ACC ATLANTIC AND THE ‘NOLES: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

In Tallahassee, conversely, a guarded optimism remains following the ‘Noles blowout win over Colorado and the “not as close as it looked” 41-39 victory over the ghost of Da’ U.  Yep, the ‘Noles appear to be a modestly ascendant program about now.  The ‘Noles rushed for over 250 yards against Colorado and Da’ U and the defense, led by Mr. Burns errr….I meant Mickey Andrews, appears to be modestly salty.  Even so, the ‘Noles have struggled to pass with any consistency (14/31, 159 yards and 2 picks against UM and 17/36, 154 yards and 1 pick against the Buffs) and look to be somewhat 1-dimensional. This spells trouble when the stiff run defenses of V. Tech, G. Tech, and later, Florida, line up opposite the garnet and gold.

The good news?  Being 1-dimensional may be good enough to go 8-4 in the ACC this year.  The bad news?  The ‘Noles schedule is demonstrably more difficult for the rest of the way, with nearly the entire ACC slate remaining and a date with Florida at the end of the year, the passing game will be called upon in the weeks to come.   Should Ponder fail to answer the call, which even the most ardent ‘Nole must admit is a significant possibility, the ‘Noles may end up right where they left off in 2007-which is basically nowhere, playing no one, with no one watching.

The remainder of the division consists of Wake Forest, at least in a figurative sense.  By virtue of its head-to-head win over the ‘Noles, Wake Forest is in the driver’s seat for the division title.  For the snaguine among the ‘Nole contingent, who think FSU’s chances of taking the division are better than “not bloody likely,”  and point to the Demon Deacons loss to Navy and awful win against  a Clemson team dealing with a player-led insurrection as evidence, SNL has one word:  Schedule.

Wake Forest somehow manages to avoid playing North Carolina, Virginia Tech, and Georgia Tech this year.  Thus, while another loss seems inevitable based on recent performances (hell, Wake is only a 1-point favorite at Maryland this Saturday), and two losses is somewhere between plausible and probable, FSU will likely need 3-losses to take the Division.  Why?  FSU plays Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech, which means at least 1 more ACC loss for ‘Noles. 

The remainder of this division is less inspiring than vegetable lasagna.  Which, come to think of it, is more inspiring than a Wake Forest and V. Tech title game in front of a raucous crowd of 30,000.  Bold prediction:  367 yards of combined total offense, no forward pass completed for more than 20 yards, and a television rating lower than the Saturday rerun of Everybody Loves Raymond.

Unlike most Gator fans, SNL sincerely hopes FSU improves if for no reason other than making the ACC Chamionship something other than “must miss TV.”  To be clear, SNL does not extend the same goodwill to Da’ U, despite his love of grills and airbrushed 2001 Impalas.