ACC Previews - Week 13
Virginia Tech and Virginia Meet to Determine Coastal Division Title;
Maryland, NC State Seeking Eligibility; Rivalry Games Are Featured
Courtesy of The ACC
November 20, 2007
Boston College already knows its
headed to Jacksonville after its come-from-behind win at Clemson last week,
now its Virginia and Virginia Tech’s turn
to compete for their share of the “Road
to Jacksonville”. Virginia Tech, ranked
8th in the BCS and AP this week, travels
to meet 15th-ranked Virginia in
Charlottesville in a game (ESPN2 12
noon) which will determine the ACC’s
Coastal Division Champion. The winner
of the game will meet 16th-ranked Boston
College in Jacksonville’s Municipal
Stadium on Dec. 1 in the 2007 Dr Pepper
ACC Championship Game.
BC, led
by Heisman Trophy candidate Matt
Ryan, will host Miami in a 12 noon contest
that will be nationally televised by
ESPN. The Eagles will be facing a Hurricane team which is seeking to become
bowl eligible for the 10th straight
year.
Meanwhile, at the same time
in Raleigh, NC State hosts Atlantic Division
rival Maryland in a noon game
which will be regionally televised by
Raycom/Lincoln Financial Sports. Both
the Terrapins and Wolfpack need a win
this Saturday to become bowl eligible.
A great deal of bragging rights
will also be at stake this Saturday as rivalry games are featured prominently in
this final weekend of the regular season
with four ACC-SEC matchups and one traditional
Atlantic Coast Conference
rivalry.
Florida State travels to 14th-ranked
Florida for a 5 pm game on CBS,
Georgia Tech hosts 7th-ranked Georgia in
a game that will be televised by ABC (3:30
pm), 22nd-ranked Clemson travels to South
Carolina for a 7 pm contest that will be
nationally-televised by ESPN 2 and Wake
Forest will venture to Nashville, Tenn., for
a 2 pm contest with Vanderbilt.
Finally, at
Kenan Stadium, North Carolina and Duke
meet for the 93rd renewal of their series
in a 3:30 pm game that will be televised
by ESPNU.
For the first time in its history, the
ACC has 7 teams with 7 or more wins
in the regular season. Last year, the
league had 8 teams with 7 or more wins,
but that included bowl games and only
6 had 7 wins during the regular
season.
Saturday, November 24
Virginia Tech (9-2, 6-1 ACC)
at Virginia (9-2, 6-1 ACC)
Noon; ESPN2
Scott Stadium (61,500)
The Series: Virginia Tech leads 46-37-5;
Virginia leads 18-17-3 at Charlottesville, Va.
The Coaches:
Virginia Tech - Frank Beamer: 165-84-2 (21st season) at VT; 207-107-4 (27th) overall
Virginia - Al Groh: 51-35 (7th season) at UVa; 77-75 (13th season) overall
Game Preview: Virginia will host Virginia Tech in the last week of ACC regular season
for both squads ... The Cavaliers and Hokies, which are both ranked among the top 15 in the
latest BCS standings, will kickoff in a noon contest, nationally-televised on ESPN2 ... The
game’s winner will claim the ACC Coastal Division championship and face 16th-ranked
Boston College in Jacksonville’s Municipal Stadium on Dec. 1 in the 2007 ACC Championship
Game ... The Hokies and Cavs met last season as Virginia Tech shutout Virginia
17-0 in Blacksburg, Va ... The Hokies have won the last three straight contests and 10 of the
last 14 in the 88-game series, which began in 1895 ... DE Chris Long has been named one
of the four finalists for the Bronko Nagurski Award as the Virginia standout currently ranks
fifth in the nation in QB sacks and 11th in tackles for loss ... Saturday’s contest will feature
two of the top 10 scoring defenses in the country ... Tech ranks fourth nationally, allowing just
14.91 points per game ... In addition, VT boasts the fifth-ranked total defense and sixth-ranked
rushing defense.
