SB Nation - N.C. State Wolfpack

2009 Hawaii Bowl - Nevada vs. SMU

utesfan100 — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:39:52 -0000

More photos » by Norm Dettlaff - AP

about 1 month ago: Nevada's Luke Lippincott (7) threads his way through the New Mexico State defense Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009, at Aggie Memorial Stadium in Las Cruces, N.M., during the first quarter of the NCAA college football game. (AP Photo/Las Cruces Sun-News, Norm Dettlaff)

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December 24th 2009, 8:00 ET ESPN

This year's Hawaii Bowl will feature the 8-4 Nevada Wolfpack vs. the 7-5 SMU Mustangs. This will be the eight Hawaii Bowl and the third without the Hawaii Warriors. Nevada will be making their second Hawaii Bowl appearance, with a 49-48 OT win over UCF in 2005. This is the only time either of this year's participants have been in a Hawaii Bowl.

Nevada leads the all time series 3-2, and three of the last four. SMU won the last meeting 38-20 in Dallas in 2004. All previous games where from 2000-2004 when both teams were members of the WAC.

Nevada started off with a three game losing streak to then rally off eight straight games before losing to Fiesta Bowl bound Boise State. Most of those games were not even close.

SMU finished winning four of their last five in a long season with many close games.

What will we see when these two teams meet on the field?

General

	Nevada Wolfpack	SMU Mustangs
Current Top 25 Faced	#6 Boise St. (33-44)	#4 TCU (14-39)
Ranking	#44	#65
Record	8-4	7-5

At a first glance this game appears to be one of the most unbalanced games yet, in favor of Nevada. With a closer game against a top 6 opponent and a better record against nearly identical opponents Nevada looks to be a solid pick.

This also explains the 14 point line.

Nevada's Ball

	Nevada Offense	SMU Defense
Points	40.58	29.08
Yards	521.6	404.0
Per Play	7.48	5.60
Rushing	362.5	169.2
Per Play	7.59	4.41
Passing	159.3	234.8
Per Play	7.24	6.94
Turnovers	20	27

SMU has faced better offenses than the defenses Nevada has seen. These numbers should lean towards SMU's column. Nevada runs a pistol offense, which if you have not seen makes this game a must see.

Think power I formation with stunts and pulling at the line similar to the option and a direct snap to the half back with the QB replaced by a third receiver.

Nevada invented and is an expert at this novel scheme.

SMU's Ball

	Nevada Defense	SMU Offense
Points	27.17	27.92
Yards	398.9	379.9
Per Play	6.25	5.81
Rushing	114.7	112.8
Per Play	3.66	3.82
Passing	284.3	267.2
Per Play	8.75	7.44
Turnovers	18	26

Nevada's defense has seen many solid offenses and SMU has faced near average defenses. This tips the scale in Nevada's favor, indicating that the results may be lower than the numbers above which are very close.

Prediction

Nevada should slowly leverage their game and end very strong. If SMU is unable to take an early lead with a few quick strikes this game could get ugly for them quickly.

Nevada 34 SMU 24

Poll

Who will win the 2009 Hawaii Bowl?

ACC Football Decade Standings Kind to the Eagles

Brian @ BCI — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:52:53 -0000

This past decade was kind to the Eagles on the gridiron. While Florida State fans will be quick to point out that Virginia Tech, Miami and Boston College were fortunate enough to avoid being dominated by the Seminoles in the early part of this decade, the numbers below are certainly interesting. This comparison isn't 100 percent apples-to-apples given ACC expansion but BC still fares pretty well if you look across the entire body of work this decade.

The chart below shows how the ACC fared this decade in football. The seven bowl-bound teams (Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Miami, Clemson, North Carolina, Boston College and Florida State) have one more game to play as we wrap up the aughts.

ACC All-Decade Standings (sorted by Overall Winning Percentage)

Team	Conf.*	Pct.	Overall	Pct.	Bowls	BCS	ACC Title	NFL Draft	1st Rd.
Virginia Tech	38-10	.792	98-32	.754	10	3	3	47	4
Miami (Fla.)	25-23	.521	92-32	.742	9	4	0	63	26
Boston College	26-14	.650	88-39	.693	10	0	0	21	7
Florida State	55-25	.688	84-44	.656	10	4	4	55	13
Georgia Tech	50-30	.625	81-47	.633	10	1	1	22	1
Clemson	47-33	.588	78-47	.624	9	0	0	24	3
Maryland	41-39	.513	71-52	.577	6	1	1	26	3
NC State	34-46	.425	65-58	.528	6	0	0	27	5
Virginia	32-48	.513	65-59	.524	6	0	0	32	6
Wake Forest	32-48	.400	61-60	.504	4	1	1	17	2
North Carolina	32-48	.400	53-67	.442	4	0	0	26	4
Duke	7-73	.088	19-97	.164	0	0	0	2	0

Decade Notes

Expansion Bang For The Buck. Virginia Tech, Miami and Boston College run 1-2-3 in terms of best overall winning percentage on the decade. These three schools also account for 36 percent of all NFL Draft picks from ACC schools, as well as the same number of first-round Draft picks (37) as the rest of the pre-expansion teams combined. That number, of course, is largely propped up by Miami's 26 first-rounders.

