Hurricane Florence has proven to be a headache for college football matchups across the Southeast this weekend. Several games were canceled, postponed, or switched times and/or locations. Most notably, Virginia's home game against Ohio on Saturday was moved to Vanderbilt's stadium in Nashville and is now a 4:30 p.m. kickoff on ESPN2. Originally, this game was only going to air online and start at 3 p.m. It will be weird to watch a nationally televised game where probably no more than 10,000 people attend (but actually this is what a lot of December bowl games look like). It is cool that the Cavaliers will now get a national TV audience, but they lose the advantages of a home game. Admission for the game is free. Hopefully, Virginia comes out pumped up and ready -- because Ohio is a solid team -- and doesn't put up a lackluster performance for the nation to see.
Virginia Tech's home game against East Carolina was canceled Monday when the Pirates decided
they didn't want to play a game Saturday in Blacksburg while the hurricane was bearing down on their friends and families back in Greenville, N.C., not to mention the issue of getting back to town in the middle of the storm. This decision created some controversy once the hurricane took a more west and south route Tuesday into Wednesday, and now it will create more problems for southeast North Carolina and northeast South Carolina than northeast North Carolina. Virginia Tech athletics director Whit Babcock put his foot in his mouth a little bit by seeming to criticize ECU's quick trigger instead of waiting a day or so to make the call. But ECU wanted to act quickly and out of an abundance of caution, understandably so. Many media members and college football fans, including some Hokies fans, thought Babcock overstepped his bounds when making his comments, which seemed to lack perspective. ECU instead flew to Florida to prepare for its conference opener against Central Florida next week.
UNC and Central Florida canceled their game in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels have really struggled in their first two weeks, losing to Cal and then ECU, which lost to N.C. A&T in its opener. UCF, meanwhile, has aspirations of going undefeated again. So UNC was probably happy to not play the game. A pretty good contest that was canceled was West Virginia at N.C. State, both of whom are 2-0.
Now that some of that is straightened out, let's get to some picks.
Last week: 8-4 for second straight week Season: 16-8
Thursday's score
Boston College 41 (3-0), Wake Forest 34 (2-1)
Kickoff for this game was moved up a couple of hours to 5:30 p.m. to help with getting it in before bad weather hit the area. Both teams have looked good so far, but the Eagles picked up the big ACC Atlantic win and will look to make some noise against the division's top dogs.
Saturday
No. 21 Miami (1-1) at Toledo (1-0), Noon ESPN2
Interesting stat: The Rockets are 8-5 against Power Five teams at home since 1996.
Toledo 30, Miami 28
Florida State (1-1) at Syracuse (2-0), Noon ESPN
FSU followed up its 24-3 loss to Virginia Tech by almost losing to Samford at home last week.
Syracuse 27, Florida State 24
Georgia Tech (1-1) at Pittsburgh (1-1), 12:30 p.m. ACC Network
Georgia Tech 37, Pittsburgh 33
No. 12 LSU (2-0) at No. 7 Auburn (2-0), 3:30 p.m. CBS
Auburn 24, LSU 17
No. 17 Boise State (2-0) at No. 24 Oklahoma State (2-0), 3:30 p.m. ESPN
Boise State 38, Oklahoma State 35
Duke (2-0) at Baylor (2-0), 3:30 p.m. FS1
The Blue Devils have two big injuries: QB Daniel Jones and all-ACC cornerback Mark Gilbert.
Baylor 24, Duke 21
No. 1 Alabama (2-0) at Ole Miss (2-0), 7 p.m. ESPN
The Crimson Tide has won its first two games by an average score of 54-10.5. The Rebels have scored 123 points in their first two games, and given up 68.
Alabama 49, Ole Miss 24
National game of the week
No. 4 Ohio State (2-0) vs. No. 15 TCU (2-0) in Arlington, Texas, 8 p.m. ABC
Ohio State 31, TCU 24
Virginia (1-1) vs. Ohio (1-0) in Nashville, 4 p.m. ESPN2
Before I get to anything else, I have another quibble with the Indiana loss I didn't include in my previous blog post. When Virginia scored a TD to make it 20-15 with 7:59 left in the third quarter, I would've went for two to try to cut the margin to just three, instead of the four that it was after the extra point was made. The prevailing thought in football is to not chase points. You see it in the NFL all the time. If there's a good chunk of time left, teams pretty much never go for two in this situation. And I'd agree if it were the first half, or maybe if the offense was clicking. Or if the weather was good. But instead, the clock was ticking into the latter part of the third quarter, the offense wasn't clicking and hasn't clicked against FBS competition for some time now, and the weather was horrible.
