ATLANTIC DIVISION
Last season: 9-4 (5-3 ACC); lost to Auburn in Chick-fil-A Bowl
Coach: Tommy Bowden (ninth season; 11th overall)
Player to watch: RB James Davis. A power runner who complements the slippery C.J. Spiller, Davis ranked second in the ACC in rushing yards. He might be forced to work harder to enjoy another 1,000-yard season; Clemson graduated four starters on the offensive line.
Key game: Oct. 9 at Wake Forest. The Tigers’ best competition for a division title is the Demon Deacons, who will host a Thursday night showdown. Clemson obliterated Wake at home a season ago and could use a similar pounding to enhance its profile this year.
Outlook: Clemson always seems to find a way to stumble whenever there is a whiff of expectations, and this year could be no exception. The Tigers should contend for their first ACC title since 1991, and the presence of steady quarterback Cullen Harper will help immensely. But questions on the offensive line and at linebacker make it hard to leap too far onto this bandwagon.
Prediction: 10-2, 6-2 ACC
WAKE FOREST
Last season: 9-4 (5-3 ACC); beat Connecticut in Meineke Car Care Bowl
Coach: Jim Grobe (eighth season; 14th overall)
Player to watch: CB Alphonso Smith. The ball magnet picked off an ACC-high eight passes last season, bringing three of them back for touchdowns. He’s one of nine defensive starters (including six seniors) back for a unit that held five of its last six opponents to 18 points or less.
Key game: Sept. 20 at Florida State. The Demon Deacons come out of a bye to visit a team depleted by suspensions. It’s a favorable draw for Wake Forest, which could take control of the division with early victories over the Seminoles and Clemson (Oct. 9).
Outlook: It’s official: The Demon Deacons are for real. That ACC title in 2006 was no doubt aided by a mediocre league and favorable clock rules, but it wasn’t a fluke. Wake Forest will continue to fluster opponents with its misdirection on offense, and quarterback Riley Skinner and tailback Josh Adams are vital cogs. But when the Deacons win, it will be because of smarts and defense; they have plenty of both.
Prediction: 9-3, 5-3 ACC
FLORIDA STATE
Last season: 7-6 (4-4 ACC); lost to Kentucky in Music City Bowl
Coach: Bobby Bowden (33rd season; 43rd overall)
Player to watch: WR Preston Parker. Well, whenever he’s playing. Whether it’s Drew Weatherford or Christian Ponder at quarterback, whoever is taking the snaps would be wise to get it to the quicksilver junior who also might line up in the backfield at times.
Key game: Oct. 4 at Miami. It’s both a rivalry game and the first time Bowden will have a full roster for a conference game. Recent meetings of the fading Sunshine State titans, while usually close, have swung closer to ugly than epic. Miami has won six of the last eight, including last year in Tallahassee.
Outlook: It’s strange entering a season without expectations the Seminoles will coast to at least a division title, but that’s what back-to-back 7-6 seasons will do. (Florida State lost 13 games in the 1990s.) It might be Bowden’s farewell season, and with nearly two dozen players suspended for the first three games for an academic scandal, it will take a while to figure out just how good the Seminoles can be.
Prediction: 8-4, 4-4 ACC
MARYLAND
Last season: 6-7 (3-5 ACC); lost to Oregon State in Emerald Bowl
Coach: Ralph Friedgen (eighth season)
Player to watch: WR Darrius Heyward-Bey. The Terrapins’ most established playmaker logged consecutive solid seasons and could be in for a particularly productive fall. A new offense helps, and it seems likely the tall, speedy wideout will surpass his 51 receptions of 2007.
Key game: Oct. 18 vs. Wake Forest. Maryland emerges from a bye to face the Demon Deacons and begin the second half of its season. This is one of several tossup games the Terps will play at Byrd Stadium, and a victory might be enough to secure bowl eligibility before a daunting November.
Outlook: Friedgen deserves credit for squeezing six victories out an injury-riddled bunch last year, but expectations should be higher this fall. Jordan Steffy fended off Josh Portis and Chris Turner for the starting quarterback job, but it would be no surprise if all three earn the nod at some point this year. The Terps are a team no one is paying attention to, but the talent is there to win eight or nine games.
