Since the ACC and Big East had their mix and match party, the ACC has underachieved and disappointed as a whole. Save for a few good Virginia Tech teams and a good Wake Forest team, there hasn’t been much to crow about in the ACC. Is it because expectations were too high? It is about time this super-conference steps it up a notch.
In case you missed my other grades here are the links: Big XII, Big 10(+1), SEC, Pac-10, and Big East. The criteria I am taking into consideration are as follows: The expected level of play of the ACC team, the expected level of play of the opponent, FBS (Div-1A) opponents, FCS (Div-1AA) opponents. I do not take into account how good a scheduled team was when the game was contracted. Conversely, I will give credit for recently improved teams like Rutgers and South Florida. Let’s take a look at the last BCS conference’s out-of-conference (OOC) schedules for me to grade.
Virginia – USC, Richmond, Connecticut, Eastern Carolina. USC is a total monster to have on a OOC schedule. Period. End of story. I will gladly overlook the lousy Richmond game because of the cajones it took to put USC on the schedule. The other two game are not bad either. UCONN, nine game winners last year, should put up a good fight for Virginia. The Cavaliers dropped an easy game last year against Wyoming. Could ECU be this years Wyoming? Maybe. I love this schedule, and I have to give credit for having USC up there. Grade: A
Miami – Charleston Southern, Florida, Texas A&M, Central Florida. This could have been one of the best, if not the best, OOC schedule, if it were not for that Charleston Southern game. That game really takes away from what they are trying to do in Miami. All that I am saying is schedule an FBS team like Arizona, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, or Baylor. Why do you have to go out of the FBS? Anyway, the Florida game will be a monster for Miami. It should show us where Miami will be this year. The A&M game is important because Miami should win, but the Aggies are always formidable. The UCF game will be really good. I assure you that the players from Miami do not want to lose that game. I will also assure you that the UCF players are gunning for the Canes. Grade: A-
Duke – James Madison, Northwestern, Navy, Wake Forest. As far as I know, Duke has never been confused with being good at football. I may be wrong, but Duke is usually really bad. I’m confused because last year didn’t Notre Dame celebrate wildly after a last minute win over Duke? Maybe that was a dream. Dream or no dream, this is a pretty good schedule overall for Duke. James Madison is an FCS team, but I can overlook that due to the fact that it is Duke. Wake Forest is certainly a formidable foe. The Navy and Northwestern games should be challenging for the Blue Devils. Overall, not bad. Grade: A-
North Carolina State – South Carolina, William and Mary, Eastern Carolina, South Florida. This one could have been an “A” if it weren’t for that danged W&M on the schedule. Wow, this is still pretty good. South Florida should still be good this year with Leavitt there to incite that violent defense. Darth Visor and the Gamecocks are formidable for NC State and most other teams. ECU is a quality team that will make you earn a win over them. Then, there is that W&M staring you in the face like a wounded puppy-dog. Why? Why did they have to ruin a perfectly good OOC schedule? Grade: B+
North Carolina – McNeese State, Rutgers, Connecticut, Notre Dame. Three years ago you would have looked at this schedule and scoffed at the lack of competition outside of Notre Dame. What a difference three years makes, huh? Rutgers is here to stay with Schiano at the helm. UCONN had a very good season last year and shouldn’t lose too much. Notre Dame is a big question mark. Will they be bad or really bad? It would have been nice to see a Baylor or New Mexico State on the schedule instead of McNeese State, but that seems to be a trend here in the ACC. Grade: C+
Maryland – Delaware, Middle Tennessee State, California, Eastern Michigan. This is not too, too bad. Cal is certainly a great game to have as the most challenging game on the OOC-schedule. Middle Tennessee State and Eastern Michigan are ok games. They are moderately good teams that lack the depth to really beat you in the fourth quarter. They will challenge you throughout the game, but you are in no real danger of losing if you are reasonably deep. Actually, Delaware isn’t too bad. Sure they lost their hot-shot QB, but if you are going to go out of the FBS you could do much worse than Delaware. Grade: C
