the receiver, or leads him into a dangerous hit, that is the quarterback’s fault.

One of the plays had a receiver that was led into the middle of a couple of defenders, and as he was hit he dropped the ball, to which the guys on ESPN said, “that’s a pass he’s got to make”. That’s hindsight and silly to say, of COURSE he should have made it, but how about passing a plate of BLAME to the quarterback as well.

But it was actually a good game, I enjoyed it, while bouncing back to the Winston Salem State University game on ESPNU. You know me, I love my football…

So now where do we stand with Clemson and Wake Forest?

Wake Forest sits on top of the Atlantic Division and is all but guaranteed post season play. At 4-1, their next two games are at Maryland and at Miami. If this team does not start finding the end zone soon, they are going to lose at LEAST one of these games…possibly even both.

But in the even that they split (which is likely), they should be able to snatch a win from Duke at home, and maybe even Virginia (one of the worst offensive teams in the nation). They’ll probably be 7-2 when they visit Raleigh and NC State, a game that could go either way since it is a state rival. They end their season against Boston College and finally against surprising Vanderbilt. I’m telling you now, that Boston College game may determine who will be playing in the ACC Championship…

But what of Clemson? At 3-3, things are NOT looking good. Already 2 losses in their own division, they simply cannot lose anymore. I really can’t see them beating Georgia Tech, but since it is a home game, and they are very desperate, there is always hope. Games at Boston College and Florida State could prove challenging, but FSU has not shown too much this year. By the time Clemson sees Duke, they could be 4-5 and needing to beat Duke, Virginia AND South Carolina just to make it to a bowl…I would not bet the house on that.

I think that IF Clemson qualifies for a bowl, it will be by a narrow margin, and if so, they may end up going to the Eaglebank Bowl in DC vs. Navy (if they qualify). Personally, I think this bowl would like to invite Maryland or Virginia if they qualify.

So the ACC continues to fight for supremacy, I think Virginia Tech is still the best team in the conference, and you could see VA Tech play Boston College in the ACC Championship…but we’ll see what Wake Forest has to say about that.

Anyway, gotta fly….