Oddsmakers: Clemson Game

It's Clemson week! What better way to start talking Eagles vs. Tigers than with a game of oddsmakers.


Chances a BC running back goes over 100 yards rushing?

Jeff: Well why don't we just say chances that Montel Harris runs for over 100 yards since Haden doesn't even have 100 yards on the season yet? I'm going to say this is unlikely. I expect Clemson to play run first all game and put the game in the hands of whichever one of our rookie quarterbacks is under center in front of the large and loud Clemson crowd. As much as I like our backs, they were not impressive enough against Kent State for me to think that anyone will rush for over 100 yards against an ACC opponent until our passing game proves it needs to be given respect. 20%.

Brian: I am going to disagree with you here. Clemson had to be thinking run first last Thursday night too against Georgia Tech, and they let the Yellow Jackets rush for over 300 yards and over 100 yards through the air. The Jackets actually nearly had two backs go over the century mark. Now I realize that the Eagles don't run a triple option, run-heavy offense, but I think the Eagles have enough skill at running back (Ninja, Haden, Deuce) and quarterback (Tuggle) that this mark can be eclipsed in this game. The Eagles offensive line play should also be strengthened by the return of Nate Richman who will be replacing Emmett Cleary at left tackle. In reality, it might only take one back to bust through the line and get a long gain for an Eagles back to go over 100 yards on the day. I will go fairly high on this one and say 45%.


Chances BC keeps Jacoby Ford out of the end zone?

Brian: I'm going to go fairly low on this one. I think the Eagles will first and foremost scheme defensively to stop C.J. Spiller. As Eagles fans are painfully aware, Spiller basically lit up the Eagles defense and special teams last season en route to 242 all-purpose yards in the Tigers first win over BC in ACC play. With all eyes on Spiller, it wouldn't surprise me if Ford slips into the end zone either on offense or special teams. Through two games (albeit against inferior opponents), the pass defense and special teams have been better than expected for the Eagles so far and give me reason to go higher on this one. 25%.

Jeff: Jacoby Ford, more than C.J. Spiller in my opinion, is an over-hyped speedster. Certainly he deserves to be labeled ridiculously fast - because he is - but he is not a great wide receiver. Therefore his best chance of scoring a touchdown is really on special teams when he goes against a quality defense like Boston College's defense. I'll go as high as 82%.


Chances BC quarterbacks combine for 2 or more TD passes?

Jeff: 37%. Three (or more) touchdowns for the offense would be great Saturday. Odds are good that if we get to that mark, at least two of those touchdowns will be on the ground.

Brian: Considering the fact that BC has yet to throw 2 passing touchdowns in a game vs. Clemson since joining the ACC, the chances here aren't very likely. Even QB Matt Ryan couldn't seem to accomplish this feat. In 2006, a young Matt Ryan didn't throw for more than one touchdown against the Clemson defense in a 34-33 double OT victory. In 2007, Ryan again only threw one touchdown (it may have only been one TD, but it was a huge one!) in the Eagles 20-17 victory. You have to all the way back to 1983 to find a time when the Eagles QBs were able to throw for more than one touchdown against the Tigers. In that game, Doug Flutie was 20-36 for 223 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-16 come-from-behind Eagles victory. Given that both Shinskie and Tuggle are still very green under center, the chances of this happening are indeed very low. I'll agree with you in that a majority of the Eagles touchdowns on Saturday will come on the ground and now through the air. I'll go as low as 10%.


Chances Steve Aponavicius is still perfect on the year after the Clemson game?

Brian: In the span of two games against Clemson, Steve Aponavicius has gone from hero to goat in a little under a year. In 2007, Aponavicius went 2-for-2 on field goal tries of 30 and 40 yards in an Eagles 20-17 victory. Last year, however, Aponavicius missed both field goal attempts from 21 and 37 in last year's 27-21 loss to the Tigers. While Aponavicius has converted all three field goal attempts on the season - FGs of 24, 24 and 33 - the Eagles will have to rely on Aponavicius's leg to keep the Eagles in this game. Clemson's defense will probably be one of the best defenses we will face all season and field position will be at a premium on Saturday. As a result, I really hope the coaching staff doesn't keep Aponavicius off the field if the Eagles are in field goal range. Because I expect to see a lot of Aponavicius on Saturday, I will go fairly low on this one. 50%.

Jeff: I think the BC coaching staff has learned when and when not to use Aponavicius over the last few years while he has also developed a slightly stronger and more accurate leg. I like his chances to stay perfect in this game because the only time Spaziani is going to send him our for a field goal longer than 40 yards is in a situation at the end of either half or if we face fourth and really long. Last week, the announcers overpraised Aponavicius. But at the same time, he has looked like he might be pretty reliable for us this year from the correct distances. 85%.


Last one, chances BC wins this Saturday in Death Valley?

Jeff: I predicted a win for the Eagles before the season began and the Eagles have looked better than expected thus far. Clemson meanwhile played one inspired quarter of football against Georgia Tech where they could have hung with and beaten any team in the nation. Everyone is now saying that if Clemson plays the way they did in the second half of the Georgia Tech game, Boston College has no chance. The funny thing is though that there is no chance that Clemson or any team plays with that much heart and energy for a full 60 minutes. For a while most players on the team refused to be blocked by Georgia Tech players. The Eagles are more likely to match that intensity than Georgia Tech was with a large lead entering the second half on Thursday night. I'm sticking with my original prediction that BC will win, but I can't give them any better than 60%.

Brian: 60%?! You are giving the Eagles running backs only a 20% chance of going over 100 yards and Eagles QBs only a 37% chance of throwing for 2 or more touchdowns. Where are all these Eagle points going to come from? Your math doesn't seem to add up, sir. Don't get me wrong. I have no doubt that the Eagles can hang with the Tigers. However, with Clemson having plenty of offensive weapons, an offensive line that has improved from last year, and a strong defense ... not to mention the game being in one of the ACC's most hostile environments, I can't go any higher than 39% in this one. Overall, I like what I've seen from the Eagles and wouldn't be surprised if they pull off the upset. Here's to hoping the Eagles prove me wrong on Saturday.

Boston College +7 @ Clemson

Boston College +7 @ Clemson

The Eagles open as 7 point underdogs for this weekend's ACC opener at Clemson.

Elsewhere around the ACC Atlantic, Florida State is a 7 point underdog at BYU, and Maryland is only a 5.5 point favorite at home against Middle Tennessee State (a team that knocked off Maryland last year). Ouch.