Just How Bad Were The Carolina Schools? Pretty bad. NC State led the way with 34 conference wins, followed by Wake Forest and North Carolina at 32, and Duke managed just 7 wins in 10 years (and that included quite a few 0-8 seasons). In four less seasons, Virginia Tech managed to surpass every North Carolina schools' ACC win total. The four NC finished last in conference winning percentage, yet we continue to let these guys run the conference.

A Tale of Two Dynasties. Florida State dominated the pre-expansion ACC, winning 4 of the decade's first 6 ACC titles. Virginia Tech is the big winner post-expansion, claiming 3 of the decades final 6 titles. The Hokies and Seminoles run 1-2 in overall conference winning percentage.

A Perfect 10 for 10. Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Florida State and BC were the only ACC programs to appear in a bowl game every year this decade. Miami and Clemson appeared in 9 bowl games. Clemson fans will jump all over me if I don't mention that the Tigers were indeed bowl-eligible the one year they did not go to a bowl (2004), but they declined the invite as punishment for "The Brawl" incident in the season finale against South Carolina. On the other end of the spectrum, Duke, of course, went 0-for-bowling this decade.

The Century Mark. With a win in the Peach Bowl over Tennessee, Virginia Tech will finish one win shy of reaching the century mark for total number of wins this decade (99). Luckily for Duke, a season only had 11 games during the first half of the decade. Otherwise Duke would likely have eclipsed the century mark for total number of losses (97).

Team Notes

Boston College. If I were to tell you before 2000 that BC would produce more first-round NFL draft picks (7) than any ACC program other than Florida State (13) and Miami (26), you would have told me I was crazy, right? The Eagles .693 overall winning percentage and .650 ACC winning percentage are good for third among current ACC programs.

Clemson. The Tigers own the best ACC winning percentage (.588) of pre-expansion ACC teams that failed to win an ACC title this decade (a group that includes Virginia and all four Carolina schools). On a plus note, Clemson never turned in a losing season in ACC play over their last ten seasons.

Duke. Duke's sad trip through the aughts produced 6 winless ACC seasons. The Blue Devils waited nearly four full seasons before registering their first ACC win this decade (a 41-17 victory over Georgia Tech on November 8, 2003). This season alone, Duke earned 42 percent of their ACC victories this decade (3 of 7).

Florida State. Florida State's 55 NFL draft picks were good for second in the conference, only 8 behind Miami's 63 draft picks. However, Miami produced twice as many first-rounders as FSU this decade. The Seminoles .688 overall winning percentage is good for second in the conference, while their .656 ACC winning percentage leaves them fourth behind all three post-expansion programs. (I know, I know. Sample size, right?)

Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets have produced 22 NFL draft picks, good for 9th this decade. However, their lone first-round draft pick (Calvin Johnson, 2nd overall in 2007) is the lowest number of first round picks for an ACC program not named Duke.

Maryland. Maryland's 1-7 ACC campaign ties them with Virginia as both programs finished 2 games over .500 in ACC play this decade. Maryland, of course, gets the nod for better program over UVA with an ACC Championship and a better overall winning percentage tipping the scales in the Terps favor.

Miami. A large part of the U's success this decade came well before their jump to the ACC. The Hurricanes' 92-32 overall record is largely the result of back-to-back BCS National Championship Game appearances. All four of their BCS bowl appearances occurred while a member of the Big East. I'm unsure but have to imagine that Miami's 63 NFL Draft picks and 26 first-rounders are a decade-best (next best USC with 61 and 15?).

NC State. NC State finishes the decade on a fairly sour note. Their 2-6 ACC mark in 2009 matches a decade-worst record in conference (2006). The Wolfpack finished with more losing seasons in the ACC (5) than winning seasons (1) with several 4-4 seasons sprinkled in. Tom O'Brien's record the last three seasons (16-21) is nearly identical to Chuck Amato's final three seasons in Raleigh (15-20) before Amato was shown the door.

North Carolina. A late-decade Butch Davis rebirth couldn't stave off a below-.500 decade in the ACC for the Tar Heels. The Heels finish the decade at .400 in the ACC, tied with fellow Tobacco Road program Wake Forest. Heels fans really suffered through a good part of this decade. UNC had two winning seasons to start the decade, followed by seven straight losing/.500 seasons (they can thank the Eagles for the lone .500 season), and only a couple of 8 wins seasons under Butch Davis to finish the decade off on a high note. A win in the Car Care Bowl will give the Heels the most wins in a season since Mack Brown's final season in Chapel Hill (1997).

Virginia. UVA has produced a lot of NFL talent this decade and only has one ACC co-championship to show for it. The Cavaliers produced the fourth highest total of NFL Draft picks (32) and first-rounders (6) in the ACC this decade. Only Frank Beamer and Bobby Bowden coached in more games this decade than Al Groh (112, which leaves him tied for third with Ralph Friedgen).

Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech has dominated the ACC since joining the league, posting a 38-10 (.792) record in six seasons. Out of Virginia Tech's 10 conference losses, no team has beaten the Hokies more than the Eagles (3 times - 2006, 2007, 2008) but sadly, never when it really counted.

Wake Forest. Jim Grobe should be commended for turning around one of the ACC's doormat programs into ACC Champs in 2006. Grobe inherited a team that had gone 38-74 the decade before, largely under the leadership of Jim Caldwell (funny what a head coach can accomplish with Peyton Manning as your quarterback). Grobe's 9 seasons in Winston-Salem produced a 59-51 record that gave Wake Forest a winning record this decade (61-60).