UVa's kicking game hasn't been good for some time now, but had it gone for two and gotten it -- and at that very moment, the offense had momentum -- then that could've given the Cavaliers the option to at least try to kick a tying field goal. As it was, Virginia had to heave it to the end zone from the 27-yard line on the last play, way too far out for a field goal attempt, but you never know what the situation could've been. Had Bryce Perkins scrambled down to about the 10 on one of the final drive's
plays, the last play could've been a tying field goal rather than a throw to the end zone. I understand the logic in not chasing points, but sometimes I think the better decision is to forget the math and go for it. You just can't take scoring opportunities for granted, especially when you haven't had many recently. End mini-rant.
The good news with this game being moved to Nashville is that the weather will be better than it will be in Charlottesville during the midafternoon hours Saturday. This should help the Cavaliers' offense, but it could help Ohio's, too. The bad part is that the atmosphere will likely be dull. Scott Stadium hasn't exactly been a bastion of an intense home atmosphere lately, but still, instead of 35,000-40,000 fans on a nice Saturday in Charlottesville, the crowd will be much more neutral and much smaller. The quick turnaround from home game to neutral-site game likely means it won't be a bowl-type atmosphere since fans could not have planned to attend over several weeks.
The opponent, Ohio, is no slouch either. The Bobcats are picked to win the MAC and went 9-4 last season. They are coached by Frank Solich, who is 74 and in his 14th season at the school. He has a lifetime 156-90 record between Ohio and Nebraska, a 63.4 winning percentage. Ohio features a strong run game led by senior A.J. Ouellette, who has 2,537 career rushing yards. Last season, he recorded 5.2 yards per carry and scored seven touchdowns and added a receiving score. Virginia did not do a good job against Indiana's rushing attack, which was missing its top two players. Freshman Stevie Scott gained 205 yards and scored a long touchdown. UVa needs to do better in this area.
At quarterback, Nathan Rourke, last season's starter, struggled in the Bobcats' Week 1 win over Howard, which is coached by Mike London and quarterbacked by Cam Newton's brother, Caylin. After going 2 for 8 in the first quarter, Solich pulled Rourke and inserted Quinton Maxwell, who helped the Bobcats top the Bison in a close game, 38-32. Maxwell went 17 of 25 for 233 yards and two TDs. Solich said this week Rourke would get the start, but that is something to watch. Rourke is a very good rushing threat, much like Perkins.
Ohio's defense struggled against Howard, allowing more than 600 yards. The Bobcats only have one returning starter in their defensive front seven. However, Virginia has a hard time scoring points against FBS foes, dating to the second half of the Miami game last season. I don't like the way things are trending for the Wahoos in this matchup. The home-field advantage is gone. They had to come home soaking wet after a tough loss to Indiana and then found out they had to head back on the road instead of playing in the friendly confines of Scott Stadium. Meanwhile, Ohio had Week 2 off, meaning it could clean up some of the mistakes from the close victory over Howard. It knew it was going to be on the road no matter what, so going to Nashville instead of Charlotteville didn't really change things. On top of that, Ohio has a dangerous offense and a well-respected coach at the helm. UVa had a nice opening-week win over Richmond, but I'm definitely telling the Cavaliers to "prove it." Prove me and other doubters wrong. Go and get that tough victory under unusual circumstances. But for now, I like Ohio in another close defeat for the Hoos.
Ohio 27, Virginia 24
Virginia Tech's home game against East Carolina was canceled Monday when the Pirates decided
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| Hurricane Florence is expected to inundate the Carolinas with hours of rain and wind. |
UNC and Central Florida canceled their game in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels have really struggled in their first two weeks, losing to Cal and then ECU, which lost to N.C. A&T in its opener. UCF, meanwhile, has aspirations of going undefeated again. So UNC was probably happy to not play the game. A pretty good contest that was canceled was West Virginia at N.C. State, both of whom are 2-0.
Now that some of that is straightened out, let's get to some picks.
Last week: 8-4 for second straight week Season: 16-8
Thursday's score
Boston College 41 (3-0), Wake Forest 34 (2-1)
Kickoff for this game was moved up a couple of hours to 5:30 p.m. to help with getting it in before bad weather hit the area. Both teams have looked good so far, but the Eagles picked up the big ACC Atlantic win and will look to make some noise against the division's top dogs.
Saturday
No. 21 Miami (1-1) at Toledo (1-0), Noon ESPN2
Interesting stat: The Rockets are 8-5 against Power Five teams at home since 1996.
Toledo 30, Miami 28
Florida State (1-1) at Syracuse (2-0), Noon ESPN
FSU followed up its 24-3 loss to Virginia Tech by almost losing to Samford at home last week.
Syracuse 27, Florida State 24
Georgia Tech (1-1) at Pittsburgh (1-1), 12:30 p.m. ACC Network
Georgia Tech 37, Pittsburgh 33
No. 12 LSU (2-0) at No. 7 Auburn (2-0), 3:30 p.m. CBS
Auburn 24, LSU 17
No. 17 Boise State (2-0) at No. 24 Oklahoma State (2-0), 3:30 p.m. ESPN
Boise State 38, Oklahoma State 35
Duke (2-0) at Baylor (2-0), 3:30 p.m. FS1
The Blue Devils have two big injuries: QB Daniel Jones and all-ACC cornerback Mark Gilbert.
