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My point was, whenever it was crunch time and WF was struggling, Skinner rarely, if ever, came through. I am not saying he played poorly, just that he did not deliver by playing great. Dont’ believe me? That’s ok, the stats* back me up.

Skinner has never been the type of player who can carry a team. He is a good player, a great competitor, an accurate passer, and from all appearances, a great teammate. But he is simply not a GREAT player. I submit it will take a great player to be All ACC QB in 2009.

* In Wake’s 5 loses, Skinner completed 56% of his passes for an average of 151 yards per game. He also threw 7 ints against only 3 TD’s. – Far from All ACC numbers. As I said before, Skinner is a good player, a key cog in an offense when surrounded by supporting talent. But has not proven he can carry his team when needed; when the offense struggled, Skinner did not come through. He is not a GREAT player, he is not All ACC.

btw, Skinner was 3-8 for 57 yds in the Miami loss. Looks like even Skinner’s own coaches agree with me, ie, that they knew Skinner could not deliver if they leaned on him.

Now compare what I have written about Skinner to the performance of Russell Wilson last year. Not saying Wilson will win All ACC, just providing an example of an All ACC player who has turned in a GREAT performance and carried a team.

Switch Skinner and Wilson last year and NC State wins one game while Wake Forest wins the ACC.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/stewart_mandel/08/12/notre-dame/index.html

I believe an experienced offensive line is an important factor in a successful season. Are there any Top 25 teams with lots of talent at the skill positions, but playing with an inexperienced or suspect offensive line? Do you think these teams will not live up to their preseason rankings because of this potential weakness?
– John, Chicago

I couldn’t agree more. Besides quarterback, there is not a more important position on a football team than offensive line, and too often voters get so seduced by a team’s glamour players that they overlook serious questions on the line. Having a pair of stud receivers won’t do you much good if the quarterback doesn’t have time to throw the ball. Ask Clemson last year. And losing an elite left tackle can be downright crippling. Ask Alabama.

…

One should also look at O-lines when identifying potential surprise teams flying under the radar. Even without longtime starting quarterback Mike Teel, Rutgers is my pick to win the watered-down Big East due in large part to its five returning starters on the line. While Northwestern lacks veteran tailbacks and receivers, it’s in fine shape to duplicate last year’s nine-win season due to the quality of its offensive and defensive lines (and secondary, another overlooked position). And while star sophomore quarterback Russell Wilson gets the pub for N.C. State, the four seniors blocking for him make the Wolfpack an ACC contender.

Can’t wait for FB to start. (A) I get to see state in action and (B) since I live in Gainesville, there will be plenty of parties to drop in on. (Hey, Florida signs my paycheck so I can root for them after State and Wisconsin.)

I’m perfectly fine with him leaving.

If we’re winning and he continues to play well, the attention will come. No one remembers the preseason picks, anyway.

According to Stewart Mandel on SI.com, negotiations are in progress between the Big 10 and the Gator Bowl to replace the Big 12/Big East with a team from the Big 10. Apparently there are a few things that have to happen for this to occur, including Konica remaining the sponsor for the game, as well as reaching a new TV agreement between the Gator and ESPN, replacing CBS (neither of which has been finalized yet). And since most bowls are now in the final year of their bowl tie-in agreements with various conferences it is expected that many of those conference tie-ins will change.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/stewart_mandel/08/13/bowl.arrangements/index.html

Personally, I hope this deal goes thru. I would love for the ACC to face a Big 10 team in the Gator. If that fails I’d love to see an SEC tie-in. I’ve always liked the Peach because of that. Even if we weren’t playing in it it was always enjoyable to see an ACC/SEC matchup. For some reason I never got terribly excited about the ACC facing a Big 12/Big East team in the Gator. Not sure why.

SFN: Good find. We were already working on an entry related to this and other bowl issues for next week.

And, Statefans, regarding this from the post…
“It is with crossed fingers that I hold my breath and observe that it appears the Wolfpack has avoided too many unexpected losses to this point of practice. ”

Besides crossed fingers and held breath, I hope you did some serious “wood-knocking” after typing that statement.

SFN, do you have any more info on this? I haven’t seen any info as to why he’s out.