* ACC Championship Game results were not included in the final conference W-L record. Conference records for Virginia Tech and Miami are from 2004-present. BC's conference record is from 2005-present.

Ed note: most numbers were calculated by hand so there may be a few numbers slightly off. Keep me honest in the comments section or email us at bcinterruption at gmail dot com.

The NFL Draft says, "ACC > Big 10!"

BirdGT — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 17:00:17 -0000

A lot of the Big 10 talking heads have flooded our humble abode since the Orange Bowl announcement. They have denounced, degraded, and mocked the ACC's defensive state of affairs. One thing they fail to bring is facts. I like facts. I like facts that are numbers. Here are two numbers for Big 10 fans: 19 and 3. The ACC has had 19 defensive players taken in the first round of the NFL Draft since full expansion in the 2005 season. The Big 10 has had 11. The ACC has had 3 Pro Bowlers emerge from those 19 1st rounders (Beason, Mario, and Cromartie). The Big 10 has had 0. Those are some interesting facts for Big 10 fans to mull over. Here are 5 more interesting facts about ACC/Big 10 defensive players taken in the 2006-2009 NFL Drafts:

5. Georgia Tech has had 6 defensive draft picks since 2006. That's more than Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, and Wisconsin.

4. Duke hasn't had a player taken in the NFL Draft since 2005.

3. The Big 10's highest Draft Pick since 2006 was A.J. Hawk, the fifth overall pick. He was four picks after Mario Williams.

2. All four Drafts saw more ACC defensive players taken than Big 10 players.

1. The ACC has had 81 defensive players drafted since the 2006 NFL Draft, which is 6.75 players drafted per team. The Big 10 has only had 62, which is 5.63.

Really when you factor Ohio State and Penn State out of the Big 10, there's not much talent going to the NFL. It's the definition of a blue collar conference. Good defensive coaching is what keeps them afloat in major out of conference match ups. I kinda believe they play the isolationism game and simply avoid major OOC games until bowl season. The ACC and Big 10 have met only 9 times since full expansion. The ACC holds a 6-3 edge over the Big 10 in that time span.

What do you think about the Big 10 talent level? Do you think the Big 10 hides behind their conference schedule? Let me know your thoughts.

BC Set To Open 2010 Season Against ...

Brian @ BCI — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:54:50 -0000

More photos » by Andy Carpenean - AP

3 months ago: Wyoming free safety Chris Pprosinski (24) makes an open field tackle on Weber State wide receiver Joe Collins during the second half of an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009 in Laramie, Wyo. (AP Photo/Laramie Boomerang, Andy Carpenean)

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... Weber State?

Like I said, I don't fault the Athletics Department for going the I-AA route, but could we have found a I-AA school a little closer than Utah? (Yes, Weber State is located in Utah. And yes, I had to look this up. I'm just not up on my Big Sky geography like I used to be.) Weber State reportedly reached out to the Athletics Department and was happy scheduling the one-off game.

The Weber State Wildcats are an FCS team from the Big Sky Conference. This past season, the Wildcats went 7-5 and lost to William & Mary 38-0 in the FCS playoffs. Weber State played Division I-A opponents Wyoming and Colorado State this year, losing both in close games.

The 2010 non-conference schedule appears to be finalized now. BC gets Weber State (Sept. 4), Kent State (Sept. 11) and Notre Dame (Oct. 2) at home, and travels to Syracuse on Thanksgiving weekend (likely Nov. 27). The Eagles' ACC schedule includes Virginia Tech, Clemson, Maryland and Virginia at home, and Wake Forest, Florida State, NC State and Duke on the road.

It appears that Jeff's dream of a Boston College-UConn football game will have to wait at least another decade or so.

Week Fourteen BlogPoll Ballot Draft

T Kyle King — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 03:52:12 -0000

The time has come to cast my final regular-season BlogPoll ballot---or, at least, I think it has; I’m assuming we’re not submitting new top 25s after next weekend’s Army-Navy game---and here is what I came up with after starting with a blank piece of paper:

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Alabama
2	Cincinnati	2
3	Texas
4	Boise State	1
5	TCU	1
6	Florida	4
7	Oregon
8	Ohio State
9	Georgia Tech	1
10	Iowa	1
11	West Virginia	9
12	LSU	1
13	Arizona
14	Oregon State	2
15	Southern Cal
16	Virginia Tech	5
17	Stanford
18	Miami (Florida)	4
19	Pittsburgh	7
20	California	1
21	Oklahoma State	2
22	Brigham Young	1
23	Nebraska	1
24	Penn State	7
25	Wisconsin	1
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: Houston (#18), Central Michigan (#25).

The Alabama Crimson Tide (13-0) are No. 1. Duh! Of the dozen Division I-A opponents beaten by Nick Saban’s squad, nine finished with winning records, including the sixth-ranked Florida Gators, the twelfth-ranked LSU Tigers, and the 16th-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies. The Tide’s only close calls came in rivalry games against teams who will be playing on New Year’s Eve or later.

In spite of their close call against the Pittsburgh Panthers in a game played in the snow featuring two botched extra point attempts, the Cincinnati Bearcats (12-0) captured the No. 2 spot on my ballot by virtue of seven regular-season wins over teams that finished above .500, among them the 11th-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers, the 14th-ranked Oregon St. Beavers, and 19th-ranked Pitt. Also, Cincy gets credit for having a logo reminiscent of Chick-fil-A's.

