The Coastal "Race"

[AE 87]

I know it sounded like coach-speak when CPJ said it, but Duke doesn't beat themselves. They're a solid team, imo, and probably should be ranked in the top 25.

That being said, nothing's changed since the start of the season regarding the top 6 in the coastal being fairly equally matched except that the 7th team, UVA, has put themselves into the mix. I think Duke's been the better team during the first 9 week compared to the remaining coastal teams on their schedule.

So, I think it likely that they lose 1 or 2 more but less likely that they lose 3. Still, if Pitt beats them next week, UNC and VPI might be extra-motivated after last year to repay the favor. I also agree with @takethepoints that Cuse could be a trap. It would be awesome if they just lost them all so that Duke would be Duke and all would be right with the world.

 

[Blumpkin Souffle]

Even in 2009 we didn't control our destiny, and needed Clemson to beat Miami for us to go to the ACCCG.

 

[AE 87]

If UVA had beaten VPISU in 2008, while we were beating U[sic]Ga, we would've gone to the ACC CG.

If our D can improve over the next few weeks, we may be facing a CU offense that's really banged up. Syracuse's D has not been great, and they were able to contain CU for most of the game.

Dadgum, it just seems like we're so close.

 

[Madison Grant]

It's highly unlikely Duke will win out. Not because they aren't playing good right now, but other scheduling issues are not in their favor. They have to play VT after the Hokies get 2 weeks rest. Then they have to turn around and play UNC on a Thursday 5 days after facing VT. Duke is much better than they have been in the past, but not good enough yet to get through that unscathed. If VT roughs them up, they may lose both.

 

[Madison Grant]

Duke's led a pretty charmed life in other ways too. They won back-to-back games against us and UVA in which they were outgained by over 100 yards in both contests. We turned the ball over 3 times in the second half, missed FGs, kicked FGs when we should have had TDs. Re-watch that game. Duke didn't dominate us by any stretch of the imagination. We gift-wrapped it for them.

 

[Oldgoldandwhite]

Pi$$es me off that when the SEC has two loss teams, it is because everyone is beating each other up, but for us it is the ACC wheel of destiny!

 

[gtg936g]

Pi$$es me off that when the SEC has two loss teams, it is because everyone is beating each other up, but for us it is the ACC wheel of destiny!

You and I are in the same camp on this one. The solution is for the ACC teams to beat their SEC rivals. I would like nothing more than this to be our year to do that.

 

[slugboy]

It's highly unlikely Duke will win out. Not because they aren't playing good right now, but other scheduling issues are not in their favor. They have to play VT after the Hokies get 2 weeks rest. Then they have to turn around and play UNC on a Thursday 5 days after facing VT. Duke is much better than they have been in the past, but not good enough yet to get through that unscathed. If VT roughs them up, they may lose both.

Maybe VT will--I'm trying to figure out how they're losing as much as they are.

 

[jeffgt14]

Duke won't lose to a team that isn't more athletic than them. Which leaves UNC and VT as the possible losses. I have very little faith in VT. Maybe Pitt can turn something around we can only hope. I don't think Pitt's good at all but I do think Paul Chryst is a good coach.

 

[daBuzz]

Maybe VT will--I'm trying to figure out how they're losing as much as they are.

It's easy. Their QB play is absolutely horrible.

 

[Eric]

It's easy. Their QB play is absolutely horrible.

Pretty much the whole offense...OL is bad and they have a poor running game.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

I will just put this here. Duke is capable of losing every game left on their schedule. The pressure will be on them to win out but even their trip to Syracuse could be a problem for them. In my opinion (not so humble) Miami and UNC are Tech's strongest competition to win the Coastal at this point.

 

[DTGT]

You and I are in the same camp on this one. The solution is for the ACC teams to beat their SEC rivals. I would like nothing more than this to be our year to do that.

That would un-rank all the SEC teams except the top two? And rank half the ACC teams? Sorry, winning won't overcome this bias...

 

[gtg936g]

That would un-rank all the SEC teams except the top two? And rank half the ACC teams? Sorry, winning won't overcome this bias...

