In a nutshell, the 2008 season was the seaon of mediocrity. I don't see it changing much from last year. 4 teams went 5-3 within conference, and 6 teams went 4-4. It will be a tad different next year, but don't expect 1 team dominating either division within the ACC.
Early preseason picks:
Atlantic Division:
1. Maryland. Fear the turtle. The Atlantic Division is the deeper division, and the Terps should have enough offense and defense to win it next year.
2. Wake. Strong team, bend but don't break defense, and a solid offense. Grobe is a great coach.
3. FSU. Bowden has egg on his face, and I don't believe FSU will recover next year. He's got the talent, but does the Seminoles have the discipline?
4. BC. A good team that lost a good coach. This team could surprise me, but I don't see it happening in 2009.
5. NCSU. O'Brien has rebuilt the Pack, and they should be in a Bowl game next year.
6. Clemson. A new coach, but the same overrated players. I don't see them recovering from the black cloud that has been over the program the last 5 years.
Coastal Division.
1. VT. The Hokies are the kings of this division, and they will not disappoint the Blacksburg fans next year. Great Defense and a marginal offense will win them another trip to the ACC Championship.
2. GT. Decent team, good coach, and great prospects will take the Yellow Jackets to runners-up in 2009.
3. UNC. The Heels could surprise me, but I don't think it will be in 2009. QB is a question mark, and the WR positions are vacant. The running game made strides in 2009, but it's still not dominant. The Heels will have to rely on its Defense in 2009, and that still scares me.
4. Miami. Shannon is on the hot seat, and it will get hotter as the year goes by. I don't believe the Hurricanes will make much strides in 2009.
5. Virginia. The program needs another coach. UVA played good ball at times last year, but I don't believe 2009 will be very bright for the Cavs.
6. Duke. Cutcliffe is a solid coach, and winning 4 games last year was just short of a miracle. He doesn't have the talent, and 2009 will be hard for the Blue Devils. In a couple of years, Cutcliffe will have the team in a bowl game...
Athlon's preseason rankings came out the other week. Your predictions are exactly the same as Athlons: very impressive. Intuitively I would have picked them in the same order. The Atlantic side was a jumbled mess. They had, in order, (1) Florida State, (2) NC State, (3) Wake Forest, (4) Clemson, (5) Maryland, and (6) Boston College.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe Maryland will win the division, but I also don't believe they will come in 5th place. I think Clemson and BC will be fighting for last place, with NC State and Maryland barely ahead. Wake and FSU are the class of the ACC. I'll give a very slight edge to Wake at this time.