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Huge weekend for the ACC

andrew jones

Hall of Famer
Staff
Jul 21, 2014
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As much as some of you root against ACC teams, and I understand why, I believe it’s important the league has a great deal of success, and believe it will help UNC.

So, the ACC has some huge games this weekend, especially if it loses all or most of them will make the conference look terrible. Here are some thoughts and those games:

Tonight

Louisville at Central Florida: Given how the Cards played at Syracuse last week, one would think they have zero chance, but maybe the Cuse is good and Louisville can bounce back. A win here would be really big for the league.

Saturday

Wake at Vanderbilt: Vandy has two wins under a new coach and could be a problem for the Deacs. And if one of the ACC’s top teams loses at easily the SEC’s worst, that would be embarrassing. Wake needs to win this game by a couple of TDs at least.

Duke at Northwestern: Few people expect the Blue Devil to win, but they did pitch a shutout last week and have a renewed enthusiasm. Northwestern is a good program, and a Duke win would be huge.

Tennessee at Pitt: Big game nationally and enormous for the ACC. The Panthers get the Vols at home and have a chance to open with two wins over P5 teams. Tennessee is considered a dark horse to do something significant in the SEC, so this would be a very good win for the league.

Virginia at Illinois: Road game at a Big Ten team that is 2-0 and trying to grow under Bret Bielema. The Wahoos have the offense, but do they have the defense. Either way, this game won’t get much attention unless it’s whacky like UNC’s was last week, but this is an important game for the ACC.

Also:

Syracuse at UConn: Yes, UConn was terrible, but has a new focus and is at home, so how do the Orange back up a really good opener trying to on the road? This would be an exceptionally damaging loss for the league if it were to happen.

Southern Miss at Miami: Canes better be ready because USM will have some athletes and is often a club that threatens big boys, sometimes even beating them. Miami needs to run them out.

UNC at Georgia State: As stated all offseason and this week, this is a dangerous game for the Tar Heels. They can lose. Being ready to play and sharper defensively are keys. A win won’t move the needle one bit, which is why UNC shouldn’t play games like this, but a loss will get plenty of negative attention.

Other Games

Charleston Southern at NC State
Furman at Clemson
BC at VT


What how do you think the ACC will do in these games?
 
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