2011 ACC Football Burning Questions: Expansion again, Multiple BCS bids and top 25 teams

Posted by Brandon Rink on August 11, 2011 under ACC Football | Comments are off for this article

This is a big season for the ACC.

I know it. You know it. John Swofford knows it.

Here’s the questions facing the conference going into camp…

1) Will this 12-team version of the ACC last much longer?

You’ve seen the rumors. Texas A&M to the S-E-C, which begs the question – if the Southeastern Conference adds them, who’s coming with them?

FSU? Clemson? Virginia Tech? Georgia Tech? Miami? Or possibly even, a team not from the ACC?

It’s hilarious (and understandable) when these rumors surface, every ACC team’s fanbase involved starts to make their case for their SEC-worthiness over the rest.

Call me crazy, but after what I saw last year, ESPN stepping in and holding off the PAC-12 super conference…the SEC standing pat…the Big XII becoming Texas and everybody else (the reason why Texas A&M is unhappy) – I don’t think anybody’s leaving.

Gobbler Country hinted to why the Hokies might stay here, and I think the story is similar at a couple more schools in question.

But we’re dealing with a lot of hypotheticals here.

Just how aggressive is SEC intending on being? If they’re going 14-teams, do they even look the ACC’s way? Maybe grab OU with A&M to sack the Big XII.

Obviously, if it’s 16 – the ACC has to factor in there somewhere.

But make no mistake – the more expansion spins out of control – the worse it gets for the conference.

I don’t think the ACC will just be able to pluck their favorite Big East teams and move on if the SEC takes 2-4 teams for 16.

And you have Maryland, Boston College, Virginia and Georgia Tech that might be appetizing for the Big Ten in their efforts to match the SEC.

AND, apparently, the Big East could raid a few teams from the Big XII.

You seeing the picture here? No great plans for the ACC to be proactive in this mess.

Not. Good. At. All.

Basically, the ACC either needs to be proactive, or do a heck of sell job to keep all 12 in line – like they did last year.

(Side note: If I’m the SEC, and I’m gonna go ahead and pluck Texas A&M – I’d take FSU, Virginia Tech and Clemson to really decimate the regional rival ACC’s football product. Hope it doesn’t happen, but if I was in charge, that’s what I’d do. Going from message board to message board, the scenarios being thrown around change by the team. With Virginia Tech, Virginia seems to be seen as a two-team deal with them, which I don’t get…since they weren’t in the same conference for awhile. With Clemson and FSU, apparently, their rivals SC and UF will attempt to block a move to the SEC. It’s just a tangled mess.).

2) Actual 2011 football talk – is this the year the ACC finally lands two BCS-bowl teams?

I think so, with wavering confidence.

It’s not exactly a bet I’d take to Vegas, but the schedule is friendly to Virginia Tech for a 11+ win season – and I’m projecting FSU as the ACC champ so there’s your other BCS-bowl slot.

Like we addressed the other day, the Hokies shoring up the offensive line will be key to any run they make this season, and on that o-line, rests the ACC’s shot at two bids.

3) More actual 2011 football talk – how many top 25 teams will the ACC end up with?

After fielding five preseason AP top-25 teams last season, the conference finished with four (Virginia Tech, FSU, Maryland and NC State).

This year, the ACC put two – count ‘em – two in the preseason top-25 with favorites FSU and Virginia Tech.

My money is on three – FSU, Virginia Tech and pick a team from NC State, Miami and UNC. If it’s a down year for a couple of conferences, two or maybe all three slip in the back of the poll.

Since you probably only read the expansion part – thoughts?

2011 ACC Football Burning Questions: Atlantic Division

Posted by Brandon Rink on August 9, 2011 under ACC Football | Comments are off for this article

It’s football season, more or less.

Most ACC teams have started their fall camps by now – here are a few questions I’m pondering in the Atlantic…

1) Is Tajh Boyd ready to lead Clemson in an offensive turnaround right away?

Since ACCBlogger.com’s world headquarters are in Upstate SC, I’ve been in Clemson the last couple days for the opening of their fall practice.

Friday, I got to see about 45 minutes of the Tigers in action on the practice field, and over the weekend, heard what Dabo Swinney, new OC Chad Morris and the players had to say about the new offense and picking it up.

And make no mistake, Morris thinks redshirt sophomore QB Tajh Boyd is learning his scheme just fine. Monday, Morris continued to rave about Boyd’s progress, but admitted they aren’t all the way there.

Swinney, Morris and Tajh’s teammates have repeatedly talked up Boyd’s living in the tape room, and when not there, getting in condition to run the fast-paced spread scheme of Morris.

They’re confident in Boyd, and from what I’ve seen from him so far, they have no reason not to be.

But he’ll have to grow up fast because week four holds the key to any shot at the Atlantic with FSU coming to town. The Clemson players have said over and over this offseason – they’re ready to shake off last season’s disappointment and get back atop the Atlantic, and they’re confident they can get there even with a new scheme.

2) What can we reasonably expect from BC’s Chase Rettig in his second season at QB?

As a true freshman, Chase Rettig got his first start against Notre Dame in 2010, but was knocked out by the end of the first half. After missing the NC State game, Rettig got back in the saddle for the FSU roadie, where they lost a close one – 24-19.

After losing the Maryland the next week, Rettig’s Eagles pulled off five-straight wins – by the end of his first campaign, BC was a modest 5-4 in his starts.

His best performance by far was at Duke, where he was 12-for-24 with 230 passing yards and two passing TDs. Rettig finished with 1,238 passing yards – completing passes at a 51.3 percent clip with nine interceptions and six touchdowns. Not bad for a freshman, but not great either.