While I understand and respect C&F’s argument, I awarded the No. 3 ranking to the Texas Longhorns (13-0) because Mack Brown’s outfit went undefeated against a slate that included no Division I-AA schedule fodder and only four teams that posted losing ledgers. Wins over the No. 21 Oklahoma St. Cowboys and the No. 23 Nebraska Cornhuskers provided heft to the Big 12 standard-bearer’s resume.

I ranked the Boise St. Broncos (13-0) ahead of the TCU Horned Frogs (12-0) for a variety of reasons. Both took advantage of a Division I-AA victim and each faced five Division I-A teams with winning records, but Boise State has an additional win and Texas Christian has two close shaves (at Air Force and at Clemson) as opposed to the Broncos’ one (at Tulsa). Boise State’s second- and third-best wins (over Nevada and Fresno State) are comparable to the Frogs’ (over Utah and Clemson), but the Broncos’ marquee victory over the seven-ranked Oregon Ducks far outshines TCU’s best pelt, that of the 22nd-ranked BYU Cougars.

The Sunshine State Saurians (12-1) slipped to sixth after their less than competitive neutral site outing against ‘Bama, as befits the nation’s lone once-beaten team, and Oregon (10-2) led the parade of two-loss teams because the Ducks fell to two quality teams on the road and made up for those setbacks with wins over three teams ranked in my top 20 (Arizona, Oregon State, and Cal).

The Ohio St. Buckeyes (10-2) earned a No. 8 ranking on the strength of wins over the tenth-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes, the 24th-ranked Penn St. Nittany Lions, and the 25th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (11-2) rode their ~~fourth-place finish in the SEC East~~ ACC championship to the No. 9 ranking, although the Ramblin’ Wreck’s loss to the Georgia Bulldogs at home serves as a drag on a resume that includes five close calls in the Golden Tornado’s ten Division I-A wins. Only two of the Engineers’ victims finished with fewer than five losses, but one of those triumphs came over No. 16 VPI.

Iowa (10-2) carded quality victories over a trio of top 25 teams (Arizona, Penn State, and Wisconsin, all by double-digit margins) to overcome respectable losses to Ohio State and Northwestern, both of whom will be playing on New Year’s Day. (For whatever it might be worth, I would point out that the five BCS bowls pit No. 9 v. No. 10, No. 7 v. No. 8, No. 4 v. No. 5, No. 2 v. No. 6, and No. 1 v. No. 3 on my ballot. This ought to be a pretty good bowl season.)

West Virginia narrowly edged out Louisiana State in my estimation. Both teams boasted similar resumes: both finished 9-3; both won three games by a touchdown or less; both lost one game by a touchdown or less. However, as ashamed as I am to admit it, the Mountain Men’s win over Pitt counts for more this season than the Bayou Bengals’ win over Georgia. I know, it hurts me to admit that, too; visions of Tony Dorsett and Dan Marino will haunt my dreams tonight.

A glut of 8-4 clubs out of the Pac-10 proved difficult to untangle, but I declared the Arizona Wildcats first among equals by awarding Mike Stoops’s troops the No. 13 ranking. Three of Arizona’s four losses came on the road, two of them were nailbiters, and only one of them was the handiwork of a team with fewer than eight wins. The Wildcats carded victories over No. 14 Oregon State, the 15th-ranked USC Trojans, and the 17th-ranked Stanford Cardinal, with Central Michigan thrown in for good measure.

The Beavers landed right behind Arizona, partly because of wins over Cal and Stanford but mostly because of a quartet of quality losses. Oregon State’s four setbacks all came against opponents sporting eight or more wins, and, of the four, only the one against the No. 2 team in the country wasn’t a close call.

I will grant that it appears somewhat strange that I placed Stanford at No. 17, two spots behind Southern California (a club the Cardinal beat handily in Los Angeles) and three spots ahead of the California Golden Bears (a squad that defeated Jim Harbaugh’s outfit at the Farm), but Stanford had no legitimate third-best victory after the Cardinal’s wins over Oregon and USC to overcome the trio of triumphs notched by the Men of Troy over Ohio State, Oregon State, and Cal. Likewise, the Bears of Berkeley had trouble overcoming the fact that all four of their losses came by margins of 17 points or more. Oddly enough, Southern California, Stanford, and California each lost to a 5-7 team on the road, but the Trojans’ loss to the Washington Huskies and the Cardinal’s loss to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at least had the virtue of being close.

Sandwiched amid those West Coast outfits were No. 16 Virginia Tech (9-3), which beat top 25 teams Miami and Nebraska while sustaining three respectable defeats (including two to top ten squads); the 18th-ranked Miami Hurricanes (9-3), who are able to boast of a marquee win over Georgia Tech; and 19th-ranked Pittsburgh (9-3), which sneaked ahead of California by virtue of a more forgivable set of losses. The Panthers’ three setbacks all came by close margins, with two of those coming in down-to-the-wire clashes with top eleven opponents Cincinnati and West Virginia. Pitt’s loss to N.C. State was comparable to Cal’s loss to Washington---both came on the road against 5-7 squads---but the Wolfpack won by seven and the Huskies won by 32.

