In what was a down year for the ACC, the conference is looking to rebound in a big way. If FSU and Miami can get going again, this is bound to be a good year for the ACC. Will the middle-of-the-pack teams in Virginia, NC State, and North Carolina come back? All that and more in the Bring the Blitz ACC preview.
5 Burning ACC Questions:
1. What’s the deal with the FSU QB situation?
The Answer: Drew Weatherford will be the starter.
Analysis: That’s right, he was named the starter just a few days ago. From what it sounds like, Jimbo Fisher, the new offensive coordinator, really isn’t pleased with what’s been going on in camp. He may have just been trying to light a fire under Lee’s and Weatherford’s butt by addressing the media about Christian Ponder, but it’s Drew Weatherford’s job to lose. FSU right now doesn’t need an all-world QB to win 8 or 9 games. They just need someone who is efficient enough to get the job done. The Noles staff is hoping that Drew will be that guy.
2. Keeping with the QB theme, will Willy Korn be the starter for Clemson?
The Answer: Not now.
Analysis: There’s probably a good chance of him becoming the starter later in the year if things don’t go according to plan, but right now, Cullen Harper is the guy. Harper is a decent sized passer at 6-4, 215 pounds, but he doesn’t have an abundance of experience. It won’t matter though because he will wind up producing more than Will Proctor did in 2006.
3. Can Wake Forest keep it going?
The Answer: Yes.
Analysis: Even though they needed some breaks last season to win the ACC, they had to have been one of the best coached teams in the league last year. The offensive line was also key to their offense. They won’t compete for the ACC again with the rear-end of the conference about to get better while FSU reemerges from the doldrums of mediocrity. But they can certainly compete for a solid bowl slot.
4. Is “The U” going to rebound like they should?
Answer: Pretty much.
Analysis: While the offense will continue to be somewhat lousy, it can still get better. The WRs aren’t really there for the Hurricanes and the two-headed QB spot with Kirby Freeman/Kyle Wright isn’t necessarily a coach’s dream. But the running game should be solid and Randy Shannon will come up with some offensive answers. They were really bad offensively so don’t expect a repeat performance. The defense, led by Calais Campbell is outstanding, and with Shannon at the helm it should get even better. They’ve got a great shot to go 9-3.
5. Is North Carolina capable of playing for a bowl game with Butch Davis as the new head coach?
Answer: Nope.
Analysis: The guy’s a great coach, but don’t expect wonders from this UNC squad. Right now, the QB spot is a mystery and T.J. Yates could be the starter at some point this year. They don’t have nearly enough pieces in place right now. The Tar Heel defense gets four players back and they lack overall depth. The secondary situation is a quandary, so no; they won’t be in the hunt for a bowl game.
BTB All-ACC Team:
QB: Matt Ryan (Boston College)
RB: James Davis (Clemson)
RB: Tashard Choice (Georgia Tech)
WR: Darrius Heyward-Bey (Maryland)
WR: Greg Carr (Florida State)
TE: Tom Santi (Virginia)
OT: Duane Brown (Virginia Tech)
OG: Andrew Crummey (Maryland)
C: Steve Justice (Wake Forest)
OG: Branden Albert (Virginia)
OT: Barry Richardson (Clemson)
DE: Calais Campbell (Miami)
DT: Andre Fluellen (Florida State)
DT: Demario Pressley (NC State)
DE: Chris Long (Virginia)
LB: Xavier Adibi (Virginia Tech)
LB: Vince Hall (Virginia Tech)
LB: Phillip Wheeler (Georgia Tech)
CB: DeJuan Tribble (Boston College)
S: Kenny Phillips (Miami)
S: Jamal Lewis (Georgia Tech)
CB: Brandon Flowers (Virginia Tech)
K: Connor Barth (North Carolina)
P: Sam Swank (Wake Forest)
5 Potential Statement Games (in no particular order):
1. Nov. 24, Clemson @ South Carolina
There’s always the ACC/SEC flavor to these kinds of matchups and not to mention it’s a rivalry game for the Palmetto State. Last year, during that final week of the regular season, the SEC swept their ACC rivals (South Carolina, Florida, Georgia). It would be a big statement for Clemson to win this game if South Carolina goes where I happen to think they will (more on that later this week).
2. Sept. 15, Duke @ Northwestern
So what? Big deal. This game doesn’t make a blip on the give-a-ripometer. Actually, this could be very important to a young, but experienced, Duke group. Duke has some players, believe it or not, even though they haven’t strung together a few wins against FBS opponents in quite some time. The Blue Devils get their entire two-deep offense back, so expect instant improvement. Duke will get better, they might not have many wins to show for it, but they will. They’re capable of giving Northwestern a battle and making some other ACC powers sweat.
3. Sept. 29, Florida State vs. Alabama
A very interesting game on hand in Jacksonville. The Noles are bound to improve from last year’s disaster of a season while the same amount of optimism is shared by the Alabama crowd. Again, we’ve got an ACC/SEC matchup with very important implications. FSU will need for that QB situation to work itself out and Alabama should have their feet wet defensively. The Crimson Tide are capable of having a big year and while the same can be said for Florida State, winning this game will be big for whichever program does so.
