By Eddie Mayrose

Pac Ten Football Turned Upside Down

Despite a 65-5 record over their last 70 games, the USC Trojans have all but taken
themselves out of the BCS National Championship picture in each of the last four seasons with an early, in-conference stumble.  Over the last three seasons, California, UCLA and Oregon State have each proven too high a hurdle for the Men of Troy but, even with their track record, no one could have expected the Trojans to be upset by a Washington team that went 0-12 last year.  However, in what proved to be a perfect storm for the Huskies, injuries forced USC to go with a third string, freshman QB against their former Offensive Coordinator Steve Sarkisian, Washington’s new head man.  His familiarity with his former charges proved fatal for USC as Sarkisian grabbed his first big win, 16-13… While USC garnered much of the pre-season hype in the PAC Ten, it was California that caught our attention.  Saturday, RB Jahvid Best ran for five touchdowns as the high scoring Golden Bears beat Minnesota 35-21 and held on to their #2 ranking.

South Florida Dealt Bad Break in Big East

Tough blow for South Florida, #24 in last week’s CSV rankings and our pick to win the Big East, as QB Matt Grothe went down for the year with a knee injury… Cincinnati, the most likely candidate to step into that void, went into Corvallis and dominated Oregon State to move up to #16… Pittsburgh is off to a 3-0 start and looks like a serious contender for the Big East title.

Charlie Weis Still Has Notre Dame Football Fans On Edge

Even when he wins, there’s no rest for Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis.  A narrow 33-30 victory against a less than impressive Michigan State squad; especially since it came gift wrapped by Spartans’ QB Kirk Cousins.  Despite engineering a late drive that put his team into position for at least a game tying FG, Cousins missed a wide open Nick Holt in the end zone before launching a dying quail that was picked off on the 5 yard line.   The Irish, led by QB Jimmy Claussen, have an offensive unit that can compete with anyone in the nation but their defense leaves a lot to be desired.

Big Weekend for Miami Football Faithful

Don’t look now, but “The U” appears to be back.  Miami dominated Georgia Tech, the CSV’s #15 team, on Thursday.  After an impressive win over Florida State, the ‘Canes appear headed back to the top of the league.. Speaking of the Seminoles, who saw that beating of #7 BYU coming?  Combine that victory with Virginia Tech knocking off #23 Nebraska and its easy to see why ACC Football fans are thinking big. It’s not all good news, however as it looks like a very long year ahead for the Maryland Terrapins, who lost at home to Middle Tennessee.

Florida Lets Tennessee Off With A Slap On The Wrist In the SEC

Could’ve been a lot worse for Lane Kiffin and his Tennessee Vols on their visit to The Swamp.  Despite Kiffin’s off-season promise to sing Rocky Top all night after beating Florida and his unfounded accusations toward head coach Urban Meyer regarding recruiting violations, the Gators surprised many by not running up the score in their 23-13 victory… Great start for the SEC as it heads into its conference schedule with four teams, (Florida, Alabama, LSU and Mississippi),  in the CSV top seven and two others, (Auburn and Kentucky), undefeated.

Big 12 Football Losing Luster

First Oklahoma loses to BYU, then Houston dominates Oklahoma State on its own field and, finally, Baylor takes a beating at home from an unimpressive UConn Huskies squad. Its starting to look more and more like  Texas Football fans will be making the trip to Kansas City for the conference title game.

Boise State Continues To Rise In BCS

Last week we mentioned the potential mess in the BCS Standings should more than one Non-BCS member be ranked in the Top Ten.  Well, BYU and Utah solved that problem by losing, leaving just Boise State and TCU as possible candidates. The Broncos won a shootout at Fresno State while TCU heads to Clemson this week.  A win in Death Valley and another over BYU would lead to a Mountain West Conference title and an almost certain BCS berth.  That is, as long as Boise isn’t ranked higher.

CollegeSportsView Top 25

1)  Florida
2)  California
3)  Texas
4)  Alabama
5)  LSU
6)  Boise State
7)  Mississippi
8)  Penn State
9)  USC
10)Ohio State
11)Virginia Tech
12)TCU
13)Oklahoma
14)Miami
15)Kansas
16)Cincinnati
17)BYU
18)Houston
19)Oklahoma State
20)Georgia
21)North Carolina
22)Michigan
23)Missouri
24)Florida State
25)South Florida

Five Teams to Watch

Pittsburgh
Auburn
UCLA
Nebraska
Iowa

2009 ACC Football Preview

Coastal Division

1) Virginia Tech- The Hokies come into ’09 looking for the conference hat trick; having won two straight ACC titles.  Even with that record, however, dsominance is not something associated with Va. Tech as a mediocre 5-3 record was all it took for a spot in the conference championship game.  Tyrod Taylor takes the helm at QB where he’ll need to improve his passing numbers; something that should be helped along by a strong receiving corps led by Danny Coale and Jarrett Boykin.  Soph RB Darron Evans ran for almost 1,300 YDS including a school record 253 vs. Maryland.  A strong defensive front seven will front a secondary with two new starters and, you know, Frank Beamer will have strong special teams.  We’ll learn alot about the Hokies when they travel to Atlanta for a metting with Alabama.

