EYE ON THE ACC

Rewind: The big in-conference game was Maryland’s 20-17 victory against Clemson (a preseason top-10 team that now enters October with two losses). Miami swung and missed at its golden opportunity (losing at home to North Carolina, 28-24, despite another productive game from freshman QB Robert Marve). Elsewhere, there was an uplifting victory for Virginia Tech (at Nebraska) and a terribly deflating loss for Wake Forest (at home against Navy).

Fast Forward: Florida State (3-1, 0-1) vs. Miami (2-2, 0-1). The game used to have national-championship implications. Now it’s likely an ACC elimination game.

ACC Championship Game Projection: Wake Forest vs. Virginia Tech on Dec. 6 at Raymond James Stadium. Count on the Demon Deacons to gather themselves nicely. The Hokies suddenly have the look of a team that won’t lose again.

THIS WEEK’S KEY GAMES

Auburn (4-1) at Vanderbilt (5-0) - Commodores have lost 13 straight to Auburn (last win: 1955 Gator Bowl).

Kentucky (4-0) at Alabama (5-0) - Wildcats, seeking third straight win in SEC opener, are 2-33-1 all-time against Alabama.

Connecticut (5-0) at North Carolina (3-1) - Can Connecticut stretch its unbeaten string until USF visits Nov. 23?

Oregon (4-1) at USC (2-1) - Trojans haven’t dropped back-to-back Pac-10 games since 2001 season.

Texas (4-0) at Colorado (3-1) - Last meeting was the 2005 Big 12 Championship Game (Texas 70, Colorado 3).

Ohio State (4-1) at Wisconsin (3-1) - Buckeyes can probably eliminate Wisconsin from Big Ten title race.

Missouri (4-0) at Nebraska (3-1) - Missouri hasn’t won at Nebraska since 1978 (15 straight losses).

THEY SAID IT

“Garcia did some good things out there - running was the best thing. He hasn’t done enough [to start], but he’s certainly going to play a lot.” - South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier on freshman QB Stephen Garcia, of Jefferson High, who rushed for 86 yards and passed for 131 more in a 26-13 win against UAB.

“I know I don’t look happy, but I am happy.” - Non-smiling Alabama coach Nick Saban, following a 41-30 win at Georgia, when the Crimson Tide rolled to a 41-30 lead.

“It’s just disheartening to perform the way we did, especially in the first half. After that, we were pretty valiant. But it was too late.” - Georgia coach Mark Richt.

“It’s hard losing a game you know you should have won. We felt like if we played this game 10 times, we would win nine of them, and today wasn’t our day.” - Miami freshman QB Robert Marve, of Plant High, after the 28-24 loss against North Carolina.

“We are growing up and we still have a lot of growing up to do.” - Virginia Tech sophomore QB Tyrod Taylor, now 8-0 as a starter, after the 35-30 win at Nebraska.


BY THE NUMBERS

0
Remaining unbeaten teams in the ACC and Pac-10.

3
Remaining winless teams (Army, North Texas, Washington) in Division I-A.

4
Top-10 ranked unbeaten teams (USC, Georgia, Florida, Wisconsin) that lost.

18
Remaining unbeaten teams in Division I-A, including five from the Big 12 (Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State) and four from the SEC (Alabama, Kentucky, LSU, Vanderbilt).

74-0
First-quarter scoring advantage this season for Alabama, which has never trailed.

WHO’S HOT
The Duke Blue Devils (3-1) are three victories away from bowl eligibility. David Cutcliffe has Duke rolling after a 31-3 smashing of Virginia. Duke ended a 25-game ACC losing streak (Miami is the new leader with five straight ACC defeats).


WHO’S NOT
The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. Wasn’t Florida-Georgia supposed to be a battle of unbeaten teams? Oops.


THREE THINGS WE LEARNED

Let’s not crown anybody as national champions just yet. Remember the lessons from 2007? It’s a looooong season.

The remaining games we’d most like to see - Oklahoma vs. Texas on Oct. 11 and Alabama at LSU (Nick Saban’s return to Baton Rouge) on Nov. 8.

Here’s a sobering season-ending possibility - no unbeatens in the BCS conferences, four unbeatens (BYU, Boise State, Tulsa, Ball State) in the non-BCS conferences. Good luck sorting that one out, pollsters.