Picks of the Week: No. 7

Don't ask me why, but the 'Eer has decided to venture back to the ACC to pick games. That can't be good. The 'Eer also had another winning week, but he still wants that perfect week. Maybe this is it.

Connecticut (-13.0) over Louisville
UConn is so close to being 5-0 right now. The Huskies outplayed Pitt last week, but fell 24-21 at Heinz Field. Nothing helps you avoid a losing skid than seeing Louisville on the schedule. The Cardinals did pull out a 25-23 win over Southern Miss last week, but the Steve Kragthorpe watch is such a distraction and UConn's defense is stingy, so Louisville will struggle in the cold at Rentschler Field.
Pick: Connecticut 28, Louisville 13

Miami (-14.5) over Central Florida
There's always a concern the Hurricanes will let up a bit after that treacherous four-game stretch to start the season. Last week, Miami handled Florida A&M 48-16. This week Randy Shannon is putting his players on charter buses and traveling four hours up the Florida Turnpike to face UCF. Jacory Harris will remain is cool self and lead Miami to an easy win in Orlando.
Pick: Miami 36, Central Florida 10

Ohio State (-13.5) over Purdue
Only 13.5 points? Sure the game is at Ross-Ade Stadium, but the Boilermakers are no match for Ohio State. There are a lot of concerns about the Buckeyes offense, especially the lack of consistency and improvement by sophomore QB Terrelle Pryor. But this is a perfect opportunity to let Pryor work out of his rut, plus the Ohio State defense should pitch another shut out.
Pick: Ohio State 34, Purdue 3

Temple (-9.5) over Army
I couldn't pass up this game. When's the last time Temple and Army were both .500 or better this late in the season? The Owls are 3-2, but lead the Mid-American Conference East Division at 3-0. Temple is also riding a three-game winning streak after falling to FCS-opponent Villanova in the opener and then it was thumped by Penn State. Freshman RB Bernard Pierce is the offensive catalyst. The Black Knights are coming off a huge 16-13 overtime victory against Vanderbilt. Expect QB Brent Steelman to run the ball about three more times than he passes.
Pick: Temple 31, Army 21

Upset of the Week
Wake Forest (+7.0) over Clemson
This pick is based strictly on the two coaches. Wake's Jim Grobe is among the nation's best, while Clemson's Dabo Swinney hasn't impressed many with his preparation (he sure does run around yelling and does a good job of playing a cheerleader). What scares me about this pick? The Tigers are more talented and the game is at Clemson. RB C.J. Spiller is the best player on the field. But don't pick against Grobe in this one.
Pick: Wake Forest 22, Clemson 21

Last Week: 3-2
Season Record: 16-14

2009's worst non-conference matchups

About two weeks ago I gave you my picks for best non-conference matchups for 2009. Now I'm taking a look at the worst non-conference games. Selecting the best was so easy because there are so few good ones and they are games most college football fans would want to see.

In selecting the worst matchups, my criteria was a bit different. Simply I was looking at how embarrassed the BCS team should be for making its home fans sit through this game. So here we go.

1. Charleston Southern at Florida (Sept. 5): I get it SEC fans. Really I do. The SEC schedule is so tough that you can't expect teams like Florida to schedule tough non-conference games. But this one will be ugly so fast that even the pre-game drunk won't make this one fun. Hope it's easy to sneak the Jack Daniels (or is that not SEC enough) into The Swamp.

2. Eastern Illinois at Penn State (Oct. 10): If the Nittany Lions want anyone to seriously consider them a BCS title contender they must stop schedule weak games like this one to pad Joe Paterno's victory total (we all know Tom Bradley should be getting credit for these wins). Eastern Illinois, who went 5-7 last year, will enly the pay day and start getting ready for the Ohio Valley Conference schedule. Hope the PSU fans have plenty of frozen marshmallows for this one.

3. Idaho State at Oklahoma (Sept. 12): Count on the Sooners having one Idaho State on the schedule every year. How ugly will this one be? Consider the fact that WAC cellar dwellar Idaho beat the Bengals by 15 last year. Will someone tell me why Oklahoma is considered a premiere program?

4. Eastern Kentucky at Indiana (Sept. 3): The Hoosiers need all the victories it can schedule. What happens when you lose? That could happen in this one.

5. Indiana State at Louisville (Sept. 5): It's amazing how far and fast Louisville has fallen. The Cardinals should open the season 1-0 under third-year coach Steve Kragthorpe. When and where he'll get the second win of 2009 remains to be seen.

