JEFFYBOY, IS THAT YOU? DADGUMMIT, I'M SORRY I FIRED YOU.

The remainder of the Bobby Bowden era got the ol' "CLEAR!" chest paddle treatment tonight, as the 'Noles rallied to beat UNC in Chapel Hill. (Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl here we come!)

Earlier, Bobby Bowden let some reporters know that he was well aware that he was in the last year(S) of his coaching career.

Oh Bobby, you're 80 buddy, you're in the last years OF YOUR LIFE. Rent an RV, see one of your 348 grandchildren. Buy a condo. But quit pretending that you're coaching a college football team.

Podcast: Episode 42

Thanks ACC for reminding us once again why no one should take you seriously until basketball season rolls around. Just when we thought Miami, Florida State or North Carolina might be considered BCS title contenders ... all three reminded us why no team from the ACC will ever when the championship (that includes you too Va Tech).

As painful as it was, both the 'Eye and the 'Eer gave Rich Rodriguez credit for Michigan's 4-0 start, but both agree that 1-3 Michigan State will probably win this weekend. Let's not forget about the potential interesting match ups this week - LSU-Georgia, USC-Cal and Oklahoma-Miami. We also have some fun at the expense of Tony Barnhart, Ron Zook and the Iowa Hawkeyes during Quick Hitters.

To all of our Facebook friends, you can click here to listen to our podcast.

Nicks: one-man highlight reel

If not for Pat White having possibly his best game ever (at least passing), North Carolina's Hakeem Nicks would have been the Meineke Car Care Bowl MVP Saturday. He had three play-of-the-day type touchdown catches for the Tar Heels, and potential ESPY nominee, first-down catch.

This was probably Nicks' final game as a Tar Heel since he should leave early for the NFL. While Nicks' performance against West Virginia in Charlotte wasn't enough to get past the Mountaineers (thanks to White's fourth-quarter TD pass to Alric Arnett), his one-man show should equate to millions more and possibly a late first round selection in the NFL Draft in April.

Not sold? Watch this nifty behind the back, one-handed grab for a first down.

Bowl Preview: Meineke Car Care

Meineke Car Care Bowl
Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte
West Virginia vs. North Carolina
Date: Dec. 27
Time: 1 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Line: West Virginia –1.5

About West Virginia: Gov. Joe Manchin is in his second year as head coach of the Mountaineers, calling plays by remote control through his animatronic puppet Bill Stewart. Manchin favors plays that let the greatest rushing quarterback in school history throw the ball quite a bit and not getting the ball to Noel Devine because he tends to score “too fast” and not give the defense a chance to rest up. He also likes his coach to be homespun and friendly and slightly racist – kind of like the rest of West Virginia. Rumors abound that if Stewart wins this game, Manchin will name him Attorney General.

Intangibles:
Weirton: -5
Snowshoe: +5
Borders Ohio: +10
Borders Kentucky: -8
Flaming davenports: +2

About North Carolina: (Full disclosure: I’m a Browns fan. F*ck Butch Davis.) That being said, the Tar Heels reminded me a lot of the Butch Browns – inconsistent as hell. Wipe out Rutgers, knock off Miami, get crushed by rival NC State at home. At least he can’t draft William Green.

Intangibles:
Cool unis: +5
Slightly gay unis: -5
Tyler Hansbrough: -4 (THAT’S AN OFFENSIVE FOUL, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD)
The Carl Torbush era: -2

Impact Player: Jock Sanders. I just think it’s funny his name is “Jock.” He’s one of that army of midget RBs and WRs WVU runs out on the field and they run around like Dorothy’s house just crashlanded in their backyard.

Bowl slogan: “At least it’s not UConn and Navy. That sucked.”

Little known fact: The last two times these teams met in a bowl, UNC won 20-13 in the 1997 Gator Bowl. The game MVP was UNC quarterback Oscar Davenport. Now, that’s a little known fact, mofos.

Watchability (1-5): 3.5

The Pick: North Carolina 21, WVU 20

ACC Report

Special Report

Retired Coach Rick
ACC Correspondent

The race for the championship became a crap-shoot after this weekend.

Florida State and Georgia Tech played a great game. If FSU beats Maryland and Tech finishes strong we could have a Florida State/Georgia Tech replay in Tampa.

Wake Forest pulled one out against Duke. Miami with their two quarterback system won in OT against Virginia. Virginia is in their third season. The first third they were horrible. In the middle third they beat everyone. The final third is going to be one of mixed success.

Maryland needs to start their final swing hot. The FSU and Maryland game looks like the best game in the future. Wake, Boston College, Clemson, North Carolina State, Duke and Virginia Tech are all relegated to playing the role of spoiler this month.

North Carolina is hoping for a miracle.

The ACC could end up with as many as six teams being a part of the bowl makeup this year. Georgia Tech has been the biggest surprise to me. The Seminoles, Hurricanes, Tar Heels and Terrapins will rule the conference over the next five years.

Georgia Tech has to show me more than a new coach and a new system. The good coaches will catch up to what they are doing.

Other thoughts: Could Skip Holtz be in line for the Clemson job? How close is Frank Beamer to retiring. Will Duke's coach stay one more year then head to Tennessee? If Fulmer doesn't leave the Vols at the end of this year then there may be a deal in the year for next year.

