In that Monday night contest, the Jets overcame a 17-point halftime deficit to defeat the Miami Dolphins in overtime. It was the most memorable game of Al Groh's single season as New York's head coach.

"She told me, 'I was hoping you were thinking to yourself: We've been here before. We can do it again,'" said Groh, now in his second year as UVa's coach.

Actually, Groh said Sunday, that particular comeback never crossed his mind. At the time, he was too busy trying to figure out a way to help his current team get back in the game than think about his past successes.

Ultimately, however, the two games bore many happy similarities for Groh. If anything, Saturday's comeback - the second biggest in an ACC game for the Cavaliers - may have been more remarkable, given the extent of Wake Forest's dominance in the opening half.

The Demon Deacons held a 27-10 lead, not to mention huge advantages in plays (56 to 19), yards (312-138) and time of possession (20:47 to 9:13).

"We were getting whipped," said safety Jerton Evans.

The coaches made an effort to turn things around, changing the defensive gameplan. Without going into specifics, Groh said, "We changed our alignments a little bit. We tried to maximize certain coverages. And then we had some matchups - a lot of football is about matchups - that regardless of what we were trying, we were getting beat on matchups. We tried to change some things around to minimize those matchups."

The moves did not pay immediate dividends. Wake drove 65 yards for a touchdown on its first possession of the second half, making it 34-17. All of those yards came on the ground.

In fact, to that point, the Deacons had 15 running plays of seven yards or more.

Then, all of a sudden, the Cavaliers shut down the ground game.

On Wake's final five drives, 14 carries netted 33 yards. None of those runs went more than six yards. The Deacons went three-and-out on three of those drives. They punted four straight times, and their final possession ended with a Darryl Blackstock sack on fourth down.

"I don't even know what we did with our schemes exactly," Evans said. "We just knew the only way to get our offense back on the field was to stop them. It's a simple thing. We didn't do it the first half, but we did it the second half."

That gave Virginia's offense a chance to erase the deficit, which it did with four second-half touchdowns. The Cavaliers didn't make any significant offensive adjustments at halftime. They didn't need to. They just needed the ball. After all, in four first-half possessions, they produced a field goal and a touchdown.

"We knew we could execute our game plan and make plays," said quarterback Matt Schaub, who put together his fourth straight superlative performance. "The defense really stepped up in the second half. It got us the ball and we were able to do something with it."

Schaub completed 15 of 19 passes in the second half for 200 yards and two touchdowns. Overall, he was 22 of 27 for 312 yards and three TDs. He is now third in the nation (behind Arizona State's Andrew Walter and N.C. State's Philip Rivers) in passing efficiency, having thrown 15 touchdowns and just three interceptions.

There were plenty of other heroes for the Cavaliers. Freshman tight end Heath Miller caught two more touchdown passes, giving him six this season, while junior Ryan Sawyer made the first two TD catches of his career.

Freshman tailback Wali Lundy produced 129 all-purpose yards and jump-started the comeback with consecutive significant plays. With the score 34-17, he recovered fullback Jason Snelling's fumble at the Wake Forest 38. Then he threw a halfback option pass that, while intended for Miller, ended up in the arms of Sawyer for a touchdown.

Junior receiver Michael McGrew had two big catches – a 42-yarder and a 40-yarder – that set up touchdowns. And freshman quarterback Marques Hagans, as a situational substitute for Schaub, raced 13 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 6:14 left, allowing Virginia to take a 3-2 record (1-1 ACC) into Saturday's game at Duke (2-3, 0-1).

Take that, Dolphins … um, Deacons.

"I think our whole team really stepped up," Sawyer said. "This will give us a lot of confidence the rest of the season."

Out of 117 Division I-A teams, the Cavaliers rank 107th in total defense and 112th in rushing defense. They have allowed 444 yards per game, 246 on the ground. They are 93rd in scoring defense, giving up nearly 32 points per outing. In all three of those categories, they are dead last in the ACC.

But within the ugly numbers, there are some encouraging signs. For instance, UVa has allowed about half as many points in the second half of games as it has in the first half. That has enabled Virginia (3-2, 1-1 ACC) to outscore its opponent in the second half of each game this season.

"We're making stops when we have to," said safety Jerton Evans. "We need to start doing that in the first half, too. But in the fourth quarter, with the game on the line, we're doing it. We did it against South Carolina and we did it against Wake Forest."

