ACC Conference Preview

The expansion of the ACC was looked at with an awkward eye by many because of the dominance that FSU and Miami had shown for the 20 or so years leading up to 2004. People thought most years it would be a two horse race but the ACC has turned more enigmatic than that. Last years champion was usually bottom feeder Wake Forest and that forced a slew of coaching changes to be made. New coach’s at Miami, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Boston College, and three of the hotter seats in the country this year belong to Al Groh at Virginia, Tommy Bowden at Clemson and Ralph Friedgen at Maryland.

ATLANTIC DIVISION
In the Atlantic Division the Florida State Seminoles are beginning to show some signs of being back amongst the elite teams in the country. They have an experienced QB in Drew Weatherford and a brand new offensive coaching staff, including Jimbo Fisher one of the best coordinators in the business. They still have a stifling defense returning seven starters off of last years team that yielded only 90 rushing yards per game. Two sophomores could become big stars this season. End Everrett Brown will be the lead pass rusher and Rover Myron Rolle could emerge as the most dominating defensive back in the country, think Troy Palamalu. The Noles have a hard September going on the road to play Colorado and Clemson and home contests with UAB and Alabama should provide an early test to have them prepared for the conference season.


New coach Jeff Jagodzinski inherits a supremely talented Boston College Eagles squad. He has 16 returning starters off of a 10-3 squad last season, including the best QB in the ACC Matt Ryan, leading rusher LV Whitworth, leading receiver Kevin Challenger, most of their depth on the front seven. They will miss the playmaking ability of Senior Linebacker Brian Toal who will red-shirt this season after off seasons shoulder surgery. Matt Ryan is tough as nails and is a proven leader. Even without Toal the defense will still be among the nation’s elite. Kevin Akins can rush the passer from the outside and CB DeJuan Tribble is a shut down corner. Ryan is adjusting to Coach Jagodszinski’s west coast NFL style playbook and the offense may be a little rusty especially opening up with three consecutive ACC games, Wake Forest, NC State and at Georgia Tech. The Eagles will have to win at least one of their ACC road games and the most likely candidate is at Byrd Stadium in College Park, if they can do that they can challenge Florida State for Atlantic Division supremacy.


Tommy Bowden is feeling the heat literally and figuratively (12 days of camp had over 100 degree temperatures) these days up in Death Valley. The Clemson Tigers only return 10 starters total but they have a good mix of players who have experience especially on defense. They return their line backing core and both junior safeties, Michael Hamlin & Chris Clemons, who are solid playmakers. Offensively there are more questions especially at the QB position where the two guys competing for time have thrown a total of 20 balls in college football. However those QB’s have a variety of weapons at their disposal. Junior Tailback James Davis is among the nation’s best, receivers Aaron Kelly and Rendrick Taylor have experience on the big stage. Then Clemson may have one of the best tandem of homerun threats with halfback CJ Spiller and speedy wideout Jacoby Ford; any time either one of these guys touch’s the ball there is electricity in the air. Tommy Bowden usually does a great job when his back is against the wall (he is college footballs Wayne Fonts, Rasputin if you will) and this season he is certainly on the hot seat after failing to meet expectations the last two seasons. Last season also ended with a disappointing home loss to rival South Carolina and then getting beat down but traditional cellar dweller Kentucky in the Music City Bowl. The schedule sets up for the Tigers with all their tough contests coming to Death Valley; Florida State, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, and Boston College.


Defending champion Wake Forest Demon Deacons returns a slew of starter off of last year’s squad. Included in that bunch are QB Riley Skinner and playmaking wideout Kenneth Moore. Offensively Wake looks to be improved with a healthy Micah Andrews, who was supposed to be their starter last season. Defensively they lost most of their secondary and their pass defense was soft. They struggle to put pressure on the quarterback and with two new corners that could pose some problems. Last year everything bounced the Deacons way, how else do you explain winning the ACC even while losing to conference home games? The schedule is more difficult and the conference improved, it will be tough for the Demon Deacons to repeat.


Just outside the nations capital the Maryland Terrapins are trying to capitalize on last season 9 win campaign. After the loss two year starter Sam Hollenbach Coach Friedgen will have to look to inexperienced veteran Jordan Steffey to lead the Terps. Luckily he has some weapons including tailbacks Lance Ball & Keon Lattimore and star wideout Darrius Heyward-Bey. The offense may sputter though because new QB’s have trouble with Friedgens complicated offense. On defense the Terrapins return all four linemen and Will linebacker Erin Henderson. The only problem is that last year’s defense stunk, so returning starters don’t excite me.


New Coach Tom O’Brien has walked into a complete disaster, luckily he knows this and there are low expectations for this season. The best thing O’Brien did for the NC State Wolfpack was bring in defensive coordinator Mike Archer from Kentucky to try and stop people from running up the score on the Wolfpack. Archer will institute a bend but don’t break defense mainly because he has a top quality returning safety in Miguel Scott and a solid defensive line. Senior tackle Demario Pressley can get to the QB and Sophomore Willie Young is looking to follow in the footsteps of Manny Lawson and Mario Williams. Archer’s unit will need to be stellar because between the starting QB and top returners at RB and WR the Wolfpack bring back 12 total TD’s from last season. Don’t worry Raleigh; at least you don’t have Chucky the Chest anymore.


