Scattershooting: Hoos better, Colandrea or Armstrong? Power rankings & golden nuggets

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Scattershooting around the ACC, while wondering who is the better quarterback, NC State’s sixth-year Brennan Armstrong or Virginia’s first-year Anthony Colandrea …

The two opposing QBs will meet Friday night in Scott Stadium with Armstrong, the former UVA starter, accompanying the Wolfpack to town (7 p.m. ESPN) to possibly face Colandrea, who would be playing in his fourth college football game. It could be that regular starter Tony Muskett will play if he’s pronounced completely recovered from a shoulder injury received in the opener at Tennessee.

The latest on that came Wednesday morning when offensive coordinator Des Kitchings met with media for a post-practice chat. When asked the inevitable about who will start at QB against State, Kitchings was clever with his answer.

“It’s one of the Tonys,” Kitchings said.

Question is, which Tony — Tony Muskett or Anthony (Tony) Colandrea?

So, when do you guys expect to make a decision about that?

“Whenever the other Tony says,” Kitchings grinned. “The Tony, Tony, Tony Show.”

Of course, the other Tony was Tony Elliott, the head coach, who didn’t say Tuesday when asked the same question.

Should it be Colandrea, the Cavaliers should feel confident. Statistically, the freshman compares well against the more seasoned Armstrong. Consider these numbers:

In NCAA completion percentages of the top 100 ranked quarterbacks in the country, Armstrong is No. 60 with a percentage of 62.9. Colandrea, who has really played only two games compared to Armstrong, who has more than 30 starts in his career, is ranked No. 64 at 62.5.

In terms of NCAA passing efficiency, Colandrea is actually ranked higher than Armstrong. Colandrea is No. 64 with an efficiency rating of 141.21, while Armstrong is No. 89 at 120.89.

In passing yardage, Armstrong is No. 63 with 679 yards in three games to No. 66 Colandrea, who has 652 yards in really only two games.

I asked Kitchings about Maryland coach Mike Locksley describing Colandrea as “dangerous,” and what he thought about that comment.

“Yeah, [Colandrea] is not fazed by the moment,” Kitchings said. “He can extend plays with his legs, and when he’s in the pocket, he can make the throws … all the throws, whether it’s the field throw, the boundary throw, or the hash throw. But there’s some plays that he’s extended with his legs and made big plays for us.”

Elliott agreed when I asked him the same question on Tuesday.

“So, I think the first touchdown pass [at Maryland], you kind of see something that excites you,” Elliott said. “I mean he has a guy barrelling down on him and [Colandrea] stays with the concept and he gets the ball and puts it where the back can catch it and go make the play.

“Then you see he escapes the pocket, and then he’s not just running, but he’s making guys miss. He still has to learn how to slide a little bit better at times, he’s got to protect himself. Then you can see him sit in the pocket and he can deliver the strike.”

Virginia’s coaches are clearly excited about the freshman and impressed with his overall poise. Elliott said it’s his and his staff’s job to develop his fame so the young QB can manage that confidence.

“You can see he can extend plays with his legs … he’s going to play kind of like (Armstrong) with that mentality,” Elliott said. “He’s going to run the football to go get extra yards, not just to get a few and slide down. He loves to compete and loves to win.

“Those are the things that we see out of him, and I believe once Tony [Muskett] is healthy and gets in there, I think you’re going to see a lot of similar qualities from him as well.”

Stay tuned.