The Cavaliers shut out the Gamecocks in the second half of a 34-21 victory on Sept. 7. Last Saturday, the Demon Deacons scored on six of their first seven drives and took a 34-17 lead. Virginia's defense then held firm on Wake's final five possessions, forcing four punts and coming up with a fourth-down sack, to key a 38-34 comeback win.

Considering UVa's defense has little depth and has been on the field too often - 98 plays against Akron two weeks ago, 92 plays against Wake Forest - one might expect fatigue to play a factor. But rather than wear down, the Cavaliers have played better on defense later in games.

"I think we've had very good endurance under those circumstances," said coach Al Groh. "I think the team is at a condition level we had aimed for it to be. That was important in our training. As we looked at the season, we anticipated if we were going to have a chance to win some games, they would be fourth-quarter wins. So we better be able to play well in the fourth quarter."

Virginia has outscored its opponents, 110-54, in the second half this season. In the first half, the Cavaliers have been dominated, 105-58.

ACC honors. Junior quarterback Matt Schaub was named ACC offensive back of the week after completing 22 of 27 passes for 312 yards and three touchdowns against the Demon Deacons.

That performance capped a sensational month for Schaub, who ranks third in the nation in passing efficiency, first in completion percentage (71.5) and tied for second in touchdown passes (15).

Not bad for a guy who was benched following a poor outing in the opener.

"As Coach Groh says, confidence comes from demonstrated performance," Schaub said. "I think my confidence is definitely higher now."

Passing fancy. Schaub's pass efficiency rating of 175.48 pales in comparison to two of his teammates.

Tight end Heath Miller's only throw was a 20-yard touchdown, so his rating is a whopping 598.0. But he trails tailback Wali Lundy, who threw a lucky 38-yard scoring pass to Ryan Sawyer against Wake Forest.

"Hopefully I won't throw another one so I'll stay 1 for 1," Lundy said with a smile.

He should smile. Lundy, whose rating is 749.2, had been practicing the halfback option pass every week this season. The call finally came late in the third quarter with the Cavaliers trailing by 17 points. Lundy's pass, intended for Miller, fluttered into heavy coverage and was tipped backward to Sawyer.

"I was thinking, 'No, no, no. Yes, yes, yes,'" Lundy said. "Maybe I shouldn't have thrown it. But if I don't, maybe we lose the game."

Mr. Versatility. One player who has not thrown a touchdown pass is backup quarterback Marques Hagans, but he has seemingly done everything else.

Hagans lined up at quarterback, tailback, receiver and punt returner against the Demon Deacons. He returned two punts for 15 yards and ran twice for 17 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown that gave the Cavaliers the lead for good in the fourth quarter.

"This is a multi-talented player," Groh said. "One of those talents is speed. I've said pretty consistently over the last year and a half our aim is to make it a faster team. Those players who have made it a faster team, we need to make sure we're using them as much as we can."

Getting better. Freshman defensive end Brennan Schmidt has played five games and has increased his number of tackles each time. He had three tackles in the opener, then four, then five, then eight, then 11 against Wake Forest.

With 31 tackles, he has 10 more than any other Cavalier defensive lineman.

Banged up. Injuries have diminished Virginia's depth at a number of positions, including safety, linebacker, tailback and offensive line.

Among those who missed the Wake Forest game were tailbacks Alvin Pearman and Michael Johnson, safeties Chris Williams and Willie Davis, and linebacker Raymond Mann. Left guard Ben Carber left the game with a leg injury.

Groh, who has a policy of not discussing injuries, said he did not know when any of those players would return. But he did acknowledge that injuries have become a concern.

"It's not something I can dwell on, but I know there are certain spots where we can pretty quickly run out" of players, Groh said.

Game time. Virginia's home game against Clemson on Oct. 12 will begin at noon and be televised by ESPN2.

There's the Statue of Liberty, halfback pass, flea flicker, hook-and-ladder, the Swinging Gate. Seems to be a million of them. Bear Bryant used to keep one in his arsenal just in case.

Virginia coach Al Groh and offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave have delved into their bag of tricks the past two seasons to stun surprised defenses. You can just imagine those two UVa mad scientists scribbling gadget plays on napkins and scrap paper, letting their imaginations run wild.

