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Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Chick-fil-A Bowl
Virginia (8-4, 5-3 ACC)
No. 25 Auburn (7-5, 4-4 SEC)
AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Cincinnati (9-3, 5-2 Big East)
Vanderbilt (6-6, 2-6 SEC)
Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl
Illinois (6-6, 2-6 Big Ten)
UCLA (6-7, 5-4 Pac-12)
Hyundai Sun Bowl
Georgia Tech (8-4, 5-3 ACC)
Utah (7-5, 4-5 Pac-12)
Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas
Texas A&M (6-6, 4-5 Big 12)
Northwestern (6-6, 3-5 Big Ten)
It's not the game of the century, but No. 10 Virginia Tech's visit to No. 21 Georgia Tech on Thursday (ESPN/ESPN3, 8 p.m. ET) is definitely the game of the night in college football. And it might just be the game of the year in the ACC. As ACC blogger Heather Dinich notes, the winner between these two has reached the league's championship game in each of the past six seasons, and the forecast looks good for this year to be seven in a row.
- "It will be very good for the conference if Georgia Tech wins Thursday night. Va Tech is not that good, and I hope they don't get lucky breaks to squeak by. ... All this luck of squeaking by teams like Duke 14-10, etc. has to end sometime for this not-so-good Hokies squad." -- SN commenter bmw463848
- "Until someone in the ACC can stop the Hokies they will always be the class of this conference." -- SN commenter b-barbz15
Frank Beamer or Paul Johnson?
Paul Johnson (above) has the edge in national championships (granted, they came at the FCS level), but Frank Beamer is 49-11 in the ACC.
How close is No. 10 to No. 2?
Virginia Tech could take out one team ahead of it in a potential ACC title game rematch against Clemson, but is there any scenario that sends the Hokies to New Orleans?
Triple the fun for Yellow Jackets?
In a world of spread offenses and passes by the dozen, Paul Johnson's triple-option offense is a rare sight. But does uniqueness make it entertaining?
Megatron or Michael Vick?
In just three seasons of work, Calvin Johnson piled up the eighth-most receiving yards in ACC history, but was Michael Vick better at Virginia Tech?
- Vote: GameDay Pick 'Em | Heisman Watch | SportsNation Top 25
- Vote on big topics: Charlie Weis' future | Auburn at Georgia
- Blogger chat wraps: ACC | Big 12 | Big East | Big Ten | Pac-10 | SEC | Others
- More wraps: Mark Schlabach | Pat Forde | Mel Kiper | Ivan Maisel | Bruce Feldman
- Special guests: Brad Edwards | Boise State cornerback Kyle Wilson
It won't be an easy weekend for BCS Cinderellas, even though they're all playing at home. Cincinnati faces No. 25 West Virginia, TCU gets the pressure of GameDay and No. 16 Utah, and Boise State deals with a surprising 7-3 Idaho (and a visiting AD who doesn't like to fly on planes with Broncos markings).
Thanks to chadronhusker for illustrating the crazy ride Iowa fans have been on all season.
These are our favorite photos uploaded this week. If any of the images makes you want to surf the crowd, click it to view a larger picture and to comment. If you have a great picture or saw one you think the world should see, leave a brief description and a link in the Conversation section below.
USC fans still have BCS hope, but know their team can't lose again. Boise State, Cincinnati and Iowa fans wonder what more their teams can do, besides pray for a loss by one of the top 3.
Now that Ohio State has two losses SportsNation thinks Ohio State is using Terrelle Pryor incorrectly. Fans, however, still think Sam Bradford is a first-round pick.
Florida State kicked off Week 8 with a needed win, and Alabama, Florida and Texas face opponents they shouldn't overlook.
- Vote: "GameDay" Pick 'Em | Heisman Watch | SportsNation Top 25
- Vote on big games: Tennessee at Alabama | Texas at Missouri
- Blogger chat wraps: ACC | Big 12 | Big East | Big Ten | Pac-10 | SEC | Others
- Other wraps: Brad Edwards | Bruce Feldman | Ivan Maisel | Pat Forde | Mark Schlabach
“Mark Ingram is a good reason for [Alabama's] passing to be less of a factor. Wait until next year for any shot of a Vols upset.