2) North Carolina- The best D Line in the league is a reason for high hopes in Chapel Hill.  DT Cam Thomas, LB Quan Sturdivant and FS Deunta Williams give the Heels strength up the middle where they’ll be tough to run against.  T.J. Yates is an experienced QB and will team with RB Shaun Draughn to lead an unspectacular offense that must quickly replace a receiving corps diminished by graduation.

3) Georgia Tech- It was a bad end to ’08 for the Jackets, who were pasted by LSU in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl, 38-3.  Worse, second year coach Paul Johnson must replace three defensive linemen.  John Nesbitt starts at QB but could give way to Jaybo Shaw, a soph more suited to the system.

4) Miami-  The ‘Canes success in “09 will come down to the performance of Jacoby Harris, who will no longer have to share the QB spotlight.  Miami has talented skill position players in WR Aldarius Johnson and RB Javaris James for Harris to lean on.  If an experienced defense can become dominant, it might be a year of rebirth for “The U”.

5) Virginia- Head Coach Al Groh is on a short leash after a 5-7 season marred by off-field player issues that embarrassed the university.  Things don’t look good as the Cavs’ new, hurry-up offense will be run by a QB chosen from among Jameel Sewell, returning from a year lost to suspension, Vic Hall, a defensive starter for all but the last game of ’08 and the untested Marc Verica.  Which ever one gets the call will be throwing to a brand new group at WR while the loss of three starting LB’s weakens an already less than stellar defense.  Could be a long year.

6) Duke- A solid QB in Thaddeus Lewis and a decent RB in Re’Quan Boyette won’t be enough to compete.  The Blue Devil defense is capable with DT Vince Oghobaase as its foundation but Duke fans will still have nothing to cheer about until hoops season.

Atlantic Division

1) Clemson- The Tigers are the team to beat in the Atlantic division with stars on both sides of the ball.  They return all five members of an O Line that should create plenty of room for RB’s  Jamie Harper and  C.J. Spillerto work their magic.  The defense, led by DE’s Ricky Sapp and D’aquan Bomens, should make Death Valley an unpleasant  visit for any ACC foes.

2) North Carolina State-  LB’s Ray Michel and Nate Irving head a talented and experienced defense that will be bolstered by the return of S Javon walker from a knee injury.  Under center, the Wolfpack returns Russell Wilson, the only freshman to win All-League honors at QB.  Look for him to grow in the role, especially if he can rely on a healthy Toney Baker at RB.      

3) Florida State-  The ‘Noles have been tabbed as a Top 20 team in a number of polls; possibly on reputation.  We don’t see it.  While five returning starters on the Offensive line will be a comfort to QB Christian Ponder, inexperience at RB and WR will be a lot to overcome.  Defensively, star LB Dekoda Watson stands between an inconsistent D Line and a secondary that will feature at least two Frosh.

4) Wake Forest-    Gotta love a QB who’s a three year starter as is the case with Riley Skinner.  He’ll look to make the most of a talented but green Terence Davis.  Bucking the trend, the offense goes from the spread to Power I and should better utilize the skills of RB Josh Adams, who’ll run behind an O Line returning all five starters.  The problems lie on Defense, where inexperience abounds.  You might want to bet the over in Demon Deacon games.

5) Maryland- A strong secondary bolsters a defense that also features LB Alex Wujciak.  That’ll help as the offense looks to replace the departedDarrius Heyward-Bey at WR.  They’re not punchless, however, as RB Da’Rel Scott and QB Chris Turner.  Now. if the O Line can gel quickly, their might be some hope in College Park.

6) Boston College-  The Eagles took a huge hit early with the news that LB Mark Herzlich, the ACC’s best defender in ’08, will miss the season as he undergoes cancer treatments.  That, on top of the transition involved with a new head coach has made for gloomy expectations on Chestnut Hill.  With the QB position up in the air, RB Montel Harris will carry the load behind an experienced O Line while the defense relies on a strong secondary.      

