ShareThisBy JOHN BRASIER
Monday, November 20, 2006
Playing Tuesday morning quarterback and pondering the amazing storylines coming down the stretch in the college football season.
_ Wake Forest vs. Maryland for the ACC Atlantic Division title? That's the way the race shapes up with two games to go. The Deacons could afford to lose Saturday's game against Virginia Tech as long as they win in College Park in the Nov. 25 regular-season finale.
Boston College could still squeak in if beats the Terrapins on Saturday and Miami in its finale and Maryland beat Wake.
Preseason favorites Florida State and Clemson are out of the race.
If the Deacons, who shut out FSU 30-0 Saturday, hadn't collapsed in the final quarter against Clemson, they would be the nation's Cinderella story instead of Rutgers.
_ I still feel sorry for Steve Spurrier after South Carolina's 17-16 loss at Florida. Well, at least as much as you can feel sorry about a loss for somebody's with Spurrier's past success.
Spurrier out coached Florida's Urban Meyer for the second straight year. But, three blocked kicks against a kicker who had missed only one kick all year cost the Gamecocks the victory.
The blocks didn't seem to be due to any breakdowns by the South Carolina kicking team. Penetration was the cause. Ryan Succop just didn't get the ball over leaping Gators.
The kick was low on the blocked extra point. The potential game-winning field goal was blocked near the line of scrimmage.
Succop claimed he hit all the kicks the way he had in making 12 of 13 field-goal attempts in the first nine games. Bottom line, he didn't get the ball up fast enough Saturday.
_ And what about South Carolina's bowl chances? Assuming a victory over Middle Tennessee State on Saturday, the Gamecocks (5-5) may still need a victory over Clemson.
Under NCAA rules, with only six victories, USC would be behind any seven-win team on the bowl pecking order. If Kentucky beats Louisiana-Monroe, the first seven of the SEC's eight bowl slots would be gone.
The Gamecocks could be left in a possible beauty contest for the Independence Bowl slot with Alabama, which has six victories entering its showdown with Auburn. Spurrier is a great lure, but so is Alabama tradition.
The good news for SC: the Clemson game, which loomed as a likely loss a few weeks ago, now seems like a tossup.
_ The annual Georgia-Georgia Tech game got a lot more interesting with the Bulldogs' shocking rout of Auburn. Thanks to four interceptions, the Bulldogs had no problem overcoming three lost fumbles. Freshman QB Matthew Stafford's interception-free performance was particularly encouraging.
The victory helped Georgia escape from a potential bowl-less scenario. With six victories and bad losses down the stretch, the Bulldogs wouldn't have been an attractive bowl selection.
_ If Wake and Arkansas win conference titles, coaches Jim Grobe and Houston Nutt rank with Rutgers' Greg Schiano as the top coach of the year candidates.
