As July continues to move slower than molasses, it’s time to embark on a conference by conference preview of the upcoming college football season.  Teams are beginning to start summer workouts, and players are trying to crack that 2-deep chart.  Don’t get me wrong, a lot can change between now and September; players could get injured, have academic problems, or even have run-ins with the law (plenty of those to go around…..COUufGH!).  My point being, that this is more like a “throw it on the wall, see what sticks” preview of the conferences.  Right before the season, you’ll get my predictions on various components of the upcoming season, now you’ll get some nuggets to chew on to hold you over ’til then.  Our first conference to be examined, the ACC, a traditional basketball conference that has made several moves to bolster it’s football prowess.

Where they stood

Back in 2003, when Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College were added to the conference, it was to improve the conference’s football product.  What has actually happened is those three schools have improved at Basketball more than the conference has improved in football.  Traditional powerhouse Miami came in and has become irrelevant since, along with FSU fading (the two “columns of football stability”) has hurt the conference badly.  Those two need to be in college football’s elite for the conference to earn respect.  Virginia Tech and BC have been consistent winners, but haven’t been a national threat.  Up to this point, it has been a super competitive conference due to the fact that a majority of the teams are mediocre.

Where they stand

The conference has improved yearly over the last few years, and there should be more improvement this year as well.  A lot of the impact players in the conference have been young and are starting to grow up.  The new coaches over the past three years (Davis – UNC, Johnson – GT, Shannon – UM, Swinney – Clemson, Spaziani - BC, Cutcliffe – Duke) have already shown some signs of impact and should show plenty more this year.  This conference is slowly making its way to national prominance and by the end of the season should be in the shelf just below elite (that’s next year, sorry).

Team by Team Breakdown

Boston College – This team has lost a lot over the past couple years.  Two solid head coaches, a future NFL star (hardly “future”), and a 5th year senior QB.  There are a lot of questionmarks around this team.  They have some talent in the trenches which will help transition the new skill players, but overall this will be a down year for them.  Prediction: 5-7 wins*

Clemson – This team returns a lot of players with experience, but it also lost a lot of impact players.  It boasts probably the best running back in the conference in CJ Spiller and will rely on him heavily to shoulder much of the offense.  Willy Korn should be the starting QB and should manage the game well, due to the steady running game, but in the end, this team will have some bumps along the way.  It will take new coach Dabo Swinney time to restructure the program they way he envisions it.  Prediction: 6-8 wins.

Duke – The Blue Devils came on the scene with some firepower this past season, thanks to new coach David Cutcliffe.  Veteran QB Thaddeus Lewis showed signs of being a great leader and the team showed considerable progress.  Still, this team has a lot of ground to make up before it is considered a conference contender.  They will show some more improvement this year, but there best years are still far ahead of them (or far behind them, thanks to the ‘ole ball coach).  Prediction: 4-5 wins.

Florida State – This team is probably the biggets question mark in the conference.  They have talent, they have a growing QB, and they have a veteran coach.  They also have an ongoing battle with the NCAA over academic scandals, they have had a hefty amount of arrests since the season ended, and a couple key players have been kicked off the team.  A lot of outlets pick them in the top 25, but can they put all the distractions aside and win games.  Personally, I think it won’t be a huge distraction for the players and I think they make a lot of noise on their way to the ACC championship game.  Prediction 8-10 wins.

Georgia Tech – Now starts year two of the triple option offense Paul Johnson has put in place at GTech.  Now, in a conference that has a lot of prostyle offenses being run, I have always said that gimmick/unorthodox offenses do great at the beginning, then fade away as time passes.  I feel no different about this team.  This running attack is what it is….one dimensional, and towards the end of this season I expect the start of teams learning to contain against it.  Georgia Tech will be very good this year, but fade towards the end of the year.  Now I don’t think they won’t be able to be successful running this offense for a long time, I just don’t think they can be a national powerhouse running it. Prediction: 7-9 wins.

Maryland - This is another team with some question marks.  They have another top running back in the conference in Da’Rel Scott, a bruising runner who can give you 25+ carries a game.  They have lacked consistent quarterback play for years, so they will need improvement there.  Coach Friedgen’s weight loss has been an emotional boost for his players.  I expect some early success to come from this, but nothing sustainable.  This team is average, not amazing.  Prediction: 5-7 wins.

Miami – Now, read carefully, some bias may surface.  This team is oozing with talent.  Problem is, not much of the potential has been reached.  Combine that with probably the worst possible openning schedule and you get a chance of having a horrific season.  UM solved the QB issue, they solved the coordinator issue, now they just have to produce on the field.  I expect more steady development this year, and based on the schedule, there should be a very stong finish to the season.  Prediction: 8-9 wins.

North Carolina - This is another team with some question marks around it.  They have talent, they return a ball hawking defense, they have a veteran qb and a coach that knows how to build dynasties.  Now its time to put it together.  The christmas gift of a receiving core that former head coach John Bunting left Butch Davis are all in the NFL now, and its time for the young recruits to grow up.  This team should show improvement, and not be as erratic as the previous two years.  Based on the talent loss, I don’t expect much vertical movement from UNC, not until next year.  Prediction: 7-8 wins.

NC State – The Wolfpack boasts one of the hottest young qb’s in the conference.  Russell Wilson is a stud, and should help NC State maintain a balance run/pass threat all season.  This team should pick up right where it left off and continue to progress as the season goes on.  This will be the number one obstacle that FSU has to making the ACC championship game (the Atlantic Division has no other real contenders this year). I see them coming up short and finishing second.  Prediction: 7-9 wins.

Virginia – This team has lost a lot of talent and was already not that good last year anyways.  They had some midseason success, but couldn’t contain it, and got walloped by perenial bottom feeder – Duke.  This team is in disarray right now and has to rebuild.  Al Groh should not be judged by the team that is fielded this season.  It is one of those bad timing years, where everything will seem to go wrong.  Prediction: 2-4 wins.

Virginia Tech – The reigning ACC Champs and Orange Bowl winners will take the field with Tyrod Taylor as the full fledged starting QB (no “redshirt….wait don’t redshirt” debacles this year).  This team is opportunistic on defense, and has a strong running game on offense.  Look for Beamerball to play clock management and force lots of turnovers.  They will be just as good as last year.  Prediction: 8-10 wins.

Wake Forest – This team has lost some steam as QB Riley Skinner has aged, and now it appears the starting QB has even fewer complimentary players.  He is the leader of this team with not much talent to hand the ball off to or pass to.  That spells trouble for Wake.  Jim Grobe is a heck of a coach and will win some games just from game planning, but that won’t be enough to sustain victories in Winston Salem.  Look for Wake to take a step back this year, as it tries to rebuild and reload.  Prediction – 5-7 wins.

All in all, this conference will be as competitive as last year but still lack that team that can run with the Florida’s, Oklahoma’s and Southern Cal’s of the world.  The two florida powers in the conference will show more this year why the acc championship will go through them every year after this one as they will re-establish their prowess as the year goes on.  This conference is still a little bit away from being considered elite though.

Conference Standings:

Atlantic (1st-last): FSU, NC State, Clemson, Wake Forest, Maryland, BC

Coastal (1st-last): VTech, Miami, GTech, UNC, Duke, Virginia

ACC Championship Game Prediction: Virginia Tech beats Florida State

* – note, 5-7 is not a record, its the range of wins I think they are capable of.

Related posts:

1. College Football Preview: Big East
2. College Football Preview: Big Twelve
3. College Football Preview: Big Ten
4. College Football Preview: Pac Ten
5. College Football Preview: SEC