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                               2009 ACC Team by Team Football Schedules

                Dr Pepper ACC Football Championship Game, Raymond James Stadium

                            Tampa, Fla.—Saturday Dec. 5, 2009

Boston College
Sept. 5 Northeastern
Sept. 12 Kent State
Sept. 19 at Clemson
Sept. 26 Wake Forest
Oct. 3 Florida State
Oct. 10 at Virginia Tech
Oct. 17 NC State
Oct. 24 at Notre Dame
Oct. 31 Central Michigan
Nov. 14 at Virginia
Nov. 21 North Carolina
Nov. 28 at Maryland

 Clemson
Sept. 5 Middle Tennessee
Sept. 10 at Georgia Tech (ESPN)
Sept. 19 Boston College
Sept. 26 TCU
Oct. 3 at Maryland
Oct. 17 Wake Forest
Oct. 24 at Miami
Oct. 31 Coastal Carolina
Nov. 7 Florida State
Nov. 14 at NC State
Nov. 21 Virginia
Nov. 28 at South Carolina
 

Duke
Sept. 5 Richmond
Sept. 12 at Army
Sept. 19 at Kansas
Sept. 26 North Carolina Central
Oct. 3 Virginia Tech
Oct. 10 at NC State
Oct. 24 Maryland
Oct. 31 at Virginia
Nov. 7 at North Carolina
Nov. 14 Georgia Tech
Nov. 21 at Miami
Nov. 28 Wake Forest

Florida State
Sept. 7 Miami (ESPN)
Sept. 12 Jacksonville State
Sept. 19 at BYU
Sept. 26 South Florida
Oct. 3 at Boston College
Oct. 10 Georgia Tech
Oct. 22 at North Carolina (ESPN)
Oct. 31 NC State
Nov. 7 at Clemson
Nov. 14 at Wake Forest
Nov. 21 Maryland
Nov. 28 at Florida

Georgia Tech
Sept. 5 Jacksonville State
Sept. 10 Clemson (ESPN)
Sept. 17 at Miami (ESPN)
Sept. 26 North Carolina
Oct. 3 at Mississippi State
Oct. 10 at Florida State
Oct. 17 Virginia Tech
Oct. 24 at Virginia
Oct. 31 at Vanderbilt
Nov. 7 Wake Forest
Nov. 14 at Duke
Nov. 28 Georgia

Maryland
Sept. 5 at California
Sept. 12 James Madison
Sept. 19 Middle Tennessee
Sept. 26 Rutgers
Oct. 3 Clemson
Oct. 10 at Wake Forest
Oct. 17 Virginia
Oct. 24 at Duke
Nov. 7 at NC State
Nov. 14 Virginia Tech
Nov. 21 at Florida State
Nov. 28 Boston College

Miami
Sept. 7 at Florida State (ESPN)
Sept. 17 Georgia Tech (ESPN)
Sept. 26 at Virginia Tech
Oct. 3 Oklahoma
Oct. 10 Florida A&M
Oct. 17 at Central Florida
Oct. 24 Clemson
Oct. 31 at Wake Forest
Nov. 7 Virginia
Nov. 14 at North Carolina
Nov. 21 Duke
Nov. 28 at South Florida

North Carolina
Sept. 5 The Citadel
Sept. 12 at Connecticut
Sept. 19 East Carolina
Sept. 26 at Georgia Tech
Oct. 3 Virginia
Oct. 10 Georgia Southern
Oct. 22 Florida State (ESPN)
Oct. 29 at Virginia Tech (ESPN)
Nov. 7 Duke
Nov. 14 Miami
Nov. 21 at Boston College
Nov. 28 at NC State

NC State
Sept. 3 South Carolina (ESPN)
Sept. 12 Murray State
Sept. 19 Gardner-Webb
Sept. 26 Pittsburgh
Oct. 3 at Wake Forest
Oct. 10 Duke
Oct. 17 at Boston College
Oct. 31 at Florida State
Nov. 7 Maryland
Nov. 14 Clemson
Nov. 21 at Virginia Tech
Nov. 28 North Carolina

Virginia
Sept. 5 William & Mary
Sept. 12 TCU
Sept. 19 at Southern Miss
Oct. 3 at North Carolina
Oct. 10 Indiana
Oct. 17 at Maryland
Oct. 24 Georgia Tech
Oct. 31 Duke
Nov. 7 at Miami
Nov. 14 Boston College
Nov. 21 at Clemson
Nov. 28 Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech
Sept. 5 Alabama (Ga Dome, Atlanta)
Sept. 12 Marshall
Sept. 19 Nebraska
Sept. 26 Miami
Oct. 3 at Duke
Oct. 10 Boston College
Oct. 17 at Georgia Tech
Oct. 29 North Carolina (ESPN)
Nov. 5 at East Carolina (ESPN)
Nov. 14 at Maryland
Nov. 21 NC State
Nov. 28 at Virginia

Wake Forest
Sept. 5 Baylor
Sept. 12 Stanford
Sept. 19 Elon
Sept. 26 at Boston College
Oct. 3 NC State
Oct. 10 Maryland
Oct. 17 at Clemson
Oct. 24 at Navy
Oct. 31 Miami
Nov. 7 at Georgia Tech
Nov. 14 Florida State
Nov. 28 at Duke