Gravley's Pig Pickin' Week 4

It's a pretty thin deal around here for college football this weekend. Only Duke and Wake Forest are playing on the D-1 level. How about those unbeaten Deacs from Wake Forest. They are one of 16 teams in division one that are still undefeated. Here are some reasons why they are 4-0 and are sure to improve to 5-0 after they host Liberty this Saturday.

The Deacons have outscored their opponents 51-3 in the second half and 24-0 in the fourth quarter
- Wake Forest is allowing just 9.8 points per game (11th nationally)
- Wake Forest's red zone defense has been excellent. The Deacs have allowed their opponents to score just 3 touchdowns and 2 field goals out of 13 opportunities
- The Deacons lead the ACC with 14 sacks.

Virginia and Duke are 2 of the WORST offensive teams in college football...at least from a scoring point of view and that's what offenses are designed to do, right??? The Blue Devils haven't scored in 2 of their losses and average 4 points per game. That ranks 117th out of 199 D-1 schools. Virginia is ranked 113th in scoring at 11 points per game. Both are playing freshmen QB's...Duke has true frosh Thaddeus Lewis. Virginia's Jameel Sewell is a redshirt freshman. Both defenses have surrendered a shade over 300 yards per contest. What a great opportunity for Duke to win an ACC game. They have won only 3 ACC games in the 21st century!!!

NC Central travels to Bowie State for a rematch of the CIAA title game won last year by the Eagles. Coach Rod Broadway spoke early in the year about needing Adrian Warren to return at QB for Central to get where they need to go. Freshman QB Stadford Brown has done nothing to lose his spot under center. He leads the CIAA in passing with 214 yards per game. The match-up between the Eagles and Bulldogs features the top 2 scoring defenses in the CIAA.

BONUS COVERAGE
Since NC State and Florida State will play before my next blog, I want to point out the obvious. Chuck Amato is 3-3 against the Noles and with the win over Boston College, the Wolfpack has some renewed excitement. Nothing like the Noles to help bring it to an even higher peak. Wolfpack QB Daniel Evans played well in his 1st start against the Eagles but he'll need to make quicker decisions against a fast, aggressive FSU pass rush. Against BC, Evans' passing percentage was hurt by a few receivers who ran wrong routes. Can't have that against FSU. It will also help if they have Darrell Blackman back...both as a receiver and kick returner. It'll be a faster paced game than the one against Boston College.

Till next week, enjoy the pig...
Jeff Gravley