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This is the second part of our update on who could be heading to the ACC Conference Championship in Tampa.  The first part looked at the Atlantic Divsion.  This one will focus on the Coastal Division.  Now it is a bit of a stretch looking at the Coastal Division on a Maryland Blog, because, quick frankly we aren’t going to be in the Championship so who really cares who represents the other side of the conference.  But I thought it would be interesting to look at.  So with that, let’s take a look. 

Georgia Tech- The Yellow Jackets lead all ACC Teams with a 5-1 record.  In fact as I mentioned in the other post, no other ACC School has 4 wins, so the fact that Tech has 5 really says something.  In a year where parity seems to be king, the Yellow Jackets are doing their best to stand out.  Looking ahead for Paul Johnson and his crew, the Jackets finish up taking on Wake Forest, and then finishing out the ACC Schedule with Duke.  Both games I can see Georgia Tech winning.  At this point they are clearly the team to beat, but what is scary is that GT vs. Duke in two weeks could have a drastic impact on the ACC Season.  Who would have circled GT-Duke in August as a must see game (Well hypothetically, I’ll probably watch something else).

Duke- Believe it or not, the Blue Devils are 3-1 in conference and actually hold their own destiny since they play Georgia Tech still.  I don’t know what to think of this Duke team, but it’s hard not to think they have peaked and are about to be exposed.  They take on UNC next which isn’t exactly daunting, but I can’t see them topping Georgia Tech.  Assuming they do, they have Miami and Wake waiting on the other side, so if they were to beat the Jackets, any celebration would be entirely pre-mature. 

Miami- I say this a lot about ACC schools, in fact I just said it in the last paragraph, but the Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde award for 2009 has to go to the Canes.  Some weeks I find myself thinking “Oh crap, Miami is back” and then other weeks they look like the team we’ve grown accustomed too since we brought them into the league.  At 3-2 I can’t rule out Miami, and their schedule seems to match up well for them.  The Cane’s finish against UVA, UNC, and Duke.  Literally a Wine and Cheese Buffet.  If GT does stumble, I would give Miami the nod for the team who’d pick up the ball, but their loss to VT earlier in the year could be their achilles heel.

Virginia Tech- Speaking of the Hokies, here they are.  VT is sitting at 3-2 which I’m sure they are not happy about, but the Hokies hold an important card.  The beat the Hurricanes, which could be key.  Unfortunately though, the Jackets hold that same card over VT, so GT will have to stumble, not once, but twice to revive VT’s chances.  The good news for the Hokie fans (who probably have someone reading this to them) is that Michael and Marcus Vick didn’t really go to VT afterall, oh wait yes they did and they both proved to be huge embarrassments, so that isn’t good news.  But all kidding aside VT has a nice finish to their schedule.  They play (only looking at the ACC games) Maryland, NC State, and UVA.  Not exactly murder’s row.  So keep the faith Hokies, you could still get to Tampa, but anytime you are counting on Wake and Duke to come through for you (to beat GT) you can’t like the spot you are in.

UVA- Nothing is impossible, but UVA has a tough row to hoe if they want to remain in the hunt for the Conference Championship.  UVA is currently 2-2 which isn’t THAT bad, but look at how the Cavaliers finish up.  Miami, BC, Clemson, and VT.  The Wahoo’s would have to run the table to remain afloat, and I would bet that 2-2 out of those four would be a bit optimistic. 

UNC- The Tarheels are bringing up the rear in the Coastal Division.  I thought the Heels were going to have a strong year, so that shows what I know.  They are currently 1-3 and mathmatically out of the running.  The best they could do is 5-3 and the worst GT could do is 5-3 and GT holds the tie breaker.  On to basketball season for you all.  For those die-hard fans UNC will finish against Duke, Miami, BC, and NC State.  The NC State-UNC game has to have ESPN 360 written all over that barn burner (not that we can talk).

So there you have it.  Still plenty of time left, but my early lean is Clemson will take on Georgia Tech in Tampa for the right to play in a BCS bowl.  If I had to pick now, I’d say GT would win, but after watching them play Clemson the first time around, you know it’d be a hard fought battle.

Extra Droppings:

I’m not sure if I have said this or not, but with the Terps once again being on ESPN 360 and with me traveling to California, I may not see the Terps play on TV once this year!  That is an embarrasment.  If I have mentioned this before, well I don’t care.  It’s worth mentioning again.  I guess the FSU game could be televised, but at this point, I’d doubt it.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 6:00 pm and is filed under Maryland Terps Football. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.