Week 5 ACC/Virginia Tech Preview
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by user Icemanvt
Georgia Tech (3-1, 1-0) at Virginia Tech (4-0, 2-0)
With the early demise of Miami (though I wouldn't count them out just yet), this is shaping up to be the battle for the ACC Coastal Division title and the trip to Jacksonville that comes along with it. While everyone is saying that nobody has any idea of how this Virginia Tech team is, surprisingly nobody is saying that about Georgia Tech either. Especially since this will be the Yellow Jackets' first game on the road this year. Georgia Tech isn't a bad road team, as their win in Auburn last year shows, but this isn't the beginning of the year, so the Hokies (should) be prepared.
Keys to the Game
Virginia Tech
- Stop Calvin Johnson and make someone else beat you. Calvin Johnson was able to rack up 165 receiving yards against UVa last weekend. He is their meal ticket this year and there are still some doubts about Reggie Ball not making dumb mistakes. As much as Frank Beamer doesn't want this to happen, the best thing to happen to the Hokies would be for Aaron Rouse to make a late hit on Johnson and knock him out of the game. But a less illegal way would be to double-cover Johnson and just wait for the inevitable Ball INT.
- Control the clock. The longer the Hokies hold the ball, the less chance that Calvin Johnson can make a big play. Brandon Ore needs to build on his impressive 2nd half performance last week against Cincinnati and rush for another 150. Having a solid day would take the pressure off QB Sean Glennon and the depleted receiving corps.
- More Beamer Ball. The best way to get Georgia Tech out of their rhythm would be to get turnovers. Lots and lots of turnovers. Early and often. If you can shut down the offense, win the battle of field position and have a key turnover or two, victory should be sealed.
Georgia Tech
- Land the first punch. Georgia Tech needs to get the crowd quiet. Lane Stadium can be the hardest place for a visiting team to play if the crowd is into it. But if they can limit their mistakes and take an early lead, the crowd becomes much less of a factor.
- Limit mistakes. One way to get the crowd back in the game would be costly turnovers and special teams mistakes. Reggie Ball cannot have more than 2 INTs. The special teams cannot allow Eddie Royal to run back a TD, which was what sparked the Hokies last week. A clean game by the Jackets will go a long way to limiting the advantages that the Hokies have on defense and maximize the chances the offense will get.
- Chan Gailey must learn from the Notre Dame game. He cannot be complacent if he gets the early lead. The Hokies are known for being able to score a flurry of points in a short time. If GT is up 10 going into the half and Chan decides to milk the clock to start the second half, there's going to be a repeat of the Notre Dame game. Coming out strong in the second half will also limit the home field advantage and make sure that the Hokies stay down for the count.
Prediction Time
One of the problems that Virginia Tech had early on last week was with the aerial attack. You can chalk that up to being unprepared, but that isn't going to cut it this week. The DBs need to be prepared for what's going to hit them. Despite the loss of Chris Ellis due to massive stupidity and Blacksburg facism, the d-line still has enough talent to disrupt plays when needed and the linebacking corp is probably the strongest in the nation. The Hokies will shut down the run, but give up enough passing yards to keep Georgia Tech in the game. But the DBs will also come away with at least two takeaways and the offense will do enough to grind down the Yellow Jackets and win going away. Final Score: Virginia Tech 31 Georgia Tech 21
Maine (2-1) at Boston College (3-1)
Boston College needs to come back from a wrenching loss at NC State last week. Boston College has also taken Clemson's role this year of playing at the level of their opponents. A team that was able to go toe-to-toe with Clemson, shouldn't have so much difficulty with teams like BYU and NC State. Things should be different with Maine in town though, as this is a home game with a inferior opponent. Maine is a good 1-AA program, but they still won't have enough to get past the Eagles in this game. Final Score: Boston College 35 Maine 10
Louisiana Tech (1-2) at Clemson (3-1)
Louisiana Tech is getting torched on their road games so far, losing to Nebraska 49-10 and to Texas A&M 45-14. Now they get to face the highest scoring offense in the ACC on the road. Where Clemson has thrashed opponents with an average score of 53-7. And there's no reason to believe that Tommy Bowden is going to let up on the accelerator now. With the one loss to Boston College already in the books, the Tigers best shot at the BCS Championship is to throttle enough opponents to the point that the pollsters don't realize that they're doing against shotty opponents. History has shown that pollsters are just that foolish, so expect more high-scoring hijinks out of the Tigers this week. Final Score: Clemson 65 Louisiana Tech 3
Liberty (2-1) at Wake Forest (4-0)
Wake Forest is the Rutgers of the ACC, but with none of the pub that Rutgers is getting. Don't believe me? Compare the opponents: For Rutgers: at North Carolina, and home vs Illinois, Ohio and Howard (which I didn't even think had a football team before last week). For Wake Forest: at Connecticut and Ole Miss and home vs. Syracuse and Duke. It's almost a draw except Wake's played tougher road games. Anyway, like Rutgers, reality will hit home as soon as ACC play starts for the Demon Deacons, but they'll have one more week to bask in undefeated glory, and just maybe get ranked in time for their showdown with Clemson. Oh, and about the game. Liberty is a fine team, but Jim Grobe has this team super-confident right now, even without all the losses at QB and RB. Final Score: Wake Forest 28 Liberty 10
Virginia (1-2, 0-1) at Duke (0-3. 0-2)
Normally, one would think that a Duke game would be a walk in the park. But if your offense is struggling mightly to get any traction, then a road game would be a bit of a problem. Duke's been known to pick off opponents before and this Virginia team could be a prime example of that. But at the same time, Duke is just so awful that they'd struggle with just about any team in the country in 1-A or 1-AA. Virginia and Al Groh are probably thinking of using this game to get things on track, but this could get ugly if the offense continues to struggle. Expect a low scoring, ugly affair. Final Score: Virginia 14 Duke 10
Houston (4-0) at Miami (1-2)
It may not be the most exotic game this weekend and may fly under the radar of most non-Miami haters and fans, but the game is just dripping with story lines. Miami is trying to get that swagger back, Larry Coker is trying not to get fired in the next week. Houston can make a national name for itself if they can go into the Orange Bowl and come out with a win. This can have BCS ramifications as well, as an undefeated Houston with a couple of wins over BCS-conference teams would have a good shot at grabbing one of those newly created non-BCS pity spots this year. Kevin Kolb is probably the best QB in Texas at this point and the offense can get enough going to stay with the Hurricanes. But Houston's D is going to have a problem with the Miami O, unless whatever problems the Hurricanes have keep popping up. The Hurricanes are going to think they have deja vu, as this game is going to look remarkably similar to the Louisville game from last year. More like the antithesis of the Virginia-Duke game. Final Score: Miami 38 Houston 35
That's it for this week. Not a horribly exciting schedule in the ACC as there are two really good games and four clunkers. But teams are going to try and set themselves up for the rest of the ACC schedule, which begins in earnest next week.
Date
Thu 09/28/06, 4:18 pm EST