The inclusion of Oklahoma State (9-3) attested to the fact that next year’s BlogPoll should rank only 20 teams instead of 25---which the Associated Press poll did prior to 1989, by the way---but somebody had to be No. 21, so the Pokes were as qualified as anyone. Why was Les Miles’s old team ranked nine spots behind Les Miles’s current team when both have identical records and both count a win over the ‘Dawgs among their most impressive conquests? Simple: LSU lost to three teams with a combined 33-5 record by a combined 62-41 margin, while OSU lost to three teams with a combined 30-8 record by a combined 113-49 margin.

BYU (10-2) had absolutely no business being ranked after getting positively smoked by TCU and the hapless Florida St. Seminoles, but Brigham Young beat the Oklahoma Sooners and the Utah Utes, which counts for something. Nebraska (9-4) did little to impress me in the win column---the ‘Huskers beat only two teams with winning records---but, since all of the Big Red Machine’s losses were to teams that finished .500 or better and three of those were by razor-thin margins, I gave Bo Pelini’s team the benefit of the doubt.

The fact that Penn State (10-2) and Wisconsin (9-3) made the grade proves that I was scraping the bottom of the barrel; both the Nittany Lions and the Badgers lost convincingly to the Big Ten’s two top ten teams and neither beat more than two Division I-A teams that finished above .500, but the dearth of quality squads at the bottom of my ballot allowed a PSU team whose best win was against Temple and a Wiscy unit whose best win was against Fresno State to sneak undeservedly into the top 25.

Consideration was also given to the Boston College Eagles and the Mississippi Rebels. I’d like to tell you that I took a look at the Central Michigan Chippewas, East Carolina Pirates, Houston Cougars, Missouri Tigers, Navy Midshipmen, North Carolina Tar Heels, Northwestern Wildcats, Rutgers Scarlet Knights, and Texas Tech Red Raiders, but, if I said so, I’d be lying.

I watched the Oregon-Oregon State game on Thursday, the Central Michigan-Ohio (Ohio) game on Friday, and a Saturday slate consisting primarily of the Cincinnati-Pittsburgh, Alabama-Florida, and Clemson-Georgia Tech games, with bits of the Nebraska-Texas and Hawaii-Wisconsin tilts sprinkled in for variety.

As always, I actively solicit your input with respect to what is, after all, a draft ballot. Feel free to register your disagreement or lobby for or against particular teams in the comments below.

Go ‘Dawgs!

Football: The Year That Was

Akula Wolf — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 22:08:50 -0000

South Carolina 7, NC State 3

NC State 65, Murray State 7

NC State 45, Gardner-Webb 14

NC State 38, Pittsburgh 31

Wake Forest 30, NC State 24

Duke 49, NC State 28

Boston College 52, NC State 20

Florida State 45, NC State 42

NC State 38, Maryland 31

Clemson 43, NC State 23

Virginia Tech 38, NC State 10

NC State 28, North Carolina 27

The Coaching Carousel's Effect on BC 2010

Brian @ BCI — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:25:27 -0000

More photos » by Richard Shiro - AP

Virginia's Al Groh is one of three coaches who won't be roaming the sidelines against the Eagles next season. (AP Photo/Richard Shiro)

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Brian: We aren’t three full days past the end of the regular season in college football and the axe has already been dropped on three of Boston College’s 2010 opponents’ head coaches.

Meanwhile, down in College Park, Ralph Friedgen’s future remains uncertain. Looking at the 2010 schedule, here is the Eagles’ list of opponents, their head coaches, and their current tenure at their school:

Opponent	Head Coach	Years	W	L	T	Pct.
Notre Dame	TBD	0	0	0	0	.000
VIRGINIA	TBD	0	0	0	0	.000
@ FLORIDA STATE	Jimbo Fisher	0	0	0	0	.000
@ Syracuse	Doug Marrone	1	4	7	0	.364
CLEMSON	Dabo Swinney	2	12	7	0	.632
@ DUKE	David Cutcliffe	2	9	15	0	.375
@ NC STATE	Tom O'Brien	3	16	21	0	.432
Hofstra	Dave Cohen	4	18	27	0	.400
Kent State	Doug Martin	6	24	46	0	.343
MARYLAND	Ralph Friedgen	9	66	46	0	.589
@ WAKE FOREST	Jim Grobe	9	59	51	0	.536
VIRGINIA TECH	Frank Beamer	17	185	92	2	.663

With over half of BC’s opponents having coaching staffs with less than 3 years of experience at the program, this has to be a positive for the Eagles going into next season, no?

Jeff: I would have to agree with you that this is a positive for BC, at least as it pertains to our in conference games. Let's say Maryland decides to make a coaching change as well. Then the Eagles will play 3 conference games against new coaches plus Notre Dame. I will expect victories in all three of those games with the Virginia and Maryland home games certainly being the most winnable conference games of next season. The Notre Dame game I am a little less confident about though because won't their new coach come in and win 9 or 10 games and take them to a BCS game which will then get him a contract extension?

Brian: Perhaps. But Notre Dame likely will have to get to 9 or 10 wins without the services of Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate, who both might jump to the NFL draft. In addition, the Notre Dame defense has been terrible this year. I'm not sure how they turn around their defensive unit. Finally, the schedule is much less forgiving next year than it was this year.