Wake Forest – Baylor, Mississippi, Navy, Vanderbilt. I like this schedule because all the teams are from the FBS. I don’t like this schedule because none of the teams are really good. When Navy may be the hardest team on your schedule, then you have a weak schedule. Vandy and Baylor are perennial cellar-dwellers. That leaves Ole Miss. They were probably the worst team in the SEC last year. Granted, the SEC is a tough conference, but when your only wins are against Memphis, LA Tech, and Northwestern State, you may have problems. The only thing good about this schedule is what I have already mentioned. Grade: C-
Boston College – Kent State, Central Florida, Rhode Island, Notre Dame. This really stinks up the place here. UCF is a pretty good team and will challenge BC, but in no way should it be the most challenging game on the schedule. Notre Dame may put up a fight at the end of the year against BC, but it is unlikely. Kent State should have been the weakest game on the schedule, but BC needed to schedule Rhode Island. Really? Rhode Island? This is very disappointing coming from a team that won ten games last year. Grade: D
Florida State – Western Carolina, Chattanooga, Colorado, Florida. This is another disappointing OOC schedule that had promise. Having Colorado and Florida on the schedule is phenomenal. That is gutsy and I give a lot of credit for that. The problem is that FSU went outside the FBS for their patsies. Again, what is wrong with an Ohio, Baylor, Western Michigan, Vandy, or Iowa State on the schedule? Why do they have to go so far down the food chain? It doesn’t do any good for FSU except to all but guarantee a win. Isn’t that win all but guaranteed with a Buffalo or a New Mexico State? Deplorable. Grade: D
Clemson – Alabama, Citadel, South Carolina State, South Carolina. Here is an example of a OOC schedule that had potential, but ultimately failed. Alabama to start the season is a very bold and tough game. The rivalry game with Darth Visor and South Carolina at the end of the year is very, very respectable. What is up with the ####-stain in the middle? Citadel and South Carolina State? I’m sorry, but one of those two would have been bad enough. Clemson is a good team, and should try to do a better job challenging themselves. It is really tough for me to give a bad grade to Clemson because of the Alabama game, but fair is fair. Grade: D-
Georgia Tech – Jacksonville State, Mississippi State, Gardner-Webb, Georgia. The game with Georgia is a monster and I give credit for being a rivalry game. The Mississippi State game is respectable, and MSU should be pretty good this year. The rest of the schedule is trash. This is very disappointing. I think they could have done a much better job. I think they should have done a much better job. There is no excuse for two non-FBS teams to be on the OOC schedule. Grade: D-
Virginia Tech – Eastern Carolina, Furman, Nebraska, Western Kentucky. Ok, I get it. To be in the ACC you must beat up on Div-1AA teams. It must be a requirement because just about every ACC team has one on the schedule and four teams have two. Not cool. If this year’s Nebraska was the Nebraska of old, then I may have been inclined to overlook one of the two patsies on the list. Such is not the case. Nebraska may be the most challenging team on the schedule, but that is not saying very much at all. ECU is fine if they are not the “big game” on the OOC schedule. This may be the case. Western Kentucky recently came up from Div-1AA. Ok. This is VT here not Duke. Grade: F
This feels good. I think I may have hit on something the media has missed out on reporting. Who’s the Village #### now!
The big news coming out of Lincoln, Nebraska was that Tom Osborne named himself Interim Head Coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. It was stated that this move was made to maintain the continuity of the recruiting process for Nebraska. Ok, I buy that, but what makes that newsworthy? Are the media outlets trying to imply that Osborne is contemplating getting back into coaching? At first glance, I did not see the importance of this story.
It took my feeble mind a little time to realize that the important part of this story was not printed in black and white. The important part is that the search for a head coach is over.
Why would Tom Osborne come home to Lincoln to recruit if he had not found a head coach? If the deal has not been finalized, then how could he be focused on anything else? What good is recruiting kids to a school that doesn’t have a head coach? It does not make any sense for Osborne to be on the recruiting trail if someone had not accepted an offer to be the next head coach of the Husker Nation.
So, the question is who will be introduced as head coach and why is it not being announced immediately?
To the best of my knowledge, the only positively confirmed interviews have been with Bo Pelini, Turner Gill, and Jim Grobe. Let us assume that these are the only interviews that have transpired. That will narrow down the “who” part of the question.