Against Wake Forest last Saturday night, Groh opened up the playbook with a half

back option pass from Wali Lundy to Ryan Sawyer during the Cavaliers' 17-point comeback victory. There have been a few plays of that variety this season in addition to a couple of flea flickers and even a lateral pass to tight end Heath Miller (a former quarterback), who threw downfield to fellow tight end Patrick Estes for a touchdown.

Last season, UVa used a Tyree Foreman halfback pass to Billy McMullen in the Cavaliers' late comeback win at Clemson and the old hook-and-ladder play to stun Georgia Tech. In that play, quarterback Bryson Spinner threw a 10-yard pass to McMullen, who quickly lateraled to Alvin Pearman. Pearman bolted 27 yards to a touchdown as the Cavaliers shocked the Yellow Jackets 39-38.

"Based on recent history, I would say [trick plays] are kind of fun to have," said Groh. "They've certainly been helpful to us in a number of our games."

The coach said that some trick plays are practiced for six, seven, eight weeks in a row before they're run. He also said he doesn't want more than a few practiced at one time or "then it looks like flag football."

How does he choose them or when to use them?

"Ouija board," Groh chuckled. "Mirror, mirror on the wall."

But seriously, folks ...

"A lot of it is just feel, a feel for the right moment for the play. A sense of when't the opportune time for this," said Groh. "The play must have warranted our confidence in it by its execution in practice. Those are things we like to practice on an ongoing basis. We don't put it in this week and run it on Saturday."

In fact, trick plays can liven up practices.

"Practice can get boring if you don't try some of those kinds of plays," said Redskins coach Steve Spurrier, who used to throw a few into his game plans at Florida and Duke.

"They're in the game plan in order to pull out all the stops to win," said Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, who once used something called the "Puntrooski" to beat Danny Ford's Clemson team in 1988.

Over the years, Groh has collected a notebook full of trick plays but won't consider using one unless he has the proper personnel to pull off such a gimmick. Every time he sees a new one, it goes right into the notebook, where it might be pulled out the following season or a few years down the road.

He always has at least one trick play in every game plan, though it may not be used.

"Sometimes it's not for the specific opponent," said Groh. "It's just if we use A, B and C early in the year, we might put D in for the fourth game and not call it until the eighth game. It still remains the next one to be used. When it goes in, it doesn't mean it's going to get used that game or the next game or the one after. It gets used when we find an opportune time to do it."

With trick plays, timing is everything and rarely has a trick play blown up in the face of Groh and Musgrave.

"We don't practice trick plays much during practice but it's fun when we do," said Lundy. "Trick plays are supposed to be big plays. You're supposed to get touchdowns from them."

In most instances, Virginia has gotten scores from its bag of tricks, or at the least, put itself in scoring position.

"It's a matter of making the right call at the right time when the defense isn't expecting it," said UVa quarterback Matt Schaub.

For the Cavaliers' opponents, it's just another thing to keep them up at night. What will it be this week? A reverse pass, a throwback to the quarterback, another hook-and-ladder, a triple-banana-flying-Walenda?

Somewhere, Francis Schmidt is smiling.

Gary Forbes, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard from Brooklyn's Benjamin Banneker Academy, is expected to announce today at an afternoon news conference that he will com-mit to the Cavaliers.

Forbes visited Charlottesville, with his mother, Anna, this past weekend after visiting Georgia Tech the prior weekend. His deci-sion came down between the Cavaliers and the Yellow Jackets. It was not an easy one according to Banneker coach Wendell Saun-ders.

"It was a real tough decision for him. He really liked both schools," Saunders said. "He really liked his visit to Charlottesville. He really liked the players and felt comfort-able with them. I think he just thought UVa would be the best fit."

Forbes averaged 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for Ban-neker last season and is one of the top returning players in New York City. His national reputation grew this summer after solid perform-ances at various camps and in AAU play. He is the No. 3 rated shooting guard prospect by ESPN.com and is the No. 12 small forward in the 2003 class by rival-shoops.com, which has him as No. 53 overall prospect.

Forbes is an excellent shooter who has 3-point range and also has the ability to score off the dribble.

"He's a very, very talented bas-ketball player. He works very hard on his game. He's always working in the gym. He's what I'd call a gym rat," Saunders said.

According to Saunders, Forbes holds an 85 grade average and scored close to 1000 on his PSAT but has yet to take his SAT. As part of his studies at Banneker, Forbes takes college-level classes at nearby Long Island University.

