Thursday, November 10, 2011

Week 11: Games to watch

As the season heads into its final weeks, here's a list of games that I found to be interesting matchups while looking down the schedule.  Not all have big time implications, and I'm sure there's a game not on this list that will turn out to be huge.  That's the nature of Saturdays in the fall.


Thursday Night, 8 PM
Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech, ESPN - Lead of the ACC Coastal is on the line.  VT currently has it, but GT could take it and get control of their destiny back.  Yes, the ACC Wheel of Destiny is still spinning.

Saturday games
Noon:
Wake Forest at Clemson, ESPNU - this one could determine ACC Atlantic.  Clemson can clench with a win.  WF can take the driver's seat with a win (tied records, plus head to head), and give an outside chance to FSU and NC State.
Nebraska at Penn State, ESPN - the first post-Paterno game.  Penn State is going to have a lot to prove.  Plus, they're going to want to remind us that they lead their division of the Big Ten.

12:30
NC State at Boston College, ACC Network - In terms of the ACC race, this game could be meaningless by the end.  BC has nothing play for other than pride.  NC State needs a win to get bowl eligible, and might still be in contention if Clemson loses.  It's a long shot, but their chances are helped by the fact that they play Clemson next week.  But again, a moot point if Clemson wins their game.

3:30
TCU at Boise State, Versus - I bet a lot of us thought it would be two undefeated teams going into this one, and we could actually settle some of the debate over who should go to a BCS bowl on the field this year.  Instead, TCU is pretty much out, but remains probably the last team on Boise's schedule that can beat them.
Miami at Florida State, ESPN/ABC - not a lot on the line, except for hope, but it's a rivalry, and should be entertaining.  Miami still needs a win to go to a bowl.  They might also have an outside chance at a title, but it would involve a multiple team tie.  FSU has the same slim chance that NC State has, but it could be rendered moot by game time.

7:30
Maryland vs. Notre Dame, NBC - game at FedEx field.  This one's interesting just because Notre Dame at night, and this marks their second ACC team in two weeks.  Earlier this year, they said if they went into a conference, they would look first to the ACC, and their schedule kind of shows it.  This is probably what the VT/Boise game should have and would have been last year if ESPN didn't throw a bunch of money around to move it to Labor Day.   Ultimately, nothing on the line, but it's an interesting curiosity.

8:00
Oregon at Stanford, ABC - not only is there a Pac-12 North lead on the line, but national championship implications.  An Oregon win could either make the field of candidates very muddy, as people would start looking harder at the one-loss teams, or make it easier if LSU and OK State win out.

Hmm, more novelty games and fewer contention games than I expected. 

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