A Good Problem to Have...I Think

Hello All,

Week 4 of the college football season is upon us, and already the ‘Canes have shot up from unranked to the top 10 of the AP Poll.

Before the season, it was stretch for the ‘Canes to be included in the “also receiving votes” portion of any ranking. Forget being declared “back”; the ‘Canes are on the front page of ESPN and featured in nightly Sportscenter segments.

However, it was today that I truly felt the coverage jumped the shark; today, I learned that Lou Holtz has decided to throw his support behind the ‘Canes.

Excuse me, I am going to go smash my fingers with the spine of a textbook…AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...alright, back.

Seriously, this was the worst thing that I heard all week, aside from Herschel Walker

announcing that he was joining Strikeforce (the potential jokes for a 48 year old, multiple-personality, former All- American Georgia Bulldog turned cage fighter are overwhelming…fill in the one of your choice here __________).

It goes back to the largest challenge that will face this team in this week’s game, larger even than Virginia Tech, a pretty damned good football team that hung with Alabama for 3 quarters (I consider Alabama the best team in the country at this point): hype.

You see, it was easy for Miami to stay pressure free against Florida State, because they had the all-important “nobody believes in us” chip on their collective shoulder.

Ditto Georgia Tech.

Now? Kirk Herbstreit just threw up the U on College Football Scoreboard. Seriously.

I just had to reject an invite to the group “Jacory Harris for Heisman 2009” on Facebook. Why?

THE FOOTBALL GODS ARE FICKLE, PEOPLE! AM I THE ONLY ONE THAT REMEMBERS THIS? IS THERE ANYONE LISTENING? I FEEL LIKE I AM TAKING CRAZY PILLS!!!!!!

Everybody has Miami marked, even more so than usual (and usually Miami has a pretty big red circle around its place on the schedule). Everyone is picking the ‘Canes. And Holtz has given them his kisssshhhh of death.

Virginia Tech is going to be hungry, and they will be playing at home in a stadium that will be loud as a jet engine until Miami silences them. Virginia Tech lost its only primetime appearance so far, and they will feel disrespected by the hype surrounding the ‘Canes coming in. They are always a tough, borderline dirty, football team; you can bet they will have a little extra motivation this week.

This usually would add up to a disaster. And yet, I have a strange confidence heading into the

game. Why?

Simple. In a game like this, the quarterback is all-important. One needs no further evidence than the USC-Ohio State game from a couple weeks back.

If your quarterback makes plays when it matters, you will probably win the game. Virginia Tech is sick of hearing about Jacory Harris. They want to put him out of the game. They will blitz linebackers. They will blitz corners. They will stunt with linemen. They will dare Jacory to beat them.

The thing is, Harris has seen this before. When he was a junior at Miami Northwestern, he led his team to an undefeated record. His senior year, he played with a huge target on his back as his team was anointed preseason national champion.

He led his team in to Texas and whooped a team most thought would destroy the undisciplined Baby Bulls. He led his team 99 yards in the final 3 minutes of the state semi-final game to avoid the upset, an then orchestrated a blowout the next weekend for the second straight title.

When everyone expected him to be perfect, he was damned close; when he erred, he made up

for it by winning.

He has “it”.

I think the game is going to a close one. However, I think that in a close game the team with the best player wins. And Jacory has the chance to be the best player on any field he steps on.

Here is how I break down the matchups:

Quarterback: As I said, Jacory is a better quarterback than Tech’s Tyrod Taylor. Taylor is a dangerous scrambler and Miami has struggled against scramblers in the past (see Ponder, Christian). However, this season Miami has shown the ability to force quarterbacks to throw to win; if that is the case, than Miami will win the game. Taylor struggled throwing against Alabama and for most of the game against Nebraska, save for one play. Taylor has more talent than any other player on the field, but Harris runs his team with much more poise. EDGE: Miami

Running Back: Tech’s Ryan Williams has been impressive, but the Virginia Tech offense has failed to score effectively against Alabama and Nebraska (Marshall doesn’t count as a real game). Darren Evans has been sorely missed. Meanwhile, Javarris James and Graig Cooper have combined to give the ‘Canes great production. They are splitting carries and have both run downhill and closed out drives when called upon. EDGE: Miami

Receivers: Laron Byrd and Travis Benjamin have made the biggest plays, but Leonard Hankerson and Dedrick Epps have also been huge for the ‘Canes, who have picked apart the middle of the field in both games. Virginia Tech has speed at the receiver position in Danny Coale and Jarret Boykin, but is again limited by Taylor’s inaccuracy. EDGE: Miami

Offensive Line: Tech is lead by All-American Sergio Render and always has a solid line. Jason Fox is not as talented as Render but does a great job of leading Miami’s underappreciated line, which has been solid in both games. EDGE: Even

Defensive Line: Miami did a great job shutting down Georgia Tech last week, and freshman Olivier Vernon is quickly developing in to a man-beast. However, Virginia Tech has always prided itself on its defensive front seven, and this year is no exception. End Jason Worilds is yet another All-American type in the typical Hokie tradition and will create matchup problems all night. Bottom line is that neither unit has fulfilled its potential. Miami's has been more productive, but Tech's is equally talented. EDGE: Even

Linebacker: Last week, Miami’s linebackers played downhill and attacked the Yellow Jacket offense. However, the week before, they looked a step slow against FSU. What will it be this time? I tend to think that they will be able to execute their assignments as they did in last year's Tech game. Meanwhile, Tech will have their usual strong linebacking corps, lead by Cody Grimm. EDGE: Even

