« MRI Football 2010 - Rankings Week 10 | Main | Big East Coast BiACC - Big East Preview, Week 13 »

Big East Coast BiACC / Southern Exposure Special: ACC, SEC Week 13 Preview

November 25, 2010  |  By Benjamin Miraski

It is crossover central this week in the ACC and SEC, so we decided to preview all the games in one massive rundown. The computer will as usual assist on any game with an ACC team involved. After all, it is doing better than most humans at this point.

The ACC also dips into Big East waters this week, which is a good thing. As we talked about a few weeks ago, that is the only major conference against which the Atlantic Coast seems to have some bragging rights.

As for those games going into SEC country, there could be some issues.

As an added bonus, the ACC championship game will be set after this weekend’s game between North Carolina State and Maryland. Either the Wolfpack will take care of business and move on to the extra game, or Florida State will be back fighting for the championship against Virginia Tech.

But enough banter. On to the games.

Friday:

Auburn at Alabama (-5) - Nothing like starting off with the big one. Only one thing to watch for here. Can the desire for a National Title out motivate the desire for a rival to destroy those title hopes. Since Alabama has been eliminated from the SEC title, and could use a win here to look a little better for a possible at-large berth into the BCS, they have a ton to play for. It won’t be so much about stopping Cam Newton here as it will be about whether their passing game can take advantage of Auburn. The Tigers can stuff the run, so that would be the only chance for offense here. This is a rivalry and should be close. Plus Auburn is not going to go down without a ton of fight so I can’t imagine this one getting wider than a touchdown at any point during this game. Take Auburn and the five.

Saturday:

Boston College at Syracuse (-2.5) - The prodigal son returns home, somewhat in this ACC-Big East showdown. Boston College hasn’t really excelled since leaving the Big East, and that should could be plenty of motivation to stick it to its former conference partner. Nothing like showing that even if you stick in your new conference, you are still better than the teams in the old one. Both teams have clinched at least some sort of bowl berth (and there are a lot of them to go around this season) so no one has that to motivate them. The Orange though have been the more consistent team this season. The computer likes them at 53.89 percent, and that sounds good for getting the Big East into the win column in this mini-showdown. Take Syracuse and lay the points.

Virginia at Virginia Tech (-24) - As much as I would like to think that Virginia Tech would rest its starters halfway through this one, I know there is no chance of that. The Hokies are still scraping to get back some of the respect that they lost in the two season-opening losses. Even though they haven’t lost since, there is a still a bit of tarnish on what is normally a sleek resume. Plus this win would give them 10 on the season, extending their streak. That certainly didn’t look like it would happen prior to week three, four, or even five. The computer says the Hokies are all but a lock to win this one (94.01 percent), so take Virginia Tech and lay the 24.

South Florida at Miami (-11.5) - In the second Big East-ACC showdown, the new guard (South Florida) travels to face the old guard (Miami). It is unfortunate the injuries have piled up this season for Miami. At times, they have looked every bit the Hurricane teams of old, minus a little of the bravado and swagger thanks to a decade of mediocrity. At times, they have just looked pathetic. Count last week’s flop against Virginia Tech in that second category. Now South Florida under Skip Holtz is not yet on par with the great, or really not so great this season, teams in the Sunshine State. But they are improving and they do not want to be overshadowed by that upstart in Orlando. The computer likes Miami to win at 77.66 percent, but my head says they are just too unpredictable right now to lay two scores. Take the Bulls and the 11.5.

Florida at Florida State (-2.5) - And here is where the ACC falters. Going up against the big boys a little further south is never a pleasant experience. Even when Florida State was Florida State, these games against Florida were a nightmare. But of any year to catch the Gators, this would be the one. Too bad that Florida State is also a shadow of even its recent self (although still hoping for an ACC championship game spot and then a BCS berth; yes, the system has issues). Florida has to feel badly going into this one, given its four losses, lack of a division title and just generally blah season. That should give the Gators more than enough reason to take it to the Seminoles. The computer likes Florida State at 69.37 percent, mostly due to home field advantage. The brain says to toss that advantage out the window and take Florida and 2.5.

North Carolina State at Maryland (+2.5) - Maryland, my Maryland, you had two games set up perfectly to get a division title. Both at home, both eliminations for the other team, and yet you couldn’t take care of the first one. So why should the second one be any different. North Carolina State is on a mission. That mission will continue in Jacksonville. The computer likes North Carolina State (58.37 percent) and the human says lay the 2.5.

North Carolina at Duke (+9.5) - Come on, it’s Duke. There is no way Butch Davis will allow North Carolina to blow this one. The computer says Tar Heels (69.37 percent). The human says lay the 9.5.

South Carolina at Clemson (+3) - We said it last week. This one is solely a tune-up for South Carolina when they take on the rushing power of Auburn. Good thing that Clemson took care of that bowl bid by winning last week. The computer likes South Carolina (58.58 percent), and although this game often goes to the team least likely to win it, the brain agrees with the microchips. Take the Gamecocks and lay the field goal.

Wake Forest at Vanderbilt (-5.5) - These are the two worst teams in their leagues. These are among the two worst teams in the country. Will anyone actually watch this game? It should have been scheduled for around 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving to provide some decent background noise for the post-turkey snooze. Instead people will missing out on a game that actually has some significance in the college world (Texas vs. Texas A&M). The computer likes Vanderbilt (58.37 percent) as much as anyone can like either of these teams. The human says take the Commodores too.

Georgia Tech at Georgia (-12.5) - If you are counting at home, that is three games matching the ACC and SEC and three games where we are going with the SEC team. Should we change it up here? As much as this one looked like it was going to go the other way earlier in the season, the Bulldogs have shown enough to earn both the computer’s (75.51) and my respect. But almost two touchdowns seems like a lot to give up when the Georgia Tech offense can really wear down a defense over the course of a game. The Yellow Jackets have scored on some pretty tough defenses this season, so why not believe they can do it here. Take Georgia Tech and the points, but count on a Bulldog win.

Kentucky at Tennessee (-3) - Tennessee seems to have finally learned how to play this season. And they really need to win this one to get to a bowl game. Thanksgiving will come a little late for them, since Kentucky will provide the perfect turkey for them to chow down on. Take the Vols and lay three.

LSU at Arkansas (-3.5) - LSU has vaulted itself into national contender territory with a couple of close wins over some highly ranked opponents. It helps that the Tigers are still hanging around with only a single blemish, a seven-point defeat at the hands of Auburn. That puts them in a prime spot to snag a Sugar Bowl berth with a win here and an Auburn title game appearance. So while the Tigers will be rooting for their namesake against Alabama and South Carolina, they still have to take care of business against Arkansas. And despite all those rankings, they are still the underdogs on the road against the Razorback offense. Probably because the offense is still non-existent in Baton Rouge. This one feels icky to me because this is one of those games where the line doesn’t really push you in one direction and neither team seems poised to take control of this game from the start. Reluctantly I am going with the home field here. Take Arkansas and lay 3.5.

Mississippi State at Mississippi (+2.5) - I really can’t put any faith into Ole Miss any longer. You let the offense-less LSU score 43 on you. You let Tennessee trounce you. Even Mississippi State should be able to handle this one on the road. Lay the 2.5, take the Bulldogs.

Last week, the experiment (ACC) went 4-2 to improve to 16-11 this season. The human went 3-1 in the SEC picks to get to 39-37-1 on the season.

Posted November 25, 2010 12:00 PM

blog comments powered by Disqus