As far as the “why” part, we can only assume that the person who has accepted the position has some pressing obligations to wrap up before the announcement can be made. Of the three candidates, who has pressing obligations? Turner Gill’s team, Buffalo, is not bowl eligible and has no more games this season, so we can count him out. Jim Grobe possibly has a bowl to prepare for, but Wake Forest’s season is over until then. Without a game to prepare for immediately, it would seem unlikely that an announcement would not be made and an interim head coach be named for Wake Forest. That leaves us with Bo Pelini. He has LSU’s biggest game of the season to prepare for. With all the trouble LSU has had in games lately, it would seem prudent to downplay and suppress any distractions this week. Somebody should have told Les Miles that.
Your Village #### has come to the conclusion that Bo Pelini will, again, be the next head coach at Nebraska based upon logical deduction of the facts over the last week.
Last week I posted a series of questions I wanted to see answered. Here is a list of what I asked and commented on last week and the answers as I see them.
Last Week’s Question
Miami at Oklahoma - Can Miami execute on Oklahoma’s Defense? Is Oklahoma’s offense that good? Is this the same Miami team from last year? How well is Oklahoma’s QB going to hold up under some real pressure? You can’t knock either of these teams’ scheduling. Who would want to play either of these teams if you had title hopes?
ANSWER
OU is phenomenal, or Miami is bad again this year. I believe OU is really good. Miami is improved, but there is something really wrong in Miami. The same kind of wrong that is at Michigan.
Last Week’s Question
Nebraska at Wake Forest – Will the defending ACC Champs go 0-2 to start the season? Can the new Nebraska run the ball like the old Nebraska for another week? Was the devastating loss to Boston College a product of looking ahead to the Big Red? Will the Big Red be looking ahead to USC? Can the Demon Deacons muster any running attack? Is Sam Keller as good as advertised? Nebraska has to win this one for anyone to take them seriously next week. Wake needs a win if they hope to repeat as champions of the ACC and save face.
ANSWER
Wake is 0-2. NU cannot run like before. Wake was looking ahead to Nebraska and that contributed to Wake’s loss to BC. It was evident to me that Wake did not try to run the ball against BC the way they did against NU. NU is certainly looking ahead to hosting USC now. Keller has a very strong, accurate arm, but he seems to be lacking touch on some of his throws. Hopefully, he will play better.
Last Week’s Question
California at Colorado State – Will California be hampered by the altitude and a good Colorado State offense? Can Colorado State stop anyone? How ####ed up is Cal after the complete domination o####ood Tennessee team last week? Can Colorado State stop anyone? Cal should roll, but I expect Colorado State to score more than a couple times.
ANSWER
Cal is a very good team, but playing on the coast and in the mountains are two different things. Colorado State has proved that they can score. They have a problem stopping anyone, but they may be able to outscore some superior opponents this year. I am looking forward to the TCU/Colorado State match up. It should be good.
Last Week’s Question
Oregon at Michigan – Do the Ducks stand a chance in the Big House after all that has happened? Is Michigan really that bad? Can Oregon kick a wounded Wolverine while it is down in its own house? Is Michigan really that bad? We will all find out if Michigan is going to be worth watching for the rest of the season.
ANSWER
The Ducks came to play, and play they did. Michigan is really that bad! Oregon can kick butt, and kick butt is what they did. Michigan is really that bad! The ND/Michigan game will be a fun one for sure.
Last Week’s Question
Notre Dame at Penn State – Penn State should roll. You know that the Golden-Domers are going to surprise at least one team this year. Is it going to be Joe Pa and his boys?
ANSWER
Notre Dame…NO SOUP FOR YOU!!!
Last Week’s Question
Virginia Tech at LSU – Tigers and Cajuns and Creoles oh my! At night, on the Bayou, surrounded by a mass of yellow and purple clad drunk, crawdad eating, psychopaths, screaming things only a native can understand. I love watching LSU home night games!!!! That is the cream of the crop of the SEC venues. Do the heartfelt Hokies stand a chance? Were they looking ahead to LSU last week? For their sakes, I hope so. Dem boys can play some o’dat fooseball down dair in Louisiana.
