Dear Old U.Va.

2010 ACC Football Preview - Coastal Division

Wednesday, September 01 2010 by Tim

Overview

In the preseason AP media poll, there are 5 ACC teams included in the top 25. Four of those are Coastal Division teams. Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Miami and North Carolina could all win the division, or just as easily finish 4^th. At the bottom of the division is Virginia and Duke, who have, understandably, been given no shot of winning the division.

Miami

It seems almost retro to pick Miami and FSU to face each other in the ACC Championship game. One argument for the expansion of the ACC was that a Miami-FSU championship game would generate a lot of attention (read: money) for the ACC. Sadly, this was right about the time both programs fell flat on their faces. This dream ACC Championship game has not occurred yet. Of course, this year, with the game being played in Charlotte, is the year it will happen. Maybe. If I’m right. Which I never am.

The Canes are absolutely loaded on offense. QB Jacory Harris is an early Heisman candidate, and they bring back their top 2 leading rushers, and top 3 leading receivers from a year ago. On the down side, the Canes must replace 60% of their OL from last year, and with an early season schedule that includes road games at Ohio State and Pittsburgh, those replacements had better be up to speed quickly. If the Canes manage to get through those 2 games unscathed, they could find themselves as an early season national title contender.

Georgia Tech

The Yellow Jackets have received a lot of attention over the past 3 years for Paul Johnson’s triple option offense. It seems as though each year, the offense has improved. This has largely been a factor of QB Josh Nesbitt getting more and more comfortable in his reads. This year, as a senior, Nesbitt is poised for big things. He joins Harris on the early season Heisman Watch list. Sadly, he loses his top RB and WR from last year. The team has a lot of options at running back, but may struggle to find a consistent go to guy at WR. Considering the ground based attack, this isn’t as big a deal as you’d think.

The Jackets defense figures to struggle early on, as they get used to the 3-4 defense implemented by new coordinator Al Groh (insert Boo-Birds here). Luckily, they have some time to get up to speed, as the early season schedule features only one tough game. By the time the tough games roll around, the defense could be as potent as the offense. If the Jackets are going to repeat as ACC Champions, it had better be.

Virginia Tech

Picking the Hokies 3^rd in the division may be wishful thinking on my part. After all, the Hokies have never finished below 2^nd in the Coastal division.

Senior QB Tyrod Taylor returns for his 3 year at the helm, and has loads of weapons at his disposal. Last year’s freshman phenom Ryan Williams is back at RB, and junior Darren Evans returns from an ACL tear that caused him to miss last season. The Hokies also return their top 3 pass catchers. The OL must replace the left side of the line, but 3 starters return from last year’s up and down un it.

The situation on defense isn’t quite as rosy. They must replace as many as seven starters from last year’s unit which ranked 12^th in the country. That ranking was actually their lowest national rank of the past 3 years. The newcomers had better be ready, because the Hokies’ opener is against last year’s top scoring team in the country.

North Carolina

As I said, the top 4 teams here could really finish in any order. They are that close. The Tar Heels biggest issue right now is off-the-field, as they deal with the potential ramifications of some recruiting violations, academic fraud allegations and the rest of this scandal.

On the field, however, UNC is loaded. The Heels’ defense could has as many as 4 first round picks in next spring’s NFL draft. The defense finished 6^th in the nation a year ago, and must replace only 2 starters from that squad. The biggest issue plaguing the defense was giving up big plays, and was often due to a secondary that took too many chances. With the struggles on offense, perhaps they felt as though they had to take some chances.

That offense should be improved this year, as just about the entire unit returns from last year. For the 108^th ranked offense in the country, this could be a blessing or a curse. Considering the talent on defense, the offense probably doesn’t need to do much for the team to be successful. The Heel’s success will probably lie on their ability to tune out the off-field madness once they step on the field. A season opening tilt against LSU, with ESPN College Gameday in attendance, will provide a great deal of insight into those questions.

Virginia

And now we get to the dregs of the Coastal division. While the top 4 teams all fight for the division crown, the bottom 2 will be looked upon mostly as spoilers. For the Hoos, at least, this is not necessarily a bad thing. As they look to rebuild a program that has fallen on hard times, knocking off a national contender can provide a big shot of passion into the team and the fans.

The 5^th spot on this list may well come down to the game between Virginia and Duke, which will be played on November 6^th, in Durham. Despite the game being on the road, I think the Hoos will take it. For one thing, there is probably not a DI-A team with less home field advantage than Duke, especially late in the season when the basketball team is also going. For another thing, Duke has won the past 2 meetings, and the Hoos will be looking for revenge.

Duke

The Blue Devils should be used to finishing last in the Coastal division. After all, last year was the first time they didn’t finish last. Duke finished 5-7 last year, which is actually pretty good for a program that recently went 3 seasons between conference wins. Still, Duke also lost to Richmond, and lost their final 4 games.

The Blue Devils must replace 4 year starter Thaddeus Lewis at QB, and must do so knowing that they were completely unable to run the ball last year. That said, new starter Sean Scroeder will have plenty of options at WR and TE. And he will have an OL that has both experience and depth.

The offense had better be successful, because the defense will be young and thin. Gone are All-America candidates Vincent Ray and Vince Oghobaase. There is talent on defense, particularly in the secondary, but there could be as many as 6 or 7 freshman lined up at any given time, and that generally spells trouble. Head coach David Cutcliffe has certainly built up the talent level on the Blue Devils, but replacing Lewis and breaking in so many youngsters is a tall order. Duke may be a force in a couple of years, but this year will be another case of same-old, same-old in Durham.