Oddsmakers: Super Regionals, Spaz v. Swinney and Fenway Park

What do the NCAA baseball regionals, Dabo Swinney and football in Fenway Park have in common? Absolutely nothing. But we touch on all three topics in a game of oddsmakers.


Chances BC advances to the NCAA baseball Super Regionals?

Brian: The breadth of Jeff and my college baseball knowledge is certainly limited, as is well documented on the blog. However, for whatever reason, I am feeling overly optimistic about the Eagles chances in Austin. The Eagles used a 17 run outburst last Friday and Saturday to tally a very respectable 2-1 record in the ACC Championship. I am thinking that the Eagles can use this momentum to beat Texas State in the opening game. The pitching lately has been great too, with Dean and MacDonald pitching great games against Miami and Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship.

While Texas State did finish the year at 38-14, when it came to playing the big name baseball teams, they have a mix of impressive wins - 2 at Baylor, 1 at Rice - and bad losses - 2 losses to TCU, 2 losses to Texas. Not sure what to make of this. Texas State does have an ace on their staff - Kane Holbrooks (10-1, 3.34 ERA) - so it will be interesting to see if the Eagles have to face Holbrooks or if they will save him for a possible matchup with Texas.

I really don't think much of Army's chances to run the gauntlet of Texas, Texas State and BC.

After the Longhorns, I'll say the Eagles have the next highest chance of advancing to the Super regionals. I'll give UT a 55% chance to advance, the Eagles a 25% chance, the Bobcats a 19% chance, and the Black Knights a 1% chance. 25%.

Jeff: At least you prefaced your answer by saying that you know nothing about college baseball. I am not claiming to know much but I have a least watched a few games this year which is more than you can say. Since we're handicapping the whole regional, here's how it goes.

Texas 90% ...
Boston College 5% ...
Texas State 5% ...
Army 0%

Army has no chance whatsoever. Texas is probably going to advance easily. I'd love to see BC advance but they have far worse than a 1 in 4 chance.


Chances Swinney bests Spaziani in the first full year as head coach?

Jeff: A month ago, this was a no-brainer and BC was the heavy favorite. I know Clemson has CJ Spiller back and BC has quarterback issues, but I will continue to stress that aside from the quarterback and defensive tackle positiosn, the Eagles have a really, really strong team. Now with Herzlich out of the starting lineup until further notice and when you give Clemson a few extra percentage points since we have to travel to South Carolina in September, it becomes closer to a 50-50. To set my final number though I look at each coach's all-time winning percentage as head coaches and I give Spaz the advantage since he is batting 1.000. Final answer. 39% chance that Swinney finishes ahead of Spaz this year.

Brian: I am going to throw out the quarterback issue you mentioned because Clemson is just as unsettled as the Eagles are at the QB position. Of course, you wouldn't know this if you read this HD fluff piece on backup QBs, but I digress.

Expectations will certainly be low both in Clemson and Chestnut Hill this fall. I tend to agree with you, Jeff, that even with the loss of Herzlich, BC is the more complete team going into next season. I think when you boil it down, the chances that Swinney has a better record than Spaz at the end of the year depend greatly on the Tigers and Eagles schedules.

Comparing out of conference schedules, Northeastern/Kent State and Middle Tennessee State/Coastal Carolina seems to me to be a wash, and I'd put both the Eagles and Tigers at 2-0 after these games. Although I would say TCU/at South Carolina is a tougher pair of out of conference games than Central Michigan/at Notre Dame. TCU is considered by some to be a preseason Top 25 team, and you have to think this year is as good a chance as any for Spurrier to bring the Carolina-Clemson rivalry a little closer to .500 since he arrived. Advantage: Eagles.

If you then consider each team's respective ACC slates, the advantage has to go again to BC. This season, both teams miss Duke, Clemson misses North Carolina and Virginia Tech while the Eagles miss Georgia Tech and Miami. Perhaps this is a wash, maybe a slight edge to BC. But when you look at the road sched, this seems to favor the Eagles, as the Tigers travel to Georgia Tech, Miami and NC State. The Eagles' toughest road test will come on October 10 in Blacksburg, but the road trips to Charlottesville and College Park don't seem as daunting as running the Atlanta/Miami/Raleigh gauntlet. Especially with all those high expectations in Raleigh.

After dissecting both the Eagles and Tigers 11 other matchups, I honestly think this will come down to the head-to-head matchup on September 19. Since the game is in Death Valley this year, I'll give the slight, slight edge to Clemson and say Swinney has a 50.1% chance of ending the season with a better record than Spaziani.


Last one, chances BC football plays at Fenway Park any time soon?

Brian: The reason this is a question is recently ESPN.com's Ivan Maisel came up with a list of old college football foes playing in old venues and suggested Fenway Park with BC facing Auburn. Auburn was selected as BC's opponent since the other 5 teams we played games against at Fenway - Boston U, Georgetown, Holy Cross, Temple, and Idaho - either de-emphasized football, dropped down to FCS or straight up suck. The Auburn blog Track 'Em Tigers even goes as far to suggest that BC and Auburn should be paired together as part of a larger SEC-ACC rivalry series. Having been to Jordan-Hare Stadium last season, I really like this idea. Well played, Track 'Em Tigers.

While I would love to see BC play football at Fenway Park, I don't think we'll see this happen anytime soon. I just can't imagine Gene and the Athletics Department offering to play a BCS conference opponent in a venue that seats less fans than Alumni Stadium and one in which would likely have ungodly sight line issues for football.

Sitting on top of the Green Monster and watching a football game = awesome
Sitting in the last rows behind home plate, as far away to the action as possible = not so awesome.

Not to mention the fact that if Gene and the AD continue to slavishly follow our established out of conference formula from the last four years (1 parts BCS, 2 parts non-BCS FBS, and 1 part FCS) going forward, I can't imagine a team like Southern Cal, Syracuse or Northwestern agreeing to playing at Fenway instead of Alumni Stadium. If BC is going to play a home game off-campus, this game will likely end up at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro before it ever ends up at Fenway. The athletics department would want to increase the number of seats available, not decrease the total number.

Finally, with the Red Sox actually being good again, there's no telling whether they will still be playing come October. And I can't imagine the Sox or FSG getting excited for a college football team tearing up the diamond and grass. I will go VERY low on this and say 5% chance.

Jeff: This is somewhat of a stupid question because it says anytime soon. The answer is 0%. If anytime soon actually means the next 20 years, then there's a decent chance.

