NCAA Football virginia tech Hokies

Closure.

That's what we may get from the ACC this weekend in terms of divisional winners advancing to the title game in Tampa, Fla., next month.

Clemson could clinch the Atlantic Division Saturday if the Tigers beat North Carolina State and Boston College loses at Virginia. Georgia Tech, meanwhile, can clinch the Coastal Division by beating Duke in its last league game. Of course, keep an eraser handy, just in case.

It's becoming clear that Florida State's Bobby Bowden, who turn 80 on Sunday, wants to coach the Seminoles in 2010.

The feisty Bowden has tipped his hand many times since coming under fire from high-level boosters, fans and the media following a 2-4 start.

Consecutive victories over North Carolina and North Carolina State have helped quiet restless critics -- and a victory Saturday at Clemson would vault FSU into second place in the ACC Atlantic Division -- and Bowden said Wednesday he will make the final call on who replaces retiring Mickey Andrews as defensive coordinator.

However, Bowden also stressed that head coach-in-waiting Jimbo Fisher will make a strong contribution to the process, so don't expect a disagreement conspiracy between the pair.

Both Virginia Tech and North Carolina want to move forward Thursday night following difficult losses. One of the two will be disappointed.

The No. 14 Hokies (5-2 overall, 3-1 ACC) say they are no longer stewing over their 28-23 loss at Georgia Tech on Oct. 17, despite the lingering chatter about the Yellow Jackets' chop-blocking techniques and how Virginia Tech no longer controls its destiny in the ACC's Coastal Division.

UNC is coming off a tough loss, too. Playing its first Thursday night home game a week ago, the Tar Heels led Florida State 24-6 after halftime and then fell apart, losing 30-27. The Seminoles had 285 of their 395 passing yards in the second half to keep the Tar Heels (4-3, 0-3) winless in the ACC.

Virginia Tech travels to Georgia Tech on Saturday in what may be the biggest hurdle left on the Hokies' regular season schedule. The fourth-ranked Hokies are in prime position to be in the national title race with some help. They will also virtually wrap up the ACC Coastal Division with a win in Atlanta.

Of course, this isn't expected to be a walk in the park for Tech either.

The Yellow Jackets, who have won three straight, present a unique challenge to the Virginia Tech defense behind their triple-option. Over the last three games, Georgia Tech has averaged 472.3 yards of total offense. The Hokies, always strong on defense and special teams, appear to be finally clicking on all cylinders now that quarterback Tyrod Taylor and running back Ryan Williams are propelling the offense.

Boston College quarterback Dave Shinskie accomplished something extraordinary on Saturday against Virginia Tech: In the Eagles' 48-14 loss to the Hokies, Shinskie had more interceptions than complete passes, and he finished the game with an almost unheard of negative passer rating.

If there was anything surprising about Tyrod Taylor's short walk over for the post-game interview, it was that he didn't stretch beforehand. After all, that was by a wide margin the most athletic thing he'd had to in the better part of 90 minutes.

With Taylor on the field, the first half of Virginia Tech's blowout 48-14 win over Boston College taught us just how dominant the Hokies can be when when both sides of the ball play well.

The second half taught us that their backup quarterback is named Ju-Ju.

In retrospect, only one of those should've been unexpected.

Our apologies, Ju-Ju.

Tom O'Brien teams traditionally get better as the season goes on -- as North Carolina State did in winning four of its last five games last year. With Wake Forest, Duke and Boston College coming up in the next three weeks, the surging Wolfpack could be 6-1 going into its bye week prior to an Atlantic Division showdown at Florida State.

O'Brien, however, isn't about to get caught up in such nonsense. He's a game-at-a-time head coach, and Saturday's meeting at Wake Forest is N.C. State's first ACC game and first road game.

"All I know is what team I got this week against the team I am going to play," O'Brien said. "I don't know who is going to be here next week. We continue to march on and try to be the best we can weekly."

Matt Daniels doesn't even want to think about the repercussions if Duke loses to North Carolina Central University on Saturday.

The two campuses are just five miles apart, and locals in Durham, N.C., have been chatting for months about whether the Eagles can compete against a Blue Devils team that already this season has lost to a Football Championship Subdivision school.

"A lot of heads are going to be turning," said Daniels, Duke's sophomore safety.

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- After collecting their emotions, the brokenhearted Nebraska Cornhuskers promised to learn, be better and, most importantly, finish games.

Nebraska was just under two minutes away from a statement victory over 13th-ranked Virginia Tech here at Lane Stadium Saturday when the Hokies, out of thin air, crashed the party. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor relied on his athletic skills to miraculously drive Tech 88 yards in five plays for a 16-15 victory that sent shock waves from the southwest Virginia mountain to the Midwestern flat lands.

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Despite its season-opening defeat to Alabama two weeks ago, 13th-ranked Virginia Tech was convinced it could still be a national title contender this season. The Hokies needed a victory Saturday against Nebraska and next week against Miami to help make that happen.

The Hokies made a little magic happen -- with 21 seconds to spare -- against the Cornhuskers to keep that dream alive.

With the 19th-ranked Cornhuskers on the verge of registering their biggest road victory in more than a decade, a scrambling Tyrod Taylor dodged several defenders and then rifled an 11-yard touchdown pass to flanker Dyrell Roberts with 21 ticks remaining to rally Virginia Tech past Nebraska, 16-15.