Big Week for ACC

I'm not going to go into some of the superlatives I've heard this week ("This is the biggest week for the ACC in ten years," etc), but this is the best opportunity the ACC has had to make a mark among the BCS conferences in awhile. Not only does the ACC have match-ups with 5 schools from BCS conferences, 4 of the 5 opponents are ranked in the Top 25 and they are all home games for the ACC.

Kansas @ Georgia Tech: Tech laid an egg at KU last year, losing to the Jayhawks a week after they were beaten by North Dakota State. While it has played weak teams to start the season, Tech's offense looks promising after going the Knute Rockne route and attempting the forward pass this season. Their defense looks shaky and I expect both teams to move the ball. I'm picking Tech by 7.

#18 West Virginia @ Maryland: West Virginia might be the least impressive team in the Top 25. They didn't look great against Marshall, they were trailing to Norfolk State at the half (before scoring 45 2nd half points) and they're averaging only 72 yards/game on the ground. Maryland looked impressive at times in its win over Miami and has its best QB since Boomer. I expect to see a ton of yards and points with Maryland finding a way to win. Maryland by 3.

#21 Auburn @ Clemson: Auburn rebounded from its pitiful opening game against Utah State and played well against a solid Mississippi State squad. This is one of those times where it just makes sense to pick Auburn: nation's longest winning streak, the team just finds ways to win every week and Clemson was just plain bad last week giving up 272 yards on the ground and barely getting past subdivision Wofford. But whenever I expect Clemson to step up and take a step forward they let me down... so now that I expect them to tank at home against Auburn I figure they'll play up to their talent-level for a week and win a fun game against Auburn. Dabo's boys by 3.

#17 Ohio State @ Miami (FL): $50 handshakes for everyone! In a game its a shame someone has to win, you have Miami which looked sloppy in its Labor Day opener against Maryland and OSU which needed a last-minute defensive stand to defeat the might Toledo Rockets. The Buckeyes ran for only 112 yards on 34 carries against Toledo. On the flip side, they can stuff the run on D, holding Toledo to just 46 yards on 30 carries. I don't see Miami running the ball effectively on the Bucks and see a QB controversy on the horizon for the Canes. OSU by 7.

Overall, I see the ACC going 3-2 or 2-3- a solid showing but as I wrote earlier I see them losing the FSU-OU match-up and resting their hopes on Virginia Tech to reach their goal of being in the national championship conversation in November.