Late November brings a certain anxiety to the air at college football practice fields as, for more than a few schools, the final two weeks of the regular season are a pendulum that can either swing toward a bowl trip in December or the finality of a losing campaign.
And while coaches and players will tell you that they’re only focused on the next 60 minutes of football, the big picture of bowl or no bowl is a ghost that haunts the stage during the final scenes of the regular season. While wrapping up bowl eligibility on Senior Day provides a great feeling, failing to qualify or being eliminated in the last home game of the season is a bitter pill to swallow.
Virginia Tech can wrap up a bowl berth before its Senior Day as the Hokies hit the road this weekend at Duke. And even though preseason thoughts of contending for the ACC Championship Game are long gone, the Hokies can still finish 2024 on a positive note.
“The kids understand that. When you look at the big-picture opportunity and you talk about it briefly in the bye week, that’s included as part of the conversation,” Coach Brent Pry said earlier this week. “What’s out there for us still? What can we accomplish? And that’s certainly one of them.”
While the Hokies try to build a streak of bowl appearances, Virginia is looking to end a postseason drought. The Cavaliers can qualify on their Senior Day simply by beating an SMU team that’s lost just once (to Big 12-leading BYU) this fall. Ironically, the Mustangs were slated to be U.Va.’s opponent in the 2021 Wasabi Fenway Bowl that wound up getting canceled due to COVID.
“We’ve just talked about how it’s time. It’s time for us to get back to the postseason,” Coach Tony Elliott said. “We’ve missed out for too many years around here, and we need to make the floor the postseason and then start building toward raising the ceiling.”
Virginia and Virginia Tech don’t need to win this weekend to secure bowl eligibility (they play each other in Blacksburg Nov. 30), but Maryland does not have that flexibility. The Terps need to take their home finale against Iowa and then win at No. 4 Penn State next weekend to qualify for a fourth straight bowl, which hasn’t happened for the program since 1985.
The heady days of routing UConn in August or rallying at Virginia are distant memories.
“I know we are nowhere near where we want to be as a program,” Coach Mike Locksley said. “But I still know we are who we want to be. You look at the character of the team, you look at the way our team continues to show up, continues to fight, continues to practice.”
Do you know who’s dealing with a different kind of anxiety? Indiana is 10-0 for the first time in school history entering Saturday’s showdown with No. 2 Ohio State. The once hapless Hoosiers (9-27 over the last three years) are unbelievably in position to capture their first Big Ten title since 1967.
But a bad loss to the Buckeyes could drop IU out of playoff consideration behind two- and three-loss SEC teams that litter their schedules with the likes of UMass (Georgia) and UTEP (Tennessee) this weekend.
Win or lose, the likely National Coach of the Year Curt Cignetti has built a tough act to follow, but at least he’s at a school starving for a consistent winner: IU hasn’t posted three consecutive winning seasons since 1945-47. And it appears as if he won’t be using the Hoosiers as a steppingstone, as Cignetti recently signed an eight-year extension.
That’s very good news for Florida Coach Billy Napier, Auburn’s Hugh Freeze or anyone else working with an entitled and sometimes irrational fan base. But his success this fall is potentially bad news for other Power Four conference coaches who might be mired in building a program without the instant results. Like Jon Lovitz’ character in “Big” asked Tom Hanks, “What are you trying to do, get us all fired?”
Saturday’s games
Maryland (4-6, 1-6 Big Ten) vs Iowa (6-4, 4-3), noon, BTN
The Terps have lost three straight to the Hawkeyes and have dropped six of seven home finales. This is an Iowa team from central casting: one huge offensive line that’s propping up the corn industry by themselves while clearing a path for the Big Ten’s top ranked running game.
Kaleb Johnson enters the weekend fourth nationally in yards per game and averages 7.1 yards per carry. Iowa’s 4-0 in Big Ten play when he rushes for 100+ yards and 0-3 when he does not. To say Iowa’s passing game is in transition would be an understatement. Michigan transfer Cade McNamara has been sidelined by injuries and ineffectiveness while backup Brendan Sullivan’s on the shelf with an ankle injury. That means walk-on Jackson Stratton (who’s recently seen time as a scout team linebacker) may see major minutes against a Maryland secondary that allows the most yards in the Big Ten.
Presto’s Pick: Terrapins tumble, 30-20.
Virginia (5-5, 3-3 ACC) vs No. 14 SMU (9-1, 6-0), noon, ESPN2
The Cavaliers face their third ranked foe in a row and hope things fare closer to their upset win at Pitt than the turnover-laden loss at Notre Dame. The Mustangs score the second most points per game in the conference while leading the league in stopping the run.
The Cavaliers offense came apart in South Bend last weekend, sparking thoughts that quarterback Anthony Colandrea might be working with a short leash after tossing three interceptions against the Fighting Irish, although Tony Muskett’s late touchdown drives felt more like a mirage than something that would translate against the Mustangs.
Senior Day has also not been kind lately, as the Cavaliers have wrapped up their last three home schedules with defeats.
Kippy and Buffy bid farewell to another fall of Saturdays in Charlottesville with a bottle of 2018 Oak Ridge Lodi Petite Sirah.
“A funky, earthy aroma meets smoky, black peppery flavors in this singular wine,” writes Wine Enthusiast’s Jim Gordon. “Bold notes of charred wood, cigar tobacco and turned earth are memorable and backed by grilled plum and wild blueberry fruit flavors.”
Presto’s Pick: Cavaliers see their defense get grilled and charred in a 38-13 loss.
James Madison (8-2, 4-2 Sun Belt) at App State (4-5, 2-4), 2:30 p.m., ESPN+
The Dukes can still play their way into the conference championship game, but they’ll need to finish 2-0 and get some help. In this matchup the road team is 2-0 in their FBS meetings, with both games being decided by one score: JMU rallied from 18 points down to win at Kid Brewer Stadium two years ago while App State prevailed last season in overtime.
The Mountaineers lead the conference passing yards (senior Joey Aguilar threw for 318 yards and three TD vs. JMU last fall), while the Dukes are tops in rushing, scoring defense and sacks.
Presto’s Pick: Dukes dominate, 31-14.
Virginia Tech (5-5, 3-3) at Duke (7-3, 3-3), 8 p.m., ACCN
The Hokies had won nine straight in the series before losing at Wallace Wade Stadium two years ago. After losing quarterback Riley Leonard to Notre Dame, Duke picked up Texas transfer Maalik Murphy and he’s delivered better numbers (59.9%, 237 yards per game, 22-to-8 TD/INT ratio) than Leonard did before his injury last year.
Defensively, the Blue Devils lead the conference in stopping the pass while ranking second best in denying opponents on third down. They’re also 4-1 in one-score games while the Hokies are 0-5 in games decided by 10 points or fewer.
Presto’s Pick: Hokies haunted by another close call in a 28-26 loss.
Georgetown loses to Holy Cross, Howard is humbled by Morgan State, Richmond rips William & Mary, Towson tops Campbell.
Last Week: 8-1.
Season: 67-34.
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