ACC Report

Special Report

Retired Coach Rick
ACC Correspondent

I owe Wake Forest an apology. They are not as bad as I thought. But we can forget the Demon Deacons after Maryland beats them.

Now that East Carolina was beaten by Virginia will the Game Day experts get off the kick about Skip Holtz being the next great coach. He is average at best. Injuries are the excuses of losers. Make adjustments.

North Carolina, Florida State and Miami are going to decide who wins the ACC. I am not mentioning Clemson until it wins an important game. Wait. Make that any game.

Georgia Tech is now doing just enough to win. That's not bad. It just won't get you mentioned in the newspaper. Virginia Tech has rested and gotten healthy just in time to lose to Boston College. BC has been a little bit of a surprise. They will continue to do that until they play my top three.

I want to start a top 20 of SATHAPASTG (Student Athletes That Have A Plan And Schedule To Graduate). Vanderbilt, Duke, Navy, Army, Air Force, Stanford, Northwestern and any other Division I school that has an overall GPA of 3.0 in real classes.

The UNC win over Notre Dame was great. A few more losses for the Irish and we won't have to look and listen to Charlie Weis.

Big week for ACC. The real conference games begin.

Picks of the Week

Now that's what I call a rebound.

A week after stinking up the joint and going 0-5 (thanks Colorado), I took some safer picks and went 5-0 against the spread. Sure I picked Auburn to beat Vanderbilt, but I said the Commodores would cover the 4.5-point spread and they did by winning 14-13. I also picked the upset of South Carolina over Ole Miss. Now for my fourth week of prognostication.

Oklahoma (-7) over Texas
Seriously, I really want to take the Longhorns. Their defense is athletic and aggressive, but for some reason I just think Sam Bradford and the Sooners will find a way to take advantage of that in the annual Red River Rivalry (formerly Shootout). Bradford is the most consistent quarterback I can ever remember. He's completed more than 70 percent of his passes this season for 18 touchdowns and just three picks. DeMarco Murray provides great balance with 431 rushing yards and five scores. So you think Bradford is accurate? Texas quarterback Colt McCoy has been even better, completing almost 80 percent of his passes for 1,280 yards and 16 TDs. This should be a great game.
Pick: Oklahoma 30, Texas 21

Vanderbilt (-1) over Mississippi State
Talk about no respect. One week after upsetting Auburn at home (which cost AU offensive coordinator Tony Franklin his job), Bobby Johnson's Commodores are being dissed as just a one-point favorite on the road. Vandy's defense is stout and the Bulldogs have the nation's most embarrassing BCS conference offense. It's time to recognize Vanderbilt as a legitimate SEC contender and expect more. I'm expecting 6-0 and bowl eligible after Saturday.
Pick: Vanderbilt 17, Mississippi State 6

Toledo (+17) over Michigan
I'm not calling the upset in Ann Arbor, but both teams are bad. The Rockets are improved defensively, but are still trying to find some consistency on offense. That's pretty much the situation for Michigan, especially with an offense that is still struggling to learn Rich Rod's spread attack. The Wolverine defense will win this close game, maybe with a score of its own. The Rockets, who used to compete for the Mid-American Conference championship every year, is having a down year under veteran coach Tom Amstutz.
Pick: Michigan 22, Toledo 12

North Carolina (-6.5) over Notre Dame It's possible I have watched these two teams as much as anyone (except West Virginia). North Carolina should be undefeated right now, but blew a game against Virginia Tech. Butch Davis has the Tar Heels playing well. A win here will solidify the progress UNC has made in Year 2 under Davis. While the Fighting Irish are improved this year, I'm still not sold that Jimmy Clausen and the offensive line is ready to win a big game.
Pick: North Carolina 30, Notre Dame 21

Upset of the Week
Wisconsin (+4.5) over Penn State
The spread on this game has been as high as six points. I don't think it will matter. The Nittany Lions have been playing inspired and almost mistake-free, but I don't believe the Badgers will lose three consecutive Big 10 games and Camp Randall is a brutal place for opponents. Joe Paterno will probably coach from the press box and PSU quarterback Daryll Clark will look more human against the Badgers relentless defense.
Pick: Wisconsin 20, Penn State 17

Last Week: 5-0
Season: 9-6

ACC Report

Special Report

Retired Coach Rick
ACC Correspondent

Florida State, Miami and North Carolina are all starting to show their strength.

It was a great game between UM-FSU this past weekend. UNC put a hit on the Big East by taking down UConn. Virginia Tech beat the daylights out of that powerhouse Western Kentucky.

Look out but the fall to the bottom may be uncontrollable. That hissing you hear is from Duke's balloon. It is starting to leak. Did anyone attend Clemson's victory celebration over "Open Date?" I thought Maryland was over the hump where they lose to someone they shouldn't lose to. Coach Fridge is too good for that to happen. Virginia did a nice job.

Everyone will learn more about Wake Forest over the next two weeks. N.C. State will, as I feared, will always be close.What are the chances Georgia Tech plays the Tar Heels in the championship game? If they can't they need to have a conference meeting and change the rules. Boston College will be in the middle mix. Fairly good but not good enough to get more than the soup bowl.

(Photo courtesy of South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

Big de-cleaters