Virginia will now have two scholarships remaining for its 2003 class with the commitments of Forbes and Roanoke guard J.R. Reynolds, who committed to UVa last November during his junior season. The Cavaliers will attempt to fill those from a host of front-court players including 6-8 Luol Deng of Blair Academy in New Jersey, the nation's No. 2 overall prospect according to rival-shoops.com; 6-8 forward Terrance Roberts of St. Anthony's in Jersey City; 6-8 Ross Neltner of High-lands High School in Ft. Thomas, Ky., and 6-8 Sheray Thomas of Riverdale Baptist in Upper Marl-boro, Md.

The junior receiver seemingly came out of nowhere to catch two touchdown passes during UVa's 38-34 comeback victory over Wake Forest last Saturday. On the second one, he wasn't even the intended receiver, so you could call him unlikely and lucky.

But maybe you shouldn't.

After all, to Sawyer's coaches and teammates, his performance against the Demon Deacons did not come as a shock.

"I'm not surprised at all," said senior safety Jerton Evans. "If you see him practice, you know he can make big plays. He works hard every day and his time finally came. He deserves it. Between Sawyer and [Alex] Seals, they're the most reliable players we have."

Like Seals, who helped create two special teams touchdowns with a forced fumble (against South Carolina) and a blocked punt (against Akron), Sawyer has waited a long time to make a major impact in a game.

An all-state receiver at Pope High School in Marietta, Ga., Sawyer was disappointed when then-UVa coach George Welsh stuck him at safety upon his arrival four years ago. He never felt comfortable at the new position, he said, and he never played a down on defense.

"I was just awkward, I think," he said. "I was basically really rough."

Still, as a redshirt freshman, Sawyer found a niche on special teams as a blocker on kick and punt returns. He excelled in that role and still does. Now he also covers punts and kickoffs, and his eight tackles this season are the most of any Cavalier special teamer.

Those duties have kept Sawyer busy, but he says he became much happier when Al Groh, who replaced the retired Welsh, agreed to let him move to receiver in the spring of 2001.

Sawyer seemed poised to be the team's No. 4 wideout until he pulled both hamstrings during preseason camp. Ottowa Anderson ended up filling that role. By the time Sawyer was healthy, nearly half the season was over, so he saw almost no action at receiver and did not catch a pass.

"That was a huge letdown," he said.

Nevertheless, Groh saw potential in Sawyer and did his best to encourage him. The coach says it used to be normal, when college teams had more scholarships and more depth, for players to patiently wait their turn before playing.

"Now there are so many young players playing that the Ryan Sawyers, who used to be very common, they kind of seem like a different deal," Groh said. "They see faster circumstances developing for some of their teammates and if they evaluate their own career by comparison, they could get discouraged."

Sawyer says he never got frustrated enough to consider transferring. Still, he almost left UVa when his father, Rod, died of a stroke during his freshman year.

"He was really influential in my life," Sawyer said. "That's probably the only time I thought about leaving - not necessarily because of football, but because I wanted to be close to home."

He decided to stay, he said, because of the support of classmates like defensive lineman Justin Walker and quarterback Matt Schaub. Sawyer and Schaub have been roommates throughout their four years at Virginia, and Schaub, he said, "always keeps me motivated. He's one of the most motivating people I've met in my life."

Schaub certainly believes in his roomie. "He's been working hard, he runs good routes and he has good hands," said the QB. "It was just a matter of time till he got his chance."

Sawyer, who caught 113 passes for 2,227 yards and 21 touchdowns in high school, may have gone three years without a reception, but he didn't forget how to catch.

"It's like riding a bike," he said. "You don't really lose it."

His 16-yard catch late in the Florida State game was "an icebreaker," he said. He also caught a 22-yard pass against Akron, so he entered last Saturday with two career receptions.

He doubled that total against the Deacons and found the end zone each time. Both catches were big. In the second quarter, with Virginia trailing 17-3, he beat the cornerback at the line of scrimmage and made a nifty 33-yard grab of a well-thrown pass from Schaub.

The play showed that Sawyer has enough speed to get open, which was a question mark.

"I don't really consider myself the fastest guy on the team," he said. "I just try to keep up with everyone."

Groh said the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Sawyer is about as fast as the other receivers on the team, though there isn't a burner in the bunch.

