NC State takes down Boston College in a critical ACC Atlantic Showdown 24-10

We are now 3/4ths through the FCFB regular season and this 10th week is critical in the ACC Title Race. Georgia Tech and Louisville can lock up their respective spots in the ACC Championship just by winning their respective games; however, if either one of them loses, the door is wide open for multiple teams to slide into the ACC Championship game.

1.) Georgia Tech– 7-2 (6-1), +1 from last week, defeated Clemson 31-29. Georgia Tech just survives the ultimate trap game against Clemson as they had to overcome a 9 point halftime deficit and just made a 43 yard FG with one second left. They retake the #1 spot less because of what they did and more because of Virginia Tech’s performance. Georgia Tech finishes up ACC play this week with the only team with an ACC win in Pitt. A win sends them to the ACC Title game while a loss puts VT in the driver seat. Watch out for this one if GT gets caught looking ahead to a massive showdown with MTSU next week.

2.) Virginia Tech– 7-1 (4-1), -1, defeated North Carolina 56-49. Virginia Tech got away with some good ole fashioned highway robbery. UNC wins that game 9 times out of 10 but sometimes it is better to be lucky than good. Beamerball bailed out the Hokies defense who gave up 49 points in 3 quarters as VT had 2 kickoff return TDs and an onside kick recovery. VT takes on Boston College in a cross-divisional showdown.

4.) Virginia– 6-3 (3-2), 0, defeated Troy 42-32. Virginia took care of Troy in a predictably high scoring game as UVA notches their 3rd win in a row. Bad news for them is that they have officially been eliminated from ACC Title contention, but the good news is that they still have plenty to play for including a shot at the playoffs. To do that they have to win 3 more games in a row but this time against 3 teams in the Top 50. Starting off with a test against a recently struggling Duke team.

4.) NC State– 6-3 (3-3), +1, defeated Boston College 24-10. NC State kept their hopes of making their 3rd straight ACC Title game alive as they forced 5 Boston College fumbles in what was a very sloppy game overall. To keep their title hopes alive they must take down their kryptonite in the Atlantic and Atlantic leaders, Louisville, who is the only team in the division NC State has never beaten. S1 Louisville killed NCSU’s playoff chances, S2 Louisville ruined what was otherwise a perfect regular season.

5.) Duke– 5-4 (4-2), -1, lost to Notre Dame 43-38. Duke, Duke, Duke. You tricked us there for a week when you beat GT into thinking that you had changed from old Duke teams just to prove every Duke stereotype in the book right in a 2 week span. From losing to teams you really shouldn’t have to blowing easily winnable games. They do have a chance to try and prove those stereotypes wrong by beating Virginia this week. Although thinking about it, beating UVA and Memphis then losing the Wake to finish 7-5 would be just about the most Duke thing ever.

6.) Louisville– 5-4 (5-1), +1, defeated Pittsburgh 28-14. Louisville did what they needed to this week and took care of business against Pitt in a comfortable 2 TD win for the Cardinals. The Cardinals have a HUGE opportunity this week to solidify themselves as the new Kings of the Atlantic by beating the two-time reigning division champs, NC State, and clinching their spot in ACC Title game. There isn’t a more fitting team to do it as UL has “ruined” NC State’s season the last 2 times around.

7.) Syracuse– 5-4 (3-2), +4, defeated Temple 31-14. Syracuse put on a dominant showing against Temple this week. Holding them to just over 200 yards of offense and forcing 3 turnovers. Syracuse’s closing stretch is one of, if not, the easiest remaining in the ACC and could rack up a big winning streak to end the season. Up first is Florida State this week.

8.) Miami– 5-4 (3-3), 0, defeated Georgia Southern 51-20. This Miami offense has grown a lot over the course of this season. For reference, in the last 2 games, Miami has scored more points than they did in their first seven games last season. They finish up OOC play this week against Ole Miss where they will need the offense to show up against to keep up with the Ole Miss offense.

9.) Boston College– 5-4 (2-3), -3, lost to NC State 24-10. Another year, another season of Boston College stuck in the middle of the Atlantic. A loss to NC State all but killed any hopes BC had of making the ACC Championship games. It doesn’t get easier for them this week as they take on cross-division rival Virginia Tech.

10.) Clemson– 3-6 (2-4), 0, lost to #2 Georgia Tech 31-29. Clemson did a hell of a job scaring Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech but both times walk-off field goals ended their dreams of playing the spoiler. If they played like this every week, they could compete for ACC Titles but instead they are the scariest team in the nation to play as a highly ranked team. They take on their first “bad” team all season in Wake Forest which means there is at least a 50% they lose.

11.) Florida State– 4-5 (2-4), -2, lost to Wake Forest 31-17. That’s one way to kill your momentum, losing to the worst team in your division and not even keeping it close. Florida State gained 93 yards on the day. That’s terrible. The loss knocks them out of the ACC Title picture and it will be another year of mediocrity for FSU. This week they take on Syracuse.

12.) North Carolina– 3-6 (2-5), 0, lost to #4 Virginia Tech 56-49. Oh so close yet so far. UNC’s season is defined by the oh so close upsets. First against UVA, then against Duke, and now Virginia Tech. This is an entirely different season if they can close out those games. I feel bad for UNC’s kickoff coverage team this week cause I know they didn’t have fun at practice this week. They have a chance to redeem themselves this week as they take on a 7-2 Arkansas State team.

13.) Wake Forest– 2-7 (1-4), +1, defeated Florida State 31-17. Hey Wake, way to get an ACC win! They did it in dominating fashion as they held FSU to under 100 yards. Let’s see if they can build on this momentum and take down Clemson this week. Also continuing the trend of the bottom team being there exactly 3 weeks. Louisville the first 3 weeks, FSU the next 3 weeks, and Wake these past 3 weeks.

14.) Pittsburgh– 2-7 (0-5), -1, lost to Louisville 28-14. We thought that Pitt had turned a corner in the right direction when they upset Temple…that was very wrong. It turns out Temple took a turn off the tracks and straight into the Grand Canyon. Your reward for being the last team without an ACC win? A date with Georgia Tech…have fun.