ACC football roundup: week 11

Week 11 didn’t clear up a whole lot in either the Atlantic Division or the Coastal Division. Virginia Tech moved one step closer to punching their ticket to represent the Coastal Division, but it’s still anybody’s baby in the wild Atlantic Division. Florida State, for weeks thought to be a sure thing, had to kick the game winning field goal with no time left to beat Clemson and stay alive in the hunt for December 4. Trailing right behind is Maryland and North Carolina State – for both, one slip and it’s a no-go. But at least a good bowl game awaits any of the three. The potentially deciding game in the Coastal Division comes this Saturday in Coral Gables when the Hokies and the Hurricanes clash. The winner may take all . . . and then again, the winner may be forced to win again the next week.

Florida State 16, Clemson 13

As has been the case for the Seminoles in recent years, they start to fade about mid-season and find themselves locked in a dead heat with less likely division contenders come November. FSU narrowly escaped utter disaster Saturday by kicking themselves into a tie for first place in the Atlantic Division from 55 yards away – the kick coming from somewhere down about south Georgia – to beat a “we don’t give up” Clemson team.

Sure, FSU was without the services of quarterback Christian Ponder, but if you’ve got an offensive coach (now head coach) like Jimbo Fisher, there’s got to be more than one big horse in the stable. Clemson is no push-over on defense, but their offense is like flipping a coin – you have a 50/50 chance of hitting on something or totally washing out. Kyle Parker has been running the show long enough to know you don’t blow a chance to score some points late in an important game like the one with FSU by throwing to the wrong colored jerseys in the end zone – that’s like the designated hitter striking out with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and the winning run on second.

Unfortunately for The Tigers, they find themselves too far behind to challenge for the Atlantic Division Crown, but they can finish the regular season with a winning record overall and at least break-even at 4-4 in the conference with a win over Wake Forest. Then comes the battle with now SEC East Champion and in-state arch-rival South Carolina the next week.

Likewise, FSU will have to weather to storm at Maryland (one of the three tied for first in the Atlantic) before squaring off with in-state arch-rival Florida. The FSU-Maryland game is the big one for the Seminoles – win it or kiss Charlotte goodbye.

Boston College 21, Duke 16

Duke has one of the best passing attacks in the ACC and it's hard to believe they have only one conference win on the season to go with it. But you have to play defense, too. Duke can move the ball on just about any team, but they can’t stop the other teams from doing more of the same. Coach David Cutcliffe has a young team and they have made some crucial mistakes – and Saturday was no different. The Eagles are an average team this year, but they know how to take advantage of golden opportunities offered up to them on a platter – something the Blue Devils can be good at at times. Though Duke had 307 yards passing, they managed only four yards rushing and they coughed the ball up twice. BC had two fumbles and the last one was returned 95 yards for a Duke touchdown; but it was too little, too late at that point in the fourth quarter. Up to that point, The Blue Devils had to settle for three Will Snyderwine field goals to stay in the game at 21-9.

The Eagles didn’t do a lot with the ball in the last quarter and a half, but their defense did the work to keep the Blue Devils in check and hold on for the 21-16 ACC win. Boston College will host a pretty good Virginia team this Saturday in a game of also-rans, but Cavs may be gearing up for a shot at Virginia Tech and may be overlooking the Eagles. With a win, BC could end up 6-5 and bowl-eligible. Duke will have its hands full on a trip to Atlanta to take on the multiple option of Georgia Tech. GT needs a win to be bowl eligible and Duke may be the spoiler in those plans, since the Yellow Jackets’ pass defense is one of the worst in the conference.

Maryland 42, Virginia 23

If the Maryland Terps can pull it off, they will be the surprise team of the 2010 season and be playing either Virginia Tech or Miami in the ACC Championship Game on December 4th – not to mention saving Coach Ralph Friedgen’s job and proving what a good coach he really is. Picked to be the bottom of the Atlantic Division for another year, The Terps are slowly sliding in under the radar and taking care of business one foe at a time. Now it's down to the big boys. Even with the same record as Florida State, The Terps are not getting the same respect – FSU will pay their visit to Friedgen’s House ranked No. 25 after barely escaping elimination against Clemson. The Terps will have to take care of FSU and hope North Carolina can knock off North Carolina State – or it will go down to the wire with The Terps and The Wolfpack playin’ for it all (if Maryland gets by FSU). Maryland has been coming on strong of late and Coach Friedgen has always found a way to get his team ready to play the Seminoles.

North Carolina State 38, Wake Forest 3

North Carolina State is like watching a rollercoaster go up and down and up and down and twist and turn – there’s no way to tell where the team is going, how fast they can go and get there, and whether or not the ride is going to work at all. Last week, the Wolfpack took out some frustrations on Wake Forest, but the going gets tougher in these last two weeks. Wake Forest has had problems all year and just can’t seem to adjust their offense to the post-Riley Skinner style. Now, N. C. State has to hold off their in-state North Carolina to stay tied with either Florida State or Maryland, with a chance to then take care of Maryland in the final game of the regular season. Those are some tall orders for a team playing like the Wolfpack has been playing of late.

ACC Coastal Division

Virginia Tech 26, North Carolina 10

The Virginia Tech Hokies are one win away from locking up the Coastal Division and they’ve got to get it done this weekend against Miami. If the Hurricanes find a way to pluck the Turkey, then it will be up to Virginia to send the Hokies back to Blacksburg and send Miami packing for Charlotte. Any other outcome and Virginia Tech will win the Coastal Division crown. North Carolina put up a good fight for a couple of quarters, but Tar Heels’ mistakes and better offensive play put the Hokies over the top. The loss killed North Carolina’s outside hopes of winning the title, but the Tar Heels have the chance to upset the apple cart for NC State, and that would be a huge win for North Carolina. The North Carolina game was expected to be a tough one for VT, but the Hokies made it look too easy.

Miami 35, Georgia Tech 10

Georgia Tech showed some improved play and motivation on both sides of the ball against Virginia Tech a week earlier; but what a difference a week can make in college football. Desperately needing a win to stay remotely alive in the Coastal Division, the Yellow Jackets didn’t appear to have the emotional and motivational edge going into the game with Miami. For Georgia Tech, costly defensive mistakes gave Miami new life, and then offensive mistakes stopped potential scoring drives. Couple those with wide open Miami receivers, running backs who hit the right holes and made defenders miss, and an accurate young passing quarterback who hit the open receivers and you’ve got the recipe for a big win.