Last Time Out: LB Xavier Adibi sacked Virginia QB Jameel Sewell and forced a
fumble that set up TB George Bell’s 1-yard TD dive and the then-ranked No. 17 Hokies
were on their way to a 17-0 victory over Virginia last season ... The Cavs gained just 112
yards and managed only five first downs in the loss ... Tech was led by first-year QB
Sean Glennon, who finished 12-for-18 for 146 yards and a TD ... Glennon hit WR Eddie
Royal for a 49-yard TD as Virginia Tech outgained the Cavs 160-12 in the third quarter
and earned its fourth shutout of 2006 and third straight 10-win season.
Maryland (5-6, 2-5 ACC)
at NC State (5-6, 3-4 ACC)
Noon; R/LFS
Carter-Finley Stadium (53,800)
The Series: NC State leads 30-29-4;
NC State leads 16-14-3 at Raleigh, N.C.
The Coaches:
Maryland - Ralph Friedgen: 55-30 (7th season) at MD; 55-30 (7th season) overall
N.C. State -
Tom O’Brien: 5-6 (1st season) at NC State; 81-51 (11th season) overall
Game Preview: Maryland remains on the road to face Atlantic Division rival NC State
in both squads’ final ACC game of the 2007 regular season ... The Terrapins and Wolfpack,
will square off Saturday in a noon contest, which will be regionally-televised by Raycom/
Lincoln Financial Sports Network ... Both teams need a win on Saturday to become bowl eligible
for the 2007 postseason ... The Terps defeated NC State in College Park last season,
26-20 ... In the 63-game series, which began in 1909, Maryland has won five of the last
seven; however, NC State has won two of the last three ... The Terps feature two of the top
tacklers in the country in junior LBs Erin Henderson, who is a finalist for the Butkus Award
and ranks sixth nationally, and Dave Philistin, assisting in Maryland’s 39th-ranked scoring
defense ... PK Steven Hauschka is one of six finalists for the Lou Groza Award and leads the
ACC in FG percentage (.938) as the NC State graduate student has made all 25 PAT
attempts and 16-of-18 FG tries.
Last Time Out: Maryland converted two consecutive turnovers into 14 third-quarter
points en route to posting a 26-20 decision over NC State last season ... After Dan Ennis
kicked his fourth FG for Maryland, the Wolfpack used a 1-yard TD run by TB Toney
Baker to get within six points with 58 seconds remaining; however the Terrapins
recovered the onside kick to secure the victory ... QB Sam Hollenbach went 7-for-9 for
115 yards and a Maryland TD, and Lance Ball ran for 77 yards and a score ... Maryland
RB Keon Lattimore had three catches for 72 yards and added 33 yards rushing in a first
half dominated by the Terrapins ... NC State got only 25 yards passing in the first half and
advanced into Maryland territory only once in five possessions.
Miami (5-6, 2-5 ACC) at
Boston College (9-2, 5-2 ACC)
Noon; ESPN
Alumni Stadium (44,500)
The Series: Miami leads 23-3-0;
Miami leads 7-2-0 at Chestnut Hill, Mass.
The Coaches:
Miami - Randy Shannon: 5-6 (1st season) at UM; 5-6 (1st season) overall
Boston College -
Jeff Jagodzinski: 9-2 (1st season) at BC; 9-2 (1st season) overall
Game Preview: Boston College returns home to Alumni Stadium after clinching a
berth in the 2007 ACC Championship Game, which will be held in Jacksonville’s
Municipal Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 1, with a 20-17 win over Clemson last week ... The
Eagles, led by Heisman Trophy candidate Matt Ryan, will host Miami on Saturday for a
nationally-televised noon contest on ESPN ... .The two programs met last season when
then 18th-ranked Miami defeated Boston College, 17-14 ... The Hurricanes have won 15
straight match ups against the Eagles, who are currently ranked as high as 14th in the
nation and got off to their best start in school history since 1942, an early 8-0 mark ... The
Canes are seeking to become bowl-eligible for the 10th straight year ... Miami QB Kyle
Wright threw for over 200 yards last week, marking the fifth time this season ... Wright is
currently sixth among ACC players in passing efficiency, while LB Tavares Gooden is
seventh in the ACC in tackles per game (8.7) ... BC’s Ryan is currently seventh in the
country for total offense with his 3,578 offensive yards.
