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Saturday, July 21, 2007
ACC’s best non-conference matchups
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Here are the top five non-conference games in the ACC for 2007. Like the SEC, we stayed away from the traditional non-conference rivalries.
1. Virginia Tech at LSU, Sept. 8. Two of the nation’s best defenses will slug it out at Tiger Stadium before a national TV audience. After this game, Hokies coach Frank Beamer will know exactly what kind of team he has.
2. Georgia Tech at Notre Dame, Sept. 1. A year ago the Fighting Irish came from behind to beat the Yellow Jackets 14-10 in Atlanta. This time Georgia Tech hope to return the favor as the Irish will be breaking in a new quarterback.
3. Florida State vs. Alabama in Jacksonville, Sept. 29. It’s hard to count all the good storylines in this game. FSU coach Bobby Bowden grew up in Birmingham and idolized Alabama legend Bear Bryant. He almost became the head coach at Alabama in 1987. Trust us: Winning this game will be a big deal to Bowden — and to Alabama.
4. Miami at Oklahoma, Sept. 8. The Hurricanes go to Norman to take on a team that will be in just about everybody’s preseason top 10. It will be a huge early test for new coach Randy Shannon.
5. West Virginia at Maryland, Sept. 13. West Virginia will be consensus pick to win the Big East and has the schedule to go 12-0 and play for the BCS championship. But the Mountaineers will have to win at College Park on what promises to be a very loud Thursday night at Byrd Stadium.
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SEC’s best non-conference matchups
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The SEC gets rapped around the country for playing soft schedules outside the league. But we’d put these five non-conference games involving league teams against any conference’s. (Note: We stayed away from traditional non-conference rivalries like Florida-Florida State, Clemson-South Carolina and Georgia-Georgia Tech).
1. LSU vs. Virginia Tech, Sept. 8, Baton Rouge. The projected SEC champ versus a team quite capable of winning the ACC title. In only their second game of the season, the Tigers and new quarterback Matt Flynn will go against a team that led the nation in scoring defense last season (11.0 ppg).
2. Tennessee at California, Sept. 1, Berkeley. A year ago the Vols simply overwhelmed the Bears 35-18 at Neyland Stadium. And that team had running back Marshawn Lynch. This one doesn’t. Tennessee should win this game but it is always a daunting task to fly a team all the way to the West Coast and get an “A” performance, especially in the first game. Still, it is a big-time intersectional matchup , which is why ABC is making it the prime-time game on Sept. 1.
3. Oklahoma State at Georgia, Sept. 1, Athens. With a lot of new faces on defense, this game looks a little scary to Georgia fans. The Cowboys return the key components to an offense that averaged 409 yards per game last season. Among those returning is top returning rusher and Columbus native Dantrell Savage. Think he’ll be motivated to play between the hedges?
4. Alabama vs. Florida State, Sept. 29, Jacksonville. The ticket demand for this game is so great that they are bringing in temporary bleachers at Alltel Stadium. Florida State coach Bobby Bowden is a native of Birmingham and his idol was Bear Bryant. Alabama coach Nick Saban will have played Arkansas and Georgia the two previous weeks. There are a lot of great story lines in this one.
5. Mississippi State at West Virginia, Oct. 20, Morgantown. The Mountaineers could be undefeated and in the hunt for the BCS championship when the Bulldogs arrive on the third Saturday in October. West Virginia will actually have a week off before the game while Mississippi State will have played Tennessee at home the week before.