ANSWER
Dem po’ol Hokies. Dey didn no wha dey’as headin’ inta. LSU #### whoopin’ on dem boys. LSU is dang good at dat dair defense. Brang’on dem saddie boys from dat dair ‘oCaliforneea. LSU #### whoopin’ on dem to.
Translation: LSU defeated Virginia Tech rather easily. LSU’s defense seems to be very good. USC may be in for a fight.
I would also like to say that College Football is the best time of year. When else can you verbally rip someone's head off and act like you did nothing wrong?
Isn’t this exciting? It has been a hard few years for the proud Nebraska faithful. It would seem as though the pains and disappointments of the last few years will be wiped away with a win in Lincoln next week. That game is gonna be great!
Wait a minute. Don’t we have a game this week? Why does it seem that all I ever talk about is the game next week? Is it because Wake Forest is going to roll over for us? Is it because we have already won this one on paper? “Not so fast my friend” sorry Lee.
Wake is in a very special situation here. They are the defending champions of the ACC. Yeah, it’s the same ACC that has teams such as Virginia Tech, Miami, Florida State, and Boston College. Not a bad conference if you ask me. Sure, Wake lost to BC in bad fashion, but other respectful teams played poorly last week. (Michigan and Texas) I believe you would be getting way ahead of yourself in thinking that these teams are not going to be in bowls this year.
Starting the season 0-1 and being the defending ACC champs means to me that they will be playing to save face. Even with these things considered, the “Sea of Red” will roll into Winston-Salem, and breeze through to a victory, right? Not really.
As Nebraska fans, we look for any excuse to go see the rest of the country. Road games give us the perfect excuse to take a couple days off and go on a roadie. I read an article about how if you want to get tickets to the game this week, call the Nebraska ticket office. WHAT?!?!? There are tickets left? Well, surely there are tickets left on Wake’s side also. Nope. A local North Carolina newspaper gave instructions on how to obtain tickets from the ticket office in Lincoln. http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pa gename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_ColumnistArticle&c=MG Article&cid=1173352631019&path=!sports&s=103764550 9200 (That is one heck of link) Yep, it would seem the “Sea of Red” may be reduced to a mere puddle. Oh my.
So what is it about this game that is not attracting the red clad faithful to come out in droves? Is it the loss to BC last week? Is NC too far from Lincoln? Is it not that interesting? Is it the game next week? Is it because we dismantled Wake 31-3 the year before last in Lincoln?
I don’t want to sound presumptuous, but maybe Wake is getting way up for this one. All of the intangible signs are in place for the Huskers to come back 1-1. I know I sound like a worry-wort, but I can’t help it. Come on now! We can talk about USC on Sunday-Friday next week. There is a game to play this week!
The first week is in the books. Now, we can start to answer some questions about some teams' performances. These are some of the more interesting games for me.
Miami at Oklahoma - Can Miami execute on Oklahoma’s Defense? Is Oklahoma’s offense that good? Is this the same Miami team from last year? How well is Oklahoma’s QB going to hold up under some real pressure? You can’t knock either of these teams’ scheduling. Who would want to play either of these teams if you had title hopes?
Nebraska at Wake Forest – Will the defending ACC Champs go 0-2 to start the season? Can the new Nebraska run the ball like the old Nebraska for another week? Was the devastating loss to Boston College a product of looking ahead to the Big Red? Will the Big Red be looking ahead to USC? Can the Demon Deacons muster any running attack? Is Sam Keller as good as advertised? Nebraska has to win this one for anyone to take them seriously next week. Wake needs a win if they hope to repeat as champions of the ACC and save face.
California at Colorado State – Will California be hampered by the altitude and a good Colorado State offense? Can Colorado State stop anyone? How ####ed up is Cal after the complete domination o####ood Tennessee team last week? Can Colorado State stop anyone? Cal should roll, but I expect Colorado State to score more than a couple times.
Oregon at Michigan – Do the Ducks stand a chance in the Big House after all that has happened? Is Michigan really that bad? Can Oregon kick a wounded Wolverine while it is down in it’s own house? Is Michigan really that bad? We will all find out if Michigan is going to be worth watching for the rest of the season.