I would argue that the domination of their ACC rivals are part of what drove the SEC propaganda machine. It is the first step in unseating them. If it were a 50/50 split for the next 6 years the ACC would become much more relevant and the SEC would become less relevant. Winning cures all evils in college football.

 

[Minawreck]

I would argue that the domination of their ACC rivals are part of what drove the SEC propaganda machine. It is the first step in unseating them. If it were a 50/50 split for the next 6 years the ACC would become much more relevant and the SEC would become less relevant. Winning cures all evils in college football.

it's not just the ACC though.

This season alone LSU beat Wisconsin (blame it on Wisconsin because they stopped running the ball or whatever)

Bama beat West VA who's now a top team in the Big 12

Auburn beat K State in Manhattan who's also a top team in the Big 12.

The other aspect are the bowl games (which are virtual home games for most of the SEC given bowl locations), the SEC continues to do well in big bowl games.

The SEC has done a lot to validate itself this season, but I still don't want more than two teams from the SEC in the playoff. Win your conference to play for the national title.

 

[Oldgoldandwhite]

The whole landscape of CFB is the same except one area. That is the Defensive Line play. The SEC gets a better DL for whatever reason you want to suggest. Offenses are about the same.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

I will just put this here. Duke is capable of losing every game left on their schedule. The pressure will be on them to win out but even their trip to Syracuse could be a problem for them. In my opinion (not so humble) Miami and UNC are Tech's strongest competition to win the Coastal at this point.

I think Miami, GT and UNC are playing the best football in Coastal right now. All we can do is win our games and see who else steps up.

As far as the SEC performance goes, unbiased computer algorithms have 6 of their teams in the top 10. And if you go to the bottom, you see the conference power rankings. SEC 70%, PAC12 64%, ACC 61%. http://www.jhowell.net/cf/cf2014.htm

BTW, GT's power ranking is 69.5% after our win over Pitt and the highest in Coastal .... barely under Miami at 69.6% ......

 

[DTGT]

The other aspect are the bowl games (which are virtual home games for most of the SEC given bowl locations), the SEC continues to do well in big bowl games.

The SEC has done a lot to validate itself this season, but I still don't want more than two teams from the SEC in the playoff. Win your conference to play for the national title.

Cherry picking! The SEC has lost lots of big and small bowl games. They get ignored as ESPN points to the one W.

Last season SEC lost BOTH BCS games, including the big enchilada. The season before that Louisville spanked Florida in the Sugar Bowl. The season before that we got SEC vs SEC and have no comparison games. The season before that Ohio State beat Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl.

The SEC is a combined 3-5 in BCS bowls over the past 4 bowl seasons. Take away the SEC vs SEC nonsense and the record is 2-4 in recent BCS bowls. Why is 2-4 considered "dominance"? Because ESPN has a 20 year contract with the SEC.

 

[Minawreck]

I'm not an SEC apologist by any stretch of the imagination, but the SEC does well in bowl games (in my opinion that's because the schools are very lenient with the football players in terms of finals and the travel is light). Pretty sure they're well over .500 the past 10 years. Your selecting BCS bowls is a better example of cherry-picking. The SEC was 7-3 in bowl games last season.

 

[DTGT]

From http://www.thepostgame.com/commenta...sto-southern-secession-chuck-thompson-sec-bcs

Witness the record since the start of the BCS era in 1998:
SEC vs. PAC-12 regular season: 10-12
SEC vs. PAC-12 bowl games: 1-0
SEC vs. Big 12 regular season: 6-10
SEC vs. Big 12 bowl games: 21-8
SEC vs. ACC regular season: 42-36
SEC vs. ACC bowl games: 16-9
SEC vs. Big 10 regular season: 7-4
SEC vs. Big 10 bowl games: 19-19
SEC vs. Big East regular season: 16-15
SEC vs. Big East bowl game: 3-8
The record is clear. In head-to-head match-ups against other major conferences, the SEC has either a combined losing record or one that's generally only a little better than even.

To SEC apologists who claim that the SEC's overall winning records in bowl games is evidence of success in "games that matter" against "quality opponents," I offer the counter-argument that because bowl game pairings are more easily manipulated than regular-season games, and because SEC teams frequently play in bowls near home stadiums, they often result in more favorable match-ups for SEC teams.