ACC Week 1 Review

So apparently I have no choice but to be the "ACC Guy" this football season. As you might have gleaned from my season preview, I have little (read: no) interest in how this conference fares on the gridiron. Regrettably, I attend an institution of higher learning in the SEC; hence most of the games I watch will fall in that dominion. But in the interest of educating myself and you, our dear readers, I will endeavor to provide a rundown of all that was in ACC football during the weekend just passed. So what did we learn?

(1) The conference (as a whole) sucks more than expected
Last year the conventional wisdom on ACC football was that it was the most competitive league, in which there were really no bad teams, with the paradoxical result that it couldn't get any respect. This year it looks like that won't be what the folks on ESPN say. The league went 4-6 in out-of-conference games this weekend. And two of those losses were against FCS powerhouses William & Mary and Richmond. State and Maryland lost to FBS schools South Carolina and Cal, respectively, but State's offense looked anemic and Maryland got absolutley PWN3D in Berkley by a margin of 39. Ouch.

(2) The Atlantic Division will be wide open
Florida State was the consensus pick to win the Atlantic, but after their thrilling defeat by the 'Canes it doesn't look like they'll run away with it. Of course, since State, Wake and Maryland also lost, it's unclear who will step up, but it's not a good sign for the 'Noles to open with a home loss, especially considering it could have been a W had the lunatic formerly known as the winningest coach in 1-A football saved A SINGLE TIMEOUT for the end of the game. Has he watched a football game in the last decade?

(3) Al Groh may not coach the remaining 11 games
Elite athletics have never been priority 1 at UVa. To their credit, they've managed to develop a strong overall Athletic Dept. while keeping the goal of being America's #1 public university foremost. Still, I don't think that Mr. Jefferson would approve of HIS university getting spanked by HIS alma mater (at home, no less!). I don't see any way that Groh makes it to next season, unless by some miracle he beats Virginia Tech. Which actually became more likely on Saturday night, because...

(4) Tyrod Taylor is not ready for the spotlight
The Virginia Tech Junior starting QB looked awful against Alabama in the Geo-Do on Saturday night. He was 9 for 20 for just 91 yards passing, but where he really suffered was on his feet. Though Taylor averaged 56 yards/game rushing in '08, the Crimson Tide confined him to negative 26. That is probably more the fault of the O-line than Taylor's, but combined with the fact that his passing game didn't develop over the off-season at all makes VPI's hopes of making the Orange Bowl much shakier.

(5) Miami will be much improved
The only conference game of the week was easily the best game. The U travelled up to Tallahassee for an early-90's throwback game, not in uniform style but rather in the sense that both teams played like they belonged among the nation's elite. The game was played on Monday night, which makes sense since all these players are payed as well as the pros. QB Jacory Harris led the 'Canes with 386 yards and 2 TDs but did suffer 2 INTs. The heroes of the game, however, had to be the defense. True, they allowed FSU to put up 34 points. But when the 'Noles had 1st-and-goal at the 2 with apx. 30 sec. to play, they put enough pressure on QB Christian Ponder to force 4 straight incompletes, sealing the win and a return (for now) to respectability.

Next Week: Clemson @ Ga. Tech. on Thursday highlights the schedule, but I'm most interested to see if Maryland will be the 3rd team to fall to a FCS powerhouse (JMU).