I was hoping to go 3-0 last week, but I will settle for 2-1. I dared NC State to prove to me that they could win on the road, and that is just what they did at BC. So I will take that L in stride. Virginia trounced Duke, leaving the Blue Devils to most likely start looking for a head coach sooner than many anticipated, even if Coach Cutcliffe has not officially been fired…yet. Lastly, the Tar Heels squeaked out a home win against Miami in a high scoring affair. This UNC win helps bolster their case in making a decent bowl game since their ACC Championship aspirations are most likely dashed. My 2-1 record in Week 7 brings my season tally to 17-8.
There are only two teams playing from the triangle in Week 8, therefore the pressure is on to not mess this up.
Duke – Bye
The Blue Devils head into their bye week losing three in a row with a 3-4 record on the season. Not to say that Duke had lofty goals this year, but they certainly wanted to make a bowl game. And now even that looks iffy. Coach Cutcliffe finds himself on the mid-season hot seat and the fire under that seat is only growing hotter with each passing week. There is still a chance to reach the goal of making a bowl game in 2021, but it won’t be easy as their schedule does them no favors after the bye week. Duke returns to action on October 30th at #16 Wake Forest and follow that up by hosting current Coastal leader #23 Pittsburgh on November 6th. Coach Cutcliffe has to pull off some upsets in the latter half of the season or that will be curtains on his coaching career at Duke.
North Carolina – Bye
The Tar Heels head into their bye week sitting at 4-3. Not where they wanted to be at this point in the season, but here they are. The season is not lost though. North Carolina still has plenty of opportunities left on their schedule to be recognized nationally. With games remaining against Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Pittsburgh, Wofford (should be an easy win) and NC State. The Tar Heels still have a chance to put a nice big bow on their season. Currently 4 of 5 of their remaining opponents are ranked teams. Look for the Tar Heels to come out of their bye week being motivated by taking on the role of spoiler and ready to play at a high level.
#16 Wake Forest @ Army (Saturday Oct. 23rd – 12pm)
The Demon Deacons are the only remaining undefeated team in left in the ACC. Wake takes their perfect record on the road to West Point, NY this Saturday, where they will face a tough Army team. Army is 4-2, not the flashiest record, but still a really good football who are primed to pull the upset. They nearly pulled an upset at Wisconsin last week, but ultimately fell short to the Badgers. The Black Knights come into Week 8 with the #2 rushing offense in the country, averaging just under 300 yards a game. But as we all know, that is all Army does. Run the ball again and again and again, with very little passing offense. That bodes well for the Wake Forest defense, who can focus on stopping the Army running attack and not having to worry about Army through the air.
This game is certainly a clash in styles. Army as I mentioned wants to have long sustained drives dominated by the run game and will focus on controlling the clock. Conversely, Wake Forest wants to spread their opponents out and allow for QB Sam Hartman and his plethora of receivers to work their magic. Army can hang with better teams due to their run game and clock management, but they are not built to come from behind. Army will keep this one close through the half but the Deacons offense will eventually be too much for the Black Knights to overcome. Wake comes out of West Point still perfect and continues to march toward the Top 10.
Prediction: Wake Forest 28, Army 20
đ„ Pack Rewind: Boston College
1-0 … now on to the next.#1Pack1Goal pic.twitter.com/xQ12QF2RKX
— NC State Football (@PackFootball) October 18, 2021
#18 NC State @ Miami (Saturday Oct. 23rd – 7:30pm)
In last week’s four points of a triangle, I pointed out how NC State historically did not have a good track record when ranked on the road. So I dared the Wolfpack to prove me wrong and to make a believer out of me. Well, I’ll be damned if they didn’t make a believer out of me. Crow never tasted so good. However, it didn’t start out that way. In the first half, NC State’s offense didn’t have much to show for itself other than a miracle catch by Devin Carter. However, in the second half NC State shut down the Boston College ground game and ratcheted up the defense, with the major turning point in the game being a block punt returned for a touchdown early in the 3rd quarter.
Now, NC State heads out on the road once again, but this time south to sunny Miami. The Wolfpack obviously want to continue to climb the rankings. But this week they have a little bit of extra motivation thanks to Miami QB Tyler Van Dyke. When asked about playing the Pack this week Van Dyke went on to say “They’re still the same guys we played last year. We put up 44 points last year on them. They have different type of wrinkles on defense. We feel really confident… I don’t think they can stop us.” Problem is Van Dyke didn’t even play against the Wolfpack in Miami’s 2020 victory. Technically, he put up 0 points against that “same defense”. That will be the decider in this one. The Van Dyke lead Miami offense vs the stout NC defense. Like I stated earlier, NC state and that defense made a believer out of me last week while the Miami offense has not. I am rolling with the Pack in this one to get back to back road wins for the first time since October of 2020.
Prediction: NC State 38, Miami 27
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