Everybody wins this week! ACC & CAA preview, week two

Last week I went 4-1 in my ACC/CAA picks. I should have really gone 5-0 but I picked against the Spiders. LESSON LEARNED, PEOPLE. This week I predict wins for everyone!

September 9, 2011; 6:48 AM • by Ross Catrow

Last week I went 4-1 in my ACC/CAA picks, WHICH IS PRETTY GOOD FOLKS. And listen, I only picked Duke over Richmond because I just didn’t think the Spiders would be in the proper mental state to beat the Blue Devils for the third time in a row. I hereby vow to never pick Duke over UR as long as Cutcliffe is still in charge down in Durham.

Virginia Tech vs. East Carolina

The Hokies exploded on offense last week notching 66 points–the second highest point total in the Modern Beamerball Era (MBE). David Wilson is averaging 10.1 yards per carry. This is many yards, and at this rate Wilson will finish the season with one trillion yards (568,181,818 miles). Logan Thomas performed admirably in his first home start: he didn’t make any major mistakes, but he also didn’t blow anyone’s socks off. Apart from some great passes that were dropped by receivers, his best moment came when he took off on a QB keeper and knocked the tuna salad out of some linebacker.

This week Thomas takes the Hokies to Greenville for his First Road Game Ever. Hokies fans should be nervous. ECU just added 7,000 new seats to Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, bringing the total up to 50,000. It will be loud, the Pirates will be stoked and looking for the upset–which they are totes familiar with. ECU is the only school to beat the Hokies on the road in the state of North Carolina in the MBE. They know how to get this done.

Luckily for the Hokies, last week the Pirates gave up 220 yards on the ground to South Carolina–and their running back certainly doesn’t have legs made from twin suns. If Logan Thomas can play efficient, mistake free football the Hokies win. If he starts turning the ball over, hunker down for it will be a long day.

Virginia vs. Indiana

13-0 at the half sounds a lot like “keeping it close until the third quarter.” Which, as it turns out, happens to be exactly what I said would happen last week when UVA faced off against W&M. The Hoos ended up winning that one 40-3.

This week, against Indiana, UVA has a chance to become the first ACC team to beat a team from a BCS conference in 2011. Sigh. Last week both BC and Wake Forest lost close games to major conference opponents. Come on ACC, let’s get our act together!

There is no reason (OK, if you really need a reason, I guess it’s an away game?) why UVA should lose this game.

Richmond vs. Wagner

The Spiders will play their first night game in Robins Stadium this week against Wagner. Confession: I had to look up where Wagner is located–Staten Island turns out! While the Seahawks have been busy winning about half their games the last couple seasons, Richmond has been busy winning national championships, NBD.

After last week, there’s no way I can pick against the Spiders this week.

JMU vs. Central Connecticut State

JMU’s loss last week to UNC didn’t feel as bad as the final score (42-10) looks. So that’s something right? Converting 2-13 third downs is probably what did the Dukes in, though.

This week JMU hosts the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils. Do we really need two Blue Devils? Seems excessive. Playing at home against one of the better NEC teams, the Dukes should have no problem with this one.

William & Mary vs. VMI

The Tribe is currently ranked #5 in the nation. They play a VMI team that lost last week to an unranked Delaware State squad. Look, there are a bunch of reason why it’s challenging for VMI to compete on the same level as the CAA. All of these reasons will come into play while W&M is destroying the Keydets on Saturday.

ODU vs. Georgia State

ODU is in their third season and Georgia State is in their second. How are you even supposed to know what is going to happen in this game? Last year ODU won 34-20. So let’s just go with that (plus CAA 4LYFE, amiright?)!

September 9, 2011 6:48 AM 0