ACC Coastal Division Sneak Preview 2014

Atlantic Coast Conference

Coastal Division:

1. Virginia Tech: Frank Beamer’s Team returns 13 starters form last year’s 8-5 squad, 8 on offense and 5 for the defense. Tech’s Offensive Coordinator, Scott Loeffler, will have to replace Logan Thomas, a three year starter at QB with a sophomore signal caller, Brenden Morley or Texas Tech transfer, Michael Brewer. The O-Line, which under performed last year, does brings back 5 players who started at least one game; this experience should help their running attack which averaged only 119 yards per game. Running Backs, Trey Edmund’s (675 rushing yards & 10 TD’s) & freshman Marshawn Williams, should greatly improve their ground game. Finally, all of their top receivers are back, Joshua Stanford, Willie Byrn, & Demitri Knowles all caught 40 or more passes. Defensive Coordinator, Bud Foster is one of the best in the business and he is armed with All American, DT Luther Maddy & an emerging star, Corey Marshall off the edge. While the Linebackers will be “a work in progress”, the secondary is one of the best in the country, CB’s Kendall Fuller (6) & Brandon Facyson (5) had a combined 11 INT last year!

2. Miami: Al Golden stepped into a difficult situation at Miami and it got worse through no fault of his own. That said, he has stayed the course and his team finished with 9 wins last year. The Canes averaged 34 points & 422 yards per game in 2014, but gone is QB, Stephen Morris and his understudy, Ryan Williams, is unlikely to be ready for the start of the season (knee). Duke Johnson, an All American candidate and first team All ACC will lead the way at running back and with three starters back on the O-Line, including 6’6” 302 pound Ereck Flowers, the running game should once again be dynamic. The defense will have to pick it up in 2014, they surrendered 426 yards per game (almost identical to what the Offense gained) last year. They return seven starters, led by LB Denzel Perrymmen and 4 returning starters in a very good secondary. Miami opens the 2014 season at Louisville on September 1st (The Cardinals were in the American Athletic Conference, AAC last year & are now in their 1st year in the Atlantic Coast Conference, ACC), a team that beat them in a 2013 bowl game, 36 to 9! We should know more about the Canes and their improvement on September 2nd!

3. North Carolina: Larry Fedora is entering his 3rd year at UNC (15-10) and he may have the best kept secret outside of ACC circles, that is Running Back, T.J. Logan. While he did not play a lot a year ago many of the opposing ACC coaches are weary of his talent & high in their praise! Marquise Williams should get the nod at QB as he led the Heels to four wins in their last five games in 2013. UNC returns 2 receivers with starting experience, Quinshad Davis & & T.J Thorp, who both have size & speed. The real question for the Tar Heels will be the play of their O-Line, they lost their two best lineman from an under performing group a year ago and may need this year’s experience (2014) to be an effective unit for the 2015 season. The defense should be the best that Coach Fedora has had in his three year’s at UNC. Norkeithus Otis should bring heat from his outside LB position, while nose tackle, Ethan Farmer should be an effective run stopper on the interior. Inside backer, Travis Hughes has one last chance to be the player that his talent has suggested he should be since his arrival in Chapel Hill, while the secondary is talented, skilled, & experienced. The key for UNC in 2014 will be the development of its O-Line, if they mature early, watch out, as their is enough talent ever where else to win the division!

4. Georgia Tech: Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech Head Coach, may have the best, at least the fastest, QB, Justin Thomas, he has in his 6 years as the Yellow Jacket CEO! Thomas has the quickness & speed to be an outstanding triple threat QB, but will need to grow in his ability to read the defense and get the ball in the most advantageous position for the offense.  Put simply, there is not a great deal of experience and/or talent at running back, Wide Out, or on the O-Line. But there is Paul Johnson and his triple threat offense, which can make the average really difficult to handle. On defense, 5 starters return, led by LB, Quayshawn Nealy, a three year starter and rising star, CB, D.J. White. The Key for the “Jackets” in 2014 is clearly the development of Justin Thomas @ QB, if his decision making rivals his talent, G-T will move up in the Coastal Division standings!

5. Duke: The Blue Devils played FSU for the ACC Championship in 2013, if anyone would have predicted that they probably would have done so from a so-called “Funny Farm”.  Duke won 10 games in 2013 and had a combined total of 12 victories  in the three previous seasons. The Blue Devils averaged 33 points per game and 426 yards of total offense while giving up 27 points & 418 YPG. David Cutcliffe’s team did this in spite of often erratic play from QB, Anthony Boone. The Blue Devils return 14 starters from last year’s team, so why does Sully’s College Football Page rank them so low? The simple truth is no one took them seriously in 2013, as Duke lost early games to Georgia Tech, 38-14 & Pitt 58-55, same old Duke we all thought.  After the Tech & Pitt losses, Duke won 8 straight and certainly had FSU attention in the ACC Championship Game, a 45-7, blowout loss to the Seminoles. Texas A&M apparently saw the Florida State game and again, under estimated the Devils, and as a result, A&M barely survived a wild, 52-48, bowl game! Those days of under estimating the Dukies are gone, this year, with Duke having 14 starters returning, they will have everyone attention and will get their A game .. not .. oh yeah, its Duke!

6. Pittsburgh: Paul Chryst can almost say this is his team, only 17 players remain from the mess that started with Dave Wannstedt’s firing & Todd Graham’s leaving on the “Midnight Train to Tempe” left dazed Pitt football players wondering what’s next? First Dave Wannstedt is fired after going 18-8 over his last two years and Graham is hired, he goes 6-7 in his first year …  then out of the blue, he texts his team about his departure to ASU (so much for teary eyed meeting rooms.. just send a text) . Oh Yeah, don’t forget about Mike Hayward, he was Pitt’s coach for 17 days, then fired for a domestic abuse charge (later dismissed), he now works for an oil company in Houston. Enter Chryst from Badger Country, finally Pitt has some stability in its football program, PC has gone 13-13 in his first two years. The Panthers are young, evidenced by the fact that 12 freshmen played large minutes a year ago and should be able to contribute at a higher level. As a result, Pitt will improve on its 7-6 record, That said, Pitt is still young and will need another year to be ready to challenge the “Big Fish” in the Coastal Division!

7. Virginia: Mike London came to Cavaliers from Richmond University, an member of the Colonial Athletic Association that he led to an FCS championship in 2008. Things have heated up for Michael (18-31 over his four years) and he needs to have a significantly better season in 2014 to hold on to his job. Last year, the Cavs stumbled through a 2-10 fiasco, this marked the fewest wins for a Virginia team since 1982 and the first time since 1981 that they failed to win an ACC game. The Non-Conference schedule will not help, as the Cavs take on UCLA (@ home) & are @ BYU, while Louisville & FSU are their ACC crossover divisional games. There is no question as to whether Virginia will be better, they will be, the real question is, will they be good enough for London to keep his job? I, for one hope so, Mike London was a Detective in Richmond, Virginia with the City’s Street Crimes Division when he made the decision to coach. His story has been an uplifting one, hopefully, things turn around for him and his team in 014!