Regardless, looking at these programs and the tenure of the head coaches at those schools, you have to be pleased with how the schedule is shaping up. Consider that the coaches at Hofstra and Kent State will be two of the more tenured coaching staffs on the Eagles 2010 schedule.

Jeff: This is the first time we've really talked about next year's schedule and the ACC slate looks awesome. Since we learned this year the importance of BC's home field advantage, having Clemson and Virginia Tech come to the Heights next year looks to be a huge advantage. In addition, Florida State is the only road game we'll have against a team that is bowl eligible this season. Despite Duke improving this year, they are still Duke and Thaddeus Lewis played his last game Saturday. Without Riley Skinner, traveling to Wake Forest does not appear to be a very high hurdle either.

Brian: The trip to Winston-Salem always seems to give the Eagles fits. Tom O'Brien should also have the Wolfpack improved from this year. And sleeping on Duke is a dangerous proposition (just ask Virginia, Maryland and NC State). That being said, three trips to the Research Triangle, a road trip down I-90 to play Syracuse and a trip to Tallahassee to play first year coach Jimbo Fisher seems like a much more manageable away schedule than this year's gauntlet that included trips to Death Valley, Lane Stadium and Notre Dame Stadium.

Unlike this year where the Eagles played nine bowl teams, BC will only face four bowl teams in 2010. Two (possible three?) of those teams will have new head coaches. Not exactly a murderer's row for next season. The turnover in the coaching staffs at Notre Dame, Virginia, Florida State and potentially Maryland all help make the schedule that much more manageable in 2010.

Week Thirteen BlogPoll Ballot Draft

T Kyle King — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:00:16 -0000

When compiling this week’s BlogPoll ballot, I paid no attention to last week’s top 25 (ergo, you should ignore the arrows) and I did not consult any other person’s or organization’s rankings, so the fault for what follows is mine and mine alone. I began by cobbling together a list of all BCS conference teams with records of 9-3 or better and all mid-major teams with records of 10-2 or better. This list came to twenty teams, so I went back and added in the six BCS conference clubs with 8-3 records. In so doing, I overlooked nine BCS conference teams and independents with 8-4 records, as well as five mid-majors with 9-3 records. I remain open to arguments in favor of any of these teams, but the first draft of my ballot reads as follows:

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Alabama
2	Florida
3	Texas
4	Cincinnati
5	Boise State	1
6	TCU	1
7	Oregon	2
8	Ohio State	2
9	Iowa	2
10	Georgia Tech	3
11	Virginia Tech	1
12	Pittsburgh	4
13	LSU	7
14	Miami (Florida)	1
15	Southern Cal	6
16	Oregon State
17	Penn State	4
18	Houston	4
19	Oklahoma State	4
20	West Virginia
21	California	2
22	Nebraska
23	Brigham Young
24	Wisconsin
25	Central Michigan
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: Clemson (#14), Mississippi (#17), North Carolina (#18), Stanford (#24), Temple (#25).

The Alabama Crimson Tide (12-0) have beaten eight Division I-A teams with winning records, including the 11th-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies (9-3), the 13th-ranked LSU Tigers (9-3), and the Mississippi Rebels (8-4), yet the Tide’s only close calls have come in heated rivalry showdowns with the Tennessee Volunteers and the Auburn Tigers, both of which are 7-5.

The Florida Gators (12-0) have beaten seven Division I-A teams with winning records, but the Sunshine State Saurians’ best victory was over Louisiana State, which is the second-best victim ‘Bama has bested. The Texas Longhorns (12-0) have taken down only five opponents who are above .500 and their best win was over the 19th-ranked Oklahoma St. Cowboys (9-3). As we shall see, the Pokes’ credentials are somewhat suspect, so the ‘Horns are a decidedly shaky No. 3 in my view.

I awarded the No. 4 spot on my ballot to the Cincinnati Bearcats (11-0) due to the fact that Brian Kelly’s club has bested the 16th-ranked Oregon St. Beavers (8-3), the 20th-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers (8-3), and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (8-3). All told, six of Cincy’s Division I-A triumphs have come against teams with winning ledgers.

The Boise St. Broncos narrowly edged out the TCU Horned Frogs for the No. 5 ranking, but it was a close call because the two teams’ resumes are so similar. The two mid-major mammoths arrived at 12-0 by virtually identical routes, as both clubs have beaten one Division I-AA opponent at home (UC-Davis for Boise State and Texas State for Texas Christian), one 6-6 squad on the road (Hawaii for the Broncos and Wyoming for the Frogs), five teams with winning records, and five teams with losing records. Each has beaten a 1-11 team at home (BSU defeated Miami (Ohio) and TCU defeated New Mexico) and each has taken advantage of four opponents with four or fewer wins.

The Horned Frogs’ second- and third-best wins (over the Utah Utes and the Clemson Tigers) were superior to the Broncos’ second- and third-best wins (over the Nevada Wolf Pack and the Fresno St. Bulldogs), but Boise State’s triumph over the seventh-ranked Oregon Ducks (9-2) carries considerably more weight than Texas Christian’s victory over the 23rd-ranked BYU Cougars (10-2), so the Broncos sneaked by the Frogs . . . barely.