Hootie’s ACC Power Rankings

• 1. Florida State — The Seminoles lost focus last week in Chestnut Hill and nearly lost the game. They can virtually lock up a spot in the ACC Championship on Saturday if they can break Clemson’s will in Death Valley.
• 2. Duke — The Blue Devils have been smart against scheduling, taking on the likes of Northwestern and UConn, pacing themselves for bigger games down the road.
• 3. Miami — Are the ‘Canes back? They handled Jimbo’s boys without a sweat. Time for another Rent-A-Victim with a game against Temple.
• 4. Clemson — The Tigers haven’t exactly impressed to this point, particularly with the disappointing showing against Duke in the opener. Don’t you know that Steve Spurrier, who was at the game, got a kick out of that win. The Tigers have to beat FSU on Saturday or their playoff hopes are gone.
• 5. North Carolina — The Tar Heels have had trouble with Pitt in the past and travel to the Steel City on Saturday for a night game. Not sure this Pitt team is up to the challenge.
• 6. Syracuse — Somebody has to be No. 6, so why not the Orange? They’re scoring a bunch, but not giving up much. They’ll face run-happy Army on Saturday.
• 7. Wake Forest — The Deacs host Georgia Tech and should win, but if they don’t polish off Tech, that’s a signal that they might struggle the rest of the way.
• 8. Louisville — Don’t know what to make of this bunch under new direction. Cards are 3-0, but are they good? 
• 9. NC State — The Wolfpack have beaten two underdogs and lost to Notre Dame. State is a 9.5-point favorite over Virginia on the road tonight, but should the Pack be on upset alert?
• 10. Pitt — Off to a disappointing 1-2 start, this group of Panthers may not be up to the task.
• 11. Virginia Tech — The Hokies should handle Marshall. If they don’t, watch out. They won’t be happy in Blacksburg.
• 12. Boston College — The Eagles shot themselves in the foot against FSU last week and could have scored a major upset against the unfocused Seminoles. That’s what bad teams do.
• 13. Georgia Tech — The Ramblin’ Wreck seems appropriate for this team.
• 14. Virginia — Get the feeling that if the Wahoos can eliminate a bunch of the mistakes they keep making in every facet of the game, they just might beat somebody.

Golden Nuggets for dessert

• Virginia football owns the second-longest losing streak in the nation with six in a row, surpassed only by Nevada with 13-straight losses. Then comes UConn 5, Buffalo 3, ECU 3, UMass 3. If I’m making UVA’s future schedules, I’m asking out of tough games and scheduling these guys. UVA is 3-14 in its last 17 games and the wins have been over Richmond, ODU and Georgia Tech (when the Jackets lost their starting QB early in the game).
• Syracuse’s offense, now under the direction of former Virginia quarterbacks coach Jason Beck, ranks fifth in the nation in scoring offense at 49.3 points per game. That’s ahead of both FSU 47.3 and Miami 44.7.
• Saturday is only the seventh time during Dabo Swinney’s career at Clemson that his Tigers will be an underdog at home. That’s over the course of 102 games, including the last 47 in a row in which Swinney’s boys were home favorites.
• Our pal Danny Neckel keeps coming up with gems, including this one on best road records in major conference men’s basketball over the past 10 years. Here’s his findings: Virginia: 76-36 (.679); Villanova: 78-38 (.672); Arizona: 66-40 (.623); Kansas: 66-42 (.611); Kentucky: 62-41 (.602). Hmmm, no Duke, no UNC.
• In this week’s Believe-It-or-Not category, Miami tight end Cam McCormick is petitioning the ACC for a ninth — that’s not a typo — season of eligibility. He’s been playing college football since 2016.
• ACC quarterback ratings after three weeks finds UVA’s Anthony Colandrea 8th in the ACC at 61.5, with NC State’s Brennan Armstrong 11th at 51.4. Clemson’s Cade Klubnik is 43.4. Miami’s Tyler Van Dyke is No. 1 at 89.6.
• Oh, new ACC member SMU raised $100 million in seven days after it was voted into the league. Watch out boys, the Ponies are on the rise.
• Virginia baseball gained their second commitment from the state of Florida for the 2025 recruiting class in 6-foot-3 southpaw Aiden Stillman from Winter Park. He attends Trinity Prep.
• More baseball: Former Wahoo update on Zack Gelof, a rookie with the Oakland A’s. Gelof has 13 HR and 13 stolen bases.
• We annually post the US News and World Report University Rankings of ACC schools. Here you go: No. 3 Stanford; No. 7 Duke; No. 15 Cal; No. 20 Notre Dame; No. 22 North Carolina; No. 24 Virginia; No. 33 Georgia Tech; No. 39 Boston College; No. 47 Wake Forest; No. 47 Virginia Tech; No. 53 Florida State; No. 60 NC State; No. 67 Miami; No. 67 Syracuse; No. 67 Pitt; No. 86 Clemson; No. 89 SMU; No. 195 Louisville.
• Not ACC-related, but noteworthy. Blenders Eyewear, which supplies Colorado coach Deion Sanders with his sunglasses, has brought in $4.5 million in orders because Coach Prime sports their gear.
• Former Virginia All-ACC linebacker Nick Jackson was singled out for his performance last week for Iowa. He had 10 tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack and a forced fumble.