Bowl Game Number One - Wake Forest vs. Navy

The first bowl game featuring an ACC team this year happens to also be the first bowl game of the postseason.  The newly created EagleBank Bowl kicks off the bowl season Saturday at 11:00 AM and features Wake Forest vs. Navy.  This is a re-match from the regular season for the two teams with Navy upsetting the Demon Deacons in Winston-Salem in their first meeting 24-17.

Strictly by the numbers:

Total offense:  Wake - 300.3 ypg (103rd nationally), Navy - 361.7 ypg (59th nationally)

   

Passing offense:  Wake - 188.7 ypg (84th nationally), Navy - 63.3 ypg (119th nationally)

       

Rushing offense:  Wake - 111.6 ypg (101st nationally), Navy  - 298.3 ypg (1st nationally)

Total Defense:  Wake - 300.3 ypg (19th nationally), Navy - 341.8 ypg (51st nationally)

Passing defense:  Wake - 184.3 ypg (28th nationally), Navy - 215.7 ypg (77th nationally)

Rushing defense:  Wake - 116.1 ypg (21st nationally), Navy - 126.2 ypg (29th nationally)

Game Outlook:

This should be a pretty entertaining game.  Wake Forest has had a lot of great individual efforts this year (Aaron Curry and Alphonso Smith) but could not come together as a great "team".  Wake played many more young guys than they did in previous years due to injury and attrition and therefore were not as fundamentally sound as usual. Riley Skinner was good, but not quite as accurate as last year due to facing much more pressure this year behind a young o-line.  

Navy is its usual self.  Many expected a drop off this year in wins due to Paul Johnson leaving the Midshipmen and taking over at Georgia Tech.  However, first year coach Ken Niumatalolo did a great job and led the team to an 8-4 record, including the win over Wake Forest.  He had spent his previous six seasons at Navy as assistant head coach and offensive line coach.  They led the nation in rushing again.

Prediction:  It is just hard, especially when the teams are pretty evenly matched, to beat a team twice in one season.  Wake will be looking to build momentum for next year and seniors Curry and Smith will not want to go out losers.  I say Wake gets revenge and wins the first bowl game of 2008-2009 by 10, 27-17.  

Sunday Game Recaps

Boston College 67 USC Upstate 55

• A rather sluggish performance from BC but a win none the less. BC was led by Tyler Roche off the bench, who scored 17 points in 17 minutes of action. BC had three other players reach double figures but suprisingly one of them was not all-ACC guard Tyrese Rice. He did not score and only took four shots from the floor. The win puts Boston College at 8-2 on the year through their first ten games.

Wake Forest 66 Wright State 53

• Like BC, Wake probably did not get the performance they were looking for but did win by 13 over the now 2-7 Raiders. The Deacs were led by reserve guard Harvey Hale with 17 points. L.D. Williams and Jeff Teague chipped in 11 and 10 respectively for Wake. Wake did shoot 7-13 from three point range in one bright spot in an otherwise lackluster effort.

#25 Miami 70 Robert Morris 62

• In what was a common theme for the ACC on Sunday, the Hurricanes did not have the kind of night Coach Frank Haith was probably looking for. All-ACC and all-American candidate Jack McClinton turned in a solid offensive night for the Hurricanes, bailing them out on more than one occasion. McClinton scored 24, including 3-7 from three and 9-10 from the foul line. Dwayne Collins(11), James Dews (11), and Lance Hurdle(10) also reached double figures for the Canes. Robert Morris was as close as two at the 6:00 mark of the second half, scoring to make it 57-55, but they would get no closer.

Virginia Tech 79 Longwood 57

• The Hokies were probably the only ACC team to turn in a decent performance on Sunday, easily beating Longwood. The Hokies were led by A.D. Vassallo, who scored 21 and went 3-4 from deep. The win improves VT to 6-4 on the season.

Georgia Tech 60 Illinois-Chicago 66

• The Flames upset the Yellow Jackets, ruining the perfect weekend for ACC hoops and also ruining my prediction of an undefeated weekend for the ACC. GT never could get anything going, shooting 42.1% from the floor and 50% (6-12) from the foul line as a team. Scott VanderMeer led the upset-minded Flames with 19. Georgia Tech led by two at the half, 32-30, but just were not focused today and took the loss from the Horizon league opponent.

