3. The Most Overrated Thing Was …
The big-game ACC losses by Miami and Virginia Tech matter, but they’re not a deathblow to either one.
With the Big 12 a mess and the SEC all floopy, all of a sudden, the ACC looks like it might actually have a shot of not just getting two teams into the College Football Playoff, but almost being a lock to do it if the SEC keeps eating itself up.
It’s why Clemson’s 42-17 whacking of Miami was and will be way overblown.
Clemson hasn’t been perfect, but until we see what Ohio State can do, it’s certainly been the easy No. 1 team in college football so far. Considering how hard it is get anything to go quite right – like a blocked field goal for a touchdown – the Tigers have been as close to perfect as possible over their first four games.
If that’s Miami’s one big loss in the rest of the regular season, so be it.
As it looks now, blasting through UAB, Louisville and Florida State – Miami’s first three games – just isn’t that big a deal. Can it beat Pitt this week? If it picks it back up in a hurry, yeah.
The Canes should be better than Virginia – next on the schedule after the Panthers – and then come tests on the road at NC State and Virginia Tech. Get through those clean, and it’s possible the regular season finale against North Carolina will be for a spot in the ACC Championship.
Far, far, far easier said than done, but don’t write off the Hurricanes yet, however …
Don’t write off Virginia Tech, either, after its 56-45 loss to North Carolina.
Give credit to the Hokies for 1) beating an NC State team that now looks like it might end up rolling through most of the ACC season considering its relatively manageable schedule, and 2) not having a full team yet.
Virginia Tech has managed to play through the COVID issues as well as anyone, missing a ton of depth from the start, several starters early on, and three starters against UNC. However, even though Boston College looks more dangerous now, that’s a winnable game.
The Hokies have a run of at Wake Forest, at Louisville, Liberty, Miami, at Pitt. If they can somehow field a full team, this might just be the second-best squad in the ACC. They don’t play Notre Dame, and they get their one shining moment against Clemson in early December.
NEXT: The most underrated thing was …