4. Sept. 29, Maryland @ Rutgers
Everybody’s Big East darling last year, Rutgers should have that bulls-eye firmly planted on their back. Maryland will certainly be gunning for the Scarlet Knights and while they may care more about the West Virginia game, winning this game is more likely meaning they have a better shot to make some waves.
5. Sept. 8, Miami @ Oklahoma
For both programs, this game is gigantic. It should be all the talk the week before the matchup, two perennial powerhouse titans colliding head to head in Norman. Miami could use this road win big time to show once and for all that the Shannon era has taken liftoff. In order to do that, they’ll need to be able to throw against a talented Sooner secondary and the defense needs to be ready to take out DeMarco Murray and Allen Patrick. Should be an interesting battle on primetime TV.
Take These to the Bank (at your own risk!):
1. Maryland won’t live up to expectations.
Maryland had to have been one of the luckiest teams in the nation skating past Florida International, Virginia, NC State, Florida State, Clemson, and Miami while getting a battle from William & Mary and Middle Tennessee State. Maryland won by a margin of 6.78 points compared to Wake Forest’s 11.73 margin of victory. And they call Wake Forest lucky? The Terps also got clobbered by Wake Forest and Boston College. They took “momentum” into this season by defeating Purdue, and don’t get me started on the Boilermakers of 2006. There’s just really nothing special about this team ranking 88th in total offense and 84th in total defense. They should be bowling, but they won’t be in the hunt for the division title at the end of the year.
2. The U will find their swagger.
When’s the last time we’ve seen Miami play without that? I don’t think I ever have. The Hurricanes, now under the leadership of former defensive coordinator Randy Shannon, should take the ACC by storm (pardon the pun). He played at Miami, of course, so he is familiar with the situation. He’ll bring a renewed sense of zest and vigor compared to what Larry Coker, who’ll now be in the booth for ESPNU, once did. Shannon’s hiring will cure what ailed Miami.
3. NC State will be mediocre, but at least they’ll be more disciplined.
NC State was rebuilding and Chuck Amato picked a bad time to be on the hot seat. Let’s not forget, the Wolf Pack have a decent amount of talent, it was just really raw last year. But they should hover around that 5-7 range. Tom O’Brien will bring his stuff to the table and they’ll eventually buy into what he has to say. He’ll lay the groundwork for bigger things to come bringing his above-averageness to Raleigh. And the good news is, what if there was a ceiling at Boston College? We all know where BC football ranks on the town’s list of fandom (about dead last). Maybe O’Brien did all he could there and maybe he can take NC State higher. Who knows. One thing people don’t know about NC State though is the QB situation. That should hold them back from bowling, but watch out for these guys next season.
4. Georgia Tech won’t do as well as they did last season.
They still have their O-line in tact and they still have Tashard Choice and they have a QB that can throw now. But will it be enough to get back to the ACC title game? Probably not. John Tenuta is a great defensive coordinator, but Georgia Tech just wasn’t that great last year. They took advantage of a weakened ACC and the rest of the conference should get back up to speed. They’ll be in the mix, but they won’t make it to the championship game. CB is one of the issues on the team, they’ll need to find someone if they are to prove me wrong.
5. Virginia Tech is the obvious favorite, and rightfully so.
Probably the only team in the conference that has a shot to go to New Orleans, VT is absolutely loaded on defense with Vince Hall and Xavier Adibi at LB. The Hokies have the most talented defense in the country, I’d take their’s over USC’s. We all know how Beamer Ball operates and it should be up to its usual stuff. The biggest issue on this team is at QB, obviously, where Sean Glennon is holding them back just enough from being a national title contender. He’ll have to take care of the football and at least be average if they want to win the ACC. They also kind of get it by default because Maryland was a bit lucky, Wake Forest should take a step back considering some losses on defense and the ACC’s catching up, FSU and Miami don’t have any answers at QB, and Georgia Tech just probably won’t be as good as Virginia Tech. Boston College should win the other division, but they lack the team speed overall and they don’t matchup well offense-on-defense to Virginia Tech.
Projected ACC Standings (including tiebreakers):
Atlantic
1. Boston College (5-3)
2. Florida State (5-3)
3. Clemson (4-4)
4. Maryland (3-5)
4. NC State (3-5)
4. Wake (3-5)
Coastal
1. Virginia Tech (7-1)
2. Miami (6-2)
3. Virginia (4-4)
4. Georgia Tech (4-4)
5. North Carolina (3-5)
6. Duke (1*-7)
Eric also writes for the blog, Saturday Sound Offs.
*for those of you wondering where the heck that came from, I’ve got Duke in a stunner against Wake Forest. Even if that prediction isn’t right, Duke should have enough coming back on offense to pull off one shocker against an unexpected victim who takes them far too lightly looking ahead to next week, sort of like what Clemson did in 2004. If I look like an absolute moron at the end of the year, I'll call myself out on it.