” -- Beano Cook
“I pick Florida to win this game, but to be seen as legitimately No. 1, the Gators should win convincingly, even more so than against Arkansas.
” -- IdahoanTyke
“My ranking: 1. Iowa; 2. Florida; 3. Alabama; 4. Texas; 5. Virginia Tech; 6. TCU; 7. Boise State; 8. USC; 9. Oregon; 10. LSU.
” -- CheezusCrust
Fan blogger predictions for Week 8: nunyabiz81 | jodiemeeks23ppat54 | dfpsports | IdahoanTyke | codywin25 | gbirkem2 | utesfan2 | Sportsguru6
Michigan State fans like detroittim8 are still jumping up and down after their win over in-state rival Michigan last week.
Meanwhile, Florida State fans are hopping for another reason: lack of success.
"I have a ton of respect for Bobby Bowden," writes ryanvcu. "He is one of the greatest coaches ever. However I do feel at the end of the year he should hang it up."
The discussion, spurred in part by rumblings among the university's leadership, includes plenty of people who believe Bowden's legacy speaks for itself.
"The only expert qualified to comment the worthiness of Bobby Bowden's future as coach also has two names that begin with 'B', and the last time I checked he traded his hound's tooth hat for a halo," writes joe.t.elkins.
The Seminoles could quiet critics for at least a week with a win against Georgia Tech.
These are the best college football fan blogs of the week. Click through to comment, disagree and discuss your favorite teams.
Week 6 predictions: JFLASHUBY | TheVols2k7 | cardon032 | bballfever101 | Sportsguru6 | JoeRevs300 | Joey DS | gbirkem2 | dfpsports | TheSwingingFriar | nunyabiz81 | bballfever101
Rankings (with No. 1 team): ADEVARTS (Florida) | pnthrsfn1012 | canesinla (Florida) | fusebox2010 | C.UngureitJr (Alabama) | volsandtitansfans101 (Texas) | CheezusCrust (Iowa)
“Jimmy Clausen has Heisman numbers so far, and he still has some winning to be done. He plays a pro-style offense.
” -- I am Ron Burgandy
“In the end LSU will not be able to keep up with the machine that is Florida. Tebow or no Tebow their running game isn't going anywhere and Brantley will make the throws necessary to win.
” -- fusebox2010
“This is the "The One Point Season" that needs to be the wake up call for this coaching staff. I am not optimistic but I hope Bob Stoops can acknowledge the situation and make the coaching style changes needed to fix this issue.
” -- espnb12s
“Wisconsin, Auburn: Great job going 5-0. You beat the teams you had to beat even though none of them were very good. The meat of the schedule is now upon you. Are you guys the prince or the ugly frog?
” -- cardon032
Memo to Penn State: This is how you schedule if you want people to take your program seriously. Playing its second ranked opponent in a row to open the season, and the second of four in a row if Virginia Tech and Oklahoma hang around the rankings, Miami drubbed Georgia Tech 33-17 on Thursday night.
Granted, the Hurricanes had to play the Yellow Jackets and Florida State, last week's victim, at some point in ACC play, but we're not holding that against them. And there are a lot of things of note about the Hurricanes' start. Jacory Harris was barely a blip in SportsNation's most recent Heisman rankings, but it's safe to say he put some distance between himself and Tony Pike. And even before playing the Hokies, the Hurricanes have moved from No. 5 in SportsNation's preseason ACC projections to the overwhelming favorite.
All of which is great. But what we want to know is can we feel good about hating the Hurricanes again? Led by Randy Shannon, these guys seem downright likable, and that's just not the brash, cocky Miami we knew and loved (to hate). It's so bad that even their fans sound reasonable in victory, as seen below.
- America's Vote: Will Notre Dame bounce back? College GameDay wants your vote.
- More Coverage: Ivan Maisel on the man behind Harris' rise to prominence.
