The ACC journey mercifully ends this weekend...after a rollercoaster regular season where the lead in both divisions changed weekly and schools creeping into the top 25 were quickly exposed. Nothing quite says ACC football other than ...Boston College against Virginia Tech?
The Atlantic Coast Conference has dealt with more than its share of dominant eras...from Clemson in the 80's to Florida State in the 90's to what I guess now is an "era of Northern occupation" where former Big East schools run roughshod over the league. The Hokies and Eagles each repeat as division champs; VT won the league its first year in the ACC (by beating ex-Big Easter Miami) and advanced to the title game in 2005.
Both teams reach the threshold of the Orange Bowl thanks to plenty of grit and a little luck--the Hokies fell in Chesnut Hill earlier this year 28-23 in a game where the Hokies tallied two interception returns for touchdowns yet little else offensively (5 for 17 on third down). The offense hasn't improved that much--although Tyrod Taylor is coming off his best performance of the year (274 total yards and a touchdown toss against Virginia). He'll be tested against a BC defense that shut VT down earlier this year (and has allowed under 15 points a game during a four game winning streak).
The Hokie defense needs to contain a one-two punch on the ground that features Montel Harris (116 yards rushing against Maryland) and Josh Haden...and outside of Brandon Robinson the Eagles primarily throw the ball short.
Special teams? BC returned a punt for a touchdown in their October matchup that was decided by five. Beamerball has been somewhat quiet for most of this year--is it time for the kicking game to reach that championship gear? Hokies make another Miami reservation, 25-15.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment