You could make the case that the ACC really dropped the ball this week by scheduling one of the marquee matchups, Wake Forest and Boston College, as early as Week 2. This is quickly developing into one of the league’s premier rivalries (hashtag #TheRivalry), and it could decide which of these mortal enemies finishes higher than the other in the Atlantic Division. After all, 
fifth place gets a Cadillac El Dorado, sixth place gets a set of steak knives and seventh place means you’re fired.
Still not seeing it? Consider that last year, Wake was so emotionally drained from its 28-14 win over the Eagles that the Deacs dropped their final three games by a combined score of 130-27. Once you’ve played your metaphorical Super Bowl, it’s hard to summon the same focus for anything else.
BC and Wake Forest have split their past 10 meetings, with Wake has outscored BC just 241 to 238 in more than 600 refulgent minutes of football. That’s an average score of 24.1-23.8, which generally means the games are close and they feature at least two touchdowns per team. As ACC fans, we can’t ask for much more than that.
As for you BC and Wake fans who have adopted this rivalry and made it awesome, we love you so, so much:
Not sure whether to laugh or cry #therivalry
— Riley Johnston (@BSD_RaJohnston) August 31, 2013
#TheRivalry RT @D1scourse: BC’s website: “Fans to see changes in football gameday experience.” Or, as I like to call them, touchdowns.
— Jake S (@BloggerSoDear) August 31, 2013
You’ll never guess how Presbyterian scored its TD vs. Wake Forest. Run-run-PA pass #TheRivalry
— BC Interruption (@bcinterruption) September 4, 2013
#GoBlueHose #GoBlueHose #GoBlueHose #GoBlueHose #GoBlueHose #GoBlueHose #GoBlueHose #TheRivalry
— BC Interruption (@bcinterruption) August 29, 2013
Without further ado … I give you all …. #TheRivalry.
WAKE forest (1-0, 0-0 ACC) at boston college (1-0, 0-0)
Time: 8:00 p.m.
TV: ESPN2
KEY FOR WAKE FOREST
Run the ball. Or pass the ball in a way that’s almost like running the ball. Last year, Wake ran the ball 32 times against Boston College to 57 (!!!) pass attempts. But most of those attempts were for short yardage (5.1 per attempt). Tanner Price became the third FBS quarterback since 2000 to complete 39 passes for fewer than 300 yards. That’s gross, but also brilliant: 3.6 yards per rush, 5.1 yards per pass attempt and 13-of-22 on third downs? Not pretty, but it works. Maybe Jim Grobe is the Tony Bennett of football. Wake has to get some semblance of a running game going, though, and keep BC’s offense off the field. If nothing else, maybe the crowd will get bored and leave. (Kidding!)
KEY FOR BOSTON COLLEGE
Same goes for you, Eagles. Run the ball early and often. And effectively, if possible. Boston College’s running game was bad enough in 2012, and then Andre Williams got hurt early in the Wake Forest game. So the Eagles finished with 21 yards rushing on 12 attempts, a robust 0.6 per rush, and ONE rushing first down. ONE. Ewww. BC struggled to run it last week early last week against Villanova and had 45 yards on 15 attempts at halftime. But in the second half, BC had 97 yards on 25 carries in spite of Williams sitting out the fourth with a hamstring injury. Head coach Steve Addazio warned that establishing the ground game takes time and pays off in the second half with play-action, but generally speaking, that’s not true against FCS teams. Even good ones like Villanova. In this rivalry, the team that owns the war of the trenches is the only team that comes out alive. Or something like that.
HERE’S A GUY
Campanarooooooooooooooooo! Turns out, North Carolina wasn’t the only team that receiver Michael 
Campanaro made look silly last year. Congratulations, Boston College! In his second game back from a broken hand, he had 16 catches for 123 yards and three touchdowns. He is a machine. He didn’t play in Week 1, though – head coach Jim Grobe said Campanaro was nursing a sore hamstring, and they just wanted to be safe. Campanaro told Dan Collins of the Winston-Salem Jurnal that he’s a full go, but who knows? Either way – and listen, I’m not a football coach – but I think it would be a good idea for Campanaro to be a point of emphasis in BC’s defensive game-planning. Just throwing that out there.
THIS GUY
Alex. Freaking. Amidon. (Does he have a nickname yet? He should.) At halftime last week, eight of quarterback Chase Rettig’s 11 completions were to Amidon, and he had 74 of BC’s 144 total yards. If he had stopped playing after that, he would have still been tied for fourth in the ACC in receptions per game. As it was, Amidon finished with 13 catches for 146 yards. Yeah. So, he’s pretty good. Last year against Wake, Amidon had ten catches for 130 yards and a touchdown, accounting for more than a third of Rettig’s completions. There’s no way to know how much Wake’s secondary has improved quite yet because Presbyterian. But this will be a good early test.
STATS ARE FOR LOSERS
In last year’s Wake-BC game, the teams combined for 108 passing attempts and 53 rushes, running a total of 161 plays for an average of 4.9 per play. #goacc … Presbyterian gained 66 yards on the first play of the game against Wake Forest and just 85 on its other 42 plays. … Bad news, BC – Week 2 is Jim Grobe’s most successful as a head coach; he’s 10-2 in the second game of each season and has won five straight second games, including a win over UNC last year.
NARRATIVES
Wake Forest Win: Atlantic Division third-place sleepers? Or … potential harbinger of doom for heavy, heavy favorites Clemson and Florida State? THANKS FOR NOTHING WAKE WHY DO YOU EVEN TRY YOU RUIN EVERYTHING FOR THE LEAGUE GOSH
Wake Forest Loss: Jim Grobe’s really lost his touch. Maybe … not enough dudes?
Boston College Win: Win total from last year = tied. Achievement = unlocked. Dudes = acquired.
Boston College Loss: Hey, it’s cool! Steve Addazio and his gang of dudes will bounce back. *Looks at schedule, sees a trip to USC, a bye and a home game against FSU over next three weeks* *Sobs* *#goacc*
PREDICTION
Wake Forest, 23-21. No idea why. Throw it up against the wall, really. You have to throw out the records when these two get together anyway. Which the last year or so, both teams would’ve been happy to do.
Last week: 12-1 (1-0 ACC)
Season: 12-1 (1-0 ACC)