Baylor 24, Duke 21
No. 1 Alabama (2-0) at Ole Miss (2-0), 7 p.m. ESPN
The Crimson Tide has won its first two games by an average score of 54-10.5. The Rebels have scored 123 points in their first two games, and given up 68.
Alabama 49, Ole Miss 24
National game of the week
No. 4 Ohio State (2-0) vs. No. 15 TCU (2-0) in Arlington, Texas, 8 p.m. ABC
Ohio State 31, TCU 24
Virginia (1-1) vs. Ohio (1-0) in Nashville, 4 p.m. ESPN2
Before I get to anything else, I have another quibble with the Indiana loss I didn't include in my previous blog post. When Virginia scored a TD to make it 20-15 with 7:59 left in the third quarter, I would've went for two to try to cut the margin to just three, instead of the four that it was after the extra point was made. The prevailing thought in football is to not chase points. You see it in the NFL all the time. If there's a good chunk of time left, teams pretty much never go for two in this situation. And I'd agree if it were the first half, or maybe if the offense was clicking. Or if the weather was good. But instead, the clock was ticking into the latter part of the third quarter, the offense wasn't clicking and hasn't clicked against FBS competition for some time now, and the weather was horrible.
UVa's kicking game hasn't been good for some time now, but had it gone for two and gotten it -- and at that very moment, the offense had momentum -- then that could've given the Cavaliers the option to at least try to kick a tying field goal. As it was, Virginia had to heave it to the end zone from the 27-yard line on the last play, way too far out for a field goal attempt, but you never know what the situation could've been. Had Bryce Perkins scrambled down to about the 10 on one of the final drive's
The good news with this game being moved to Nashville is that the weather will be better than it will be in Charlottesville during the midafternoon hours Saturday. This should help the Cavaliers' offense, but it could help Ohio's, too. The bad part is that the atmosphere will likely be dull. Scott Stadium hasn't exactly been a bastion of an intense home atmosphere lately, but still, instead of 35,000-40,000 fans on a nice Saturday in Charlottesville, the crowd will be much more neutral and much smaller. The quick turnaround from home game to neutral-site game likely means it won't be a bowl-type atmosphere since fans could not have planned to attend over several weeks.
The opponent, Ohio, is no slouch either. The Bobcats are picked to win the MAC and went 9-4 last season. They are coached by Frank Solich, who is 74 and in his 14th season at the school. He has a lifetime 156-90 record between Ohio and Nebraska, a 63.4 winning percentage. Ohio features a strong run game led by senior A.J. Ouellette, who has 2,537 career rushing yards. Last season, he recorded 5.2 yards per carry and scored seven touchdowns and added a receiving score. Virginia did not do a good job against Indiana's rushing attack, which was missing its top two players. Freshman Stevie Scott gained 205 yards and scored a long touchdown. UVa needs to do better in this area.
At quarterback, Nathan Rourke, last season's starter, struggled in the Bobcats' Week 1 win over Howard, which is coached by Mike London and quarterbacked by Cam Newton's brother, Caylin. After going 2 for 8 in the first quarter, Solich pulled Rourke and inserted Quinton Maxwell, who helped the Bobcats top the Bison in a close game, 38-32. Maxwell went 17 of 25 for 233 yards and two TDs. Solich said this week Rourke would get the start, but that is something to watch. Rourke is a very good rushing threat, much like Perkins.
Ohio's defense struggled against Howard, allowing more than 600 yards. The Bobcats only have one returning starter in their defensive front seven. However, Virginia has a hard time scoring points against FBS foes, dating to the second half of the Miami game last season. I don't like the way things are trending for the Wahoos in this matchup. The home-field advantage is gone. They had to come home soaking wet after a tough loss to Indiana and then found out they had to head back on the road instead of playing in the friendly confines of Scott Stadium. Meanwhile, Ohio had Week 2 off, meaning it could clean up some of the mistakes from the close victory over Howard. It knew it was going to be on the road no matter what, so going to Nashville instead of Charlotteville didn't really change things. On top of that, Ohio has a dangerous offense and a well-respected coach at the helm. UVa had a nice opening-week win over Richmond, but I'm definitely telling the Cavaliers to "prove it." Prove me and other doubters wrong. Go and get that tough victory under unusual circumstances. But for now, I like Ohio in another close defeat for the Hoos.
Ohio 27, Virginia 24
They proved it to you! Nice win -- they looked good in that first half.
ReplyDeleteYep. Badly needed win to get to 2-1. Fighting chance at 6-6 now. Don't think it would've been possible otherwise. Now, we will see what happens. Great resiliency to have to go out there for a "home" game and beat a tougher-than-you-think opponent.
DeleteTerrible week of picks btw. 4-6
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