November is upon us, starting Saturday, and it’s crunch time for all of the teams. Bowl eligibility, Playoff hopes, “New Year’s Six” ambitions, or simply winning a rivalry game are all goals that have yet to be attained. And with roughly one third of the regular season left to go, this week’s “under the radar” picks are as follows.
Maryland at Penn State
No rankings or Division titles at stake on this one, but possibly some recruiting opportunities for Maryland with a nice win. Will Penn State’s close loss to Ohio State lead to inspiration and confidence to shake a three-game losing streak…or will it lead to heartbreak and yet another loss to an opportunistic Terrapin squad that would become bowl eligible with a win? With so much buzz about the Nittany Lions being bowl eligible this year, how ironic would it be for Penn State to find themselvesineligible by record?
Duke at Pittsburgh
The Blue Devils are ranked in the AP Poll for the first time this season, and the fourth Coastal Division team to pull the feat in 2014. Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech also cracked the rankings, but both suffered losses and left the Top 25 immediately. In addition, UNC was ranked pre-season, but became unranked after two ugly wins. Unlike the Hokies and the Jackets in those losses (and the Tar Heels in their wins), Duke is on the road - and looking to get revenge after a tough58-55 loss last year against the Panthers. The lowest ranked of the Power-Conference 1-loss teams; can Duke overcome Pitt this year and show that they are indeed legit?
Boston College at Virginia Tech
I really dislike using two games from one conference, but both of these ACC games really speak out to me this week. BC and VT are both simply striving for bowl eligibility (and for VT, keeping a 21-year bowl streak intact and quieting the “Beamer’s past his prime” doubters), and a win here will be a big step for either team. But my bigger-picture interest here is actually with the Group of Five. Currently, two G5 teams sit with just one loss – East Carolina and Colorado State – and the Rams seem to be an afterthought behind the Pirates and unbeaten Marshall. The Hokies and the Eagles represent ECU and CSU’s best wins. Can a Boston College win (particularly an impressive one) help make the Rams an even bigger discussion point?
Kentucky at Missouri
Although Georgia remains in control of the SEC East, the Wildcats and Tigers are both very much still alive in the race. Missouri already lost to Georgia – in blowout fashion – but are only behind due to that head-to-head tiebreaker. And Kentucky still has yet to face Georgia…which will happen in Week 11 (for Georgia, it’s right in between the Florida and Auburn games). This game could go down to the wire, with the winners perfectly in position to start asking “can it happen…”?
ODU at Vanderbilt
Of all the Group of Five conferences, Conference USA is the only one without a win against a Power Conference team. And this is C-USA’s last chance. Fortunately (for ODU and C-USA), Vandy is a much worse team this year than they were under James Franklin…and many still remember their blowout loss to Temple on opening night. Unfortunately, however, ODU has been on the losing end of several games this season due to some serious defensive struggles. Can the defense really step up, along with the high-flying offense, to net ODU its first-ever win against a Power Conference School?
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