Friday & Saturday game Recaps

Miami downs Florida International 76 -50

• Miami came away with an easy win Friday night, downing the Golden Panthers. Miami was led by James Dews with 15 points while all-ACC guard Jack McClinton chipped in 12. Miami also turned in a solid defensive effort, allowing only one Panther player to reach double figures.

Maryland handles Deleware State 86-58

• Maryland went on a 12-0 run midway through the first half to key their rout of DSU Friday night. Maryland was led by Landon Milbourne with 23 points and 7 boards. Maryland had three other players reach double figures with Hayes, Vasquez, and Bowie scoring 12, 16, and 12 respectively. Vasquez also tallied 8 boards and 7 assists. DSU was paced by Kris Douse, who came off the bench to score 14 points in 22 minutes of action.

Florida State survives a scare, beats Georgia State 62-57

• FSU got 23 points from Toney Douglas to outlast Georgia State Saturday. Douglas was 7-13 from the floor and 3-5 from three. Normally the best free throw shooting team in the ACC, the Seminoles struggled slightly on this night, only shooting 68.4% as a team. GSU got a great effort from junior guard Trae Goldston, who scored 24, 12 of which came from 4 3-pointers.

NC State crusies past Winston Salem State 74-46

• NC State won easily while playing in historic Reynolds Coliseum. They were led by Ben McCauley with 14 points and 9 boards.

Clemson wins easily, 90-63, over South Carolina State

• Clemson loafed past SCS, getting 19 points from K.C. Rivers and 18 from Trevor Booker. A bright spot to note for the Tigers was their free throw effort. Typically woeful from the line, Clemson shot 73.7% in this one going 14-19.

UNC scores early, often in beating Oral Roberts 100-84

• One of the nations highest scoring teams kept it rolling Saturday, topping the 100 point mark for the fourth time this year. The formidable duo of Hansbrough and Thompson shined again, combining for 48 points and 17 boards. Coach Roy Williams was probably not thrilled with the defensive effort however, as 4 players reached double figures for the Golden Eagles led by Robert Jarvis with 26.

ACC Bball Standings - 12/12/2008

Team W L Conf. W Conf. L
Clemson 9 0 0 0
North Carolina 8 0 0 0
Wake Forest 8 0 0 0
Duke 8 1 0 0
Florida State 8 1 0 0
Georgia Tech 5 1 0 0
North Carolina State 4 1 0 0
Boston College 7 2 0 0
Maryland 6 2 0 0
Miami (FL) 5 2 0 0
Virginia Tech 5 4 0 0
Virginia 3 3 0 0

This weeks remaining games:
12/12/08: #25 Miami vs. Florida International, 7:30 PM
Maryland vs. Deleware State, 8:00 PM
12/13/08: North Carolina State vs. Winston Salem, 2:00 PM
Clemson vs. South Carolina State, 2:00 PM
Florida State vs. Georgia State, 4:00 PM
#1 North Carolina vs. Oral Roberts, 6:00 PM, ESPN2
12/14/08: Boston College vs. USC Upstate, 1:00 PM
#25 Miami vs. Robert Morris, 1:00 PM
Georgia Tech vs. Illinois-Chicago, 2:00 PM
Virginia Tech vs. Longwood, 2:00 PM
#11 Wake Forest vs. Wright State, 4:00 PM

My Picks: ACC should have an undefeated weekend in college hoops.

Trying this out

I have a ton of free time in the mornings and love following ACC sports (primarily football and basketball) so I thought I would give this blogging thing a try. I will write my opinions on teams, games, players, and anything else in ACC sports.

I also will try, once a week, to update ACC standings in football and college basketball as well as any recruiting updates for any of the schools. I enjoy looking at this stuff and that way, for those of you that stumble upon the blog, you won't have to go to a hundred different websites to get this information. I will post it all for you right here.

Feel free to comment on any postings and hopefully enjoy!

As the bowl games approach, I will give my opinion on each game involving an ACC team. First up will be the EagleBank Bowl featuring Wake Forest versus Navy.