Last Time Out: QB Kirby Freeman threw for 181 yards and a TD and RB Javarris
James’ 2-yard run in the third quarter gave Miami the lead, while the Canes’ defense
sealed a 17-14 win over then 18th-ranked Boston College last season on ESPN’s
Thursday night package ... The Canes snapped a four-game losing streak and became
bowl-eligible with the win, while the decision denied BC its first 10-win regular season in
66 years ... DB DeJuan Tribble had three interceptions, returning one for a TD, and RB
Andre Callender, who had 10 carries for 32 yards, had a 5-yard TD run for the Eagles.
Wake Forest (7-4, 5-3 ACC)
at Vanderbilt (5-6, 2-6 SEC)
2:00 pm
Vanderbilt Stadium (39,790)
The Series: Vanderbilt leads 7-3-0;
Vanderbilt leads 3-2-0 at Nashville, Tenn.
The Coaches:
Wake Forest - Jim Grobe: 44-39 (7th season) at WF; 77-72-1 (13th season) overall
Vanderbilt -
Bobby Johnson: 20-48 (6th season) at VU; 80-84 (14th season) overall
Game Preview: In the final regular season game of 2007, Wake Forest will travel to
Nashville, Tenn., to face the Vanderbilt Commodores for a 2 p.m. kickoff ... Wake and
Vanderbilt first met in 1964 and in the 10-game series Vanderbilt has amassed a 7-3 edge
and has won four-straight against the Demon Deacons ... The Commodores are 4-3 in
games played in Vanderbilt Stadium this season, the most wins since 1987 and a win on
Saturday would tally the most since 1982 ... Wake Forest is coming off a 38-18 ACC win
over NC State, improving the Deacs to 7-4 overall and finishing the ACC season with a
5-3 record, the first back-to-back winning conference records since 1987 and 1988 ... Wake
WR Kenneth Moore set the school record for receptions in a season last week, catching
eight passes to give him 78 on the season, breaking the previous mark of 72 set by
Desmond Clark in 1997.
Last Time Out: RB Jeff Jennings scored from 5 yards out with 1:48 to play to help
Vanderbilt beat Wake Forest 24-20 in both squads’ openers of the 2005 season ... QB Jay
Cutler threw for 276 yards and a score while running for 89 more for the Commodores,
while Jennings ran for just 43 yards, but finished with two scores ... DE Herdley Harrison
added a key 18-yard sack on the Demon Deacons’ final drive after Wake Forest had
pushed to the Commodores’ 30 with less than a minute to play ... Micah Andrews ran for
a career-best 254 yards on 34 carries for the Deacs.
Duke (1-10, 0-7 ACC)
at North Carolina (3-8, 2-5 ACC)
3:30 pm; ESPNU
Kenan Stadium (60,000)
The Series: North Carolina leads 53-35-4;
North Carolina leads 27-17-2 at Chapel Hill, N.C.
The Coaches:
Duke - Ted Roof: 6-44 (5th season) at DU; 6-44 (5th season) overall
North Carolina -
Butch Davis: 3-8 (1st season) at UNC; 54-28 (7th season) overall
Game Preview: North Carolina hosts in-state rival Duke in both squad’s final match
up of 2007 and the 93rd overall meeting between the two squads ... The teams square off
Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in a nationally-televised ESPNU contest, which will be staged at
Kenan Stadium ... The last time the two teams met was in 2006 when the Tar Heels,
picking up their third-straight win in the series, defeated the Blue Devils 45-44 ... UNC has
won 16 of the last 17 meetings ... Carolina, which is coming off a close loss to Georgia
Tech (27-25) last week, has now lost eight times this season by seven or fewer points
and four times by four or fewer points ... UNC QB TJ Yates has posted the fourth-best
season by an ACC rookie as the freshman has thrown for 2,590 yards in 11 games ... Yates
recently surpassed the school record for single-season passing yards held by Darian
Durant (2,551 in 2003) ... Two Duke players went over 100 tackles for the season last
week, Michael Tauliili and Vincent Rey ... Tauiliili had 12 tackles to give him 101 on the
season, while Rey now has 107 tackles in 11 games ... Duke will close out the third
toughest schedule in the nation Saturday.