COASTAL DIVISION
Frank Beamer is about the only guy that doesn’t have to worry about having anyone named Vick around. This season the Virginia Tech Hokies are poised for another run at a national title. Defensively they are among the best in the country. The have the best defensive backfield maybe in the last 20 or so years in college football. Linebackers Vince Hall and Xavier Adibi wreak havoc all over the field and behind them are two shut down corners in Brandon Flowers and Macho Harris and safety DJ Parker is a 3 year starter. On the line they have three returning starters and 4 seniors who will be in the rotation. On offense QB Sean Glennon continues to impress with his decision making. He has a variety of weapons to choose from, with returning tailback Brandon Ore who scored 16 touchdowns last season and senior wideouts Josh Morgan and Eddie Royal. The Hokies have a tough early road game down on the Bayou but in conference only really have one challenging road game at Georgia Tech; this team has a chance to go undefeated.


Chan Gailey's Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets would seem to be weakened through the loses of All American Calvin Johnson and four year starter Reggie Ball, but that might not be the case. Offensively they have 4 returning lineman, the best fullback in the conference in Mike Cox, tailback Tashard Choice who led the ACC in rushing last season, and WR James Johnson who caught 39 balls and 7 TD's last year along side Calvin Johnson. Junior signal caller Taylor Bennett had a solid spring in Gailey's offense and redshirt FR Demaryius Thomas has Calvin Johnson type talent. Defensively they have to become stronger up the middle and with returning MLB Phillip Wheeler and SS Jamal Lewis, a top flight NFL prospect, they should be. The defense has some more depth this year and if they can play consistent they will win games because the offense has a chance to put points on the board. They couldn't ask for more from the schedule as they get Virginia Tech and Boston College in Atlanta.


Down in the hills of central Virginia Coach Al Groh has reason to be smiling. The Virginia Cavaliers return a ton of talent from last seasons 5-7 campaign (4-4 ACC), a total of 18 starters. Offensively QB Jameel Sewell will be the key along with the offensive line that bring back all 5 starters. Together they are growing as a unit and they have a talented trio of running backs with Cedric Peerman and redshirt freshman Keith Payne and Raynard Horne. The offense won’t have to be spectacular because the defense was top 20 in the country last season and this season is no reason to think otherwise. At the ends Chris Long and Jeffrey Fitzgerald may be the best tandem in the country. Al Groh's 3-4 scheme causes confusion and Inside Linebackers Jon Cooper and Antonio Appleby are the main reason for that. The need to find consistent coverage on the outside but the defense will keep them in enough games and they can pull of some upsets and maybe challenge Georgia Tech for 2nd place.


Here is my crazy pick but I think Butch Davis is going to start the turnaround for the North Carolina Tar Heels real fast. I believe Davis is itching to start winning again after his disaster in Cleveland and lord knows the Tar Heels can't win soon enough, and he has started that culture change early in his time on campus. Davis hit the recruiting trail hard and with plenty of positions open he could start up to 8 true or redshirt freshman. Redshirt freshman TJ Yates has won the QB job and sophomore Richie Rich won the job at tailback, but freshmen Anthony Elzy and Johnny White will get plenty of carries. Yates has plenty of receivers to throw too including Hakeem Nicks and Joe Daily both of whom had productive 06 campaigns. The defense maybe a little bit of a concern especially on the line where starting positions are up in the air. The secondary could cause a bevy of turnovers with the return of Trimane Goddard and young brash corners Jermaine Strong and Kendric Burney. Look for the Heels to be the spoiler for some people.


This isn't your fathers Miami Hurricanes anymore. Longtime Defensive Coordinator Randy Shannon has taken over as head coach and I don't know what good that will do. Miami has had discipline and behavior issues and with Shannon it won't be much different. Also the talent is there like it has been. Junior Kirby Freeman has just beat out incumbent QB Kyle Wright. Freeman went 2-2 down the stretch last year but still has more INT’s than TD’s in his career, luckily he will be behind a veteran offensive line, but the wins may be hard to come by. Tailback Javarris James is solid and receivers Lance Leggett and Darnell Jackson are steady but not spectacular. On the other side of the ball the Hurricanes do have a bonified star in Calais Campbell at defensive end and returning MLB Glenn Cook is solid. The secondary was weak least season but returns all four starters. The Hurricanes have a brutal schedule going to Oklahoma, Florida State, Virginia Tech and Boston College.


Duke......ha ha. I am actually not going to waste anyone’s time. Okay I will do a quick breakdown for the Duke Blue Devils. Their leading rusher last season had 388 total yards. As a team they averaged less than 3 yard per carry. They lost their only quality defensive player cornerback John Talley. The return a kicker who made 3-10 field goals last year and missed 5 PAT's. Never mind all of that, think about this, they play at Virginia, Navy, Miami, Florida State, Notre Dame, and North Carolina.


Finally the ACC gets a title game they can sink their teeth into, Virginia Tech vs. Florida State. Two strong defenses and solid offense’s, I would take the Hokies in a close one because of special teams which always seem to push the Hokies over the top.
The expansion of the ACC was looked at with an awkward eye by