The Pack and the Pirates, and More

Well, miracles can happen! How about this? For last week, I go 6-0 in my selected picks.

Very seldom have I ever been perfect in anything, certainly not in my less-than-stellar academic career way back when. I’m sure that if any of my old teachers are reading this, their old eyes are questioning and unbelieving.

I can hear some of them now. ”Suiter? He never got 100 in anything.” They’re right, I was lucky to get 70.

I admit I did put a gimme in there last week. I mean, it wasn’t hard to get that Virginia Tech-Duke game right, was it? So maybe I cheated a little.

I’ve seen the Wolfpack a lot this season and haven’t much liked what I’ve seen. East Carolina is coming on strong. Three straight Conference USA wins, and the Pirates have overcome a tough early season schedule to go on the right side of .500 at 4-3. I think they have an excellent chance to win their league. N.C. State, meanwhile, has an excellent chance to finish last in its league.

East Carolina scores a lot of points, but they also give up a lot of points. They have injury problems on defense. State is really banged up. You can’t lose players like Anthony Hill, Toney Baker and Andre Brown for the season and not feel it, and the Pack has felt it.

Tom O’Brien left what may be the best team in the ACC for what could be the worst, but he was looking long-term. On the bright side for State fans, the B.C. program that he inherited took a couple of years to get rolling before good things happened.

But, unless they had some kind of radical transformation during open-date week, I don’t see good things happening in Greenville for the Wolfpack.

Sure ECU gives up a lot of points, but N.C. State can’t score many. The Pirates can and will.

ECU head coach Skip Holtz was a youngster when his dad coached at N.C. State. He knows as well as any what this game means to both schools. Lou Holtz, by the way, went 4-0 against the Pirates. Skip is 1-0 at ECU against the Pack. I think next week at this time, it will be 2-0.

Remember it used to be thought that either Florida State or Miami would win every ACC football title. How the mighty have fallen. Both are having trouble surviving in their division.

I think this pick is easy though. Florida State is just better than Miami. The Hurricanes are now a tropical storm and FSU despite its many faults have better players.

This won’t make up for all those years that Miami ruined Florida State’s season but at 78 Bobby Bowden may have conveniently put those out of his mind. He’ll remember this one for sure.

The Deacons are feeling pretty good after their upset of FSU. This could be a trap game. Navy at Navy is never easy. The Deacons better be prepared to stop the run. Navy leads the nation in rushing.

Both teams come in at 4-2. Wake has played the tougher schedule. The Deacons better bring their “A” game and I think they will.

This should be a good one. I thought before the season that Virginia could be good. They have a good record, but I’m still not sure how good a team they are. They have won six straight after an opening game loss, and they’ve shown the ability to win close games.

Maryland is 4-2, and the Terps have the signature win over Rutgers and are coming off the two-point win over what I still think is a pretty good Georgia Tech team.

I’ve gone back and forth on this one. I think Virginia has been lucky some this season. It may run out Saturday.

Has Kentucky become a football school? Not quite, but the Wildcats have the Commonwealth buzzing. Kentucky is in the Top 10 in football. Unbelievable.

I think that will end this week, though. It was big beating LSU. Beating LSU and Florida back-to- back would be amazing. And it’s not going to happen.

Florida is desperate and rested coming off the open date. Sure, they’re on the road, but I think it will be hard for Kentucky to beat the Tigers and Gators one after the other.

Kentucky can start thinking basketball.

Oh, have these two played some donnybrooks over the years, and they don’t like each other. And of course, Tennessee fans really don’t like their coach, Philip Fulmer, while Alabama fans love Nick Saban.

This will be a brawl, but I’ve got a hunch about Tennessee.

It will be tough winning on the road, but I like Erik Ainge and the Vols.

My pick in this one is Tennessee.

Tough games this week. I admit I’m only sure of one. Guess which one that is?