6. Elon at Wake Forest (Sept. 19): Maybe this will develop into a great North Carolina rival. OK, probably not. Heck, I didn't even know Elon had a football team. The Phoenix actually play in the extremely competitive Southern Conference and are ranked in the FCS preseason polls.

7. Idaho State at Arizona State (Sept. 5): Not trying pick on Idaho State, but when BCS schools are tripping over themselves to schedule you there's a problem. The $1 million or more its receiving to play ASU and Oklahoma is probably worth two embarrassing losses.

8. Jacksonville State at Florida State (Sept. 12): The only thing of interest in this game is to watch former LSU star Ryan Perrilloux start at QB for the Gamecocks. Perrilloux started all 11 games last season and threw for more than 2,300 yards. Does he have enough magic in him to pull the upset?

9. Southeastern Louisiana at Ole Miss (Sept. 19): Isn't SE Louisiana where Bobby Boucher was the waterboy? The Lions could use him in this contest. Ole Miss should be moritified by its non-conference schedule.

10. Eastern Washington at California (Sept. 12): In fairness to Cal, the Golden Bears play home against Maryland and on the road in Minnesota's new stadium. So Jeff Tedford's boys have a tough start to the season. Lucky for them they cushioned it with Eastern Washington.

Bowl Preview: Eaglebank Bowl

EagleBank Bowl
RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
Navy vs. Wake Forest
Date: Dec. 20
Time: 11 a.m.
TV: ESPN
Line: Wake Forest -3

About Navy: The Naval Academy lost successful coach Paul Johnson to Georgia Tech and replaced him with a Hawaiian guy with a really long name but not that one that played for the Steelers. They are very similar to every other Navy team of the past 20 years in that I can’t really name a single player and they don’t suck, but I know nothing beyond that.

Intangibles:
Run the Option +4 points
Traditional Unis: +5 points
Serve country: +7 points
“An Officer and a Gentleman” dress whites: +2 points
Tom Cruise shirtless Top Gun volleyball game: -6 points

About Wake Forest: A tiny Baptist school located somewhere in North Carolina, Wake Forest has risen to what it considers “prominence” thanks to coach Jim Grobe. Wake Forest won the ACC last year and played in a BCS bowl. The ACC. The Atlantic Coast Conference. Yes, they play football too. And Boston College is in it. I’im serious. No, I don’t know why.

Intangibles:
Nickname: Demon Deacons +7
Religion: Baptists +4 for enthusiasm
Tuition: $47,551 –105


Impact player: Wake Forest QB Riley Skinner. Cool name, dude. I’m pretty sure he was Donna’s boyfriend in the original 90210.

Bowl Slogan: “EagleBank, we’re pretty sure we’re still in business!”

Little Known Fact: Navy beat Wake Forest earlier this year in a game almost no one noticed.

Little Known Fact #2: Washington D.C., RFK Stadium is the only venue in the country that requires a tetanus shot before entry.

Watchability scale (1-5, 1 CSI: Miami; 5 It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia): 2

The Pick: Wake Forest 32, Navy 22

ACC Report

Special Report

Retired Coach Rick
ACC Correspondent

The ACC Championship Game was a flop in all areas.

Excitement, fans and interest was just like D.B. Cooper, "missing." No excuses it was a lousy game.

The ACC has 10 teams in bowl games. As of now it looks like the profile game for the ACC will be the Orange Bowl—pitting Virginia Tech (9-4) against Big East champ Cincinnati (11-2). The bottom end will be the EagleBank Bowl—Wake Forest (7-5) vs. Navy (8-4). I am picking the ACC to go 5-5 in their appearances.

The regular season was exciting. It was very hard finding teams that were consistent all year. I am sticking to my predictions for next year. Florida State, North Carolina, Georgia Tech and Miami will be the best in the conference. North Carolina State will play the spoiler.

ACC Report

Special Report

Retired Coach Rick
ACC Correspondent

Maryland is at it again. Win one they shouldn't. Win two they should and lose one they shouldn't. Miami is the beneficiary. They could now be in the ACC championship game now that North Carolina has three league losses.

The winner of the Florida State/Maryland game this week will represent the Atlantic Division. As long as it is not Wake Forest. Miami has to take care of business. The 'Canes close the season with back-to-back road games. First they face nemesis Georgia Tech on Thursday and then go to North Carolina State the following Saturday.

A Florida State vs. Miami championship game could be big. The game is in Tampa and when they played each other earlier in Miami it was a shoot out.