Notre Dame at Penn State – Penn State should roll. You know that the Golden-Domers are going to surprise at least one team this year. Is it going to be Joe Pa and his boys?
I have saved the best for last!
Virginia Tech at LSU – Tigers and Cajuns and Creoles oh my! At night, on the Bayou, surrounded by a mass of yellow and purple clad drunk, crawdad eating, psychopaths, screaming things only a native can understand. I love watching LSU home night games!!!! That is the cream of the crop of the SEC venues. Do the heartfelt Hokies stand a chance? Were they looking ahead to LSU last week? For their sakes, I hope so. Dem boys can play some o’dat fooseball down dair in Louisiana.
I like the match-ups and the years of bad-blood between rivals in college football. I enjoy a good game no matter the national implications. Give me a 3OT game between a couple of Sun Belt teams over a 40 point blowout between a couple top 25 teams anytime. I consider myself to be a fan of the game. I will be as respectful to visitors on my blog as they are to me. Go Huskers! Go Navy! Go Jags! Go Cubbies!
Virginia – USC, Richmond, Connecticut, Eastern Carolina. USC is a total monster to have on a OOC schedule. Period. End of story. I will gladly overlook the lousy Richmond game because of the cajones it took to put USC on the schedule. The other two game are not bad either. UCONN, nine game winners last year, should put up a good fight for Virginia. The Cavaliers dropped an easy game last year against Wyoming. Could ECU be this years Wyoming? Maybe. I love this schedule, and I have to give credit for having USC up there. Grade: A
Miami – Charleston Southern, Florida, Texas A&M, Central Florida. This could have been one of the best, if not the best, OOC schedule, if it were not for that Charleston Southern game. That game really takes away from what they are trying to do in Miami. All that I am saying is schedule an FBS team like Arizona, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, or Baylor. Why do you have to go out of the FBS? Anyway, the Florida game will be a monster for Miami. It should show us where Miami will be this year. The A&M game is important because Miami should win, but the Aggies are always formidable. The UCF game will be really good. I assure you that the players from Miami do not want to lose that game. I will also assure you that the UCF players are gunning for the Canes. Grade: A-
Duke – James Madison, Northwestern, Navy, Wake Forest. As far as I know, Duke has never been confused with being good at football. I may be wrong, but Duke is usually really bad. I’m confused because last year didn’t Notre Dame celebrate wildly after a last minute win over Duke? Maybe that was a dream. Dream or no dream, this is a pretty good schedule overall for Duke. James Madison is an FCS team, but I can overlook that due to the fact that it is Duke. Wake Forest is certainly a formidable foe. The Navy and Northwestern games should be challenging for the Blue Devils. Overall, not bad. Grade: A-
North Carolina State – South Carolina, William and Mary, Eastern Carolina, South Florida. This one could have been an “A” if it weren’t for that danged W&M on the schedule. Wow, this is still pretty good. South Florida should still be good this year with Leavitt there to incite that violent defense. Darth Visor and the Gamecocks are formidable for NC State and most other teams. ECU is a quality team that will make you earn a win over them. Then, there is that W&M staring you in the face like a wounded puppy-dog. Why? Why did they have to ruin a perfectly good OOC schedule? Grade: B+
North Carolina – McNeese State, Rutgers, Connecticut, Notre Dame. Three years ago you would have looked at this schedule and scoffed at the lack of competition outside of Notre Dame. What a difference three years makes, huh? Rutgers is here to stay with Schiano at the helm. UCONN had a very good season last year and shouldn’t lose too much. Notre Dame is a big question mark. Will they be bad or really bad? It would have been nice to see a Baylor or New Mexico State on the schedule instead of McNeese State, but that seems to be a trend here in the ACC. Grade: C+
Maryland – Delaware, Middle Tennessee State, California, Eastern Michigan. This is not too, too bad. Cal is certainly a great game to have as the most challenging game on the OOC-schedule. Middle Tennessee State and Eastern Michigan are ok games. They are moderately good teams that lack the depth to really beat you in the fourth quarter. They will challenge you throughout the game, but you are in no real danger of losing if you are reasonably deep. Actually, Delaware isn’t too bad. Sure they lost their hot-shot QB, but if you are going to go out of the FBS you could do much worse than Delaware. Grade: C
