Presto's Picks...Bowl Bubble and postseason possibilities...

It’s not March Madness—but there is a battle for postseason bids involving half of the ACC. Six wins are needed for bowl eligibility, but not all six-win seasons are created equally. Florida State went bowling at 6-6 last year; one would think that a Wake Forest just on the basis of not traveling as well as other schools would need seven wins to continue play during the holidays.

Three schools are 6-4: Wake Forest, Georgia Tech and Florida State…each plays just one more ACC game before squaring off against an SEC foe to wrap up the season (Wake meets 5-5 Vanderbilt, Tech takes on 8-2 Georgia, FSU faces 7-3 Florida) so you would have to think Saturday's games are must-win (Yellowjackets with the easiest path as they have a home game against North Carolina). Miami, North Carolina State and Maryland are all 5-5; while the Hurricanes name might get them in with six victories they have the toughest schedule of those on the Bowl bubble (games at 8-2 Virginia Tech and 8-2 Boston College). The Terps task? Back to back road games in a place they’ve never won (Tallahassee) and against a school coming on as of late (NC St. has won four straight).


#10 VIRGINIA TECH vs Miami—for the latter half of the 1990’s this matchup decided the Big East championship, and in 2004 their game decided the ACC title. Unfortunately for the Hurricanes, whatever ground the program seemed to be making at the beginning of the season during a 4-1 start has evaporated with four losses in five games—a span in which the usually tough Miami D has coughed up 29 points a game. Coach Randy Shannon’s offense has had problems as well, failing to pass for 100 yards in three of their last four outings (and that’s with sack yardage not counting against the passing total).

Meanwhile, the Hokies are coming off solid efforts against Georgia Tech and Florida State—Tyrod Taylor and Sean Glennon are both playing well, the defense is making big plays (nine takeaways in their games with the Yellowjackets and Seminoles) and the special teams is on the verge of another big “Beamerball” weekend. HOKIES handle the Hurricanes 32-14.


MARYLAND at Florida State—what has happened to the Seminoles? Coach Bobby Bowden’s program has slowly receded since they won the 1999 National championship—finishing 8-5 and 7-6 the past two seasons…five and six loss seasons-in Tallahassee? What’s doubly distressing this fall is the fact that coach Bobby Bowden shook up his staff in the offseason and 2007 appears to be more of the same.

About the FSU shakeup—former North Carolina State coach Chuck Amato is listed as an “Executive Head Coach/Linebackers”. Thanks to the Redskins I’ve heard of “assistant head” and “associate head” coaches, but never an “executive”—what exactly does that mean? Does he get monogrammed shirts? What’s next, a “judicial” or “legislative” head coach?

What’s the best thing about the Terps this week? No new season-ending injuries to report; the two-deep had more changes than Menudo. Chris Turner comes off a 337 yard passing performance and looks like the Turner of Rutgers/Georgia Tech—four pass plays of 40+ yards in the win over BC …and the Seminoles pass defense ranks 10th in the ACC. Likewise, the Terps secondary will be have their hands full with FSU’s deep passing game. Brace yourself for big plays on both ends of the field. TERPS come up short to the Seminoles 24-20.


NAVY tops Northern Illinois, JMU tames Towson, RICHMOND gets by William & Mary, HOWARD’s defeated by Delaware State.


Last week: 7-2…Season: 54-24.