SAPAKOFF COLUMN: ACC Best and Worst for Week 12 --Sugar Bowl hopes and anxiety

Top 5

1. Sugar Bowl hopes. Lots of bowl projections have Clemson playing Alabama or Georgia in the BCS game in New Orleans on Jan. 2.

2. Tajh Boyd. 13 touchdown passes in the last three games for the Clemson QB.

3. Virginia. Somehow managed a 41-40 victory over Miami despite getting outgained on the ground, 233 yards to 94.

4. Miami at Duke. One way or the other, the Nov. 24 game will have ACC Coastal Division title implications.

5. Dalton Freeman. Leave it go the Clemson senior center to fire off the ACC quote of the year: “You get tired of hearing, ‘Clemson will have that Clemson game. They’ll mess it up.’ This isn’t your Grandpa’s Clemson. We’re not the same team. We just try to go out and do our thing every week.”

Bottom 5

1. Sugar Bowl anxiety. Oklahoma and perhaps even Southern Cal loom with potential to knock Clemson out of the picture. Of course, the Tigers first must defeat N.C. State and South Carolina.

2. Tar Heels D. North Carolina gave up 588 yards in a 68-50 loss to Georgia Tech, the ACC’s highest scoring game ever.
3. Yellow Jackets D. Georgia Tech allowed 497 yards, which is hard to do when you occupy the football for 37:14.

4. Blacksburg. Once fear, now not so much. We’ll see when UVa comes to town next week.

5. Jim Grobe. 73-72 record as Wake Forest head coach, 106-105-1 overall. But about to go back under .500 as the 5-5 Deacons close with Notre Dame and Vanderbilt.

Follow Gene Sapakoff on Twitter @sapakoff