Last
week’s ranking/result: 1 (W 37-7 at
Florida)
A
slow start for Florida State means only having 27 points through three
quarters. Naturally, it helps if the Seminole defense keeps the opponent
out of the end zone for three quarters, and holds the opponent to three
first-half first downs. THAT is why Florida State is arguably the best
team in the nation - the Seminoles just continue to dominate on both
sides of the ball. And now they’re a win away from their first
undefeated regular season since 1999. It’s safe to say, I think, that
Florida State is indeed
“back”.
Last week’s
ranking/result: 2 (L 31-17 at No. 8 South
Carolina)
I
wanted to bump Clemson down to third, but only because I’m disappointed
in the Tigers. They had every opportunity to knock off South Carolina -
finally - and just couldn’t do it. Six turnovers is way too many, and
that’s at least an aspect of the game Clemson has some control over. It
just doesn’t help either head coach Dabo Swinney or the legacy of a
great quarterback (and better person) Tajh Boyd that neither could get
that win during Boyd’s time in Clemson, in spite of everything they’ve
accomplished together. And that’s just too
bad.
Last week’s
ranking/result: 3 (W 27-25 at North
Carolina)
All
Duke football does is win games. And the Blue Devils have won eight in a
row. What head coach David Cutcliffe has done with this program is
nothing
short of remarkable, but this week’s win - as Cutcliffe
himself said - is a credit to his players. They made plays when they had
to in every phase of the game, proof positive that this program is on
the upswing. There are no real holes on this team. They might not be as
good as their opponent waiting in the ACC title game, but it doesn’t
matter. They’re good enough now to beat almost anyone except the cream
of the crop in the country, and they’re confident to
boot.
Last week’s
ranking/result: 8 (W 41-31 at
Pittsburgh)
Miami’s
probably been punished a bit too harshly for its losses - at least in
terms of when they occurred in the season. The Hurricanes are still 9-3,
and they went up to Pittsburgh and dominated a cold-weather game by
sheer talent and willpower alone. It was a nice performance, and
hopefully the Canes can build on that in a nice bowl game. Maybe they
can start to build some consistency for next season as the program
continues to grow under Al
Golden.
Last week’s
ranking/result: 7 (L 16-6 to Virginia
Tech)
Similar
to Miami, Virginia Tech was being treated a bit more harshly than other
teams simply because of the Hokies’ ACC history. Unlike their Coastal
Division counterparts, they’re not a team that routinely goes out and
loses head-scratching games year after year while beating the good teams
in the Division. They’re supposed to be the consistent ones. But every
program is entitled to a few hiccups, and the Hokies are still 8-4 and
were a few seconds away from going back to the ACC Championship game
again (if Duke hadn’t hung
on).
Last week’s
ranking/result: 4 (L 41-34 to No. 25 Georgia in
2OT)
Georgia
Tech’s offense is supposed to mean that it’s almost impossible to come
back from a deficit against the Yellow Jackets. Evidently not, as they
squandered a 20-0 second-quarter lead (20-7 at halftime) to in-state
rival Georgia, eventually falling 41-34 in overtime. It was a depleted
Georgia team that Georgia Tech had every opportunity to finish off and
simply couldn’t get the job done. It’s mind-boggling, really. This was
the year to finally knock off UGA. If not now, when for Georgia Tech? A
scary
thought.
Last week’s
ranking/result: 5 (L 27-25 to No. 20
Duke)
The
Tar Heels had a good effort against Duke and played the Blue Devils
fairly evenly, but the defense couldn’t get stops when it mattered and
the offense couldn’t get out of its own way in terms of penalties.
Still, it was UNC’s first loss since October 17 (to a then-ranked Miami
team) and all but two of UNC’s losses this year came to a team that was
ranked in the AP poll either the week it played UNC or the week after
(Virginia Tech). It was a nice way to end the regular season, and now
the Tar Heels have to hope that they can continue to grow their young
talent under head coach Larry Fedora in the upcoming bowl
practices.
Last week’s
ranking/result: 6 (L 34-31 at
Syracuse)
Andre
Williams’ injury in the third quarter didn’t help BC’s cause at
Syracuse, but credit to the Eagles - they finished off the drive that
Williams was injured on in the third quarter (to tie the game at 21) and
then scored ten more fourth-quarter points, but it wasn’t enough to
hold off Syracuse on the road. BC still has shown a ton of progress this
year under Steve Addazio, and if David Cutcliffe weren’t in the ACC,
Addazio would be getting a lot more buzz for ACC Coach of the Year after
this BC team had two wins a year
ago.
Last week’s
ranking/result: 11 (W 34-31 over Boston
College)
Not
taking anything away from Syracuse here, but one reason they’re not
ahead of Boston College (in spite of the head-to-head win) is the injury
to Andre Williams. Syracuse, though, got arguably its most impressive
win this year over the Eagles, needing to erase a deficit in the fourth
quarter twice to get it. This young Syracuse team under Scott Shafer is
now bowl-eligible, and they’ve shown particularly encouraging signs
later in the season that things are going in the right
direction.
Last week’s
ranking/result: 10 (W 41-21 at N.C.
State)
Maryland
has become so difficult to predict from week-to-week that it’s hard to
evaluate what is reasonable to expect out of them and what isn’t,
particularly as its injury situation fluctuates. But how could anyone
have expected the Terps to go to Raleigh and blow out an N.C. State team
that, while struggling, had to be up for that game? Pretty impressive,
and now Maryland will finally get weeks of extra practice under head
coach Randy Edsall to prepare for a bowl game. Hopefully no one else
gets hurt in that timeframe and Edsall can use it positively as he tries
to build his
program.
Last week’s
ranking/result: 9 (L 41-31 to
Miami)
Miami
was reeling, and all Pitt had to do was put together four consistent
quarters of football - in theory, anyway - to at least give the
Hurricanes a game. Instead, the Panthers fell behind early - again - and
couldn’t come all the way back after facing a 31-10 deficit at the end
of the second quarter. Pitt’s shown a lot of signs of progress, but the
Panthers are so up and down this year it’s tough to know what to make of
them, frankly. Two of their wins are against top-25 teams (Duke and
Pitt), but other top-caliber opponents have made it look easy, frankly.
They’ll get better under Paul Chryst, certainly, but this season was a
head-scratcher.
Last
week’s ranking/result: 12 (L 23-21 at
Vanderbilt)
Good
for the Deacs to keep fighting and playing hard, and they nearly pulled
off an upset win at Vanderbilt. But almost doesn’t count, and a win
like that might have made this season - which included a home loss to
Louisiana-Monroe - even more painful in
hindsight.
Last week’s
ranking/result: T-14 (L 41-21 to
Maryland)
The
best thing that can be said about Dave Doeren’s first season as N.C.
State’s head coach is that it’s over. Oh, and that there is plenty of
help on the way in the form of a very good recruiting class. But this is
N.C. State’s first winless ACC season since 1959, and it can’t leave a
very good taste in anyone’s mouth in
Raleigh.
Last week’s
ranking/result: T-14 (W 16-6 at
Virginia)
Almost
moved Virginia ahead of N.C. State based on its game being closer than
the Wolfpack’s, but you know what? Both are equally awful. End of
discussion. Now, the only question is whether Mike London’s recruiting
class next year will be enough to save his job. It probably is for now,
but no
one is happy in
Hooville.
