College Football 2008 Conference Preview: ACC

This may be a big down year for the ACC, the ACC Championship is wide open too.

Predicted Order of Finish:
Atlantic:
1. Clemson
The Tigers return a plethora of starters, 14 in all. The backfield should be incredible, QB Cullen Harper returns, along with one of the best RB tandems in the nation in James Davis and CJ Spiller. The offensive line could keep them from competing for a national title spot. They struggled a lot last season with not protecting Harper and they need to replace virtually that whole line. The defense should be solid as most of the key starters are in-tact.

2. Wake Forest
Wake struggled last season because of Riley Skinner's shoulder injury, but as long as he stays healthy, Wake should be a contender in the ACC. Josh Adams is a speedy runner at tailback, the WR department will have some unknowns as the returners only caught 47 passes total last season. The defensive front seven will be loaded led by DTs Boo Robinson and John Russell and LBs Aaron Curry and Stanley Arnoux. The secondary will be decent with 3 starters back, which includes All-ACC Alphonso Smith.

3. Florida St.
This could be Bobby Bowden's last season and he wants to end on a high note. QB Drew Weatherford returns after improving upon his turnovers from 2006. FSU will be pretty deep at RB with Antone Smith back, plus JC transfer Tavares Pressley and true frosh Jermaine Thomas. Off-season problems will hurt WR, top wide-out Preston Parker is out for the first two games. Sr. Greg Carr is back though. FSU will need their defense to step up if they want to rise back to the top of the ACC, they have plenty of holes which should keep them from playing in a New Years Day bowl game.

4. Maryland
Chris Turner will be the likely starter after starting in the final 6 games last season and defeated BC and Rutgers. Josh Portis, a transfer from Florida, should see some time as well. Da'Rel Scott and Morgan Green are capable backs but they need more depth. The WRs should be among the best in the ACC, led by Derrius Heyward-Bey. If the defense can find some depth up-front and in the secondary they can compete for reasonable bowl bid.

5. Boston College
BC does lose Matt Ryan, which could be a problem during the beginning of the season. RB James McCluskey is back as BC's leading rusher. The WR crew returns some decent pass catchers which should help the new QB. BJ Raji is the lone returning bright spot on the D-Line. The LB corps was struck hard with graduation after having a strong unit last season. Expect this to be more of a rebuilding season after losing in the ACC Championship.

6. NC State
The QB position is a huge question mark. RB could be the lone positive area of the team with some talent and depth there, led by Toney Baker and Andre Brown. The WR and O-Line need some players to step up. Look for the defense to struggle, especially early as they look for some play makers to step up and replace some loses.

Coastal:
1. Virginia Tech
V-Tech won't be as deep or talented as in recent years but they still have plenty of play makers and Frank Beamer and Bud Foster are terrific coaches. The QB position is deep, Sr. Sean Glennon recently won the starting job. Tyrod Taylor is a great back-up. The Hokies were hit hard after Branden Ore was kicked off the team. The Hokies need some WRs to step up as they lose their top 4 WRs, all seniors. The O-Line is a plus with it's experience. The defense will be down after big losses in Chris Ellis at DE, Vince Hall and Xavier Adibi at LB, and Brandon Flowers at CB; but there won't be a huge drop-off. There may not be much experience back, but look for DE Orion Martin and DB Victor (Macho) Harris to be some of the best in the ACC.

2. North Carolina
UNC returns 43 letter winners in all and is looking to improve and compete for an ACC Title. QB TJ Yates returns, so does RB Greg Little and top WR Hakeem Hicks. The O-Line has developed some depth. The defense should be better; the DT is loaded with talent and depth but they need someone to step up at end. The LB unit just needs more experience and the secondary returns all 4 starters, who look very promising.

3. Miami
Miami is well positioned for a bright future with plenty of young talent and good recruiting classes. But this year? Not so much. QB is deep but young. Robert Marve should be the opening day starter and he has loads of talent. Javarris James and Graig Cooper are a tremendous RB duo. Aldarius Johnson looks to lead a young WR unit. The D-Line could be one of the worst in the conference and that's saying a lot. LB has been hit with injuries and the secondary looks promising, they just need someone to replace Kenny Phillips.

4. Virginia
The Cavs do lose DE Chris Long, other key defensive players, important O-Linemen, and QB Jameel Sewell, but they should dwell on a surprising 2007 season that ended up in the Gator Bowl.

5. Georgia Tech
Look for Tech to underachieve again with plenty of question marks all over the field.

6. Duke
QB Thad Lewis is the lone bright spot for one of the worst FBS teams out there.

ACC Championship:
Clemson over Virginia Tech

Offensive Player of the Year:
James Davis, RB- Clemson

Defensive Player of the Year:
Michael Johnson, DE- Georgia Tech

Freshman of the Year:

Arthur Brown, LB- Miami

Coach of the Year:
Butch Davis- UNC

Top 3 Games:
Virginia Tech at North Carolina- Sept. 20

Clemson at Wake Forest- Oct. 9

Clemson at Florida St.- Nov. 8

College Football 2007 Conference Preview: ACC

The ACC has been nothing special within the last few season. With so many average and mediocre teams, this conference will be one of the toughest to pick.

