The Atlantic Coast Conference:
Virginia Tech 11-3, Florida State 10-4, Maryland 9-4, NC State 9-4, North Carolina 8-5, Miami (FL 7-6, Boston College 7-6, Clemson 6-7, Georgia Tech 6-7, Virginia 4-8, Wake Forest 3-9, Duke 3-9
Reasons to be excited: It’s a new year and a fresh start for the ACC. The conferences high expectations and lofty goals set when the ACC expanded in 2004 have yet to be met, as every year the conference seems to be struggling for respect. It’s yet another season for the ACC to turn critics into believers and work towards becoming a top two or three conference, or at the least one that can compete with the SEC.
Breakout player(s): The Hurricanes have produced some pretty prominent running backs over the years with Edgerrine James, Clinton Portis, Frank Gore and Willis McGahee to name a few. Sophomore running back Lamar Miller has a chance to join that list next season. In a run happy Al Golden offense, Miller will take on the lead role. The Canes were 4-1 in games Miller had at least 11 carries, with the lone loss in a 163 yard performance against Virginia Tech. With NC State All-American linebacker Nate Irving graduated, a new face will emerge as the leader of the Wolfpack defense. Expect it to be linebacker Audie Cole. As a junior, Cole was often the next man to the ball behind Irving, posting 86 stops and five sacks.
Get to work on: Building the non-conference rep. The ACC was downright awful against non-conference teams in 2010, losing key games to start the year. The ACC failed to cash in on wins in early matchups against Oklahoma, Ohio State, Auburn, Boise State, LSU and even James Madison. The reason the ACC doesn’t get a whole lot of respect is because of its continuous non-conference dismay. They’ll get their chance again in 2011 with early games scheduled against Northwestern, Auburn, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Ohio State and Kansas State. At least they don’t back away from a challenge.
What to look for: A number of quarterbacks will be handed the starting reins right away in spring practice, including Tevin Washington at Georgia Tech, EJ Manuel at FSU, Tajh Boyd at Clemson, Mike Glennon at NC State and Logan Thomas at Virginia Tech. Sometimes a little competition is a good thing, though. With all being new starters in 2011, some early growing pains may come in spring camp with nobody pushing them from behind for their fresh new spots.
Quarterback competitions: While some teams have quarterbacks in waiting, a couple others have open competitions this spring. North Carolina has a battle lined up between probable starter Bryn Renner, freshman Marquis Williams and junior Braden Hanson. Virginia’s shakes up between sophomore Ross Metheny and redshirt freshman Michael Rocco. Miami’s seems to be the most interesting, though. Two year starter Jacory Harris will get competition from sophomore Stephen Morris, who started three games last season. The smart money is on Harris, now a senior, winning the job with Morris pushing him, but Morris can sling the rock with the best of them.
Bold Prediction: New Miami head coach Al Golden will lead Miami to its first ACC Championship appearance. Miami has had an immense amount of talent on their team for years now, what the ‘Canes were lacking under head coach Randy Shannon, however, was discipline and energy. Golden has already brought both to Miami in a short time frame. Expect the ‘Canes to play with a lot more fire than they've shown in years past. The skill sets and both lines are stacked and one of the two quarterbacks will be ready to lead. Miami even catches a break in the schedule with Terrelle Pryor and the Ohio State five having to sit out the Sept. 17 meeting.
How they’ll finish: It’s hard to put a finger on who’s going to compete every year in the ACC. Maryland was a good example of that last season, going from a two win team in 2009 to a 9-4 finish in 2010. Maryland should again have a fairly strong team, lead by new head coach Randy Edsall. Clemson looks to be another year or two away from making a step towards the top, though. Don’t expect a whole lot of improvement out of Wake Forest, as well. Behind Mike Glennon at quarterback, North Carolina State has a good shot to compete with Florida State for the Atlantic, but FSU is too loaded of a team not to make it back to the ACC Championship. In the Coastal division, Miami will take advantage of turnaround seasons at Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech and North Carolina, as they squeeze their way into the title spot for the Coastal division. Virginia will improve by at least a couple of wins, though. The ACC will finally get what they’ve always wanted with an FSU vs. Miami matchup in the championship game. In the end, the Seminoles appear ahead of Miami. CHAMP: Florida State
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