I think every BC hockey fan has said to themselves at one point or another that BC and BU should play at Fenway after some other schools have played similar rivalry games in large outdoor venues. I think this will happen at some point and the date will probably be set in the next 5 years.

After that, if everyone agrees that was a huge success, then you have a strong possibility of a Thanksgiving weekend football game, i.e. BC vs. Syracuse, being played at Fenway, but at that point we're probably already well into the 2020s. Will Fenway still be around?

Oddsmakers: Cavs Host Eagles

To preview tonight's game between Boston College (17-6, 5-3 ACC) and the Virginia Cavaliers (7-10, 1-5 ACC), we play a game of oddsmakers.

Game previews: DailyProgress, From Old Virginia, Washington Post


Odds Tyrese Rice goes over 20 points tonight in his final college basketball game in his home state of Virginia?

Brian: Rice is averaging 17.9 this season so 20 points or more wouldn't be out of the question. His scoring average is actually trending upwards, averaging 19.6 points per game in his last 7 games (going back to the Miami game). In his last 7 games, he has gone over 20 four times, tallying 21 against Miami, 20 vs. Wake Forest, 26 at Georgia Tech (which included OT) and 25 vs. NC State. Add in the emotional factor of playing in the state of Virginia for the last time as a college player, I'll go as high as 75%.

Jeff: You've got the number there. 19.6 rounds up to 20. I think your 75% chance is reasonable but I'll go a little lower with 59%.


Odds the Eagles win one of three games against Wake Forest, Clemson and Duke?

Jeff: The odds are good here. Clemson at home probably being the best chance of the three games but in all three have a chance. Wake Forest have proven they are beatable after losing to two different teams that we have already beaten in Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech. I would say we have something like a 10-20% chance against both Wake Forest and Duke and then a 51% chance of beating Clemson. Overall that would give us about a 63% chance that we win one or more of those three, but I'm throwing the math out the window and saying 100% chance BC beats one of those ranked ACC opponents before the end of the season.

Brian: I know you are ever the BC optimist, Jeff, but 63% seems a little too high. I'm going to assume we'll drop our games against Wake Forest (we got killed at home, can't imagine it will be any different on the road) and Duke (might be the best team in the country). So let's focus on the Clemson game. kenpom predictor has us losing the Clemson game 77-74. A close one. The Eagles certainly won't be favored in this game, even at home, unless Clemson suddenly falls apart and looks terrible in their games against Duke and Florida State. So just focusing on the Clemson game, I'll give the Eagles a 40% chance of winning that game, and a 45% chance of either defeating the Tigers or surprising me and taking down Duke or Wake Forest.


Odds B.C. wins all of their remaining regular season games against currently unranked ACC squads?

Brian: Let's take a look at the list. We've got eight regular season games left with three of those games coming against ranked opponents - No. 4 Duke, No. 7 Wake Forest and No. 10 Clemson. So that leaves five games at Virginia (tonight), at Miami (FL), Florida State, at North Carolina State and Georgia Tech. Of those five games, I'm fairly confident the Eagles can take care of the reeling Cavs, North Carolina State and Georgia Tech. A road game in Coral Gables will be a fairly tough game to win even though Miami is on a three game slide. Same with Florida State. 5-0 against teams we should beat is a tall order for this team as you never know what you are going to get night to night. It's also equally plausible that we knock off one of the ranked teams and lose to one of these unranked teams. I'll go with a low 15%.

Jeff: Those are five games that BC should win but unfortunately, not only BC, but teams in general don't always win all of those games they should. Let's do the old math giving BC a 85% chance of winning tonight, 52% chance of winning at Miami, 60% chance of beating Florida State, 65% chance of winning at North Carolina State and a 77% chance of beating Georgia Tech at home. That works out to a 13.3% chance that BC goes undefeated through that stretch.


Odds Boston College wins its first round ACC Tournament game?

Jeff: Odds are very high here. Right now BC is in the #5 spot for the tournament which gives them a first round game against the last place team in the league. At that point of the season a last place team typically has thrown in the towel and I fully expect that to be the case with Virginia or whoever else holds that spot. We might fall from 5 to 6 but I doubt we fall any further. 94% chance BC wins their first round ACC game.

Brian: If we hold our position or drop a little in the ACC standings, we are likely looking at a game against Georgia Tech, Virginia or North Carolina State in the first round. While I am confident that the Eagles could beat any of those teams, this team has shown some wild inconsistency throughout the year and 94% seems way too high. Take a look at our struggles to put away a team like Georgia Tech. The whole conference from top to bottom is very strong and even the teams at the bottom of the standings could easily pull off the first round upset. I also don't like the fact that if we draw Georgia Tech, they will be playing their first round ACC Tournament game in their own backyard (the Georgia Dome). I only give the Eagles a 65% chance of winning the opening round ACC Tournament game.


Odds Tyrese Rice is on an NBA opening day roster next year?

Brian: I will give Rice an 85% chance of landing a spot on an NBA opening day roster. A few mock drafts have Rice going as an early second rounder. This year's NBA draft will certainly have a good deal of talent at the PG position (Wake's Jeff Teague, Stephen Curry, VCU's Eric Maynor, UNC's Ty Lawson, UCLA's Darren Collison), but Rice is one of the better point guards in the best basketball conference in the country. Someone will give him a shot. 85%.

Jeff: I am thinking that the only way Rice is on an opening day roster is if he gets drafted. If he does go undrafted he might find his way on to an NBA team but it could take longer to work his way from practice squad to the bench. Rice has always and will always be one of those guys who has college game that doesn't appear as if it will translate to the pro level. If he goes in the second round I won't be surprised but if he doesn't, I won't be surprised either. 50%


Last one. Since it's signing day, Odds that BC has the worst signing class in the ACC according to Rivals?

Jeff: Unfortunately I'm going to go high here. BC has a class that is low in volume which will hurt the stupid rankings to begin with. Add to thatthe struggles we have had so far and our 2 star targets and we are set up to be ranked very low relative to others in the conference. Teams that we might be ranked ahead would include UVA, Wake, and Duke. But unfortunately Duke is going to have an extremely strong recruiting class by their standards with the little bit of hype surrounding their football program right now. I'm going to say there is an 85% chance that BC does have the worst recruiting class in the conference.

