ACC Bowling Fail: A Recap of What Was in the ACC Postseason So Far

Posted by Brandon Rink on December 31, 2009 under ACC Football | Comments are off for this article

“ACC! ACC! ACC!” That’s what the Clemson players chanted after taking down Kentucky for what would be the ACC’s only win so far this bowl season–I’m guessing they stopped after watching the Champs. The ACC’s bowl performance is the same song, different verse as this one doesn’t have Clemson losing in it for the first time since 2005. We are 1-3 right now and each game had it quirks which almost explain away the awful record. Our spin on the recap of these bowl games is giving succint summaries and look-aheads to next season from the games.

Meineke Car Care Bowl: UNC Falls 19-17 to Pittsburgh

This one went about how I thought it would with Pittsburgh doing just a little more than I thought they could against the Heels’ D. The Panthers’ Dion Lewis dominating the Tar Heels’ D was the difference as you can’t expect any consistency from UNC’s offense. Where is North Carolina exactly with Butch Davis in the Coastal? Can they even crack anyone’s top 3 next season? This is a game that with a stronger defensive effort–they could have won which is a positive in a sense, but really, where is UNC at this point? Another Coastal team’s epic bowl fail might notch them one spot up in the Coastal to third for next season, but who knows. We may just have to admit football’s defeat at UNC like at Duke.

Emerald Bowl: BC Loses 24-13 to Southern Cal

Well, BC did get screwed on a couple calls and Montel Harris went down to an injury. BC actually looked strong and ready to win this one until Harris was injured and then the coaches had mental meltdowns and tried to have (Uncle) Dave Shinskie lead the Eagles to victory. Freshman QBs, no matter if they can procure alcohol for teammates, are not the outlet for winning games in December. There are a number of positives for BC going into next season and they will be one of the favorites for the division. Heck, they might be the favorite for the division as I don’t know what to do with volatile FSU/Clemson/NC State while BC just knocks out 8-9 wins a year.

Music City Bowl: Clemson WINS 21-13 over Kentucky

You did not read that wrong–that’s the ACC winning a bowl game(and against an SEC team too!). Clemson did what they had to with establishing the run on one of the worst run defenses in the country and not only C.J. Spiller, but also sophomore Jamie Harper and redshirt freshman Andre Ellington ran wild all game on the ‘Cats. The Clemson defense showed signs of blowing up once again against the run, but would only give up 6 points the rest of the game after the inital Kentucky drive that went for a TD. Clemson loses C.J. Spiller and we really do not know how much that will effect Clemson next season–but obviously it will. Clemson possibly losing Parker to MLB could be a factor too. The Tigers do have the advantage that appears to be lacking from many of the other 6 bowl participants in ending their season on a win going into recruiting.

Champ Sports Bowl: Miami Fails so Epicly to Wisconsin 20-14

It’s about the TE! Seriously, why did Miami even cover the wide receivers? Wisconsin’s Lance Kendricks was the Badgers’ top receiver with 7  catches and 128 yards with an astounding 18.3 yards a catch. Also, Miami offensive line, blocking the other team is productive to scoring points. Miami was just manhandled physically. It was an ugly game to watch until the Canes scored the late TD and then executed the flawless onside kick. The Canes first drive and second-to-last drive were the only positive ones of the entire game as Miami was just terrible and an embarrassment to the ACC here. With a win, Miami would have been toward the top of many preseason mags next year, but this loss and how it unfolded–it was just ugly. There is no way in clear conscience I can put them ahead of the Hokies/Jackets even with the starters they each have to replace at this point.

Laments about the games? Thoughts on these teams going into Twenty-Ten? Leave your thoughts below…Here’s to improvement starting with the Chick-Fil-A today and Gator tomorrow!