A few days ago, I posted potential letdown spots for the ACC Atlantic Division. With the introductory babbling and disclaimers already taken care of in the first post, on to the Coastal Division:
Duke
- 9/6/08 vs. Northwestern -
As mentioned briefly in the last post, it's tough to find letdown spots for teams that seem to have a letdown every week. But, thanks to the point spread, you can wager on a shitty team being especially shitty on a given week. Coming off a probable win vs. James Madison in the first week, and getting one win is better than some recent Duke teams have managed in a whole season, look for the Blue Devils to get their asses handed to them against revenge-minded (or, at least, embarrassed) Northwestern, who got caught looking ahead to the whupping they were going to get from Ohio State last year and were upset by Duke. Not this year.
Georgia Tech
- 9/20/08 vs. Mississippi State -
This game just comes at a bad scheduling spot for the Jackets, showing up after consecutive road games at Boston College (9/6) and Virginia Tech (9/13), and just before a BYE week. It's going to be tough for the Georgia Tech players to keep their focus in that spot, especially in a non-conference game.
Miami
- 9/27/08 vs. North Carolina -
9/6 at Florida
9/13 BYE
9/20 at Texas A&M
9/27 v. UNC
10/4 v. Florida State
'Nuff said.
North Carolina
- 10/4/08 vs. Connecticut -
UNC has popped up a few times on this list as the team that could take advantage of another team's letdown. On October 4, they welcome UConn to Chapel Hill in the middle of a series of tough games. When the UConn game kicks off, the Heels will have faced Rutgers, Virginia Tech, and a road game at Miami in consecutive weeks, The week after the Connecticut game, Notre Dame comes to town with all of the undeserved hype that travels with the Irish.
Virginia
- 9/13/08 at Connecticut -
Why is UConn picking on the ACC teams? I didn't see any great letdown spots for UVA, but this one was the closest thing to it. After getting thrashed by USC in their opener on August 30, UVA gets to take their frustrations out on Richmond the following week, and then travel to UConn the next Saturday, with a BYE week to look forward to the following week.
Virginia Tech
- 11/6/08 vs. Maryland -
Nobody seems to know what to make of Maryland this season, but the Hokies better find a way to keep their energy up for this game. Virginia Tech travels to Boston College (the only ACC team to beat them last year) on 10/18, then to Tallahassee to face Florida State on 10/25, then back home for Maryland before traveling back to Florida to face Miami on 11/13. I know castrated roosters are famous for their focus, but that's a lot of travel in one stretch of games.
Less than 2 weeks away from the start of the season. Up next, the Big East.
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2 comments:
Tech will have no trouble getting up for a thursday night game against maryland. It's a different team and atmosphere for night games in blacksburg. And that's not just a fan's perspective; I know a bunch of players who feel that way. Square logic maybe, but that's my experience in blacksburg.
I've been to a few games in Blacksburg myself, and while the atmosphere is great for football games, they did lose 4 games against the spread at home last year, including their Thursday night game hosting Boston College. I will grant you that the home field advantage seems to increase for night games because it gives the kids more time to drink that day.
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