“The Canes are not back please stop saying that everyone. We will be "back" if we are undefeated after beating UNC by 28. 2-0 is great, but lets not get ahead of ourselves
” -- blackmamba248
“Are very hard fought and inspiring game tonight! My Canes did exactly what they needed to do and did it even better that I actually gave them credit for. 95 yds total! You kidding me?!? Fantastic job by Lovette and the defense! We are only starting on a very long journey but the GT fans that were rabid about how much of a wash FSU was and that we had not played anyone of substance yet can now come back in here and give props where props are due.
” -- lestat1124
Texas wants revenge against Texas Tech. Florida wants revenge against Lane Kiffin (take a number). But the revenge theme for the college football weekend gets an early start with Georgia Tech visiting Miami Thursday night on ESPN.
You remember a year ago, when the Yellow Jackets attempted seven passes (one of them by a wide receiver) and scored 41 points in a rout against the Hurricanes? That's what happens when a team rushes for 472 yards, only slightly less ground work than the Hurricanes managed the entire month of November.
As Mark Schlabach noted this week, Miami was so eager for redemption that it asked the ACC to schedule this game for a Thursday night national showcase. And as Ivan Maisel and Todd McShay discussed in their podcast (link to the left) -- and as Maisel reiterated in Wednesday's chat -- Miami looks like it's really back. But will the Hurricanes get their revenge?- Your Rankings: Where does Jacory Harris rank on your Heisman ballot?
- GameDay Pick'em: Pick the winners of every game featuring a ranked team.
- Blogger Chats: Pac-10's Ted Miller, 3 ET | Bi Ten's Adam Rittenberg, 4 ET | ACC wrap
“The defense is still iffy, but i dont think GT will be able to keep up with UM's scoring, outside of Morgan the honeybees have little to no pass rush, leading me to believe J12 will have time to write a novel and carve up that overrated secondary
” -- blackmamba248
“I have not watched ACC football since I was a little kid, but that is changing. This is a big time matchup. Cannot wait until work is over so I can order Dominos and couch-it-up this game. Wanted to say thanks to both Georgia Tech and Miami for their two teams. I really am not affected by who wins but I would like to see Tech win as Miami has already enjoyed a lot of success.
” -- TexMex_08
Has there been a better development in weeknight programming than the standardized Thursday night college game? Trust us, we'd say that even if it was on another network, but lucky for us, this counts as promotional work.
And from Tiki Barber leading Virginia past Florida State -- back when that still meant something -- the ACC has been good for at least a couple of fantastic Thursday games each year. Call us incurably optimistic, but tonight's game between Clemson and Georgia Tech has potential.
To be fair, SportsNation isn't sold on Clemson. Voters ranked the Tigers sixth in ACC, four spots behind Thursday's home team. But we figure either Clemson will pull an upset or Yellow Jackets star Jonathan Dwyer will put on a show worthy of our Heisman fawning.
- Your Rankings: Where does Dwyer rank on your Heisman ballot?
- Vote: Can the Tigers stop Georgia Tech's triple option?
- Chat: Or forget those questions and ask Pat Forde anything at 2 ET.
“Coach Dabo Swinney had his team ready for the option in 5 days last year where we did a very good job containing it. Last year you had 52 carries for 207. This year's defense is better than last year's so don't think this will be a cake walk.
” -- broncosrb26
“both of the big backs,,,Spiller and Dwyer have to showcase thier talent [Thursday] night....That will be great for the ACC...two big ACC games primetime in 4 days...we need GT undefeated..but I like clemson in this one..I do know Bobby Dodd will be a rockin...you guys can fed x me some varsity dogs...
” -- nealtrom
“as much as some of you GT fans think the Triple Option is a scheme sent from God himself.. it isn't.. Clemson did well last year against it and practiced against it and schemed for it over the summer.. it is going to be a close game.. just gotta hope Clemson's D plays smart..but no team is scoring over 30 this game
” -- god1aj2
Kickoff couldn't come soon enough for SportsNation, including Purdue fans like slim83. The Boilermakers open with the Toledo Rockets.
These are our favorite photos uploaded this week. If any of the images stir you to sing your school's fight song, click on them to view a larger picture and to comment. If you have a great picture or saw one you think the world should see, leave a brief description and a link in the Conversation section below.
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