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Written by Jason Macor
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Monday, 09 October 2006 |
 Ah, I finally get around to the conference I love best. I would say I know it the best as well, but I'm honestly more familiar with the Big East of yore for obvious reasons. With that said though, I'm still confident enough in my familiarity of this conference not only show how wide open it is, but make a couple of predictions, beyond to obvious of the Miami Hurricanes being crowned ACC champs.
I would leave the ACC Coastal last normally, but I believe the ACC Atlantic will be far more competitive. By far the most talent resides in the ACC Coastal division, with Miami, VaTech, and Georgia Tech, and (again I apologize for taking so long to write this) Georgia Tech has already shown why it was a travesty that they were left out of the top 25 with a close 14-10 loss against Notre Dame. They're not fun to watch as a fan of football, playing more like an NFL team then a collegiate team, but that doesn't matter to them, because they win the big ones. If they can just figure out how to bring that same enthusiasm in to games against teams like Duke, and not be caught off guard, they could potentially end up with 9-10 wins this year.
VaTech, although losing there starting quarterback, predicates itself on defense and special teams, and should be expected to also win between 9-10 games. Again, do not be surprised to see these three teams from the Coastal division to be ranked in the top 25 and possibly the top 15 if they all win their respective bowl games.
And so we come to Miami. I'm so sick and tired of hearing how this will be a coming out party for Drew Weatherford. He was the leader in the ACC with passing yards, and tied for first in passing touchdowns, but also had 18 ints. Kyle Wright was the person he tied, who had 18 touchdowns and only 10 picks. Both come into the season, along with their teams, with many question marks, but the defense of Miami is still there, tops in the nation, and quarterbacks are notorious for having their second year be the best statistically. Couple together with the speedy defense, this equates to a very exciting season for Miami.
The ACC Atlantic, on the other hand, really only has one team out of contention, Wake Forest. Boston College is looking to redeem itself after a subpart induction into the ACC. They have a great offensive line, lead by Josh Beekman, who will protect whoever decides to stand in the pocket in what should be a very good and balanced BC offensive attack. The question mark will be whether the defense can be good enough to keep them in games.
Maryland may seem like an odd contender, having missed going to a bowl last season by finishing 5-6, but they have an easy enough schedule to pull out at least 3 wins early in the season, and could potentially win 8-9 games this season. With FSU getting in last season with 7 wins, this 8 would seem to be enough. Another team to look out for will be NC State. I don't know how they can still fly under the radar with big wins against FSU, GaTech, and Maryland last season, and now facing two of those teams (FSU and GaTech) at home this season, they could potentially run away with the ACC Atlantic, and none would be the wiser to it either. With a great defense, no Miami or VaTech on it's schedule, and coming off a 7-5 season capped with a bowl win against USF, and you can see why I'll be taking NC State as my dark horse of the ACC in general, not just the Atlantic (that's right Miami, look out for them if they make it to the title game).
Now all that's left are the Bowden's, that one at FSU, and the noticeably younger one at Clemson. Now I can't just count out Bobby, his track record is just too long for that, but mark my words, don't be surprised to see Tommy again get more wins then daddy (by winning their bowl game Clemson finished 8-4). I don't think last year Clemson could have done to VaTech what FSU did, that was all Bobby, but I think they are a much better team this year.
All in all, the ACC could be poised to have 6 or more teams finish in the top 25, all seeing if their wins and losses were enough to get them to the second ACC title game, to face Miami of course.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 12 April 2007 )
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