That strength-of-schedule thing
Clemson got a wake up call against NC State and they answered it. The ACC could use a wake-up call this week as there are 4 ACC-SEC games, and the ACC really needs a strong showing. This weekend is a real opportunity to demonstrate some strength within the conference and to shake up the order near the top of the BCS.
Clemson (#11) plays South Carolina (#12), obviously, and is favored by 4 points. And let’s face it, if Clemson doesn’t win the rest of what I’m about to write will be completely meaningless.
Florida State (#10) plays Florida (#4). I would like to think that if Clemson and FSU win, that both would move past Florida in the BCS (given that Florida would have a worse record, would have lost a head-to-head with FSU, and that Clemson’s only loss would be to FSU).
Then there’s also GT playing at Georgia (#3). Tech hasn’t had much luck in this series lately. Perhaps their due. They’re definitely long-shots to win, but the upset definitely helps the ACC strength-of-schedule and gives FSU and Clemson another SEC team to possibly leapfrog in the BCS.
Lastly there’s Wake and Vandy. Vandy is 7-4 without any marquee wins. The outcome here really just affects the strength of schedule of the ACC. A Wake win helps; a Wake loss hurts.
In addition, I’m not assuming that Oregon will win this week. It is rivalry game week for Oregon, and their rival Oregon State isn’t a pushover. They only have 2 losses. They’ve put away a couple of top-20 teams. They only lost to Stanford by 4 in Palo Alto. They’re a solid football team. Then next week K State plays a highly ranked Texas team. Obviously Clemson needs to take care of its own business, but it can move up quite a bit with the right help from others.
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