Brian: The answer here is 100%. I'm not going to get too worked up over it all. To give you a sense of what the major recruiting sites are projecting, take a look at ESPN's ACC College Football Recruiting list. Eight of the Eagles eighteen commits have been given a grade of 40 by ESPN, basically suggesting they didn't bother to even evaluate these kids. Virginia only has five such recruits with a grade of 40 and Virginia Tech has four.

Contrast this with the recruiting classes of Clemson (12 recruits graded between 83 and 74 and 5 ESPN Top150 recruits), Florida State (5 ESPN Top150 recruits) and Miami (7 ESPN Top150 recruits). We'll have the worst ranked recruiting class in the ACC, but in the end, it really won't matter.

Consider the fact that guys like Mark Herzlich and Albright weren't highly touted out of high school (Herzlich graded a 75 in 2006, Albright a 40) and like I said I'm not going to get too worked up over what Rivals or Scouts says about this recruiting class. At least every indication is that next year's class will be even better.


Brian: We bring in BC basketball guest blogger Raj for a recap. Raj, who won?

Brian	Topic	Jeff
75%	Tyrese Rice over 20 pts tonight?	59%
45%	BC wins one of Duke, Clemson, Wake?	100%
15%	BC goes 5-0 against the ACC unranked?	13.3%
65%	BC wins first round ACC Tourney matchup?	94%
85%	Tyrese Rice on opening day NBA roster?	50%
100%	Worst ACC recruiting class?	85%

Raj: Tyrese "Sweet Lady" Rice is a great guard for Boston College, but I find it hard to believe that he gets drafted. He's undersized, an average defender and still a mediocre passer. That being said, everything else was a tossup and Jeff's lack of analysis in "Will Rice score 20 points?" leaves me to clean up his mess like Corey Raji and declare Brian the winner. Brian, let's hear your best Johnny drama impression.


Brian: VICTORY!

Oddsmakers: Halftime at the Music City Bowl

Odds Davis has more than one turnover in the second half

Brian: 0%. Davis is getting into a groove now. I wouldn't be surprised if he turns the ball over one more time, but I don't think he commits two or more, giving him 3+ on the day.

Jeff: Davis had one pick and no fumbles in the first half. I can easily see Davis having a fumble since he has had a tendancy to do exactly that and he could easily throw a pick whether its his fault or a tipped ball. 50%


Odds Vanderbilt scores a touchdown

Jeff: Going low here. Vanderbilt probably already blew their best chances. 23%

Brian: 1.5% I am still on track for my 24-6 prediction and an Eagles win.


Odds Haden has more rushing yards than Harris

Brian: Haden hasn't done much in the first half. I don't like his chances. 10%.

Jeff: Harris will likely have more rushing yards but there is certainly the possibility for Haden to break a big run or just to see more touches because Harris has not been having his best game. Its closer to a toss up in this game than it has been in most this season. 48%.


Odds Bob Davie mentions Notre Dame more than 1 more time

Jeff: As the former Notre Dame coach, Bob Davie I believe has already mentioned Notre Dame twice. Considering Notre Dame is our highest profile opponent each year, I say odds are good that Notre Dame gets mentioned a few times. He still needs to talk about Clausen's Hawaii Bowl performance. 70%

Brian: 100%. There will be more than 1 mention of Notre Dame from Bob Davie. 1) will be when the Eagles are ready to win the game and he'll mention the bowl winning streak and then mention both Notre Dame's bowl win and breaking the streak of 8 straight bowl losses and 2) when the defense clamps down in the second half and doesn't let up a point, he'll mention the Eagles 17-0 shutout of the Irish as one of our other dominating defensive performances.


Odds BC wins

Brian: 100%. Davis just needed a quarter to get in the groove. This team was extremely rusty out of the game. The novelty of playing a bowl game for the first time in 26 years has worn off for Vanderbilt. BC will cruise in the second half.

Jeff: Wow, 100%? That's more confidence than I have. Hopefully Davis can build on that TD drive but there are no guarantees. Even if he doesn't play well hopefully the defense wins the game for us. 89%.


Go BC! We need to keep the streak alive, finish in the top 25, and have momentum going into next season.

Oddsmakers: Eagles vs. 'Noles and the Division Race

To preview this weekend's big Atlantic Division matchup between the Eagles and the Seminoles, and handicap the Atlantic Division race, we play a game of oddsmakers.

Odds BC scores a non-offensive touchdown for the 5th straight game

Brian: The last three games we have had a 13 yard fumble recovery by Akins, a blocked punt returned 25 yards by Rollins, and a 76 yard interception return by Anderson. Can we keep the defense scoring against the 'Noles? Well, while BC has scored a non-offensive touchdown in its last 3 games, Florida State's offense hasn't surrender points to either the opposing defense or on special teams in its last four games. And while Florida State quarterbacks struggled mightily through the Wake Forest game, starter Christian Ponder has settled down, only throwing 2 INTs in his last 4 games. The Eagles are tied for 3rd in the country with 26 takeaways, including 18 interceptions, but it is very difficult to predict whether the defense can turn takeaways into points. I'll go fairly low on this one and say 33% chance either special teams or the defense end up reaching paydirt Saturday.

Jeff: You forgot Gunnell's punt return for a touchdown in the Virginia Tech game and Mark Herzlich's interception returned for a touchdown in the Rhode Island game. That makes BC scoring a non-offensive touchdown in 55.6% of its games so that will be my answer. There is a better than 50% chance that the Eagles keep the streak alive Saturday against FSU.

Odds BC makes a field goal against the 'Noles

Jeff: Oh I hope the answer to this is 0%. I hope Jags never sends the field goal unit out there on Saturday except if time is expiring at the end of the first half and we have the ball in Florida State territory. Also, if we are tied at the end of regulation I wouldn't mind attempting a field goal. Unfortunately though, after Aponavicius missed the first field goal on Saturday against Notre Dame, Jags sent him back out there two more times so it seems as though Jags is set on attempting these field goals against my wishes. So on Saturday I imagine there will be one or two field goal attempts but the chances of BC making one out of only one or two attempts on the road in prime time I'm going to say are slim. 20%.

Brian: What is Aponavicius's season field goal percentage? 53.3% What are the chances Aponavicius doesn't see the field this weekend in field goal kicking situations? Fairly good, I'd imagine. What is Ryan Quigley's season field goal percentage? 0%. What does this all add up to? I have no idea. Florida State's defense is one of the better defenses we'll face in the conference this year, so drives very well may stall in Seminole territory (and our field goal kickers' range). In the Florida State-Wake Forest game, the only scoring was on field goals. And while Quigley/Aponavicius are no Swank/Gano, this one is really a coin flip in my mind, so I'll go 49.9%.