Prediction: 7-5, 4-4 ACC
BOSTON COLLEGE
Last season: 11-3 (6-2 ACC); beat Michigan State in Champs Sports Bowl
Coach: Jeff Jagodzinski (second season)
Player to watch: QB Chris Crane. No, he’s not Matt Ryan. But the reason Crane, a senior who threw four passes last season, figures to be in good shape is crafty offensive coordinator Steve Logan. There are reasons the Eagles could fall a bit, but the drop-off at quarterback won’t be as severe as expected.
Key game: Nov. 1 vs. Clemson. The Eagles play four Atlantic Division opponents plus Notre Dame in November. That’s not a fun gauntlet to face when frost is on the pumpkin. Boston College is tough at home, and the Tigers always lose a game they shouldn’t. This might just be it.
Outlook: Jagodzinski inherited a loaded team and fared well last year, so one of the league’s intriguing subplots is what he will do without Ryan, two veteran tailbacks, a bunch of good linebackers and nearly his entire secondary. A player to keep an eye on is freshman tailback Josh Haden. This isn’t a division winner, but the Eagles should extend their bowl streak to 10 seasons.
Prediction: 7-5, 3-5 ACC
N.C. STATE
Last season: 5-7 (3-5 ACC)
Coach: Tom O’Brien (second season; 12th overall)
Player to watch: TE Anthony Hill. It probably doesn’t bode well that the Wolfpack’s active leader in career starts missed all of last year with a knee injury. But Hill is probably the top tight end in the ACC, and he will be a welcome option for whichever of the Wolfpack’s posse of quarterbacks plays.
Key game: Oct. 4 vs. Boston College. It’s the Tom O’Brien Bowl Version 2.0, and this time N.C. State probably won’t lose by 20 points. The Wolfpack will have played four rough games (at South Carolina, at Clemson, East Carolina and South Florida), so a loss here could create a big hole entering a bye week.
Outlook: The Wolfpack must rebuilt their defensive line and linebacker corps, but that might not be a bad thing after yielding 186.4 rushing yards a game last year. Five quarterbacks entered camp with a chance to start, and odds are more than one will before the season’s out. N.C. State enjoys depth at tailback (including starter Jamelle Eugene), but it will need a lot more to return to the postseason this year.
Prediction: 5-7, 3-5 ACC
COASTAL DIVISION
Last season: 11-3 (7-1 ACC); won ACC title game and lost to Kansas in Orange Bowl
Coach: Frank Beamer (22nd season; 28th overall)
Player to watch: CB Victor “Macho” Harris. He intercepts passes. He returns punts and kickoffs. He occasionally lines up at wide receiver. He’s probably the ACC’s best player, and his versatility will serve the Hokies well as they try to scrounge up points from an inexperienced offense early on.
Key game: Sept. 20 at North Carolina. Might the Tar Heels be ready to make a conference title push? Virginia Tech could quash some of those dreams in the fourth week of the season. Virginia Tech is the only ACC team to win two division titles, and a win in Chapel Hill would make a third much more likely.
Outlook: The Hokies made their choice at quarterback with Sean Glennon by redshirting Tyrod Taylor, but their options at tailback and wide receiver are untested. Of course, Virginia Tech wins with defense and special teams, and those two areas remain strong enough to make the defending ACC champion Hokies the favorites in the watered down Coastal Division.
Prediction: 10-2, 7-1 ACC
NORTH CAROLINA
Last season: 4-8 (3-5 ACC)
Coach: Butch Davis (second season; eighth overall)
Player to watch: WR Hakeem Nicks. Arguably the conference’s best wide receiver, Nicks also has a strong-armed quarterback (T.J. Yates) to chuck it to him. Nicks last season caught a school-record 74 passes, and the junior could surpass that total this fall.
Key game: Sept. 11 at Rutgers. Don’t think the Tar Heels aren’t salivating at the prospect of playing in prime time. This is an opportunity for a coming out party, even if Rutgers isn’t as highly regarded in the post-Ray Rice era. This also precedes September meetings with Virginia Tech and Miami.
Outlook: The chic breakout pick drew a perfect schedule: No Clemson, Wake Forest or Florida State, and the Tar Heels play Virginia Tech at home. The big issue is establishing a running game. If Carolina can provide any sort of complement to its talented passing attack, there could be a serious surge in the standings. Otherwise, the Tar Heels will be forced to settle for chasing their first bowl berth since 2004 and little else.
