ACC Football Prediction for 2008
An Outlook for Next Season's ACC College Football
For the first time in recent years the stars are aligning for the Clemson Tigers to make a serious run at a national championship. For starters they have the best weapons at the skill positions of anyone in the conference, perhaps by a substantial margin. Arguably the nastiest duo of running backs in the land, James Davis and C.J. Spiller, are both back on the field this year. The two combined for 1,832 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground last year. Aaron Kelly returns at wideout after putting up over 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns receiving last year. To feed the ball to the skill positions they have an effective returning quarterback in Cullen Harper. Defensively they return 8 starters from a year ago.
Here’s a quick look at the other major players and what’s hindering them from a run at the conference title:
ACC Atlantic Division
Boston College- There’s simply no way to put BC at the top after losing Matt Ryan at quarterback. His ability seemed to elevate that program from good to great. He didn’t leave alone either as the top 2 running backs from last year are gone as well. The Eagles are still in decent shape but it’s hard not to envision a slight decline after losing that kind of offensive production.
Florida State- The ‘Noles have been downgraded from perennial powerhouse to dangerous underdog. Florida State still packs some speed and athleticism but has not kept up fundamentally with the rest of the conference. Specifically an already suspect offensive line is down to all freshmen and sophomores and the wide receiver corps has flashes of brilliance but no reliability. Then there’s discipline. Last year’s MVP, and the only lethal weapon on offense, Preston Parker was suspended for two games for criminal charges and remains on very thin ice. Offensive tackle Daron Rose had to leave the team, and a ton of players are still suspended after cheating on an online test. FSU will get some big wins but doesn’t appear ready for a legit run at the conference again just yet.
Wake Forest- Wake is perhaps the sleeper of the conference and could make a strong run in 2008. They lost some big offensive production from last year in receiver Kenneth Moore and tight end Joe Tereshinski. The offensive line has taken a hit as well. On the up side, quarterback Riley Skinner returns and by and large the Deacons seem ready to replace most of the departed players. The major question is whether Wake Forest is truly as fast, strong and athletic as the elite teams in the country, such as Clemson.
ACC Coastal Division
Georgia Tech- The Yellow Jackets could very well be on their way back towards the top, but this year they could be downright ugly. Former Navy coach Paul Johnson has taken over and installed the unorthodox triple option offense that helped him gain success at the Naval Academy. Soon after he was hired a returning quarterback, receiver, tight end and center all transferred. The defense only returns 4 starters as well. They’ll be fun to watch and could be a program on the rise soon, but 2008 does not bode well for the Ramblin’ Wreck.
Miami- The U was 5-7 last year and returns 4 offensive starters, which may be a good thing. The upside is that Miami continues to recruit well and is building a very strong core of young players. Randy Shannon may have the team on the rise but they aren’t quite ready yet to make a run. Look for Shannon to continue to grow as a head coach and for the U to be a good young football team, but not a conference champion.
Virginia- A quietly successful 9-4 last season for the Cavs and they return a lot of starters as well. The problems? Last year’s starting quarterback Jameel Sewell left the team due to academic issues and currently there is no starter named yet. Another problem is that they’ve lost last year’s production on the defensive line, in particular top 5 NFL draft pick Chris Long. Virginia still has some talented returning football players and may develop into a strong team once the season gets underway.
Virginia Tech- Permanently dangerous, they are always a potential threat. That being said, they’ve just lost too many players. A total of 7 starters on defense were lost last year, along with their top 4 wide receivers and starting running back Brandon Ore. The Hokies will reload, they have talent, and Beamer is one of the best in the business. However with that much turnover at once Virginia Tech just seems destined for a minor setback, and are susceptible to struggling in particular early in the season.
Duke, North Carolina, NC State and Maryland all had losing records last season and have some work to do. Although none of them should be written off (ok go ahead and write off Duke until hoops season) they don’t appear to be at the level that Clemson is going into the summer.
Tommy Bowden has a sparkling new contract and the best team in the conference. Is Tommy ready to join the elite coaches in the country and drive that team into a post-New Year’s bowl game? Only time will tell.