"He runs well and he's got a good toughness about him," Groh said. "Impending collisions don't slow him down. That's why he's been so good on special teams. He runs fast toward contact rather than running away from it."

Sawyer has a nose for the ball, which he showed in the third quarter on a busted trick play. Wali Lundy's halfback option pass, intended for tight end Heath Miller, was tipped into the hands of Sawyer, who caught it in stride and scored a crucial 38-yard touchdown. That jumpstarted Virginia's comeback from a 34-17 deficit.

Lucky? Maybe. But it was also savvy.

"I saw a bunch of people around Heath Miller. There was definitely a possibility it might happen, so I just put myself in position in case it did happen, which it did," Sawyer said.

In truth, Sawyer had been putting himself in position to make a play like that for nearly four years.

"When his opportunity came, he made the most of it," said Evans. "Everyone's happy for him."

After giving up 990 yards of offense and allowing opponents to run 190 plays against them in the last two weeks, yet still winning, the Cavaliers shouldn't take the Little Sisters of the Poor lightly. But there is a danger.

Duke has beaten UVa only twice since 1988 but it seems that the Devils give the Cavaliers a tough game no matter what the conditions. Virginia is a two touchdown favorite against Duke, which is attempting to end an 18-game ACC losing streak, three shy of the school record for consecutive conference losses set from 1995 to 1998 under Fred Goldsmith.

A win over Virginia would give Duke a 3-3 record, only the second time the Devils would be 3-3 since 1994.

Mystique is gone

Florida State coaches believe that they no longer own the intangible, the mystique, which used to beat some teams before games even started. Some feel that while fans are down on the Seminoles, proclaiming their dynasty is over, it is a bit of an overreaction to last week's loss to Louisville in a driving rainstorm.

Still, FSU hasn't exhibited the invincibility that came from fielding a plethora of playmakers as in the past.

"Enough teams have beat us that the fear factor is not there," said Jeff Bowden, FSU's offensive coordinator. "You don't win by going out there and scaring somebody because of who you are - not now. If we as coaches, players and fans are thinking we can just walk out there because we're better than people, we've got the wrong perception of this team."

The Seminoles lost four times last season, has already lost once this season and should have lost to Iowa State in the opener. If FSU gets by Clemson this Thursday night, the Noles will be decided underdogs against both Miami (next week) and Florida (last game of the season). The question is, can any more ACC teams stick it to the Seminoles?

Locker room infighting

Florida State fans are sticking it to quarterback Chris Rix. Many of them have lost faith in the sophomore, saying that he isn't the guy and they can't understand why Coach Bobby Bowden is sticking with him. A Tallahassee fraternity put up a sign urging Bowden to play backup Adrian McPherson, but Bowden has pledged his allegiance to Rix.

Just like last season, some of the Seminoles were critical of Rix after the Louisville loss, claiming that the young quarterback appeared to be too nervous and that while he needed to stay in the pocket and look for receivers that he instead tucked the ball and took off running.

"It's like we are running quarterback draws every time he's back there," criticized starting center Antoine Mirambeau. "That kind if irritates us as offensive linemen, knowing that, OK, we're doing our job but what's going on? Are the receivers not getting open? Personally, I think he needs a lot of work."

Bowden held a team meeting to address the issue and everyone apparently got the point.

"I'm pretty sure we won't have that anymore," said receiver Anquan Boldin of the finger-pointing. "Everybody is behind

Chris right now."

Sounded a little open-ended, didn't it?

The doghouse. That's what several Carolina players are in this week, including cornerback Michael Waddell, who will start at Arizona State but was pulled out of the loss to Georgia Tech after two Yellow Jackets receivers burned him for for touchdowns. Considered the best Tar Heel defensive back, he was also beaten badly by Texas.

"He's not playing well right now," said UNC coach John Bunting, who was so upset with the defensive effort vs. Tech that he called in four seniors to challenge their mettle. He said he might reinstitute some live tackling drills to right the ship after giving up 396 yards to Tech and 569 to Texas.

Carolina is 1-3 with all the losses coming at home.

Former Hampton wide receiver Bobby Blizzard, who committed to UVa at the same time as Ronald Curry, took the blame for Carolina's loss to Georgia Tech. After picking up 59 yards on a reception, Blizzard was stripped at the two yard line with the Jackets recovering in the end zone. UNC trailed 14-13 at the time and never recovered from the blow.

