weekend review

No game this week means I don't get to have as much fun writing as I'm used to, but we'll plow ahead anyway.

Impressions from around the ACC this week:

-- VT's offense remains putrid.  This week, ECU managed to stymie the Hokie running game to the tune of 1.6 yards a carry.  Not to be left out of the show, Cody "They Stole My Weed, Officer" Journell biffed a pair of 40-ish-yard field goals and an extra point.  If the football gods are cruel, Virginia Tech and Michigan State will meet in a bowl game this year, with one of them winning 6-0 in 7OT on an interception return.  Or, given the relative quality of the defenses (very good) and offenses (ick) on those teams, college football's first overtime safety.

-- Wake Forest is pretty bad.  Jim Grobe is going to have the hottest seat in the ACC this year.

-- Maryland looks better so far than I've been giving them credit for, but they haven't been tested, either.  Let's see what happens next week.  If they can beat West Virginia they'll be way ahead of track for bowl eligibility.

-- Even with my faith in Boston College I didn't expect them to beat USC, but they were doomed the moment USC trudged off the field with a loss to Washington State.  USC wasn't going to let it happen twice.

News and other stuff:

-- The men's soccer team is off to a rough 0-2 start in the ACC, but the women are on a mission.  UNC was a unanimous #1 pick in the coaches' poll last week, but Notre Dame made short work of that, and that cleared up space for at the top for UVA, your new #1 team in the country.  That's Top Drawer Soccer's ranking; the coaches' poll will be tomorrow and I'd guess UVA will be on top of that one, too.  The ACC is a minefield, of course, with five of the nation's top eight teams.  ND, UNC, Wake, and FSU share the rankings with UVA.  The girls won't play any of those teams until October 10 when they host the Irish, but this Sunday will see them on ESPN3, taking on Pitt.  I don't plan to miss it.

-- Both Perfect Game and Baseball America named Nathan Kirby the top prospect in the NECBL this summer; Cam Tekker was also PG's #10 prospect.  The NECBL is a notch below Cape Cod, but it's a quality league nonetheless.

-- In South Carolina, there's a school called North Greenville, which plays football as a D-II independent.  This school just beat the gray wool pants off of VMI this week.  VMI ran for fewer than a yard a carry, largely a factor of their inability to keep North Greenville pass rushers away from their quarterback.  Getting killed by Oregon is not a thing that would get in the way of our goals this year; not killing VMI, however, would be.

-- Friday will be an important day for Tony Bennett, as in-state prospect Robert Johnson announces his decision.  Johnson is choosing between UNC, IU, FSU, and UVA; everything I've seen suggests this one is totally up in the air.  It's not often UVA has that kind of chance against a school like IU or UNC.  Johnson is a four-star shooting guard and Rivals's #42 player in the country.

Senior Seasons:

Clearwater Central Catholic 21, Jesuit 3: Caanan Brown opened the scoring for his team, catching a 65-yard touchdown while playing tight end.  CCC is 2-1.

Peachtree Ridge 55, Duluth 17: Jordan Ellis caught a touchdown (24 yards) and ran for another (41 yards) in Peachtree Ridge's big win.  Peachtree Ridge is 3-0.

Upland 41, Jordan 0 (Jeffrey Farrar) - Upland is 1-2.
Smith 35, Cummings 21 (Will Richardson) - Cummings is 0-4.
Episcopal 34, Caravel Academy 15 (Evan Butts) - Episcopal is 3-0.
Massaponax 35, Chancellor 6 (Steven Moss) - Chancellor is 0-3.
Oscar Smith 61, Indian River 0 (Andrew Brown) - Oscar Smith is 2-0.
Salem 13, Bayside 10 (Quin Blanding) - Bayside is 2-1.

It's also time for an update to the ol' recruiting board.  I don't think we're any closer to a commitment any time soon, though.

-- Removed TE Jamal Custis (Syracuse) from green.

-- Re-added RB Madre London to yellow.

-- Added DT Ricky Walker to red.  This is an interesting one.  Our chances are pretty much terrible, Mike London not having expended much effort on this recruitment because Walker seemed exceedingly cool to his offerings.  Walker hasn't even been technically offered a scholarship yet.  But he does have a big brother - Rijo - playing at UVA, and seems to have sent the message lately that, hey, I'm listening if you're talking.  So London is talking.  We will see how this plays out, and it's likely that by this point other schools have Walker's attention too much to let go.  But as long he's uncommitted, there's at least a little bitty chance.