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It is not unheard of for a team to get good press all week, then lay an egg on the field. Does it...

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It is not unheard of for a team to get good press all week, then lay an egg on the field. Does it work that way for an entire conference as well? Only three ACC teams even slightly overachieved their projections (Clemson, Duke and North Carolina), and two of those did so at the expense of other ACC teams. Meanwhile, four teams underachieved by significant margins against non-conference opponents. Underachiever: Maryland (Projected Margin: +17.0 | Actual Margin: -31). Temple's 38-7 win was just a manhandling. Temple outgained the Terps by 185 yards (425 to 240), and the only reason it was that close is because Maryland's last drive went 80 yards in eight plays. Before that drive, the Terps managed just 160 yards in 52 plays (3.1 per play). Including sacks, quarterback Danny O'Brien's 36 pass attempts averaged just 3.5 yards each (17-for-33, 153 yards, 1 INT, 3 sacks). Yuck. The numbers liked Maryland because they played great against Miami and pretty well against West Virginia. I think they used up all of their statistical goodwill, eh?

For those who like the Expectations And Reality series, check out my Underachievers And Overachievers piece at the Mothership.

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