ACC Country

So, a couple of weeks ago, the ACC seemed so clear. Duke and North Carolina were clear contenders, Maryland and Clemson were solid as the 3rd and 4th teams to make the NCAA dance, and everyone else basically had work to do if they wanted in. Well, a lot of work was done and a lot of NCAA resumes were strengthened (and weakened).

So, aside from North Carolina and Duke, who else wants to go dancing?

Maryland and Clemson both had let down losses this week, Clemson to Florida State, and Maryland to Virginia Tech. Instead of winning these games and going to 8-4, both team drops to 7-5 in the ACC. Wake Forest, who is off until Sunday, is a half game behind both teams at 6-5, Virginia Tech is right there at 6-6, and Miami, with it’s big win over Duke, stands at 5-6 and technically remains alive for an NCAA berth. It’s a messed up situation in the ACC. I still contend that Maryland and Clemson are most likely to get in, but both Miami and Wake Forest have entered the picture as well with their wins over Duke. Wake doesn’t need to beat North Carolina, but it would be nice. Miami probably can’t afford too many losses right now. Virginia Tech is only being talked about because of their ACC record – overall, their record would not get them in.

At this point, keep your eye on Miami and Wake Forest. At this rate, that March game between Maryland and Clemson would still be a tie-breaker between the two…but maybe it will be for the ACC Tournament bye. It just goes to prove that even in a “down year,” there are no off nights in the ACC.

In other news…

The Carolina Panthers have dropped Deshaun Foster. Foster has never been great for the Panthers at running back after six seasons and has been an injury risk. The team loves the progress DeAngelo Williams is making, and is hoping he can be the feature back next year. At this point, I say dropping Foster is for the best. Maybe they can try to make a run at Alge Crumpler. Crumpler would give Delhomme (or whoever the QB is) another receiving option opposite of Steve Smith.