Odds Chris Crane completes greater than 50% of his passes Saturday

Brian: First let me say that less than 50% passing is awful. Crane is completing 54.9 percent of passes this year, but has only far surpassed the 50% mark three times - the games against Kent State, North Carolina State and North Carolina. Kent State is a middle-of-the-pack team in the MAC when it comes to pass-efficiency defense, NC State is DFL in the ACC in that category, and the UNC game is a bit of a red herring because, while Crane completed 2/3 of his passes, he threw 3 interceptions. Meanwhile, Florida State has allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete a hair over 50% of their passes (50.4%). While FSU has played some pretty bad teams and some equally bad quarterbacks, they've played against some decent QBs too. I'm going to go fairly low on this one. 33%

Jeff: I think we are going to see the offense move the ball very similarly to the way they did against Notre Dame this past weekend. The load is not going to be placed on Crane's shoulders and he is not going to be asked to carry the team to victory. On Saturday, I saw several balls that should've been caught which would have boosted Crane's completion percentage. I think Crane is getting more comfortable and is watching tape of FSU right now so he'll know to tuck it and run a lot and not give their speedy defense a chance to make big plays. I give Crane a 65% chance of completing half or more of the weak spirals he throws.

Odds Boston College beats the Seminoles on Saturday

Jeff: FSU has two wins of note this season. They beat Miami and Clemson. They also beat Virginia Tech but this was not an at all impressive win because the 'Noles knocked out both of the Hokies quarterbacks in the first half and they were losing the game at that point. In those two noteworthy wins, they squeaked by in both. A four point victory against the 'Canes and a 14 point victory that was really only a 7 point win which was very much in doubt until the refs reversed a Clemson touchdown because a player's helmet came off during the play and by rule that makes the play dead from that point. So FSU is deserving of its ranking but is not at all intimidating as a must-win road game against a Top 25 teams should be. It's really simple - Boston College has a better team minus two positions ... quarterback and kicker. If Crane can hold onto the ball and if we don't rely on field goals for points, we win. I like the Eagles chances because I think if you watched the game Saturday, a final score of 38-3 would've been more indicative of how the Eagles dominated. If this game were at home I'd go as high as 80%, but since it is in Tallahassee, I'll go 58%.

Brian: Apparently Jeff hasn't been talking to the Vegas experts. BC is getting 7 points this weekend in Tallahassee. So according to these "experts," the Eagles have much less than a 50% chance to win this game. Florida State is ranked #1 in the conference in both total offense and scoring offense, as well as ranked 2nd in the conference in rushing offense (which is basically #1 because Georgia Tech's option attack ranks first). On the flip side, Boston College is ranked #1 in the conference in both rushing defense and pass-efficiency defense. It's a fairly even matchup between the FSU offense and the BC defense (slight edge: BC?), but I give the edge to the Seminoles in the matchup between the FSU defense and the BC offense. Plus, we haven't seen Bad Crane show up the last two games. Eagles, meet "game-manager" Crane. Who knows which one will show up on the road this weekend ... the NC State Chris Crane or the UNC Chris Crane. While I'm ever the BC optimist, 58% is too high for an 8pm game in Doak Campbell, Homecoming, a Florida State blackout, etc. So I'll go with a slightly more conservative 42% (but I hope you are right, Jeff).

Jeff: The last time Florida State had a "blackout" and BC came to town their fans were leaving halfway through the third quarter. Take BC getting 7.

Followup question, Odds Florida State finishes the regular season 7-5 (BC, @ Maryland, Florida)

Brian: 7-5 would mean the Seminoles - this week's chic ACC champion pick - would drop their last 3 games in the regular season. I'll refrain from picking the Boston College game here and focus on their remaining two games - at Maryland and at home against Florida. There's a reason the #1 cliche of ACC football this season was calling Maryland the "Jekyll and Hyde" of college football, and its because the Terps have been terrible on the road (2-3) and solid at home (5-0). While this game is a home game for the Terps, the glaring mismatch in this game has to be the Florida State rushing attack (#2 in conference) versus Maryland's rush defense (#11 in conference). All the Seminoles will have to do run the ball down Maryland's throat to win this game. I am counting on Maryland getting an FSU beat down in two weeks, in fact, I'm 92% positive of this. Therefore, I'll only give Florida State a 8% chance of finishing the season 7-5. If I had to guess, the Seminoles finish 8-4.

Jeff: There's a 58% chance Boston College beats Florida State as I stated a moment ago. Then you are completely wrong only giving Maryland a 8% chance of winning. You overestimate FSU's team. Their offensive numbers are skewed because they average over 51 points a game in their non-conference matchups. So given that its at home, I give Maryland a 45% chance of winning. Then in their final game against Florida, the Gators will have National title hopes on the line and will not let FSU screw that up. 97% chance Florida wins. .58 X .45 X .97 = .253. There is a 25.3% chance that FSU loses out and finishes 7-5.

Last one, Odds the winner of the BC-FSU game goes on to play in Tampa

Brian: I will go fairly high on this one. Of the two teams, even though Florida State is ranked in the Top 25 this week, only Boston College controls its ACC title game hopes. Florida State needs Wake Forest to drop to either NC State or our Eagles. Regardless of what happens on Saturday, I like BC's matchup with the Deacons next weekend. And even if the Deacons can beat the Eagles next week, I equally like how Wake Forest matches up with NC State. As I stated before, I think NC State is better than their record indicates and could very well knock off Wake this weekend, which would pave the way for the winner of this game. Let's leave Maryland out of the conversation since I am expecting them to lose their last three ACC games and fall back to ACC mediocrity (EagleBank Bowl? Humanitarian, anyone?). So I will only give Wake Forest a 20% chance of beating both the Eagles and the Wolfpack, and go with a 80% chance that either BC or FSU are playing in Tampa.

Jeff: I agree with everything you say and want to reiterate that I think that Wake might fall this weekend at NC State and even if they don't, I give the Eagles an even better chance of beating Wake than you do. I'll go 91% chance here.


Brian: We bring in BC basketball guest blogger Raj for a recap. Raj, who won?