Secondary: Miami’s secondary has become a physical group that is not afraid to come up and tackle someone. That being said, they are still struggling to play the ball in the air, as evidenced by their inability to come up with big plays when Josh Nesbitt dropped back to throw (Nesbitt is a far inferior passer to anyone the ‘Canes will face the rest of the season). Sam Shields will be picked on, as he in particular has been susceptible to the big play as he has been forced in to heavy duty early. Tech has no Deangelo Hall or Macho Harris this season, but one can assume they will be well coached and tough as always, which is enough to be better than this unproven Miami group. EDGE: Tech

Special Teams: Tech’s Dyrell Roberts and Jayron Hosley are electric in the return game, and Miami’s special teams coverage has been abysmal, particularly on kickoffs (the ‘Canes have finally found a kickoff guy to kick it deep, and now they cannot tackle…snarl). Matt Bosher had a rough night against the Jackets but figured to bounce back, as he has been one of the most consistent players for two years now. Travis Benjamin and Graig Cooper are both weapons in the return game for the ‘Canes. This is where the Hokies have established “Beamer Ball” as their team identity, although they have come back to the pack a bit in recent years. Knock on wood… I mean, the Hokies are still AWESOME on special teams and always make game changing plays. EDGE: Even

Coaching: Frank Beamer has always been solid and always has his teams prepped. This will be a battle of wills between Tech Defensive Coordinator Bud Foster and Mark Whipple. EDGE: Even.

This week, I will begin a new weekly thing where I pick a few select games for the weekend to text my skills. Here goes nothin’:

Last week, I was 0-1 on my game picks, as Cincinnati marched in to Corvallis and smacked the Beavers.

Ole Miss over South Carolina: I turn the keys to this pick over to my brother, an Ole Miss junior: “The last time Ole Miss was a top 4 team, segregation was legal in Mississippi (hell, it still is). This team is for real. Our high powered offense can trick the ‘Cock defense. Jevan Snead can control the skies (which doesn’t have a “y” in it, Bill). And our defense is playing well enough to stuff the miserable ‘Cock offense (as you can tell, Bill likes the fact that South Carolina is nicknamed the GameCOCKS; yes, he is in a fraternity, to answer your question). Our coach is Nutt, theirs is Darth Visor. In the end, the fresh whites over the Rebel greys prevail 42-20. Too much “Cock” in South Carolina. Hotty Toddy!” This again, folks, from an actual Ole Miss student. Could not have said it better myself; maybe less fratty, but not better. And yet, the song remains the same.

Georgia over Arizona State: The Sun Devils fall in to the same category as teams like Michigan State and Oklahoma State. Every year, they look a lot better on people than on the field and are good for losing one or two games in the fourth quarter to higher ranked teams. Maybe all these “states” should replace their grass fields with cardboard…

Cal over Oregon: This one should actually be pretty close. Oregon is looking to get back on to the national stage, and one of the overlooked subplots of last week was Cal’s inability to put Minnesota away for most of the game. If they let Oregon hang around they might not get so lucky.

Boston College over Wake Forest: These are two plucky programs that are a bit down this year. Homefield advantage gives this one to the Eagles. Damn it. I can already hear my friend Francis. “Screw those guys. This whole column is invalidated. You’re a bigger idiot than Tom Delay dancing to “Wild Thing”. If I wanted to read this crap, I would be reading Skip Bayless. You’re slippin’ Stein. Go Yankees.”

Houston over Texas Tech: The Vegas line is that the teams will score a combined “eleventy quadrillion” points. I am taking the over.

Stanford over Washington: Washington travels to Palo Alto for a tough game following an emotional upset win. Toby Bernhardt and Andrew Luck lead a scrappy Cardinal team that almost pulled a noon upset on the east coast to start the season and have improved quietly under Jim Harbaugh. Upset special? No. Not yet. We’re getting there though (dozens and dozens of readers are waiting on pins and needles, I know).

Penn State over Iowa: This is going to be a blowout if Penn State is anywhere close to as good as they are ranked. Iowa barely beat the juggernaut Northern Iowa Panthers. Now they have to go to Happy Valley for a “Whiteout” game (which I think is amazing). Kudos on your featured game this week, ABC. Sure to be thrilling.

Notre Dame over Purdue: There’s that great schedule Notre Dame plays again. While we are here, let’s talk about something interesting, unlike this game. Is there anything funnier than when someone uses “deranged” as an insult? Is there any coming back from that? It literally might be the ultimate insult. Funny every time, and it has gone underused by this generation, so it automatically stands out while seeming harmless. You not only get the initial shock of the little-used insult, but you also plant a ticking time bomb in the person’s brain. They will spend the rest of the day and probably most of the night trying to figure out how angry they should be about the insult. It will even make them mad that they chuckled when you said it to them. Eventually, they will snap. Genius.

Georgia Tech over North Carolina: Time for a bounce back for the Jackets. UNC has not been great so far, and I think that the Jackets will be angry as a beehive (new drinking game: take a shot every time I make a bad joke or pun) after two ugly performances. Tech in the mini-upset. Upset special?

Very soon…

Wait for it...

UPSET SPECIAL: Clemson over TCU

BOOM! Clemson is very fast on defense, and fast defenses usually bode poorly for these Mountain West teams. C.J. Spiller is a little bit banged up, but the Tigers have a great backup in Jaime Harper. The ACC takes a little pride back with the win (to be straight, I do not care about the ACC’s pride and would rather be independent, but there are plenty who do care; this should be a nice feather in their cap).

And there you have it. Please refrain from calling me out on bad predictions until AFTER the Miami game, please.

Always guard the inbound passer.