It's a big weekend for for Pitt but not so much for the rest of the league. Here's a look around, though.
(All games are Saturday this week)
In the Coastal
- Virginia is a dangerous team for Maryland to be facing (3:30 p.m., ESPNU) a week after getting its doors blown off at Florida State. The Hoos are good enough defensively to frustrate C.J. Brown and keep the game close. It's really a question of whether the Virginia offense can muster anything against a Terps defense that now has a lot of its weaknesses freshly on tape after a strong start. After last week, Randy Edsall's group probably isn't going to be competing with FSU and Clemson for the division title. But given the state of the rest of its division, it could get a pretty choice bowl slot if it keeps winning. If the Terps are going to do that, they've got to win here.
- A Duke team that can score a bunch of points is enough of a novelty for me to watch regardless. But if you're not into watching a group 0-2 in the ACC, you can at least get an early look at the Navy team Pitt will be facing in a couple of weeks (12:30 p.m., ESPN3).
- Georgia Tech got its offense back on track last weekend, but couldn't keep up with Miami to drop to 2-2 in the conference. This week's game against BYU (7 p.m., ESPNU) will tell us a lot about where this team is going. After consecutive losses against Virginia Tech and Miami, we know the Yellow Jackets are not competing for the Coastal title. They could still prove to be an obstacle for remaining opponents Pitt, Clemson and Georgia if they get their act together this week, though. Keep an eye on how that defense responds to BYU's 81st-ranked scoring offense.
In the Atlantic
- Clemson will get its turn against a Boston College team (3:30 p.m., ABC) that hung with Florida State all afternoon a couple of weeks ago. The Tigers have contained the low-grade offenses on their schedule after allowing 35 points against Georgia, so it might be a stretch to call Clemson's defense "suspect." But Florida State's defense is a top-five unit nationally that gave up 34 to these Eagles. We know Clemson has its weaknesses. The question is whether BC can exploit them enough to stage an upset bid.
Elsewhere: Syracuse travels to N.C. State (3:30 p.m., ESPN3).
