Rocket City Report: 2010 ACC Preview

The Favorite (Atlantic): Jimbo Fisher takes over at Florida State for long time head coach Bobby Bowden. Although he's replacing a legend, his teams might immediately be better. The offense should be strong again led by a healthy QB Christian Ponder. The defense could be better with an improvement at the defensive coordinator position. The schedule is brutal with non-conference games against Oklahoma, BYU and Florida and Coastal games against Miami and North Carolina.

The Favorite (Coastal): Virginia Tech looks like the class of the ACC and has the potential of a huge season. The offense should be explosive with two great running backs splitting carries and dual-threat Tyrod Taylor at quarterback. There are some big losses on defense, but Frank Beamer's team always seem to be able to reload on defense. Virginia Tech participates in arguably the best non-conference game this season when they play Boise State in FedEx Field on Labor Day. The Hokies play in the more loaded Coastal division, but they do miss Florida State and Clemson from the Atlantic division.

The Challenger (Atlantic): Clemson should be close to Florida State at the top of the Atlantic standings. I'm concerned about how effective the offense will be this season with the loss of home run hitters C.J. Spiller and Jacoby Ford. Clemson has to travel to Florida State and they draw three of the contenders from the Coastal division, which helps put Florida State a little ahead of Clemson. The Tigers also have good non-conference games against Auburn and South Carolina.

The Challenger (Coastal): North Carolina was primed for a breakout season under Butch Davis, but then the NCAA starting checking into the Tar Heels. It's unknown how many of the players will be suspended and for how long. Still this is a very talented team and should be one of four contenders in a deep Coastal division. North Carolina opens the season against LSU in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff game in Atlanta. They draw Florida State and Clemson from the Atlantic, which makes their schedule tougher than Virginia Tech's slate.

The Sleeper: Since I think half of the conference will contend for the ACC title, it's hard to pick a sleeper. I'm going to go with Boston College, who was better last year than I expected. They have a favorable schedule that could lead to an Atlantic title. They host both contenders Florida State and Clemson, and they get an easier draw from the Coastal. They get Virginia Tech at home after a bye, and they get the two non-contenders Duke and Virginia.

The Letdown: Tom O'Brien had great success at Boston College, but he is toiling in mediocrity at NC State. Last year's 5-7 record might not look too bad on the surface, but look deeper. First they played two FCS teams and they only beat 2-10 Maryland by a touchdown. The wins versus North Carolina and Pitt were good but close. Those good wins are completely negated by a 21-point loss to Duke at home. I don't see anything to think they are going to improve that much this season, and O'Brien will be on the hot seat by the end of the season.

Conference Players of the Year: There are a lot of individual players I like in the ACC: Jacory Harris, Josh Nesbitt, Christian Ponder, Russell Wilson, and the three-headed monster in Virginia Tech's backfield. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Christian Ponder greatly improves his senior year and gets my vote.

I Wrote What?: In last year's preview, I called NC State the Sleeper and Boston College the Letdown. I should have switched them around.

Non-Conference Games to Watch:
* Boise State vs Virginia Tech at Landover, MD, Sept 6 - Not that it will happen, but the winner of this game should be ranked #1 in the Week 2 Polls.
* LSU vs North Carolina at Atlanta, Sept 4 - How many players will North Carolina be forced to sit for this game?
* Miami at Ohio State, Sept 11 - Texas and USC have beaten the Buckeyes at the Horseshoe recently. We'll see if Miami can do the same.
* Florida State at Oklahoma, Sept 11 - If Florida State can win here, it would be the beginning of a huge season.
* Clemson at Auburn, Sept 18 - Although these two schools have played each other 46 times, they haven't met in the regular season since 1971.

Projected Standings:
Atlantic: