Road to the ACC Championship - Finally at its destination

Coming into this week, Clemson has held the Atlantic Division slot for the last several week, but there has been a neck and neck fight over who would get to represent the Coastal Division in this championship.

After last night's game, all I can say is "wow". After an amazing blowout game from Virginia Tech over UVA with a score of 38-0, the ACC Championship has finally been set. Virginia Tech has finally clinched the Coastal Division slot.

So, for you fans out there, Clemson v. Virginia Tech will take place on December 3rd at 8pm Eastern

Road to the ACC Championships...drudges on

Wow... after UVA's win against Florida State... it is coming down to the wire as to who will be in the ACC Championship. For the Atlantic Division, Clemson had won that slot several weeks ago. But, for the Coastal Division, VT and UVA are still fighting it out. It has come down to one last game to determine who gets to go... and that is the traditional post-Thanksgiving game between VT and UVA.

So... for the ACC Championship...it is going to be Clemson versus the winner of the VT/UVA game. Let's go, Hokies!

Road to the 2011 ACC Championship

After today's game, it looks like the ACC Championship game is coming into focus.

For the Atlantic Division, Clemson's defeat of Wake Forest has given Clemson the playoff slot.

For the Coastal Division, the battle rages on between UVA and Virginia Tech. I am thinking VT should have it, but there is still the chance UVA could win the playoff slot. There are 2 scenario's left for which UVA might be able to get into the playoffs.

Scenario 1: If VT loses against UNC, UVA needs to beat VT AND win at least one other match between their Duke and Florida St games.

Scenario 2: If VT wins against UNC, UVA has to win all three matches between Duke, Florida St and Virginia Tech.

So, as of right now, I am casting my lot in the ACC Championship Game being between Clemson and VT, though that is not 100% set in stone yet.

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Update 1

After the UVA win today against Duke, it makes their chances a little bit easier. Their updated scenarios are below:

Scenario 1: If VT loses against UNC, UVA only needs to beat VT to go to the playoff.

Scenario 2: If VT wins against UNC, UVA needs to win both games against Florida State and VT to go to the playoffs.
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Countdown to the 2011 ACC Championship

With December 3rd approaching fast, finally some headway has been made into who will not be playing in the ACC Championship Game. After this weekend's losses, both Boston College and University of Maryland have both secured their fates. The Atlantic Division is very close to figuring out who will be going, while the Coastal Division is completely still up in the air.

So, here is the list of teams still in contention for the ACC Championship Game:

Atlantic Division
Clemson
Florida State (on verge of elimination)
North Carolina State (on verge of elimination)
Wake Forest

Coastal Division
Duke
Georgia Tech
Miami(FL)
North Carolina
Virginia
Virginia Tech

Countdown to the ACC Championships - 22 Nov

After this week, a couple important losses, several more teams found themselves staying home from the ACC Championship game while one team is now solidified their slot into that match.

Atlantic
It's now down to Florida State and North Carolina State. If North Carolina State beats Maryland, then NC State goes to the Championship. Otherwise, Florida State gets to go.

Coastal
Virginia Tech will be going to the Championship game.

Countdown to the ACC Championships - 15 Nov

After a few more critical losses this week, a few more teams have closed the door to their season. Here is a summary of who remains left in contention for the championship game.

Atlantic
Boston College, Clemson and Wake Forest are out.

Florida State could make it, but they would have to win their game against Maryland and NC State must lose one of their games between UNC or Maryland.

Maryland can still make it, but they must win both of their games against Florida State and North Carolina State.

North Carolina State could make it, but depending on how Florida and Maryland go makes it difficult to see. If Florida State beats Maryland, then NC State has to win both of their games against UNC and Maryland. If Maryland beats Florida State, then NC State only needs to only beat Maryland to make it to the championship game.

Coastal
Duke, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, and Virginia are all staying home.

Miami(FL) can make it to the championships, but they would have to beat Virginia Tech and VT would have to lose to UVA.

Virginia Tech can make it. They only have to win one of their games against either Miami or UVA.

Countdown to ACC Championships - 8 Nov

Well, since the last posting of this was right before the weekend, it was a short trip to me posting the one following the weekend. I think the ACC is definitely showing how bad it can be. Only one team, Virginia Tech, is even rated in the AP Poll.

But we have a new team joining the "stay-at-home" club. That would be UVA with their loss to Duke this weekend.

Atlantic
Boston College and Wake Forest are staying home.

Clemson is a statistical nightmare. They must win against Florida State to even have any hopes. They can lose against Wake, but it will require one of those "perfect storm" situations.

Florida State, Maryland and North Carolina State are running neck and neck.

Coastal
Duke, Georgia Tech and Virginia are all staying home.

Miami and North Carolina are still in the running, but they still have to win against Virginia Tech to just stay as hopefuls, but Virginia Tech still has a commanding lead which could squash them anyways.

Virginia Tech is in for sure if they win at least 2 of their next 3 games, though depending on how Miami or UNC play, it might actually be easier for Tech to get in to the championship game.

Countdown to ACC Championships

WIth the ACC Championship football game quickly approaching, several teams have already earned their seats at Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the real teams play. There are still quite a few teams vying for slots to go to the championship.

Atlantic
Boston College and Wake Forest are out.

Clemson will have an incredibly hard time, but it is still statistically possible.
There are too many variables, but any loss by Clemson will instantly knock them out. And still, it is possible for them to win their remaining games and still get eliminated by other teams winning their games.

Florida State, Maryland and NC State are pretty neck and neck, but as of right now, NC State has a slight advantage.

Coastal
Duke and Georgia Tech are out.

Virgina has a snowball's chance in hell. For them to proceed, VT has to lose against Miami, UNC and Virginia... Miami has to lose at least one game between Maryland and Georgia Tech... and UNC has to lose against Florida State, NC State AND Duke. So, yeah... god speed to any UVA fans.

Miami and UNC both have not-unreasonable chances, but it is fairly unlikely since VT has a very large advantage. If Virginia Tech wins against Miami or UNC, that losing team automatically gets knocked out of championship hopes.

Virginia Tech Football - Am Embarrassment to the ACC (update)

Wow. All I can say is "wow". Today, Virginia Tech lost to James Madison in football... 21 to 16. I wish I had access to see the game, but it wasn't aired. And, I guess that is good for Tech since they would have truly embarrassed themselves nationally. I so hope that Tech is not in the Top 25 for the AP Poll. There is no excuse that a nationally ranked team should ever lose to a non-Div IA team.

Tech needs to get their asses in gear.

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Just as a side note. This was only the 2nd time ever in the NCAA that a nationally ranked team was beaten by a non-Div IA team.

ACC Football - Week 1 (Updated Estimated Scores)

Well, I actually guessed fairly well on my picks for ACC Football this last week. The only mistake that I had made was assuming that Navy was going to beat Maryland.

When it comes to ranking the top 10, my numbers have been off from the AP Polls. I have been using a variant of the ELO system to rank the Div I teams. My Top 10 for post-Week 1 are as follows:
1. Texas
2. Alabama
3. TCU
4. Boise State
5. Florida
6. Ohio State
7. Cincinnati
8. Brigham Young
9. Oregon
10. Penn State

Using the same system I used to pick last week's results, I will use for Week 2's predictions. For the Div I matches, the estimated score is included. (The score is something experimental and I want to see how accurate it is)

Duke v. Wake Forest - Wake Forest (22-27)
Georgia Tech v. Kansas - Georgia Tech (32-18)
James Madison v. Virginia Tech - Virginia Tech
Florida St v. Oklahoma - Oklahoma (25-33)
Presbyterian v. Clemson - Clemson
Kent St v. Boston College - Boston College (13-31)
Miami (FL) v. Ohio St - Ohio State (19-28)
Morgan St v. Maryland - Maryland
NC State c. UCF - UCF (24-27)
Virginia v. USC - USC (14-33)

Virginia Tech Football

So, it is that time again. Soon, Virginia Tech will be hittin gthe field again in an attempt to get a National Championship.

Here are my ACC predictions for Week 1.
All of the teams playing a non-Div I team should win which include:
Boston College over Weber State
Florida State over Samford
Wake Forest over Presbyterian
North Carolina State over Western Carolina
Georgia Tech over South Carolina State
Miami(FL) over Florida A&M
Duke over Elon
UVA over Richmond (but with UVA, maybe the Spiders will give them a rough time)

For the "real" games of the weekend:
Clemson over North Texas
Maryland losing to Navy
Virginia Tech losing to Boise State
North Carolina losing to LSU

And yes, I can hear the cries of sacrilege from my fellow Hokies, but I am still picking Boise State to win using last year's statistical numbers.