Last Time Out: WR Brandon Tate returned a punt 54 yards for the go-ahead TD and
Kentwan Balmer blocked an extra point that would have forced OT last season, giving
UNC a 45-44 victory over Duke in John Bunting’s final game as the Heels’ coach ... The
Blue Devils nearly rallied from a 14-point deficit by scoring two TDs in the final five
minutes, the second coming when DL Patrick Bailey intercepted QB Joe Dailey’s toss
and returned it 21 yards for a TD with 2:49 to play ... Tate also returned a kickoff 97 yards
for a score, becoming the third player in UNC to score on punt and kickoff returns in the
same game ... The teams combined for 847 total yards and the 89 combined points is the
second-highest total ever in the 93 meetings between Tobacco Road rivals ... The margin
of victory marked the highest scoring one-point victory in ACC history.
Georgia (9-2, 6-2 SEC)
at Georgia Tech (7-4, 4-4 ACC)
3:30 pm; ABC
Bobby Dodd Stadium (55,000)
The Series: Georgia leads 58-38-5;
Georgia leads 30-25-4 at Atlanta, Ga.
The Coaches:
Georgia - Mark Richt: 69-19 (7th season) at Georgia; 69-19 (7th season) overall
Georgia Tech - Chan Gailey: 44-31 (6th season) at GT; 68-42 (9th season) overall
Game Preview: Georgia Tech welcomes SEC foe and in-state rival Georgia for a
sold-out and nationally-televised ABC challenge Saturday at 3:30 p.m ... The Yellow Jackets,
which are coming off a 27-25 victory over North Carolina to close out the ACC regular
season and secure their 12th-straight winning season in league play, are bowl-eligible for
the 11th consecutive year ... RB Tashard Choice leads the ACC in rushing yards as the
senior has amassed 1,176 in on the 2007 season and could become the first player to lead
the league in back-to-back years since Virginia’s Thomas Jones in 1998 and 1999 ... Choice
has eclipsed 3,000 career yards and became the first player in GT history to rack up 1,000
rushing yards in consecutive seasons ... In a game featuring two of the best rushing
offenses, Choice will match up well against redshirt freshman Knowshon Moreno, who
registered his fifth consecutive 100-yard rushing game after tallying 124 yards on 22
carries and one TD last week against Kentucky ... Herschel Walker was the last Bulldog
to have five 100-yard games in a row in 1982 ... In this five-game stretch, Moreno has 766
yards and 9 TDs, while on the year Moreno has 1,228 yards and 12 TDs in 222
attempts.
Last Time Out: The last time the 101-game rivals met was in 2006 when Georgia
pulled off its sixth consecutive win over the then-ranked No. 16 Yellow Jackets, 15-
12 ... The last three contest in the series, which began in 1893, have been decided by
seven or fewer points ... Freshman QB Matthew Stafford threw a 4-yard TD pass to WR
Mohamed Massaquoi with 1:45 remaining to lead the Bulldogs ... GT’s RB Tashard
Choice rushed for 146 yards in the loss, while Stafford rallied in the second half, finishing
16-of-29 for 171 yards and had no interceptions.
Florida State (7-4, 4-4 ACC)
at Florida (8-3, 5-3 SEC)
5:00 pm; CBS
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (88,548)
The Series: Florida leads 30-19-2;
Florida leads 18-8-1 at Gainsville, Fla.
