Here's to the winners
Sep 24, 2012
For about two hours Saturday night, John Swofford, the embattled commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference, was breaking pencils and sweating bullets while watching the goings on at Doak Campbell Stadium. Well, I don't know this for a fact because, a) I wasn't there, and b) the old commercial touting "never let them see you sweat" was modeled after Swofford himself, so how would anyone be able to tell if he was nervous. Logically speaking however, Swofford had to be down to the quick as Florida State seemed incapable of stopping Clemson's offense, couldn't avoid sloppy penalties and seemed otherwise intent on handing this game to the Tigers.
Somewhere, early in the 3rd quarter, an alarm rang, the Seminoles woke up and out of potential disappointment a rout appeared. Not that Clemson isn't very important to the ACC, but like a Duke or a North Carolina is to basketball, that is what Florida State is to the conference in football. FSU -- as well as Miami, may they rest in peace -- represents the cream of the conference crop on the gridiron. No matter how good, or balanced, the league may be, it only gets full credit when the Seminoles are pulling their weight. Therefore, whatever the celebratory bottle, it had to be sweet, because if Jimbo Fisher's guys can take care of business for the next month and a half they'll head down the stretch with a very realistic chance at playing for the BCS Championship. Okay, I'll stop, lest I forget what league the 'Noles represent. On to what caught my eye this weekend….
Team of the week
The Miami Hurricanes beat Georgia Tech in Atlanta, 42-36 in overtime. This game was the ultimate see-saw as the Canes jumped out to a 19-0 lead before watching the Yellow Jackets claim control with 36 straight points. At that point, we all thought order had been restored. Um, no. Miami rang up 325 yards of offense on their final four drives of regulation, and were it not for a short missed field goal they might not have needed overtime. At what point did Paul Johnson look at Al Groh and wonder if he knew what the heck he was doing? Tech is now 1-2 in conference play and almost certainly eliminated from winning the coastal division with losses already to Virginia Tech and Miami.
Player of the week
Florida State's quarterback was a machine in the Seminoles nationally televised, 49-37 win over Clemson. E.J. Manuel passed for 380 yards and 2 touchdowns and added another 102 on the ground on just 12 carries. Maybe the Tigers just aren't very good defensively, but Manuel looked like Cam Newton in directing the FSU offense that rolled up 667 yards from scrimmage.
Not the usual suspects of the week
Maybe it's my fault for not knowing, but I'm still not sure who Shadrach Thornton is. It sounds like a low-country fishing vessel. The interwebs tell me that he's a true freshman from Hinesville, Ga., which is roughly 30 miles southwest of Savannah (thank you google maps). My eyes tell me that he ran up one side and down the other over The Citadel and we might never hear the name Mustafa Greene again. 21 carries for 145 yards and two touchdowns to go along with four receptions for 26 yards says "factor back", in the words of the great Merrill Hoge.
It might not look like it, but he's making himself a lot of money…of the week
Giovani Bernard returned to North Carolina's line up after missing the last 10 quarters while not being injured. And, while the talented sophomore running back was largely ineffective running the ball (50 yards on 18 carries), he proved to be a star catching it out of the backfield hauling in six passes for 52 yards and a touchdown highlighted by a seam route up the hashmark that showed how multi-dimensional he could be. At his size, he's a long shot as a feature back, but the NFL needs 3rd down threats and Gio fits that description.
A year ago this would have ended differently…of the week
Duke fumbled the ball twice in the 1st quarter and Sean Renfree threw an interception in the shadow of his own goal line that was walked in for a touchdown -- and Duke still was an easy winner over Memphis. Yes, the Tigers are awful, but since when couldn't Duke teams of the past lose to anyone. Jela Duncan showed a burst in the run game, Renfree threw for 314 yards and four touchdowns and the Blue Devils' defense held Memphis to 152 total yards.
Tweet of the week
"The difference in this game is going to be at the quarterback position. Tahj Boyd >>>>>> E.J. Manuel" -- @agoldfan during the 2nd quarter of Florida State's 49-37 win over Clemson. What an ultra maroon!
ACC from 1-12…of the week
1. Florida State (4-0)
2. Clemson (3-1)
3. Virginia Tech (3-1)
4. Maybe Miami (3-1) has something after all.
5. Georgia Tech (2-2), still.
6. Duke (3-1)
7. Wake Forest (3-1)
8. North Carolina (2-2)
9. North Carolina State (3-1)
10. Maryland (1-3)
11. Virginia (2-2), please they should have lost to Penn State.
12. Boston College (1-2)
Can't wait for…of the week
3. Duke at Wake Forest, 12:30 p.m., WRAL-TV…The Blue Devils are good enough, especially defensively, to be a bowl team. but, the schedule-maker was a Tar Heels fan, thus there are limited opportunities for Duke to get to six wins. Wake Forest is good, but not so good that the Devils can't win this game.
2. N.C. State at Miami, Noon, ESPNU…Great gauge for both teams to see what we might expect the rest of the season.
1. Tie, Clemson at Boston College, 3:30 p.m., ESPN2 --- Florida State at South Florida, 6 p.m., ESPN…How do you bounce back from the emotional loss/win? Clemson is good enough to win them all before the South Carolina game, while the Seminoles are plenty good enough to win out, but can they handle success?
Most Recent Comments
RE: Here's to the winners
State does gte CJ Wilson back for the Mami game. Tha should help the secondary with substitution bodies.Agreed, M Greene will probably not get back on the field for State. He seems a bigger bust that TA. At least TA played more games??
Posted Sep 24, 6:50 a.m.
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Location: Raleigh, NC
