Deeper look shows struggles for ACC
The numbers are somewhat misleading in the Atlantic Coast Conference this football season.
Things sound pretty good when considering Clemson is a national title contender, the league has had a record 10 football teams make an appearance in the Top 25 and 12 of its 14 teams could be bowl eligible. But step back and take a more in-depth look at the ACC, and outside of the Tigers, who are in line to be in the College Football Playoff for the fourth year in a row, it’s been somewhat of a disappointing season.
Many of the league’s other usually strong teams have struggled.
Three of the teams that were ranked — Duke, Florida State and Virginia — held a spot in the Top 25 for just one week, and two that spent the first half of the season in the poll — Miami and Virginia Tech — now get no votes. Louisville and North Carolina are not bowl eligible this year.
Two other traditionally rich ACC football programs are in danger of having a pair of the nation’s longest bowl streaks come to an end.
Virginia Tech, once ranked as high as No. 12, has some major work to do to extend its bowl streak to 26 years. If the Hokies (4-6, 3-4) can upset favored Virginia (7-4, 4-3) on Friday, they will then play Marshall on Dec. 1 seeking a sixth victory for bowl eligibility. If Virginia wins, the Marshall game won’t be necessary.
The Hokies have not been able to reload as they have in the past.
They lost three defensive starters to graduation after last season and had three more defensive starters leave early for the NFL. During the offseason, coach Justin Fuente dismissed two more starters — Adonis Alexander and Mook Reynolds — from the team, and Trevon Hill was dismissed early in the season, leaving them exceedingly young.
“This is the youngest team I have ever coached,” Fuente said after the loss to Miami, their fourth in a row and fourth at home this season. “… I told the guys that I still believe in them and they are continuing to improve, work hard and have good leadership.”
Florida State is also looking to pull off an upset to extend its impressive bowl streak.
The Seminoles (5-6) have struggled under first-year coach Willie Taggart and need to beat No. 13 Florida (8-3) on Saturday for their season to end with a bowl game for the 37th year in a row. That streak would rate as the longest in NCAA history, but the NCAA vacated the Seminoles’ 2006 Emerald Bowl victory over UCLA because of an academic issue that led to more than 30 players being suspended for the Music City Bowl against Kentucky the following season.
Hurricanes boot Thomas
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Miami dismissed leading receiver Jeff Thomas on Wednesday, the latest blow in a turbulent season for the Hurricanes.
Thomas led Miami with 35 catches and 563 receiving yards this season. He also was a standout kickoff and punt returner for the Hurricanes, and he became the first Miami player in more than two years to run back a punt for a touchdown when he took one in from 51 yards during last week’s win at Virginia Tech.
A few days removed from that, he was gone. Thomas was not happy about not starting the Virginia Tech game at receiver and missed some practice time this week before coach Mark Richt ultimately made the call to end his tenure at Miami.
The specifics about what went wrong were not released Wednesday.
Miami (6-5, 3-4 ACC) hosts No. 24 Pittsburgh (7-4, 6-1) on Saturday. The Panthers have already clinched the Coastal Division title, a crown Miami won last year and was the overwhelming pick to wear again this season.
But it has been a troubling year for Miami, which started out ranked No. 8 nationally and still isn’t even assured of having a winning season. The Hurricanes lost four straight games from Oct. 13 through Nov. 10, have had three quarterbacks — current starter N’Kosi Perry, plus backups Cade Weldon and Jarren Williams — suspended at times, and now will be without perhaps their fastest player going forward.
Whipple done at UMass
AMHERST, Mass. — University of Massachusetts coach Mark Whipple is stepping down after his second stint leading the Minutemen produced just 16 victories in five seasons.
UMass athletic director Ryan Bamford announced in a news release Wednesday that the school and Whipple, 61, had worked out a mutually agreed upon separation. The Minutemen finished their season with last Saturday’s 66-27 loss at Georgia.
Whipple had two years remaining on a contract that pays $500,000 annually in base salary. UMass finished this season 4-8, the same mark as last year, after there was optimism the struggling independent Football Bowl Subdivision program could take a modest step forward.
Whipple coached UMass from 1998 to 2003, when it was competing as a Football Championship Subdivision program. He went 49-26 during that stint and coached the Minutemen to a national championship in 1998, with the title game against Georgia Southern at Chattanooga’s Finley Stadium.
UMass transitioned to FBS competition in 2012, but the Minutemen have won only 18 games since and have been unable to join a football conference.