Brian	Topic	Jeff
33%	BC scores a non-offensive touchdown?	55.6%
49.9%	BC makes a field goal?	20%
33%	Chris Crane completes >50% of passes?	65%
42%	Eagle victory Saturday?	58%
8%	Seminoles finish 7-5?	25.3%
80%	BC or Florida State play in Tampa?	91%

Raj: I'm 100% certain that your respective employers do not appreciate blogging during work hours. Great analysis, but really anything higher than 5% for us making a field goal (not an extra point) is absurd. Also math equations are great, but I'm going to need to see all the work for you to get full credit, Jeff.

Well looks like Brian isn't too sure about anything, while Jeff seems to be the BC optimist. Luckily for Jeff, this isn't golf, high score wins. To the victor goes the spoils, Jeffrey "I'm getting married first" Martyn with the victory. Better luck next time Bri. Go Eagles.

Brian: Ridiculous.

Oddsmakers: Central Florida Visits Chestnut Hill

It's time to preview this weekend's football matchup with a game where we come up with ridiculously uniformed odds - Oddsmakers.

We were left coming out of the loss to Georgia Tech with a lot of questions about our starting quarterback. Odds that Chris Crane plays every snap at QB this Saturday?

Jeff: Well there is always a chance of injury which would eliminate him from playing every down. But there is a much better chance that Jags just finds a series to give someone else a chance under center. If we are up two scores in the second quarter I expect to see someone other than Crane out there for a series. 5%.

Brian: I'm going to go even lower. 0%! No way we don't see another Eagle under center this Saturday. Jags will throw someone else in there who isn't wearing #10. It could be to get Dominique Davis some reps under center in the second quarter or at the end of the game. It could even be Billy Flutie under center, which would make our boy Andy's day. Logan might also have some direct snap plays in his playbook with Josh Haden or Jeff Smith under center. So, in short, no way this happens. We'll see someone else other than Crane under center. 0%!

In two games, Central Florida quarterback Michael Greco is 26 for 48 with two touchdowns and no INTs. The Boston College defense has tallied two interceptions this season, however, both of those interceptions came in the win against Kent State. Odds that Boston College picks off Greco for the first time this year?

Brian: Greco is more of a dual-threat quarterback, much like Georgia Tech's Josh Nesbitt. He's already rushed for over 100 yards this season on 19 carries. As such, he's less likely to try to press if the pass isn't there and instead pull it down and scamper for a few yards. I'm going to go somewhat low on this and say there's only a 40% chance the Eagles intercept Greco, although we might desperately need the defense to finally put some points on the board (see below).

Jeff: The chances that we see at least one interception on Saturday is very high so I am going to hope that it is someone in a maroon jersey catching it rather than throwing it so I am going to be optomistic here and say 85% chance that the Eagles get a pick.

Our highly touted defense goes into the game against Central Florida having not scored any points. Odds the BC defense gets on the board for the first time this season on Saturday and helps out the offense?

Jeff: This is a tough question. I hate to predict that BC's defense is going to score points because they can force several turnovers and make lots of great plays and still not score. I have absolutely no stats to back this up but I am going to guess that a college defense scores in 12% of the games they play so since BC's defense is above average and UCF is only an average opponent, I'll give them an extra 5% and say 17% chance that the defense gets in the endzone Saturday.

Brian: A surprisingly good guess as to the chance a defense scores points Jeff. Here are some stats: Last year, the Eagles defense scored in 3 of our 14 games (North Carolina State, Bowling Green and the ACC Championship Game vs. Virginia Tech), which was 21% of our games. In 2006, Dunbar and Tribble each turned turnovers into 6 points twice (Miami, Maryland and Florida State). In addition, the defense forced two safeties against Maine and Virginia Tech, tallying points in 5 of our 13 games. I am hoping that the defense is due for a big play so I'll go as high as 40% that the defense gets on the board this Saturday.

Odds Boston College covers the generous 10.5 point spread this weekend?

Brian: As a quick Pick 5 recap, I chose Boston College against the spread in week 1 and went on to go 5-0 that week. Then in week 2 I also went with the Eagles, Chris Crane stunk up the joint, the defense gave up one big play in the fourth quarter and the Eagles lost. Since week 2, I have gone a paltry 3-7 against the spread and the bottom fell out last week when I went 1-4. I'm definitely in need of a change of fortune here to hold onto my one game lead over Jeff. While I'm not going to chose this game in my Pick 5 this week, I am going to try to reverse my fortunes and say that - while the Eagles win on Saturday - they don't cover. I'm going low on this ... and will say 20% chance the Eagles cover the spread.

Jeff: I think the 10.5 point spread is a little high after UCF nearly knocked off South Florida, but I am going to go higher than Brian and say 49%.

The Eagles lost Matt Ryan to graduation this year and the Patriots lost Tom Brady to injury. Odds the Eagles win more games than the Pats this season?

Jeff: I think the Eagles will fairly easily win 8 games and go to a very winnable bowl game. That would mean that the Pats would basically have to miss the playoffs. Their is a slight chance that the Eagles win 10, 11, or 12 games this year but the Patriots still play a 16-game regular season plus the playoffs so the odds are fairly low. 15%.

Brian: 2%! This just ain't happening. Look, I agree that I still think the Eagles will have a fairly decent season and can still pull out a 8-4 or 9-3 season. That might not be enough to get back to the ACC Championship game though so you are looking at only 13 total games for the Eagles this year. The Patriots have at most 17 more games to play while the Eagles only have 12. Plus the Pats already are one win up on the Eagles. The Patriots may have the easiest schedule in the NFL this year, while the Eagles will probably only be favored in 3-4 of their remaining 10 regular season games (Central Florida, URI, @ North Carolina State and Notre Dame/Maryland). There's the slightest of chances I could be wrong about this one, so I go ridiculously low with only 2 percent.

Oddsmakers: D Day for Matt Ryan

As over hyped and over covered as the NFL draft is, we decided to throw our hat into the ring. We preview this weekend's NFL draft with a game of odds makers. This week's game attempts to answer the question of where Boston College QB Matt Ryan lands:

First one, Odds Matt Ryan is drafted by the Atlanta Falcons?

Jeff: 25%. There are 2 possible scenarios where Matt doesn't get drafted by Atlanta. #1 They don't draft him. Or #2 They trade their pick and perhaps another team drafts him in that slot.

Brian: I'm going to say 40%, which is fairly high, considering all the other things Atlanta can do with this pick. Atlanta might take LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey at #3 if he's available. Atlanta really needs a fresh face to the franchise, which is exactly what they'd be getting with #12. That it, of course, if they don't think Joey Harrington is the answer ...