Wake Forest – Baylor, Mississippi, Navy, Vanderbilt. I like this schedule because all the teams are from the FBS. I don’t like this schedule because none of the teams are really good. When Navy may be the hardest team on your schedule, then you have a weak schedule. Vandy and Baylor are perennial cellar-dwellers. That leaves Ole Miss. They were probably the worst team in the SEC last year. Granted, the SEC is a tough conference, but when your only wins are against Memphis, LA Tech, and Northwestern State, you may have problems. The only thing good about this schedule is what I have already mentioned. Grade: C-
Boston College – Kent State, Central Florida, Rhode Island, Notre Dame. This really stinks up the place here. UCF is a pretty good team and will challenge BC, but in no way should it be the most challenging game on the schedule. Notre Dame may put up a fight at the end of the year against BC, but it is unlikely. Kent State should have been the weakest game on the schedule, but BC needed to schedule Rhode Island. Really? Rhode Island? This is very disappointing coming from a team that won ten games last year. Grade: D
Florida State – Western Carolina, Chattanooga, Colorado, Florida. This is another disappointing OOC schedule that had promise. Having Colorado and Florida on the schedule is phenomenal. That is gutsy and I give a lot of credit for that. The problem is that FSU went outside the FBS for their patsies. Again, what is wrong with an Ohio, Baylor, Western Michigan, Vandy, or Iowa State on the schedule? Why do they have to go so far down the food chain? It doesn’t do any good for FSU except to all but guarantee a win. Isn’t that win all but guaranteed with a Buffalo or a New Mexico State? Deplorable. Grade: D
Clemson – Alabama, Citadel, South Carolina State, South Carolina. Here is an example of a OOC schedule that had potential, but ultimately failed. Alabama to start the season is a very bold and tough game. The rivalry game with Darth Visor and South Carolina at the end of the year is very, very respectable. What is up with the 
Georgia Tech – Jacksonville State, Mississippi State, Gardner-Webb, Georgia. The game with Georgia is a monster and I give credit for being a rivalry game. The Mississippi State game is respectable, and MSU should be pretty good this year. The rest of the schedule is trash. This is very disappointing. I think they could have done a much better job. I think they should have done a much better job. There is no excuse for two non-FBS teams to be on the OOC schedule. Grade: D-
Virginia Tech – Eastern Carolina, Furman, Nebraska, Western Kentucky. Ok, I get it. To be in the ACC you must beat up on Div-1AA teams. It must be a requirement because just about every ACC team has one on the schedule and four teams have two. Not cool. If this year’s Nebraska was the Nebraska of old, then I may have been inclined to overlook one of the two patsies on the list. Such is not the case. Nebraska may be the most challenging team on the schedule, but that is not saying very much at all. ECU is fine if they are not the “big game” on the OOC schedule. This may be the case. Western Kentucky recently came up from Div-1AA. Ok. This is VT here not Duke. Grade: F
The big news coming out of Lincoln, Nebraska was that Tom Osborne named himself Interim Head Coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. It was stated that this move was made to maintain the continuity of the recruiting process for Nebraska. Ok, I buy that, but what makes that newsworthy? Are the media outlets trying to imply that Osborne is contemplating getting back into coaching? At first glance, I did not see the importance of this story.
It took my feeble mind a little time to realize that the important part of this story was not printed in black and white. The important part is that the search for a head coach is over. 
Why would Tom Osborne come home to Lincoln to recruit if he had not found a head coach? If the deal has not been finalized, then how could he be focused on anything else? What good is recruiting kids to a school that doesn’t have a head coach? It does not make any sense for Osborne to be on the recruiting trail if someone had not accepted an offer to be the next head coach of the Husker Nation.
To the best of my knowledge, the only positively confirmed interviews have been with Bo Pelini, Turner Gill, and Jim Grobe. Let us assume that these are the only interviews that have transpired. That will narrow down the “who” part of the question.
