View of the ACC: Week 7

The bye week should've given Frank Beamer and company ample time to prep for Boston College, who gave the Hokies their only ACC road loss since joining the league.

The good news? The Heels looked very impressive in a win over Notre Dame on Saturday. The bad news? Talented WR/KR Brandon Tate is done for the year. That won't make things easy this weekend facing an hot Virginia team.

Wake's D looked strong against a rather lame-duck Clemson team on Thursday night. But that game also showed just how valuable the leg of Sam Swank is to this team. Wiedout D.J. Boldin looks every bit as talented as his older brother Anquan.

We understand that GT had to play their third-string QB this past Saturday against D1-AA Gardner-Webb. Still, that's not an excuse to only win by 3. Still, the Ramblin' Wreck D has yet to give up more than 20 points in a game this year. Saturday's game against Clemson is going to be interesting for all kinds of reasons.

A road test on Thursday night awaits Bobby Bowden's team. Luckily for them it's against NC State, a team that's given up almost as many total points this year as FSU has scored. But will the Pack catch FSU looking ahead to next week's game against Virginia Tech?

Yet another ACC team coming off a bye, Chris Crane will have a big chance to prove himself against the Hokies Saturday.

We're not sure how they've done it either, but Virginia has managed back to back wins over decent teams, the latest victim being the early season media darling East Carolina. Hmm...maybe Al Groh DOES want to keep his job.

It wasn't a win that would really impress anyone, but Saturday's 20-14 W over UCF was still a win, and if you're a Canes fan, that's all you can ask for right now.

I don't think it was so much that Clemson lost to Wake that cost Tommy Bowden his job, it was the WAY they lost. Only one appearance in the red zone against the Demon Deacs isn't the sign of a well-tuned offense. Since that loss, Cullen Harper's been benched, Tommy Bowden and offensive coordinator Rob Spence have been fired, and the stock market has jumped nearly 1,000 points. Coincidence?

It's still so hard to believe that this team got shut out by Virginia. They've great half the year, and ugly the other half. Therefore, we won't be surprised if they manage an upset of Wake this weekend. However, we also won't be stunned if they get blown out.

Duke is third in the league in passing yardage, a testament to David Cutcliffe's brillant offensive mind. If you don't think so, take a gander at Tennessee's offense, and see if they don't miss Cutcliffe.

Coach Tom O'Brien must've spent the off week trying to figure out what's wrong with his defense. The Wolfpack is giving up over 31 points a game, a stat that is only irrelevant if you've got an explosive offense to go along with the bad D. The Pack doesn't have that.