ACC Preview

Predicted Order of Finish


Atlantic

Florida St | 6-2 | 9-3

Clemson | 5-3 | 8-4

NC State | 4-4 | 7-5

Boston College | 4-4 | 7-5

Maryland | 3-5 | 5-7

Wake Forest | 3-5 | 5-7



Coastal

Georgia Tech | 7-1 | 11-1

Virginia Tech | 7-1 | 10-2

Miami | 5-3 | 7-5

Virginia | 3-5 | 6-6

North Carolina | 2-6 | 3-9

Duke | 0-8 | 0-12



Atlantic

Florida St was surprisingly down last year, needing an Emerald Bowl win to finish with a winning record. There are signs to point to them having a much better team this season. The offense struggled several times, especially the running game. OC Jimbo Fisher, who was brought in over the offseason, should be able to turn this unit around. Florida St was 5-2 in close games last season, and the only team that beat them by more than a TD was Wake Forest. The offense should turn the ball over less, especially the 16 interceptions last year. One thing to watch is that they only have five home games, plus one neutral site game in Jacksonville. If they can win the opener at Clemson, they have a great shot at starting 8-0. The last four games are killer, with three on the road and all four against tough opponents. If the Seminoles can get through their tough schedule, it's not out of the question to see them in the National Championship game.


Clemson started off really strong last season, going 7-1 and being ranked as high as 10th before losing four of the last five. The first eight games included wins over both participants in the ACC Championship game (Georgia Tech and Wake Forest) and a road win over Florida St. The offense will feature one of the best running back tandems in the country with James Davis and CJ Spiller. Last year they combined for over 2000 yards and 27 TDs. Both the offense and defense ranked high nationally last season, so the five losses were very disappointing. The Tigers should be one of the top teams in the Atlantic division again.


NC State is the surprise team in the ACC. Last year they started off 3-2 with wins over Boston College and Florida St. After that, they lost the final seven games and head coach Chuck Amato was shown the door. Replacing him is former Boston College head coach Tom O'Brien, one of the more underrated coaches. Expect an instant turnaround since O'Brien is already familiar with the conference, and he will have all the talent he needs. All of the offensive skill players return, so they should improve on their 17.5 points and 302 yards per game. Seven of the nine losses last season were by eight points or less. The Wolfpack should be back in the postseason.


Boston College is coming off a 10-3 season where the three losses were all on the road by a combined total of 12 points. The NC State game was lost on a last-second hail-mary TD. Head coach Tom O'Brien left to fill the NC State vacancy. Replacing him is Jeff Jagodzinski, the OC for the Green Bay Packers last year. Both the offense and defense were solid last season, and both return most of their contributors. If it weren't for the coaching change, they could be the favorite in the Atlantic. Even with the regime change, the Eagles will make it to a bowl game.


Maryland found a way to win nine games last season, but are unlikely to match that number again this season. They had a five game winning streak with all of the games decided by six points or less. Maryland actually scored the same amount as their opponents (284 points), so they overachieved by going 9-4. They will probably be much closer to .500 this season, especially with non-conference games against Rutgers and West Virginia. Gone is QB Sam Hollenbach, and replacing his is sophomore Josh Portis, a Florida transfer who didn't play last season. The Terrapins probably miss the bowl season this year.


Wake Forest is doubtful to repeat as ACC Champions again this season. The Atlantic division is the hardest in the country to predict, so Wake Forest could finish last or could win it again. All six teams are very close to each other. The defense was one of the best in the conference, but it loses most of its starters. The offense returns most of its starters, but does lose its top two receivers. They went 5-0 in close games, which is unlikely to happen again. The Demon Deacons may not make it to a bowl game the year after they went to a BCS Bowl.



Coastal

Georgia Tech has a great chance to win the ACC this year and is a dark-horse National Championship contender. The offense does lose WR Calvin Johnson, who was arguably the best player in college football last year. QB Taylor Bennett showed a lot of promise in the Gator Bowl, and now he has to prove his consistency as the starter. RB Tashard Choice, a transfer from Oklahoma, should have another great season in his senior year. As long as they can win the opener against Notre Dame in South Bend, the rest of the schedule works out nicely. They play Virginia Tech at home after a bye week, and they also get Boston College, Clemson and Georgia at home. The Yellow Jackets have great chance to win the Coastal division and possibly even go undefeated too.


Virginia Tech should be one of the best teams in the country, led by the best defense in the country. The defense shut out four opponents last year and only gave up an average of 11 points per game. The defense will be led by two of the best linebackers in the conference in Vince Hall and Xavier Adibi. The offense will focus on running the ball and controlling the clock, and it possible that RB Branden Ore will generate some Heisman buzz during the season. The schedule include three tough road games at LSU, Clemson and Georgia Tech. The game with LSU is potentially the best non-conference game this season. If the Hokies can win at Georgia Tech, they should win the Coastal division.


Miami is an interesting team to watch with a new coach. Larry Coker was let go before the end of the regular season, and DC Randy Shannon takes his job. Patrick Nix becomes the new OC, as he was previously the OC at Georgia Tech. The offense struggled through most of last season, but should be improved under Nix. The defense is annually one of the best in the country. The schedule includes two intriguing non-conference games against Big 12 opponents Oklahoma and Texas A&M. Other than Georgia Tech, the tougher conference games are on the road. During a transition year, the Hurricanes won't improve much on last year's record.


Virginia has the potential to be a sleeper in the ACC, but will have to improve greatly on offense to do so. The offense barely averaged more than 15 points per game and has to replace their leading rusher. The defense was really strong last year, giving up under 18 points and 300 yards per game. The defense also returns 10 starters, so they should be even better this season. If the offense is able to put up more points, then the Cavaliers should make it back to the postseason and might even be a contender in the Coastal.


North Carolina made a big splash at the end of last season when they hired Butch Davis. He put together a great recruiting class before he has even coached a game. He should bring this team back to a contender, but not a whole lot of improvement will be seen this year. This team is very young, plus Davis will probably play many of his own recruits. North Carolina should improve as the season goes along, and it would not be surprising if they are able to pull off a couple of upsets this year. It is too soon to think about bowl eligibility, but the Tar Heels are moving in the right direction.


Duke was winless last year and were actually shut out by D1-AA Richmond in the opener. They were shut out in three of the first four games. Of the 12 losses last year, only three of them were close. The offense does return all 11 starters, but there were the starters that scored less than 15 points per game last year. The defense loses a lot of contributors, so this team probably won't surprise anyone. The Blue Devils will be lucky to win a game again this year.