Gravley's Thanksgiving Pig Pickin'

The ACC regular season winds down this weekend and for some teams it'll be a relief when it's over. NC State faces another rival for the 2nd week in a row in East Carolina. If the Pack players thought Carolina came after them, wait till they face the Purple and Gold. State has to find a way to match ECU's emotional edge...something that didn't happen against UNC. Privately the Pirates feel they need a win to make a bowl game. The fire is hot under Chuck Amato which adds another element to this match-up. One final note. ECU AD Terry Holland and NC State AD Lee Fowler should have NEVER agreed to move this game to 7pm for ESPNU!!! The last time these 2 school played a night game was 1987 which ended with a brawl between some of the fans and security officers.

North Carolina is looking for a 2-game win streak...HUH??? Yep, it's back to back rivalry weeks for the Tar Heels as they travel to Duke in John Bunting's final game as Carolina's head coach. The Heels have played more relaxed and aggressive since Bunting was told of his exit but did they spend it all last week against NC State? Duke gets one more crack at a win. One, single, solitary win. But it would be Carolina and that victory bell would ring in their ears until next years game.

Wake Forest gets it's stable of running backs back as they battle Maryland for a spot in the ACC championship game. Regardless of the outcome, the Deacons have been the positive surprise in the ACC and will earn a bowl bid.

NC Central earned a bye in the 1st round of the division 2 playoffs and Saturday, they'll host Delta State. The Statesmen scored 17 third quarter points to put away Elizabeth City State....the team Central needed a late field goal to beat in the CIAA title game. Rod Broadway has done a spectacular job with the Central program and there's nothing more I'd like to see than if he and the Eagles make it to the National Championship game.

Enjoy the weekend of college football!
Jeff