Odds a team trades up to draft Matt Ryan? (Likely suitors in this scenario: Carolina, Chicago and Detroit)

Brian: This would be the ultimate poker play by Carolina, Chicago or Detroit. The most likely draft spots in the top 10 to be traded by my estimation are the Jets at #6 and the Pats at #7. The other scenario if Atlanta doesn't take Ryan is Baltimore moves up a few spots to ensure they grab Ryan. The Ravens could just as likely trade down and look to make either Henne or local boy Flacco their signal caller of the future. Overall though, I don't think this scenario is likely so I'm going to go low. 20%.

Jeff: I completely disagree here Brian. I think there are two possible scenarios for Ryan on draft day. He will either be taken by the Falcons or someone will trade up to get him once he falls past that slot. Baltimore is in love with him and they will get antsy once he slides past #3. 75%.

Odds Matt Ryan falls past pick #6 (New York Jets)?

Jeff: I'm gonna be surprised if Ryan falls past number 6, so I'll say 5%. Atlanta might take him at #3 or others including Baltimore (currently at #8) may trade up for him. Not to mention my boys, the "J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets" have some interest.

Brian: Assuming that Ryan falls past Atlanta, I can't see either the Jets or the Chiefs drafting Ryan. There is a growing interweb collective saying that the Jets are really high on Ryan, including SI's Peter King. If this is true, the Jets would have 0 patience for developing Kellen Clemens, which I find surprising. So again, assuming Ryan isn't a Falcon, I would say there's a 75% chance he falls past both the Jets and the Chiefs.

Odds Mel Kiper Jr. isn't covering the draft next year? (i.e. Matt Ryan falls past #8)

Brian: An emphatic squaddush, 0%! I know there is a growing contingent of Matt Ryan naysayers out there in blogfrica (I'm looking at you, Brian Cook), but I personally think these naysayers couldn't be more wrong. I think there is 0 percent chance Matt Ryan falls past the Ravens. The Ravens need their quarterback of the future, seeing as their former quarterback just pulled a Brett Favre. An added bonus is Matt Ryan will be playing close to his hometown, and he stays out of the NFC so he doesn't compete with my NY Giants. Win, win, win.

Jeff: You hit the nail on the head. How often does the top QB not get drafted #8 or higher? Too many of the top 8 teams could use him. 0%.

Last one, odds Ryan has a better pro career than Brian Brohm, Chad Henne and Joe Flacco?

Jeff: 26%. I'm gonna give him a slight edge over the other 3 and therefore give him slightly more than a one quarter chance. There are way too many variables here including injuries and supporting cast. I think Matt Ryan will have a good pro career but I am not expecting the Hall of Fame so I wouldn't be at all surprised if another QB rises above him in the next few seasons.

Brian: Disclaimer: I'm biased, but ... 100%! No one has done more with less than Matt Ryan. No one has the intangibles and says all the right things like Matt Ryan. #12 didn't get to throw to Super Mario Manningham, didn't return for his senior year in hopes of winning a National Championship only to lead his team to a pedestrian 6-6 in the Big East, and didn't rack up really gaudy numbers against inferior I-AA competition. With all due respect to Misters Brohm, Henne and Flacco, there's a reason #12 is the consensus #1 QB in the draft and a top 10 lock.

Oddsmakers

Happy Trails, Spears and Kaba

Jeff: The day after the announcement of both Shamari Spears and Daye Kaba transferring broke, we play some basketball oddsmakers.

Odds incoming freshman guard Reggie Jackson has a better freshman campaign than Sanders (11.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg)?

Brian: I am going to go high here and say 60%. Jackson will get some decent playing time next year with the departure of Oates, Spears and Blair. He should be in a position to start and contribute right away. And a backcourt rotation of Rice, Paris, Sanders and Jackson is pretty formidable.

Jeff: Sanders had a solid freshman season. Are we expecting Jackson to be another Dudley? Craig Smith? That is way too much to expect out of a freshman that is coming to the Heights next year. Jackson could be a solid contributer and still not match 11.3 ppg.

Odds Boston College will land a McDonald's All-American in the next ten years?

Jeff: You've gotta go low here given the fact that BC hasn't even come close. But at the same time, within the next ten years Skinner will retire and who knows who the next coach might be. I mean look at what Bob Huggins did at Kansas State in just one season? 20%.

Brian: 10%. It's not going to happen with Skinner here. Skinner is constantly looking for the diamond in the rough, a la Sean Marshall, Jared Dudley, Craig Smith, Troy Bell. Unless Skinner's successor comes in with a decent sized pedigree, I don't see this happening.

Odds Boston College finishes ahead of UNC in the ACC standings next year?

Brian: Football 100%, ice hockey 100%, basketball 0%.

Jeff: I thought we were talking basketball but with Butch Davis at UNC you have to bring that 100% down to maybe 67%. UNC had a young football team last year and could improve drastically in the coach's second year. As far as basketball goes, I say 49%. I expect 9 or 10 wins out of BC next year and UNC could lose Hansbrough and others to the NBA which changes everything.

Brian: Roy Williams doesn't rebuild, he reloads. Also, UNC football is still a year or two away. 49% is ridiculously high.

Last one, odds Rakim Sanders ever makes first team all-ACC?

Jeff: Rakim Sanders clearly had the most potential of any player to wear a BC uniform this year and I would imagine many opposing coaches worry about defending him as his skills and jump shot continue to develop. However, I don't see him ever completely dominating statistically and therefore his placement on such a team will be dependent on the overall team success for the Eagles. I'm going to go 5%.

Brian: You have to go higher than 5%, Jeff. Look at Tyrese Rice's freshman year. Sanders averaged more points per game in his first year, and now Rice is a first teamer. If Sanders lives up to the potential, by his senior year, I'll give him a 15% chance of making first team.

Jeff: Wow, 5% vs. 15%! Way to go out on a limb, buddy.

Oddsmakers: Post ACCCG Football

Chances BC has more than 10,000 fans at the Champs Sports Bowl?

Jeff: 10%

BC will travel more fans to the Champs Sports Bowl than they did the ACC Championship game. BC had less than 5,000 at the ACCCG so that still leaves a long way to go which is why I don't give it much of a chance, but certainly the students will travel much better because you'll have many who come from southeastern states and others that have plenty of time over the holiday break to make a drive down to Orlando. Making it to Jacksonville was difficult for students because of the time of year and the expense. The real questions is though, how many BC fans said the last several years "I'll go to BC's bowl game if they get one in Florida" but still aren't going to the Champs Sports Bowl.