(I would add at this point that Texas and Texas Christian have beaten the same number of Division I-A teams with records above .500 and that the Longhorns’ triumvirate of wins over Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, and Missouri clubs with a combined 25-11 record is comparable in quality to the Horned Frogs’ trio of triumphs over BYU, Utah, and Clemson outfits with a cumulative 27-9 ledger. Texas and TCU share only one opponent in common; the ‘Horns traveled to Laramie and beat the Wyoming Cowboys 41-10, whereas the Frogs traveled to Laramie and beat the Wyoming Cowboys 45-10. Texas allowed 13 points in a narrow win over the Oklahoma Sooners at a neutral site game played in Dallas, while Texas Christian went on the road and throttled a Brigham Young team that allowed 13 points in a narrow win over the Oklahoma Sooners at a neutral site game played in Arlington. There is a compelling case to be made for the proposition that the Longhorns are not the top team in the Lone Star State, or, at least, are not noticeably distinguishable from the other contender for that title.)

Oregon laid claim to the No. 7 ranking ahead of the Ohio St. Buckeyes (10-2) in spite of the fact that the Big Ten champions have the better collection of victories over winning teams: Ohio State beat Iowa, Penn State, Wisconsin, and Navy, while the Ducks defeated Southern California, California, Utah, and Arizona. The Buckeyes were dragged down by the fact that they lost to two teams, including the Purdue Boilermakers (5-7), that both were beaten by Oregon.

The Iowa Hawkeyes (10-2) landed one notch behind an Ohio State team to which they lost a close contest on the road. Iowa ended up ahead of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (10-2) not on the basis of wins, but of losses. In the victory column, the Hawkeyes and the Engineers are comparable. Both have ten wins; both claimed four of those victories by a touchdown or less; both beat one Division I-AA team and three Division I-A teams with winning records. On the whole, the Ramblin’ Wreck’s top three triumphs (over Virginia Tech, Clemson, and North Carolina) arguably are better than Iowa’s (over Penn State, Wisconsin, and Arizona), but the Hawkeyes lost a couple of close ones to an 8-4 team at home and a 10-2 team on the road. The Golden Tornado lost a close one to a 7-5 team at home and a thumping to a 9-3 team on the road.

Wins over No. 14 Miami (Florida) and No. 22 Nebraska enabled the Gobblers to overcome three very respectable losses and claim the No. 11 ranking for VPI, while the Pittsburgh Panthers (9-2) staked an admittedly shaky claim to the No. 12 spot with victories over Rutgers, Navy, and South Florida. Both of Pitt’s losses came in close contests on the road, but the Panthers’ early-season setback to the N.C. State Wolfpack (5-7) gives me pause and I very well might be persuaded to drop Dave Wannstedt’s club.

The Bayou Bengals’ three best wins were over a trio of 7-5 teams (Georgia, Arkansas, and Auburn), but their losses to Alabama, Florida, and Ole Miss are forgivable, so Louisiana State sneaked ahead of the Miami Hurricanes (9-3). A convincing win over Georgia Tech, a recent triumph over the South Florida Bulls (7-4), a previous victory over Oklahoma that acquired new luster in the Bedlam Battle, and a trio of losses to teams with at least eight wins apiece vaulted the ‘Canes ahead of the USC Trojans (8-3), who are hanging onto narrow victories against Ohio State and Oregon State while otherwise relying upon name recognition to make us forget about a stumble against the Washington Huskies (4-7) and blowout losses to Oregon and Stanford.

The Beavers ended up behind the Men of Troy thanks to the head-to-head result of the two teams’ Pac-10 meeting in Los Angeles, but wins over Cal and Stanford continue to keep Oregon State in contention. Despite boasting a 10-2 record, the Penn St. Nittany Lions deserved no better than a No. 17 ranking because Joe Paterno’s club has beaten the Northwestern Wildcats, the Temple Owls, and no other Division I-A teams above .500 while being beaten soundly by both Ohio State and Iowa.

I know lots of folks don’t think the Houston Cougars deserve to be ranked, but the Cougs are a refugee from a traditional Southern power conference and a division champion who got to 10-2 by beating a Division I-AA opponent, skating by four Division I-A foes by seven or fewer points, beating the Mississippi St. Bulldogs (5-7) in Starkville, and taking advantage of five teams with losing records. Houston sounds to me a lot like Georgia Tech, but, whereas an ACC division champion would finish fourth in the SEC East, a Conference USA division champion would finish in the top half of the Big 12 South, at least judging by the Cougars’ wins over Oklahoma State and Texas Tech. Those key non-league wins allowed Houston to overcome the problem of having lost on the road to the UTEP Miners (4-8).

For obvious reasons, the Cowboys remained one spot behind the Cougars, but a better set of losses (to Texas, Houston, and Oklahoma) allowed the Pokes to stay ahead of a West Virginia unit that fell to Cincinnati, South Florida, and Auburn before boosting its resume by beating Pittsburgh in the Backyard Brawl.

The California Golden Bears (8-3) suffered their three setbacks to teams with eight or more victories each, but none of those losses came in close contests and Cal’s wins over the Stanford Cardinal (8-4) and the Arizona Wildcats (7-4) are the only bright spots in a resume weighed down by the presence of triumphs over Division I-AA Eastern Washington, the Washington St. Cougars (1-11), the Maryland Terrapins (2-10), and the Arizona St. Sun Devils (4-8), the latter of whom the Berkeley Bears barely beat.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers (9-3) won the Big 12 North after tackling a non-conference slate straight out of the Sun Belt. The Big Red Machine beat Arkansas State, Florida Atlantic, and Louisiana-Lafayette but defeated only one team all year with a ledger better than 7-5. The ‘Huskers came up short against the Iowa St. Cyclones (6-6) in an offensively moribund contest, so Nebraska clings to a No. 22 ranking while patiently awaiting its loss to Texas.

