Well, what can be said that hasn’t been said yet?
Clemson is 6-1 and in control of its own ACC destiny, Miami is 6-0 for the second time in the last 10 years and Florida is the only school having a more hilariously inept year than Florida State.
You win some, you lose some.
Clemson:
After taking off last week with a bye, the Tigers are set to take on Georgia Tech in a primetime game at home.
Kelly Bryant should be fully (well, as a fully as is possible in the midst of football season) healed up at this point, which is essential, outside of the obvious reasons, for Clemson’s success on Saturday. When playing the Yellow Jackets, teams have to maximize each possession, given that they’re going to rep the T R I P L E O P T I O N O F D E A T H nonstop.
Tech is 4-2 on the season, with both losses by a point, so it’s not hard to imagine them hanging with Clemson. TaQuon Marshall has emerged as the perfect man to run Paul Johnson’s offensive machine of doom, having tallied up 704 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground while accumulating only 456 yards and five scores through the air.
Georgia Tech actually has three players on roster with touchdown runs of 60+ yards, and its running back KirVonte Benson has an additional 652 yards on the season.
Clemson only allows 130 rushing yards per game and has the No. 13 ranked run defense in S&P, so it’ll be interesting seeing what happens when you pit a rock-rubbing force against a Russell Athletic object.
The Tigers need to win this one, as waiting for them the week after is Atlantic-leading NC State. If Clemson wins out, they hit the title game, but if they stumble this week then the division is pretty much wrapped up for the Wolfpack.
Clemson vs. Georgia Tech kicks off at 8 p.m. on ABC, with spread of 14 points in Clemson’s favor and an over/under of 49.
Miami:
I haven’t decided yet if I’m in the anger and bargaining stage of grief or the depressed one.
The Hurricanes are most likely going to handle North Carolina with ease this weekend, but their next two weeks consist of Virgina Tech and Notre Dame, with the first having ACC implications and the second having playoff ones.
Miami once again pulled off a late-game win, although its latest one against Syracuse wasn’t exactly filled with as much drama as its last two. Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey threw for only 137 yards, no touchdowns and four interceptions, which is pretty much the opposite of a winning recipe and the equivalent of a big ol’ pile of poop.
The good news for opposing teams, however, is that your quarterback can post a QBR of 24 and you can still get within a touchdown of losing to Miami!
The only consolation in this is that the general public seems to be aware of how un-back the U truly is, sitting at No. 8 behind two one-loss teams. Even Miami fans haven’t thrown that much of a hissy fit about that placement, since they’re just happy to be along for the ride.
The inevitable two game losing streak to kick off November and the head-scratching season finale loss to Pitt can’t come soon enough.
Miami at North Carolina kicks off at 12 p.m., and will be broadcast on ESPN2. The spread currently sits at 20 points in Miami’s favor, with an over/under of 54.
Florida:
“They wanna see me dead, put prices on my head
Spreading rumors around town, like I fell down
They can't hold me down, they can't stop my shine
They can't block my grind, shawty, it's game time”
-Waka Flocka Flame, “Rumors” and also Jim McElwain, rumors
Most teams spend their bye week resting and recovering, in addition to starting game prep early.
Florida? Well, of course you know they had to do it big.
On Monday, Jim McElwain came out during his weekly press conference and implied that he and his players had been receiving death threats in response to the team’s 3-3 start.
There’s a lot of hate in this world and a lot of anger. And yet, it’s freedom to show it. The hard part is, obviously, when the threat’s against your own players, death threats to your families, you know, the ill will that’s brought upon out there.
Florida’s administration, obviously, got concerned about its students possibly being threatened and wanted to get more information.
The only problem though, was that there wasn’t apparently any to get.
Senior associate athletic director Steve McClain issued a statement saying:
The [UAA] takes the safety of our student-athletes, coaches, staff and families very seriously. Our administration met with Coach McElwain this afternoon and he offered no additional details.
I’m not a legal novice, let alone expert, but that’s very weirdly specific language for a school to come out with. They emphasize their concern for their students and employees, but make sure to mention that McElwain had nothing else to say. Almost like he made it up, or you know, something.
On Wednesday, McElwain begin to express regret that he mentioned it in the first place.
I don't really quite understand what even the statement [from the school] was. We visited with Scott and Laird and, yeah, they were really good and supportive.
It goes with the territory. You know what? It's hard to leave [it alone] sometimes. You know how much I care about this program, these players, obviously, everything that goes with it. But ultimately, allowing one or two -- and who even knows who it was, right? You don't know. It's anonymous. So that is what it is, and I'm confident we're all right.
At least Florida State just sucks in a normal football way. Could you imagine having to deal with shark-humping allegations, identity theft and credit card fraud, crimes against fashion, and possible wolf-crying in addition to having a 3-3 football team that realistically might go 5-6?
Florida vs. Georgia kicks off at 3:30 p.m. on CBS, with a spread of 14 points currently in the Bulldogs’ favor and an over/under of 43.5.
***
Questions? Comments? Trash talk? Leave ‘em below, and I’ll see y’all at the same time next week.