Key Week Four Games Will Prove Pivotal In the ACC Coastal Race

When the 2009 season is complete, college football fans may look at two Week Four ACC Coastal matchups as the games that turned the Coastal division title chase into the most competitive four-team race in college football.

No. 22 North Carolina vs. Georgia Tech

What a win means for North Carolina:

The Tar Heels have been flying under radar during the early part of the season, but they are 3-0. I'm not sure if the nation is quite yet sold on Butch Davis's squad. A win on the road at Georgia Tech would establish UNC as a legitimate ACC Title threat. They would also have a likely 6-0 start and top 15 ranking before a major showdown with Florida State. After the Jackets the Heels face a struggling Virginia team, and FCS team Georgia Southern, so you see Georgia Tech is all that stands between the Heels and their best start since Mack Brown roamed the sidelines. Even with a loss, the Tar Heels will hardly be out of the Coastal race. They will still have the opportunity to play Virginia Tech and Miami later in the season.

What a win means for Georgia Tech:

This is the season for Georgia Tech. As I wrote on the Raycom Sports Georgia Tech blog, This is an absolute must win for the Jackets. A week ago Georgia Tech was ranked in the top 15 and this week they are fighting for their Coastal division lives. Last year Virginia Tech won the Coastal Division with three losses. It's a long season, but I simply don't see a three-loss division champion this year. Miami, Virginia Tech and North Carolina are too good of teams to have that happen. If Georgia Tech loses Saturday that will drop them to 1-2 in the ACC, with losses already to Miami and UNC. Even if they beat Virginia Tech, that's just too much to overcome. If Jackets can defeat UNC, then throw them right back in the thick of the ACC. Paul Johnson and Defensive coordinator Dave Wommack are already working on switching defensive schemes from the 4-2-5 to the simpler 4-3-4. After the Miami offense ripped the Georgia Tech defense apart something had to be done. If the Jackets lose, they can start making reservations to a middle to lower tier ACC bowl, because there won't be any ACC Title.

No. 11 Virginia Tech versus No. 9 Miami

What a win means for Virginia Tech:

Virginia Tech has been the ACC's dominant team the last several years. They are coming off a last-second win over a good Nebraska Cornhusker team and putting the Alabama loss behind them. For the Hokies the game with Canes is one of the few really tough ones they play. While Virginia Tech played a strong OOC schedule, they get a break in the ACC. They avoid both Clemson and Florida State from the Atlantic Division, and get Miami and North Carolina at home. Miami is coming in red hot, and will really challenge a Bud Foster defense, that is uncharacteristically ranked 77th in the nation, and is 107th in the nation against the run. The Hokies give up almost 200 yards rushing a game. If the Hokies win, they remain the team to beat in the ACC.

What a win means for Miami:

Beating Florida State was a great start. Then the Canes defeat Georgia Tech handily, and now people are really starting to wonder is the U back? I'm not quite ready to say that yet. Miami is a very good team, but FSU is a schizophrenic squad, and the Yellow Jackets have all kinds of defensive issues. Go to Blacksburg and win, any remaining doubters including myself will have to admit the U is indeed back. What I will say is that quarterback Jacory Harris is the real deal. Nobody in the ACC is playing the quarterback position better than he is. Randy Shannon's hiring of new offensive coordinator Mark Whipple has been nothing short of one of the best off season moves by any head coach in the ACC. Whipple's play calling has been light years of ahead of the previous offensive coordinator Partick Nix's. If the Hurricanes beat Virginia Tech, it will setup a monster game with the Oklahoma Sooners. That will be the biggest game they will have seen in Miami in nearly a decade, and the Canes will be the front runners in the ACC Coastal race.

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