Prediction: 8-4, 5-3 ACC
MIAMI
Last season: 5-7 (2-6 ACC)
Coach: Randy Shannon (second season)
Player to watch: QB Robert Marve. Well, somebody has to play quarterback. And it’s not like Marve (and a couple true freshmen who will jockey for snaps as well) can play much worse than Kyle Wright and Kirby Freeman played last year. Still, the spotlight will be on the well-regarded redshirt freshman from the start.
Key game: Nov. 13 vs. Virginia Tech. This could be a pretty silly forecast if the Hurricanes fall apart in their first five games. But should they remain in the league title chase, they’ll receive a shot at the Hokies on a Thursday night at Dolphin Stadium. It won’t be like the now-razed Orange Bowl, but it could still be wild.
Outlook: Shannon’s first season was an unmitigated disaster, though the bounty he collected on the recruiting trail should begin to appear on the field this season. Marve and wideout Aldarius Johnson are two freshmen who could contribute significantly, but the Hurricanes probably will toss up a few clunkers with such an inexperienced bunch. They will be better, though their record shouldn’t improve much.
Prediction: 6-6, 4-4 ACC
GEORGIA TECH
Last season: 7-6 (4-4 ACC); lost to Fresno State in Humanitarian Bowl
Coach: Paul Johnson (first season; 12th overall)
Player to watch: DE Michael Johnson. The Yellow Jackets’ strength figures to be their defensive line, especially with reliable tackles Darryl Richard and Vance Walker back. Johnson, a 6-foot-7 senior, could enjoy a superb year after toiling as a reserve for much of his career.
Key game: Sept. 6 at Boston College. There’s a decent chance Georgia Tech will struggle running Johnson’s triple option early in the season. That isn’t good with back-to-back trips to Boston College and Virginia Tech early, but Johnson has pulled off bigger miracles in the past.
Outlook: For Johnson’s scheme to work right, he needs to find a quarterback capable of reading defenses on the run. Maybe that player is sophomore Josh Nesbitt. If it isn’t, the Yellow Jackets will struggle initially. This season is about instilling the system, which can’t be any more bland than ex-coach Chan Gailey’s playcalling. Big success should come but don’t expect any better than .500 this year.
Prediction: 6-6, 3-5 ACC
Last season: 9-4 (6-2 ACC); lost to Texas Tech in Gator Bowl
Coach: Al Groh (eighth season; 14th overall)
Player to watch: LB Clint Sintim. The senior rolled up nine sacks last season and enters his fourth year as a starter for the fairly anonymous Cavaliers, who lost defensive end Chris Long to graduation. Sintim should be a valuable cog for a defense that usually fares well regardless of personnel losses.
Key game: Oct. 4 vs. Maryland. It seems like every year the Cavaliers’ season can swing on their game against the Terrapins. With a trip to Duke a week earlier, there’s reason to think Virginia could win its first two ACC games and dispel thoughts of a rebuilding season by the first week of October.
Outlook: There’s no way to put this kindly: The Cavaliers were a lucky team last year, winning five games by a combined seven points while extricating themselves from all sorts of problems. Virginia will have a new quarterback, three new offensive line starters and a revamped defensive line. Given the offseason tumult, a sixth bowl berth in seven years would make for a good year.
Prediction: 5-7, 3-5 ACC
DUKE
Last season: 1-11 (0-8 ACC)
Coach: David Cutcliffe (first season; seventh overall)
Player to watch: QB Thaddeus Lewis. Lewis, who last year threw for 2,430 yards and 21 touchdowns, would be considered one of the top 25 quarterbacks in the country if he played for a regular bowl contender. Instead, he’s mostly ignored. But make no mistake - this guy’s good, and he will get even better under Cutcliffe.
Key game: Sept. 27 vs. Virginia. The last of four straight home games to open the season, it doubles as the Blue Devils’ ACC opener. Duke has lost 25 straight conference games, and this has to rate as one of its best chances of snapping that skid this season.
Outlook: Cutcliffe, the former coach at Mississippi, is infusing hope in the conference’s perennial doormat. That’s something lacking at Duke, which has averaged precisely one ACC victory over the last 18 seasons. The Blue Devils won’t snap their postseason drought just yet, but off-the-field developments - improved recruiting, substantial budget increases - have at least provided reasons to care and pay attention.
Prediction: 3-9, 1-7 ACC
— Patrick Stevens
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