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Dr. Saturday

Mon Oct 20, 2008 5:30 pm EDT

The ACC at midseason, brought to you by Salvador Dali

By Matt Hinton

Boston College and Virginia Tech played Saturday, and featured perhaps the most sane incident in any ACC game of the weekend:

You know what -- Why not let ACC fans throw flags onto the field at random? In a world of chaos and chance, will the flag from the stands affect the chain of nonsensical events leading to the ACC Championship Game, assuming it's not called off by the disproportionate influence of the absurd on all human interaction? How can you tell? Certainly not from this weekend: Maryland shut out Wake Forest. Virginia beat North Carolina for its third win in a row. Boston College beat Virginia Tech. The ACC is dead. Long live the ACC!

These fans deserve it, anyway. Consider the following facts since the start of the season, and attempt to arrange them into a coherent whole:

• Unanimous preseason favorite Clemson is currently in fifth place in the Atlantic Division with a losing record overall and in conference play. Preseason Coastal favorite Virginia Tech opens the season by losing to East Carolina, largely as a result of a decisive blocked punt.

• Duke, off a 25-game conference losing streak, beats Virginia 31-3.

• Maryland, off a double-digit loss to Middle Tennessee, subsequently beats California at home and comes from two touchdowns back to beat Clemson on the road.

• Virginia, outscored 128-20 in its first three games against I-A competition, subsequently beats the shell off Maryland, 31-0.

• Wake Forest beats Florida State for the third year in a row and holds FSU and Clemson to a combined 10 points in consecutive conference games. These games sandwich a loss to Navy.

• A week after Wake Forest beats Clemson, Maryland, off its inexplicable pounding at Virginia, pounds Wake into submission, 26-0.

• Four teams are tied for the Atlantic Division lead at 2-1. Who's in the driver's seat? Well, Wake Forest beat Florida State, which beat Miami, which beat Duke, which beat Virginia, which beat Maryland, which beat ... Wake Forest. Boston College beat Virginia Tech, which beat Georgia Tech, which beat ... Boston College. Maryland beat Wake Forest, which beat Florida State, which beat North Carolina, which beat Miami, which beat Duke, which beat Virginia, which beat ... Maryland. Florida State beat Miami, which beat Duke, which beat Virginia, which beat Maryland, which beat Wake Forest, which beat ... Florida State.

At least they're all beating Clemson. You know, the sure thing. Which now technically has no head coach. Long live the ACC!

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15 Comments

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  1. www.TomahawkNation.com
    1. Posted by www.TomahawkNation.com Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:15 pm EDT

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    Matt,
    would you agree with this statement:
    Tha ACC has 5 teams that are top 35-20 Material, and none that have a top 20 resume as of yet. ?
  2. Jack
    2. Posted by Jack Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:52 pm EDT

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    How come they didnt find out who the fan was.I mean that was realy messed up.They should have thrown the fan out of the game.Besides,where did he get a flag from anyway?
  3. TheOtherBootyBrother
    3. Posted by TheOtherBootyBrother Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:39 pm EDT

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    The Boston College student section is populated by super geniuses who can replicate the look of a yellow handkerchief with almost any similar yellow handkerchief.
    Aside from that though you could very easily make the argument, tomahawk, that the entire ACC should be ranked somewhere between 25-45. Its just one weird quagmire of a conference. I have not bet on a single ACC game all season and i'm a richer man for it.
  4. gtne91
    4. Posted by gtne91 Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:43 pm EDT

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    9 ACC teams are in the top 50 of this week's Sagarin. Maryland isnt one of them. Neither is Clemson. The entire Coastal division is in the top 50. In the predictor, there is less than 6.5 pts separating GT at the one spot and UVA at the 9 spot.
    BTW, no other conference is that deep in top 50 teams. Even the almighty SEC only has 8. That many teams that close together leads to chaotic results.
    Hail Eris!
  5. gtne91
    5. Posted by gtne91 Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:43 pm EDT

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    For comparison, the #1 and #9 teams in the Big 12 are more than 26 pts apart in the Sagarin predictor. Hence, lack of upsets and all the teams at the top have great conference records.
  6. ScottS
    6. Posted by ScottS Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:14 pm EDT

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    I'm thinking Escher moreso than Dali.
  7. Alaska Hokie
    7. Posted by Alaska Hokie Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:36 pm EDT

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    In the intro, you say Wake Forest shut out Maryland, rather than the other way around.
  8. Matt H
    8. Posted by Matt H Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:48 pm EDT

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    Thanks, Hokie. Fixed.
  9. MichaelF
    9. Posted by MichaelF Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:20 pm EDT

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    Not to ruin the well executed Escher staircase among the 2-1 Atlantic teams, but of the four Boston College controls its own destiny. BC has not played any of the other three yet (though two of the three will be on the road).
  10. tuck33
    10. Posted by tuck33 Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:59 pm EDT

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    logjam dude...
  11. Uncle Grandfather
    11. Posted by Uncle Grandfather Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:59 pm EDT

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    Go Yellow Jackets
  12. Mike
    12. Posted by Mike Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:29 pm EDT

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    I was thinking this might be more like a Picasso, actually.
  13. Alex P
    13. Posted by Alex P Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:56 pm EDT

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    www.bcallaccess.com
  14. jeff
    14. Posted by jeff Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:30 pm EDT

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    You said that Florida State beat North Carolina, but they have not played.
  15. Chris
    15. Posted by Chris Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:33 pm EDT

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    "Maryland beat Wake Forest, which beat Florida State, which beat North Carolina, which beat Miami, which beat Duke, which beat Virginia, which beat ... Maryland. "
    Florida State beat NC State...not North Carolina.

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