The Coaches:
Florida State - Bobby Bowden: 300-86-4 (32nd season) at FSU; 373-117-4 (42) overall
Florida - Urban Meyer: 30-7 (3rd season) at FL; 69-15 (7th season) overall
Game Preview: Following seven straight weeks of ACC action, Florida State travels
to in-state rival and SEC opponent Florida to close out the 2007 regular season ... The 49-
year rivals battle Saturday in a 5 p.m. CBS tilt at the Gator’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium ... Florida
State looks to break the three-game win streak that 12th-ranked Florida holds over the
Seminoles ... The last four contests in Gainsville have swung back and fourth as the
Notes picked up wins in 1999 and 2003 ... Head coach Bobby Bowden earned his 300th
victory at FSU with a 24-16 win over Maryland last week, which also clinched a 31-
consecutive winning season for the Noles ... LB Geno Hayes leads the ACC in tackles for
loss with 17.5 on the season, an average of 1.59 per game ... In addition, PK Gary
Cismesia ranks second in the country with 23 FGs on the season ... The game will pit
FSU’s defense against the No. 5 scoring offense, led by QB Tim Tebow, a squad
averaging 42.91 points per game ... The Gators are also ranked 18th in total offense,
racking up 454.82 offensive yards per game.
Last Time Out: The last time the two Florida powerhouses met was last season
when Gator QB Chris Leak led his squad to a 21-14 victory, the second straight win for
the Gators in Tallahassee since 1986 ... Leak was 7-of-8 for 79 yards on the game-winning
drive early in the fourth quarter ... Leak called an audible on third-down, recognizing
a blitz, and hooked up with Dallas Baker for a 25-yard gain ... He connected with Baker
again two plays later for a 25-yard TD ... Leak finished 21-of-34 for 283 yards with two
TDs for the Gators, which led 14-0 at halftime.
Clemson (8-3, 5-3 ACC)
at South Carolina (6-5, 3-5 SEC)
7:00 pm; ESPN2
Williams-Brice Stadium (80,250)
The Series: Clemson leads 63-37-4;
Clemson leads 48-29-3 at South Carolina
The Coaches:
Clemson - Tommy Bowden: 68-41 (9th season) at CU; 86-45 (11th) overall
South Carolina - Steve Spurrier: 21-15 (3rd season) at USC; 163-55-2 (18th season)
Game Preview: Clemson travels to Columbia to face in-state rival and SEC foe South
Carolina Saturday for a 7 p.m. ESPN2 showing ... The Tigers, who are coming off a tough
20-17 loss to Boston College last week, lead the 104-game series 63-37-4 and have won
14 of the last 19 match ups and eight of the last 10 ... In addition, the Tigers have won eight
of the last nine meetings in Columbia, S.C ... USC TB Cory Boyd has rushed for 829 yards
this season and has a chance to become the Gamecocks first 1,000-yard rusher since
Derek Watson (1,066) in 2000 ... The Gamecocks have been exceptional in pass defense
this season, despite using five different starting quartets and seven different starters in the
secondary, they are No. 4 in the nation in passing defense ... Clemson QB Cullen Harper
leads the ACC in passing efficiency and ranks sixth nationally among all active players
in career passing efficiency ... The junior has 26 TD tosses, a Tiger single-season record.
Last Time Out: Last season, the Gamecocks rallied with the game’s final 17 points
en route to posting a come-from-behind 31-28 victory over then-ranked No. 24 Clemson,
ending USC’s 0-5 mark against ranked opponents in 2006 and a four-game losing streak
to their Palmetto State rival ... Mike Davis had two TD runs and Ryan Succop’s 35-yard
fourth-quarter FG sealed the win for USC ... Clemson kicker Jad Dean missed a 39-yard
FG attempt wide to the left to close the contest ... Gamecocks’ QB Blake Mitchell, who
shook off three earlier interceptions to lead three scoring drives, finished 23-of-36 for 268
yards.
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