Atlantic
1. Florida State
Florida
State lost a lot of NFL players on defense but Jimbo Fisher and reigning
Heisman trophy winner Jameis Winston have enough to make another run at the ACC
title. If they can get through Oklahoma State in Week 1 and Clemson in Week 3,
Florida State will establish enough momentum to win out the remainder of their
games.
2. Clemson
Like
the Noles, the Clemson Tigers will also have to deal with losing significant
talent to the NFL. Gone is star quarterback Tahj Boyd and wide-outs Sammy
Watkins and Martavious Bryant so Clemson will have to find a way to replace
that production quickly. Clemson’s first four games consist of playing
@Georgia, home against South Carolina State, @Florida State, and home against
North Carolina. If Clemson goes through any kind of growing pains, they could
enter October 1-4 and 0-2 in conference play.
3. Louisville
With
the return of Bobby Petrino, Louisville should not have a problem dealing with
the loss of Charlie Strong to Texas. Now replacing Teddy Bridgewater is a much
larger issue. But Louisivlle is expected to have one of the best offenses in
the conference so they should be able to outscore many of their ACC opponents.
4. Syracuse
Syracuse
is slowly becoming the Georgia Tech of the Atlantic conference. Each and every
year they seem to flirt with 7-8 wins and an above .500 record in the
conference. Experienced quarterback play of Terrel Hunt has Orange fans
believing they can aim a little bit higher.
5. NC State
The
bottom half of the Atlantic division is poorest at best. NC State has not had a
true identity in what seems like 10 years. Expect another below .500 season
6. Boston College
Boston
College outperformed all expectations last year. Andre Williams rushing for
over 1,000…miles, was the biggest reason why. He’s gone now, so are any bowl
hopes for the Eagles.
7. Wake Forest
How
come whenever I see Wake Forest I just think of Tim Duncan? Oh it’s because
their football program is lousy.
Coastal
1. North Carolina
With
all of the excitement that Jameis Winston created a season ago, one would be
justified in overlooking what Marquise Williams did just one year ago. UNC
opened their season 1-5 when Williams took over the ACC with his dual-threat
ability. Now the junior, accompanied with big play threats like Quinshad Davis
and Ryan Switzer, North Carolina may have the most dynamic offense in the ACC. This
may be this years version of Clemson from a year ago. While many point to the
defense as being problematic, UNC was able to improve their ppg from a year ago
by more than 10 points a game. If they can take one more step forward, Florida
State may have some trouble in the ACC title game
2. Duke
Duke
was last year’s Cinderella story, pulling off upset after upset on their way to
the ACC title game. For the first time, Duke has something to look forward to
before the month of November and some lofty expectations to go along with it.
Duke is no longer trying to be competitive but trying to sustain themselves as
contenders. Anthony Boone returns for his senior season and his Blue Devils
will fly as far as he can go. Expect the Thursday night matchup on November 20th
to decide the division.
3. Miami
It
seems every year Miami has lofty expectations and each year something goes
array. With Virginia Tech seemingly eroding from contention year by year, it
would be logical to assume that Miami would take its place as the lead
contender in the Coastal. But star running back Duke Johnson is returning from
injury and they plan to start redshirt freshman Kevin Olsen after Ryan Williams
tore his ACL this spring. With only 14 returning starters, Miami has a lot of
holes to fill. It appears once again, the stars have not aligned for the
Hurricanes.
4. Georgia Tech
Georgia
Tech has .500 winning percentage over the past 19 seasons. So a middle of the
pack prediction is pretty evident. They do have a rough October slate playing
Miami and Duke in back to back home games before having to travel to North
Carolina and Pittsburgh. But if they can split those games Georgia Tech will be
heading to another bowl game.
5. Virginia Tech
The
Hokies are falling out of style faster than converse sneakers (which do not
look good anymore, on either guys or girls). Virginia Tech will take another
step backwards this year.
6. Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh
has weapons and first year head coach Paul Chryst took advantage of that by
getting the Panthers first winning record since 2010. But the three of the
Panthers wins from 2013 came against Syracuse, Notre Dame, Duke, which was more
of playing them at the right place and at the right time. This year I doubt
Pittsburgh will have the same luck so even though those 7 wins from a year ago
was nice, I doubt things will be as pleasant in Pittsburgh this year.
7. Virginia
You
would think one of these years in Charlottesville, Virginia, Mike London would
be able to have his prize recruits turn out a prized year. But year after year
Virginia disappoints. Welcome to another year.
Games to Watch
1)
Florida State vs. Clemson, September 20th
These two have been the giants of the conference for the past few years.
Another epic matchup is to be expected
2)
North Carolina vs. Duke, November 20th
This game should decide the Coastal division. Who would of thought we
would see the day where UNC/Duke football would have higher expectations than
UNC/Duke basketball?
3)
Virginia Tech vs. Miami, October 23rd
If both of these former powerhouses can resurrect their programs, this
game will have large implications.
ACC Championship: Florida State vs. North Carolina
This
would be a highly entertaining contest given the offensive capabilities of both
teams. Florida State would be the heavy favorites going into this game, but if
Florida State is unable to replenish a depleted defense, UNC could keep the
firefight going into the 4th quarter and possibly beyond. In the end
Florida State’s experience will be too much and Florida State should earn a
spot in the Final Four.
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