Predicted Order of Finish
Atlantic
1. Boston College
BC returns 16 starters including one of the best QBs in the conference in Matt Ryan. Two RBs return as well with plenty of experience, L.V. Whitworth and Andre Callender will be sharing the ball-carrying duties. They did lose some key players at WR but they do return some good steady talent there. The defense will be loaded with all 4 d-linemen back along with 4 other letter winners. LB will be it's strongest unit of the defense returning all 3 starters there as well, which includes Sr's Jolonn Dunbar, Tyrone Pruitt, and Brian Toal. The secondary should be good too with one of the top DB's in DeJuan Tribble and hard-hitting FS Jamie Silva back.

2. Florida St.
FSU struggled last year finishing 7-6. Bobby Bowden completely transformed his offensive coaching staff hiring 4 new assistants. They still need to figure out the QB situation between Drew Weatherford and Xavier Lee. From my stand point, it looks like it will be Weatherford. The offense has plenty of talent to improve from '06. They return RB Antone Smith, who was injured last season, but should make a big impact. Stud WR Greg Carr returns as well.

3. Wake Forest
The Demon Deacons came out of nowhere last year to win the conference title. The offense will be pretty good again which is led by QB Riley Skinner along with a deep and very experienced o-line. The defense is where the Deacons have a lot of question marks and holes to fill. Only 5 starters are back on that side of the ball.

4. Clemson
It will be interesting to see how the Tigers perform this year. They lose some key important players but return some as well. The QB position is the main ingredient to where they will finish the season. Cullen Harper and freshman Willie Korn are battling for that QB spot, with Harper most likely getting the first look, but Korn has a lot of talent and could end up with the starting job as the season wears on. The Tigers return one of the nations best RB tandems in Jr. James Davis and So. C.J. Spiller. David accounted for 1,187 yards on the ground and 17 TDs, while Spiller gained 1,415 all-purpose yards and 12 TDs. The main WRs are gone but they have plenty of talent available. They have plenty of issues all over the defensive side which will also make a big impact on Clemson's fate this season.

5. Maryland
Maryland has 13 starters back after finishing 9-4 last season. They still need to find a QB but have three emerging stars battling for the position in Jordan Steffy, Josh Portis, and Chris Turner. One of them will need to get the ball to one of the top WRs in the nation in Darrius Heyward-Bey. The defense will experience some growing pains as the season wears on, but should get better game by game with a lot of young potential talent at just about every position.

6. NC St.
The Wolfpack struggled at the end of the season in '06 losing 7 straight games. They need to find a new QB which it looks like it will be Daniel Evans, who started some games last season. The offense should be alright with 8 returning, but the defense needs to improve drastically. They return 5 starters on that side of the ball and have major holes to fill, especially at LB.

Coastal
1. Virginia Tech
The Hokies are definitely the clear-cut favorite to win the ACC. They return 16 starters, 8 on offense and 8 on defense. QB Sean Glennon returns along with one of the best RBs in the country in Branden Ore. They will also have some of the best WRs in the country with speedster Eddie Royal, Josh Morgan, Justin Harper, and Josh Hyman, all seniors, returning. V-Tech also bolsters one of the top, if not the top defense, in the country. There's tremendous defensive talent and depth all over the field; the d-line is very solid with 3 starters back from that unit which includes DE Chris Ellis. They also have two of the best LBs in the country in Xavier Adibi and Vince Hall. The secondary will be very talented as well with one of the best CBs in the nation as well in Brandon Flowers. Also, Victor Harris returns at CB along with D.J. Parker at FS. If V-Tech didn't have to visit LSU on Sept. 8, they would be one of my picks to play in the BCS National Title Game. But my mind could change very quickly...

2. Georgia Tech
They did lose elusive QB Reggie Ball and big-time play maker WR Calvin Johnson, but the Yellow Jackets still have plenty of experience and depth returning. RB Tashard Choice is back and could be a darkhorse candidate for the Heisman Trophy. The offensive line will be strong with plenty of veterans back and the defense should be pretty decent with 8 returnees back on that side of the ball.

3. Miami
Randy Shannon will be the new head coach for the Hurricanes replacing Larry Coker. The offense needs to improve in order for the Canes to be successful this season. QB Kyle Wright hasn't panned out like we expected but 2007 is a new year. The RB position has some young talent in Javarris James and Graig Cooper. They do return leading pass-catcher Lance Leggett, but a lot of their young talent sat out of the spring with injuries still leaving the rest of the WR positions wide open. The defense should be great returning 8 starters and one of the top DBs in the nation in Kenny Phillips.

4. Virginia
The Cavs were mediocre last year but have a lot of potential with 7 starters back on defense and the whole offensive line back as well. QB Jameel Steele returns, but they need people to step up at RB and WR.

5. North Carolina
Butch Davis is the new coach at UNC and has plenty of positions to fill. He needs to find a new QB, RB depth, and new offensive linemen. The defense must improve in order for the Tar Heels to improve at all. They have talent in the secondary but must find some play makers at LB.

6. Duke
Duke does return 11 starters on offense, but QB Thaddeus Lewis cannot do everything by himself. The defense was one of the worst in the country and they only return 5 starters there. Expect The Blue Devils to continue their 20-game losing streak.

ACC Championship:
Virginia Tech over Boston College

Offensive Player of the Year:
Tashard Choice, RB- Georgia Tech

Defensive Player of the Year:
Xavier Adibi, LB- Virginia Tech

Freshman of the Year:
Graig Cooper, RB- Miami

Coach of the Year:
Frank Beamer- Virginia Tech

Games to Watch:
Boston College at Virginia Tech- Oct. 25

Florida St. at Boston College-Nov. 3

Florida St. at Clemson- Sept. 3

Florida St. at Virginia Tech- Nov. 10

Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech- Nov. 1