Brian: 0%

Absolutely NO WAY this happens. Approx. 3,500 BC fans show up at the ACC Championship game, and that was the game that mattered for BC's season. This would almost have to triple that output. As a measuring stick, look at the attendance for this bowl over the last three years: '06 Maryland-Purdue 40,000, '05 Clemson-Colorado 31,000, '04 Georgia Tech-Syracuse 28,237. Also, if it gives you some sort of clue as to the demographic of who's interested in going to this game, all you have to do is go to the Champs Sports Bowl website and vote on who is going to win this game. On a normal planet, 2/3 of the people shouldn't think that Michigan State is going to win this game. 0%

Jeff: Brian, the Champs Sports Bowl is expecting record attendance for this game but I agree that it will be mostly Michigan State driven. Try and get tickets on Ticketmaster right now and there are not any decent seats left. I hope we are both wrong though, seeing some maroon and gold in the stands would go a long way for next year's bowl selection.


Chances there are no major changes on the football coaching staff this offseason?

Brian: 25% I honestly have no idea about this one. Obviously I believe Jags is staying put. The coordinators motivation is cloudy in my mind - Spaz is a TOB guy at heart. Does he go south and join his buddy at NC State? I'm really not sure what Steve Logan's motivation is either. An NFL Europe guy, I could see him taking on another head coaching gig or jumping back to the pros (I'd more concerned with the latter, to be honest). McGovern, Turner, Yanowsky, Siravo, Comissiong, Sirmans, Day. I'm going to go low here, 25%, if only because all these guys are true "BC" guys and have a lot of ties to the program and the school.

Jeff: 60%

I think we'll see the same guys back next year. If Spaz was going to leave he would've likely left last year. Jags didn't come to BC to only coach one year. Which leaves Logan: Logan has not been a major candidate for any of the jobs that have been filled so far. Duke is still open, but does he really want to go coach Duke if given the opportunity? Logan is my one worry but I think we'll see those 3 back next season.

Brian: How excited can Logan be about coming back to BC next year? He is the only non-BC guy there and seemed to be doing Jags a favor when Jags returned to the Heights. Since he is a vocal coach, has HC experience and is an NFL (yes, it was NFL Europe, but still) guy, I'm not sure if he'll be back next year. I can see him A) retiring, B) jumping to the NFL or C) taking a HC job somewhere back down south.


Chances BC makes it back to next year's ACC Championship?

Jeff: 30%

Winning your division is no easy task. I think our defense has the potential to be better next year with Toal and Raji back but you can't expect our offense to be the same without Matt Ryan. At the same time I see Florida State getting better and Clemson, our biggest hurdle, returns their quarterback, running back duo and WR speedster Ford who fortunately was injured for the game against BC this year. Schedule sets up better for us next year because we have Clemson, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech coming to Alumni as opposed to playing them on the road this year but we have a tough trip to FSU somewhere on the calendar plus perhaps one or two other losses in there.

Brian: 60%

I'm going to go as high as 60% and here's why: Take a look at the other ACC Atlantic teams: I think Florida State has a tough schedule next year. Florida, Colorado, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, BC all at home. They will have a tough road to come all the way back. Now that Clemson has their coach back, they will underachieve yet against under Bowden. I think Wake will be a good team, but not sure they have all the right pieces to make another run. BC will be returning a lot of starters. Toal, Raji back on defense. Our receiving corps looks solid. It will just be a matter of how well Crane performs in Logan's offense. 60%

Jeff: Brian, FSU's out of conference schedule has no bearing on the ACC division, what are you talking about?!

Brian: True, FSU's out of conference schedule doesn't have a bearing on the ACC standings, but certainly momentum does. An early home loss to Colorado could shake a young team's confidence.


Chances Matt Ryan gets drafted in the top 5 of next year's NFL draft?

Brian: 20%

I'm going to go only 20%. Currently on ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr.'s Big Board, Mel has Matt at #6. You have to figure McFadden, Long, and Dorsey will go ahead of Ryan. Then it's a matter of what teams need what in the early rounds. I think then it depends how far the Baltimore Ravens fall in the draft order. I don't think the 3-9 Atlanta Falcons (also in need of a QB) draft Ryan. I'd give the edge to Brian Brohm to the Falcons if ex-Louisville coach Bobby Petrino is still there. But who knows, maybe Ryan goes #1 with the first pick of the ... Miami Dolphins.

Jeff: 80%

Ryan will be the first QB chosen. So when will the first QB be chosen? This year that was #1, last year it was #3. Historically, the first QB taken is at least in the top 5 so I think Ryan will go high.

Brian: Ahh, I'm not so sure you can point to history on this one. This NFL season has defied all history and logic. 16-0 New England and 0-16 Miami in the same division! The NFC is a train wreck. If you look at this year's NFL bottom feeders, I'm not sure they all need a QB. Miami (enter: the John Beck era), St. Louis (Bulger), San Francisco (A. Smith), Atlanta (Harrington/Leftwich), and the NY Jets (Clemens) all seem to have their QB futures at least partially sured up. 100% top 10, only 20% top 5.


Chances ACC Championship Game is back in Jacksonville next year?

Jeff: 0%

Yes there was an article out this week that Jacksonville sold more hotel rooms and ACC fans spent more money than last year, but we were at the game, there was no one there! You had to fly in and you saw how difficult it was to get a flight into that tiny airport. The ACC needs to at least try another location, even if its in Tampa because Jacksonville just does not have a big enough airport or enough hotels to support the game.

Brian: 25%

Going to Jacksonville, it doesn't really seem like Jacksonville locals care about this game. They seem much more concerned with Gators, Bulldogs and Jaguars. The game has become less and less of a success with ticket sales over the past 3 years. I think of Tampa and Charlotte, Charlotte is the logical location for next year's game. It's central to many of the schools in the ACC, is close to Greensboro (home of the basketball tournament and the ACC head office), and is a major east coast hub for airlines. Charlotte might get the casual ACC fan draw that Jacksonville seems to lack. 75% Charlotte, 25% Jacksonville.

Jeff: 25%, I hope ACC officials aren't thinking like you. 0%! Also, ACC basketball tourney is now on a rotating schedule - DC, Charlotte, Tampa, Greensboro, Atlanta. I wouldn't mind if football came back to Jacksonville as part of a rotation.