Bowden bowl. Tommy Bowden, another of Bobby's sons, said he would have regrets if his father retires as FSU's head coach before Tommy has a chance to beat him.

"To me, it would be like beating Osborne," said Tommy Bowden. "It would be like beating Paterno, Schembechler, Woody Hayes. It would be like beating those guys. Those guys are the cream of the crop. If you've beaten those, you've beaten a pretty good guy."

During Tommy's three-and-a-half seasons at Clemson, the Tigers have beaten every ACC school but Florida State.

Amato miffed. You might think that a 32-point win to put his team to 6-0 on the season would make N.C. State coach Chuck Amato a pretty happy camper. Not so.

He was so upset with his Wolfpack after beating UMass last Saturday that, "I chewed their butts out at halftime."

Why?

"It was sloppy. I'm disappointed in some of the players. We've got to get some things corrected. We've got to do a lot better job of coaching intensity," said Amato, who was so pumped up that he even critiqued media attending his weekly press conference.

"You guys look like my players did today," said Amato. "You look like you don't want to be here."

The big play. Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe said his coaches had Virginia game planned beautifully on defense until Cavaliers coach Al Groh and his staff made adjustments at halftime, deciding to throw the ball deep.

Grobe said his Deacs contained UVa's running game and managed to play well against QB Matt Schaub's ability to dump the ball to tight ends and running backs. What beat the Deacs was Schaub going up top in the second half.

"Where we broke down was giving up too many big plays," said Grobe. "They threw five or six fades on our corners that we didn't contest very well. I think five throws accounted for 180 or 190 yards of offense. That was the difference in the game."

That didn't go unnoticed by this week's UVa opponent, Duke coach Carl Franks.

"We're similar to Wake Forest in that our corners aren't the biggest guys in the world," said Franks. "Virginia started throwing the ball and McMullen and those guys started going up and getting the ball. McMullen is very, very good. And it's hard to control a guy who's that tall and as athletic as he is. We can't leave a guy on him all by himself at times. If we do, we better get to the quarterback."

Short yardage ... Virginia is 5-3 since last year's loss to Wake Forest (losses coming against nationally ranked Virginia Tech, Florida State and Colorado State), and all that considering the Cavaliers have no depth and have been hobbled by a rash of injuries. ... UNC coach John Bunting has finally put place-kicker Dan Orner on scholarship, three weeks after the guy tied an NCAA record with three field goals of at least 50 yards (Orner is now 5 for 6 on the season, the only miss a 49-yarder vs. Texas).

The picks. Last week: 4-2. To date: 24-12. This week: Florida State 31, Clemson 23; Virginia 27, Duke 24; Georgia Tech 24, Wake Forest 17; West Virginia 20, Maryland 19; Arizona State 36, UNC 24.

Not according to Fox Sports and the College Football News. The two have surveyed and mapped the postseason landscape.

Good news for Virginia fans if these gurus are right. They have the Cavs playing Air Force in the Seattle Bowl on Dec. 30. The fourth-place team in the Mountain West Conference meets No. 6 out of the ACC.

Tech, meanwhile, is projected to meet Clemson on Jan. 1 in the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla. The Gator tie-ins are Nos. 2 from both the Big East and ACC or Notre Dame.

Speaking of the Irish, they're projected to meet Florida in the Sugar Bowl in a BCS matchup.

Other BCS predictions are: Ohio State vs. Oregon in the Rose Bowl, Florida State vs. Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl and Miami vs. Texas in the Fiesta Bowl for the national championship.

Sure, Florida State lost to Louisville and while that loss may cost it a shot at the national title - non-conference games with Miami and Notre Dame loom - the Seminoles are 3-0 in the ACC and may not lose a conference game. First place in the conference means a BCS berth.

Other projections involving the ACC and the Big East are: Georgia Tech vs. Colorado in the Dec. 23 Tangerine Bowl, Boston College vs. Washington in the Dec. 26 Insight.com Bowl, West Virginia vs. North Carolina in the Dec. 28 Queen City Bowl, N.C. State vs. Arkansas in the Dec. 31 Peach Bowl and Pittsburgh vs. Brigham Young in the Dec. 31 San Francisco Bowl.

Too early for predictions? Sure, but it does make for interesting sports talk.