Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Sneak Preview by Division
Atlantic Division
1) Florida State: The Seminoles return 13 starters from the 2013 National Championship Team. Seven on offense, including their Quarterback, Heisman winner, Janeis Winston, 4 of 5 offensive lineman (Including Guards, Tre Jackson & Josie Mathias and Tackle, Cameron Erving, all 1st or 2nd Team Preseason All-Americans picks) and All-American receivers, Tight End, Nick O’Leary & Wide Out, Rashad Green will lead an extremely talented offense. The Noles return six player on defense led by All-Americans; Jalen Ramsey DB, Mario Edwards DE and All-ACC preformer, Terrance Smith @ LB. The schedule is favorable, Clemson, Florida & ND at home & and Oklahoma State at a neutral site, Arlington, TX.
2) Clemson: The Tigers return 11 starters from last year’s Orange Bowl champs. Clemson beat Ohio State, 40-35, in a terrific BCS bowl game. The 2014 team has a huge challenge in maintaining what the 2012 & 2013 squads accomplished in their respective seasons, 11 wins in each of those years. While the roster is deep & talented, it lacts experience on the offensive side of the ball. Gone to the NFL are super stars, Tajh Boyd (QB), & Sammy Watkins (WR), as are outstanding players, Martavis Bryant (WR), & Rod McDowell (RB) . On defense, All-American, Vic Beasley, may be the best defensive end in the country, while DT, Grady Jarrett & LB Stephone Anthony should both be All-ACC 1st Team on defense. In spite of the star power on D, Clemson does not have the offensive talent or skill to handle FSU, but should be able to hold off all challengers for the second spot in the Atlantic Division.
3) Louisville: Gone are Charlie Strong (LU’s Head Coach to Texas) & Teddy Bridgewater (Louisville’s All American QB to the NFL), that said, back from the coaching dead is Bobby Petrino (Former Head Coach at Louisville, who went 41-9 over a four year time frame) to lead the Cardinals in 2014! Petrino is one of the best offensive coaches in the country and his addition should soften the loss of Strong & Bridgewater. Charlie Strong did recruit well, as evidenced, in last years spring game, where Will Gardner, Bridgewater’s replacement, passed for 542 yards, 4 TD’s and completed 32 of 37 passes. The Cardinals are new to the ACC, last year they competed in the AAC (American Athletic Conference) and will find the competition stronger in their new league. LU returns 11 starters, 7 on offense and 4 on defense, Petrino and these numbers, will be enough to fend off Syracuse, NC State & BC for third, but not enough to knock Clemson out of the second spot!
4) Syracuse: The ‘Cuse’ return 13 starters from a team that went 7-6 in 2013 and avenged, a 2012, regular season loss to Minnesota (17-10) in the Texas Bowl (21-17). This bowl win should give the Orange momentum heading into the 2014 season & coupled with the fact that they have experience on both sides of the ball should earn them a 3-0 record heading into their Notre Dame Game at Rutherford on Saturday, September 27th. The O-Line has four of five starters back and QB, Terrel Hunt will have an imposing target in Ashton Brodyl, (6’3”, 223) @ WR. The defensive is led by LB Dyshawn Davis & Free Safety, Durell Eskridge. Last year’s defense was hard to figure, holding seven opponents to 17 points or less (including 2 shutouts) and then giving up 48 or more on four occations. The Orange have the roster to fend off NC State & BC for the fourth spot in the Division and should make a Bowl Game run in 2014. However, it is unlikely that Syracuse will unseat newcomer Louisville for third place in the Atlantic.
5) Boston College: Steve Addizio, BC Head Coach, did one of the best jobs in all of FBS football in 2013 and yet, receive little credit for a masterful job! He led the Eagles from two wins in 2012 to seven in 2013, no small accomplishment with FSU & Clemson in your Division! Gone is Andre Williams, who rushed for more than 2000 yards a year ago as are two of the starters on the O-Line. The QB position will be up for grabs, with Chase Retting, who started a year ago battling with Florida transfer, Tyler Murphy, who was 2-4 on a horrible Gator team (4-8) in 2013. The receivers corps lost their best pass catcher in Alex Amidon, who accounted for over 50% of the teams passing yardage. The defense is steady but not above average in any of the three levels (D-Line, LB, or DB). BC has a solid chance to make another Bowl Game in 2014, but simply does not have the talent to challenge the front runners in the Atlantic Division!
6) NC State: Dave Doeren had a great run at Northern Illinois, but struggled mightly in his first year at NC State. His team finished 3-9 overall and 0-8 in the ACC. This marked the first time since 1959 that the Wolfpack did not win, at least, one conference game. Doeren, will feature Florida transfer, Jacoby Brisette under center, Shadrack Thorton @ Runnig Back and Wide Receiver, Bryan Underwood; all three of these players will all have to come up big, if State is improve in 2014. Doeren is adjusting his defense to a nickle package (5 D-Backs) to counter all of the spreads one sees in the ACC. To say NC State is young is a huge understatement, as the roster has 51 true or redshirt freshmen. Depending on the speed of their youngster’s development, a bowl game is possible as their non-conference schedule is favorable.
7) Wake Forest: Jim Grobe, the former Wake Forest head coach was one of the best kept secrets in all of college football. To be clear, not to his coaching peers, who spoke very highly of Grobe as both a person & coach, yet he remained basically unknown to college football fans across the nation. He led the Demon Deacons to five straight bowl appearance before falling on tougher times of late. As a result, in comes new hire, Dave Clawson, who like, Dave Doeren at NC State, won a MAC Championship and was then hired by an ACC team. While Clawson won his title at Bowling Green, he did so by beating Doeren’s former team, Northern Illinois, 47-27, in the MAC Title Game. Clawson’s task will be a major one as WF had the worst offense in the ACC in 2013, the D was not much better, and culture of losing will need to be addressed immediately! Look for Clawson to have a similar season in 2014 to Doeren’s 2013 experience at NC State!
Next Up: The Coastal Division of the ACC
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