Brigham Young does not deserve to be ranked, but I had trouble finding another team to rank 23rd, so the spot went to a Cougar club that lost lopsided affairs to Texas Christian and the Florida St. Seminoles (6-6). Narrow wins over Utah and Oklahoma are about all BYU has to its credit, but those victories are better than the Wisconsin Badgers’ triumphs over Fresno State and Northern Illinois. Those are the only two teams over .500 to have fallen to Wiscy in the course of the Badgers’ 8-3 autumn.

The Central Michigan Chippewas (10-2) slipped into the No. 25 spot ahead of Rutgers because the State University of New Jersey beat a pair of Division I-AA teams and the Chips at least sneaked by the Michigan St. Spartans (6-6) on the road. Also, unlike the Scarlet Knights, they didn’t lose to the gender-neutral Syracuse Orange (4-8).

You should by all means feel free to offer constructive criticisms, heartfelt feedback, and thoughtful arguments for the inclusion or exclusion of particular teams. For what it’s worth, I watched the Ball State-Western Michigan game on Tuesday and the first half of the Texas-Texas A&M game on Thursday before devoting my Friday to flipping back and forth among and between the Cincinnati-Illinois, Alabama-Auburn, Colorado-Nebraska, Pitt-West Virginia, and Boise State-Nevada games. My Saturday was spent bouncing around between the Clemson-South Carolina, Mississippi-Mississippi State, Florida-Florida State, and Miami-South Florida games before I settled in for the Georgia-Georgia Tech game.

Go ‘Dawgs!

NC State 28, North Carolina 27

Akula Wolf — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 02:33:30 -0000

More photos » by Gerry Broome - AP

24 days ago: North Carolina State coach Tom O'Brien, center, celebrates with the team following an NCAA college football game against North Carolina in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009. North Carolina State won 28-27. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

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Box Score / Photos

Coming into today's game, the Tar Heel offense was averaging 4.5 yards per snap and had eclipsed 400 total yards once. They piled up 481 total yards against the Pack on nearly nine yards per play, easily season highs in both respects. If you'd showed me those numbers prior to the game, I would have stayed home and slept in. That incredible offensive effort with that defense? By how much would they win? Thirty? Forty?

I was there and I'm still not entirely sure how the Pack did it, but they did.

A tale of two halves for the NC State defense:

UNC Offense, 1st Half: 26 plays, 318 yards (12.2 yds/play)
UNC Offense, 2nd Half: 31 plays, 147 yards (4.7 yds/play)

Once the Pack tightened the screws and cut out the big mistakes, Carolina's offense looked like the ineffective unit I expected to see coming in. And for the first time in a while, State was able to get off the field on third downs, limiting the Heels to 2 conversions in 10 tries.

NC State's offense turned it around in the second half as well:

NCSU Offense, 1st Half: 37 plays, 167 yards (4.5 yds/play)
NCSU Offense, 2nd Half: 31 plays, 239 yards (7.7 yds/play)

Just an incredible effort by the team in the second half, impressive under any circumstances but especially these.

Thanks, Pack. It meant a lot to go out this way. To everybody. (See TOB starting at about the 13-minute mark.)

Some photos from the game and the ensuing celebration:

Williams reception. (big)

Touchdown. (big)

Kuhn's 3-0 against Carolina. (big)

Enjoying the win. (big)

N.C. State 28, UNC 27

T.H. — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 22:58:13 -0000

More photos » by Gerry Broome - AP

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What did I say yesterday?

Their only hope is for the Heels to come in unfocused and unprepared.

Fat chance of that happening. Carolina players have spent the week answering questions about 41-10, the most lopsided game of last season. A game where the defense was blown off the field, at home, and they damn well remember it. This is State's bowl game, but it's UNC's redemption game, and the Heels aren't leaving Carter-Finley with a loss.

Well that was wrong. Unfocused barely begins to describe this team. Johnny White caps off a 73 yard drive by fumbling on the one yard line. The defense allows a Wolfpack drive to advance to the end zone almost entirely on two pass interference calls and an unnecessary roughness whistle. Ad that's not much of an exaggeration – once the Heels had State at 2nd and 26 from the Wolfpack 40, the offense moved the ball fifteen yards while the refs took it 45. Scratch those two disasters and it's a fourteen point swing in the first half, and UNC wins going away.

Instead, the Carolina defense gave up 335 yards, their fourth-worst performance of the season. The offense had its biggest game since they played Duke in 2004, when Darian Durant was under center, but only managed 27 points. They were constantly doing stupid things, from the early fumble to a late 12-yard run from Jheranie Boyd. Those twelve yards were backwards, by the way, taking the Heels from the State 19 to the edge of field goal range; Casey Barth missed the ensuing game-winning kick.

UNC has now lost to a Wolfpack team with the same or worse ACC performance three years running. There's no excuse for this game; the Virginia loss makes more sense. What a way to end a season; let's hope they'll at least remember the feeling for the bowl game.