Can it be?! Are we actually about to get a small snippet of normalcy back into our lives?
Though NCAA football started officially last weekend, this weekend starts the beginning of ACC football as UAB travels to Miami Gardens to take on the Hurricanes in a Thursday night tilt.
The rest of the conference takes the field this Saturday with Syracuse kicking off the festivities at noon ET against #18 North Carolina.
This will definitely be a different year for ACC football as the conference is playing as a single division and the top two teams will square-off for the ACC Title in Charlotte.
So this could be the year that we see the likes of Louisville or FSU square off against traditional divisional foe Clemson not just for the Atlantic crown but for the conference title as well.
Will it happen? Only time will tell.
Back in the Saddle
As some of you may notice we didn’t post any content for TWIAF last season. Honestly life got away from us but we’re looking to dive back into this piece, which we hope to accompany a visual edition for “Laces Out”.
Stay tuned for that.
Top Storylines
Where to begin. In this “new normal” of playing in a world with COVID-19 how will the NCAA/ACC handle any major outbreaks that happen with teams or their staff? How are teams traveling and handling any potential exposure to crowds, etc during their trek?
So many questions and I’m sure the answers are fluid and being handled on a case-by-case basis as we don’t forsee a “one-size-fits-all” approach for every school/team.
As far as athletic-related news, which player stands out as being the biggest impact to the success of their team’s season? It’s hard to argue against Trevor Lawrence being the biggest impact to his team’s success. Clemson’s season may live/die with the success of his arm/legs.
How will FSU fair under first year head coach Mike Norvell? We all saw the rollercoaster they had under Willie Taggert era so hopefully they don’t fare any worse than that. We’re officially calling their first season record under Norvell with a final record of 8-3 with losses to Clemson, Notre Dame, and UNC. Two of those games will be close losses and they’ll also have a handful of wins by the “skin of their teeth”.
Our Fearless Picks
Thursday, September 10th
| Match-Up | Our Prediction |
|---|---|
| Miami (FL) vs UAB | UM 41, UAB 21 |
Saturday, September 12th
| Match-Up | Our Prediction |
|---|---|
| #18 North Carolina vs Syracuse | UNC 45, SYR 21 |
| #10 Notre Dame vs Duke | ND 35, DUKE 14 |
| Florida State vs Georgia Tech | FSU 27, GT 15 |
| Pitt vs Austin Peay | PITT 34, AP 21 |
| Wake Forest vs #1 Clemson | CLEM 45, WF 15 |
| Louisville vs Western Kentucky | LOU 35, WK, 24 |
2018 Season’s Picks: 79-31 (71.82%)
Here’s to hoping for a great slate of games and we’ll check back in next week and hopefully not cringe at the results.
For those of us that have followed our TWIAF series in the past you know that we offer a year’s College Pick’ Em Challenge which is hosted by ESPN. This is not being done this year (because not every conference is engaging in football at this time, most likely).
So feel free to comment below if you’d to pick against our slate of ACC games for fun. Hopefully we can add these types of contests back to our readers next season.
