Brian: During BC's off week, the Eagles ten remaining opponents managed to go 4-5 on the weekend (Virginia was off). Among the winners, the Hokies picked themselves off the mat to record their first win of the season, defeating Dominique Davis and ECU at home 49-27. N.C. State was a winner on Thursday night, knocking off Cincinnati 30-19. Florida State looked good in a convincing win over BYU, while Syracuse was a winner at home against one of their two FCS opponents in 2010 (defeating Maine 38-14).
Notre Dame, Maryland, Clemson, Wake Forest and Duke came up on the short end of the stick last weekend. Both Notre Dame and Clemson lost in overtime (and in heartbreaking fashion), while Maryland couldn't hang with West Virginia. Wake Forest and Duke didn't really deserve to be on the same field as Stanford and Alabama, respectively. In fact, Stanford's point total was the third highest an ACC league member has ever allowed in non-conference play.
So since you had a chance to take in some non-BC college football this weekend, which result from one of BC's remaining ten opponents surprised you the most this weekend? And which performance(s) did you see coming?
Jeff: Absolutely nothing that happened this weekend completely surprised me or even somewhat surprised me. Perhaps the way that Notre Dame and Clemson lost was a little surprising but not the result or the fact that both games went to overtime. I think for the most part, our remaining schedule is setting up a lot like we originally had expected. We did expect Virginia Tech to be 2-1 or 3-0 going into our game with them but other than that teams are looking as we expected. Notre Dame is a 6-6 to 8-4 type team. Maryland, Wake Forest and Duke aren't all that good. Florida State can't hang with the big boys, which is not surprising. Clemson has a pretty good defense but their offense is hot or cold. They might be the toughest team to predict from here on in the ACC. Meanwhile, N.C. State meanwhile is at least getting off to a nice start on their season but they have not played anyone of note yet and I expect reality to hit when the play both of the Techs in the next two weeks.
After 3 weeks of play, I'll stick with my original prediction that the Eagles will go undefeated at home and finish 10-2 overall.
Brian: Though I predicted it, I was a bit surprised at the magnitude of the beatdown that Stanford gave Wake Forest. Statistically, that game was over after the first seven Cardinal drives -- all touchdowns. The Demon Deacon defense allowed over 10 yards per play. If the Eagles offensive line plays well, we might be looking at a result similar to when Montel Harris and the offensive line gashed the N.C. State defense last season when the Eagles travel to Winston-Salem.
I think the way that Clemson lost their game at Auburn was the least surprising result of the weekend. That's vintage Clemson. I agree that the Tigers are the toughest team to figure out in the Atlantic Division this year but I don't doubt that they will be a factor in the Division Title race. Clemson simply isn't afforded much breaks on the upcoming schedule, one that includes Miami, Maryland and Georgia Tech at home, and North Carolina on the road. Clemson also has to travel to both BC and Florida State, the two other programs who figure to be in the Atlantic Division title race down the stretch.