The next couple of weeks will provide a lot of minor bowls a choice of bowl starved alumni out of the ACC the chance to spend their money on a nice trip to warm weather before basketball kicks in. I think two of the ACC bowl recipients will pull major upsets in their bowl games.

There are two potentially great games this week. FSU vs. Maryland and the Miami vs. Tech. I think one of them will be a blow out. I am not saying which one. All other teams are watching these two games.

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

Everything is starting to fall into the right place (my predictions) for the ACC.

Florida State and Maryland are getting ready to battle it out for the Atlantic Division, while Virginia, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Miami battle it out on the Coastal side.

FSU could help everyone if it beat Georgia Tech. Virginia is the only surprise, but its bubble is about to burst. Wake Forest, Boston College and Virginia Tech have been overrated all year. Clemson was my original pick but that doesn't count because coach Tommy Bowden resigned. I thought he had bigger gonads. He gave up too quickly.

North Carolina State close but no cigar. No not even a cigarette. My dream now is for Duke to make it to a bowl game. Coach David Cutcliffe will be named the new head coach at Tennessee at the end of the year. Phil Fulmer is and has been a good coach for the University of Tennessee, but everything that happened to Johnny Majors is coming back around.

I am making my last prediction on the championship game in the ACC. I will not mention it after this until we definitely know the opponents. FSU vs. UNC. The winner will be the team with the most points.

Clemson at Wake Forest

Okay, I've been sort of paying attention to this game. A few points:

- Clemson is really poor at tackling in space. They've got big, athletic kids who get to the right spot at the right time and then miss the tackle. It's no secret they were better in the red zone. Less chance to miss. Wake only has 12 points, but they moved the ball up and down the field with out much problem.

- With 4:26 left, trailing 12-7 and out of timeouts, Tommy Bowden went for a 4th and 17 on their own 25 and got it. ESPN's announcer Chris Fowler questioned the call, but color analyst Craig James gave some spiel about the season being on the line, blah, blah, blah. of course they failed to mention that Wake's backup kicker has already missed twice and even if he does make a field goal, Clemson is only down eight points. Certainly giving up a TD would put the game out of reach, but so would have punting the ball and giving up two first downs. Clemson didn't make it's second attempt at a long fourth down.

- Wake's offense is fun to watch with all the misdirection. I'm not sure why this doesn't work better at WVU with Pat White. Seems to be a fairly complex blocking scheme, maybe WVU just hasn't picked it up yet.

- That's three losses for Clemson after beginning the year ranked #9. What does Tommy Bowden have to do to get fired? I think a couple more losses might do it.

- Final score: Wake Forest 12, Clemson 7. That's the second win this year where Wake scored 12 points.

- the ACC is just a weird conference. one game we haven't talked about was Virginia's 31-0 win over Maryland last week. How in the hell did that happen? Virginia is God-awful and Maryland has been rolling. The ACC may not be good football this year, but it's interesting.

Saturday night games

Georgia at Arizona State - It's 14-3 and ASU is looking a little out of their element. The Devils can't run the ball at all. I'm not saying give up on the run, but I sure wouldn't run on any down that means anything like they just did on a third and one. One more UGA score and this one's over.

Wake Forest at Florida State - How long does Jimbo Fisher get to try and fix whatever is broken with the FSU offense? Looks like the same old, same old to me. Dumb penalties, turnovers, poor QB play, etc. Wake should be up more than 9-3 at this point, but has made some mistakes in the red zone.

LSU at Auburn - Auburn is playing inspired football and LSU has QB problems. Neither of these guys look real comfortable. Not sure LSU can score enough to overcome the 14-3 halftime deficit. Fun game to watch though as these teams are beating the crap out of each other.

OUR Top 25 (Sept. 8)

You'll be glad to see that we have added a few more voters to OUR Top 25 poll this week. It strays a little from the "experts", but we believe it has some real value. So compare and let us know what you think. Our two new voters are from SEC land. They have special knowledge of Florida, Alabama, Auburn and Southern Mississippi. Phil and I are working on gaining a few more bloggers and podcasters who would like to be part of this poll.

Here are this week's rankings:

1. USC (3)
2. Georgia (1)
3. Florida
4. Oklahoma
5. Missouri
6. Ohio State
7. LSU
8. Texas
9. Wisconsin
10. Alabama
11. East Carolina
11. Arizona State
12. Kansas
13. Texas Tech
14. Auburn
15. Penn State
16. Oregon
17. South Florida
18. California
19. Wake Forest
20. BYU
21. UCLA
22. WVU
23. Utah
24. Illinois
25. Clemson

Others receiving votes: Fresno State, Kentucky, Arizona