No better time for a win

Scattershooting around the ACC, while wondering if Al Groh can keep up his mastery over North Carolina this weekend ...
Virginia desperately needs to win a football game after a rocky 0-3 start and there’s no better time to start than Saturday in Chapel Hill. Groh has a 6-2 record against the Tar Heels and a win over longtime rival UNC could give the Cavaliers new life with a 1-0 record in the ACC.
“What, we’ve got nine games left?” UVa quarterback Jameel Sewell said Wednesday night. “That gives us a lot of room for optimism. “We haven’t given up, not at all. We haven’t even thought about giving up or cracking.”
Groh’s teams have been hard to beat in October since 2002, posting a 17-10 record during those months, and an even more impressive 7-1 in October the past two seasons.
Another interesting number is that UVa’s first three opponents, William & Mary, TCU and Southern Miss, have a collective 10-1 record heading into this weekend.
Tar Heel blues
Carolina coach Butch Davis has been in a foul mood all week since his Heels got hammered by Georgia Tech, 24-7. UNC couldn’t move the football and couldn’t do much to stop the Yellow Jackets’ running attack.
The Tar Heels’ defense, which had allowed an average of only 52.3 yards rushing per game, gave up 317 on the ground to the Jackets. NOTE TO VIRGINIA: Georgia Tech quarterback Josh Nesbitt rushed 32 times for 97 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 89 more against the Heels. Hear that Jameel Sewell?
Tech had possession of the football for 42 minutes, 6 seconds in the game.
Meanwhile, Carolina couldn’t budge the pigskin, accumulating a meager 154 yards of total offense, and 107 of that came on six catches by freshman wide receiver Eric Highsmith. UNC converted only one third down out of 11.
All this left Davis hopping mad.
“We’ve got to take a long look at how we blocked and how we blocked the schemes, how well we blocked and did we run the right holes,” Davis said. “We’ve got to take a long look at ourselves. I didn’t see a lack of intensity. I saw a lack of execution.”
Stat of the week
N.C. State quarterback Russell Wilson added to his NCAA record for most passes without an interception in the comeback over Pitt last weekend.
Wilson has now thrown 364 passes without a pick, 39 more passes than previous record holder Andre Woodson of Kentucky (2006-07).
Virginia fans will remember Matt Blundin’s remarkable streak in 1990-91 of 224 consecutive passes without an interception, a streak halted in the Gator Bowl loss to Oklahoma.
Quote of the week
By Virginia Tech cornerback Rashad Carmichael on the Hokies defending their ACC title versus Miami last weekend:
“We feel like the ACC has to come through us. We just wanted to come out and show the world that V-Tech never left. Miami might be back, but we never left.”
Same song in Tigertown
The names have changed on the head coach’s office door but there’s a familiarity to Tiger fans between former coach Tommy Bowden and his replacement Dabo Swinney. It’s the “we’re one play away” thing, something Bowden used to say after close losses.
Swinney’s Tigers are repeating their recent history.
After losing at home to TCU last weekend, Clemson has now dropped seven of its last eight games decided by a TD or less and 15 of 21 dating back to 2005. The Tigers have also lost eight in a row to ranked teams.
One of the problems this season is the Red Zone is a Dead Zone for the Tigs. In 13 trips inside the 25, Clemson has scored two touchdowns and its offense has scored only one TD in the last nine quarters.
Critics believe that Clemson only has two playmakers, running back C.J. Spiller and receiver Jacoby Ford. The two accounted for 79.6 percent of the Tigers’ total offense against the Horned Frogs.
Short yardage
It was somewhat surprising to see Georgia Tech shut down Carolina’s offense the way it did with two new starters in the Jackets’ defensive line, using a simpler scheme. ... Maryland has given up 61 points off turnovers so far, almost equaling the 68 the Terps surrendered off miscues in 13 games last season. ... UVa’s Al Groh has now used a total of 59 true freshmen since 2001, the latest being LaRoy Reynolds. ... Give Virginia Tech credit for shutting down Miami QB Jacory Harris, who entered last Saturday’s game at rainy Lane Stadium ranked third nationally in passing efficiency, but completed only 9 of 25 attempts for 150 yards and was sacked three times by the Hokies.
The picks
Last week: 5-3. To date: 28-10.
This week: Oklahoma 27, Miami 14; Georgia Tech 24, Mississippi State 19; Clemson 33, Maryland 10; Virginia Tech 38, Duke 13; Florida State 30, Boston College 20; N.C. State 23, Wake Forest 17; Virginia 24, North Carolina 21.