With a new offensive coordinator in Kevin Rogers, you figure he can only go up.

BC Interruption laid out the case for his upside versus 2010 ACC Rookie of the Year Danny O’Brien of Maryland recently, and a pretty good one at that.

Rettig has tools around him this season with his top four receivers and three rushers back to do some damage in season two.

But the gauntlet of three road three road trips in October to Clemson, Virginia Tech and Maryland – and hosting FSU on short rest on a Thursday will be tough on the sophomore. Add to that, the Eagles have a couple more road trips to Notre Dame and Miami to close out the season.

I say all that to say this – Rettig seems to have the weapons to have a better year this season with every start (health-willing), but it probably won’t show up in the overall Eagles’ record.

3) While we’re talking QB, anything happen at that position at NC State this offseason?

I touched on this briefly in a Southern Pigskin column recently, but how many Russell Wilson v. Mike Glennon stats comparisons will we see this season?

It’s completely not fair to Glennon – to Tom O’Brien, a bit – either way, it’s going to happen.

Can’t have a lock for preseason All-ACC QB move on to a BCS contender and it not.

So, the bar is already pretty high for junior Mike Glennon, and he has less experience than sophomore QBs in his division like Danny O’Brien (MD), Chase Rettig (BC) and Tanner Price (WF).

His coach is really high on him though, but much like Tajh Boyd in Clemson, we really don’t know what we’ll see this season at QB in Raliegh.

4) FSU defense key to the expected ACC title run?

The ‘Noles made the jump in total defense from 92nd in 2009 to 42nd in 2010 in Mark Stoops’ first season as defensive coordinator.

And with a majority of the starters back, including a beast of a defensive line (ranked best in the nation by Rivals) – look for that total D no. to only improve.

With all eyes on E.J. Manuel in his first year in charge of the FSU offense, this defense comes in a tad underrated. They could really be the key to any success the Seminoles have this season.

5) Who is Danny O’Brien going to throw to (and does it matter as much this season)?

Torrey Smith and Adrian Cannon made up 103 of Danny O’Brien’s 192 completions last season.

They’re gone.

The most catches any single returning receiver has from last season is 16 with senior Quintin McCree.

That’s not going to be easy to replace.

Randy Edsall is well aware of this, and has called on senior RB Davin Meggett to be a workhorse this season – something that Maryland didn’t do much of under Ralph Friedgen.

It’s the smart move with a young QB feeling out who he has for targets. And I think Meggett can be a workhorse at his size.

6) Will anything Wake Forest does this season matter?

Sounds kinda harsh of a question, doesn’t it?

But it’s valid. Towards the end of the Riley Skinner era to now, Wake Forest has taken a turn for the worst when it comes to football.

Whether it’s the 68-24 loss at Stanford, or even the 28-27 heartbreaking loss to Navy at home – 2010 was one to forget.

With a young team grownup (slightly) – having as many returning starters as any team in the league, they should be better, but like BC, it probably won’t show in the final record.

But to answer the question, QB Tanner Price and RB Josh Harris improving will make this season matter for the future of Wake Forest football. With four senior starters on the o-line, getting reps for the next in line will be crucial if Jim Grobe’s Deacs hope to sniff a bowl in the next couple seasons (an easier conference schedule from the ACC would give them hope as well).

2011 ACC Blogger Football Preview – ACC Champion/Full Rundown

Posted by Brandon Rink on July 24, 2011 under ACC Football | Comments are off for this article

Picking an ACC champ, the division, week by week game picks, bowl projections and more…

It’s almost here.

I’m on the road to Pinehurst, NC for the ACC Football Kickoff. Can’t wait to talk ACC pigskin with all 12 coaches and a couple players from each school (and hundreds of media).

We’ve done the countdown for picks for both divisions, and here’s the rundown…

Projected ACC Standings/Champion (Our ACC previews in the links)

Atlantic

1) Florida State Seminoles 8-0 (11-1 overall)
2) NC State Wolfpack 5-3 (8-4 overall)
3) Clemson Tigers 4-4 (7-5 overall)
4) Maryland Terrapins 3-5 (6-6 overall)
5) Boston College Eagles 3-5 (6-6 overall)
6) Wake Forest Demon Deacons 1-7 (3-9 overall)

Coastal

1) Virginia Tech Hokies 7-1 (11-1 overall)
2) North Carolina Tar Heels 6-2 (10-2 overall)
3) Miami Hurricanes 4-4 (8-4 overall)
4) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 3-5 (7-5 overall)
5) Virginia Cavaliers 2-6 (6-6 overall)
6) Duke Blue Devils 2-6 (4-8 overall)

ACC Championship Pick: Florida State over Virginia Tech 27-24

Analysis: Watched these two from the stands of the frozen tundra of Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte NC last year – and Virginia Tech outclassed the ‘Noles with another brilliant game from All-ACC QB Tyrod Taylor.

Now, the sides are a little more even QB-wise as E.J. Manuel was a late sub to start for the injured Christian Ponder in the ‘10 matchup. These are the two clear favorites in the ACC, and the way the schedule shapes up, could have even higher aspirations. We have a lot of football to go before early December, but FSU will be a little more tested going into this matchup and pull out a close one.

Griffin Wong has been doing his team by team previews on the site and here’s his final standings and ACC Champ…

Atlantic

1) Florida State 10-2 (7-1 ACC)
2) Maryland 10-2 (7-1 ACC)
3) NC State 8-4 (5-3 ACC)
4) Clemson 6-6 (4-4 ACC)
5) Boston College 7-5 (3-5 ACC)
6) Wake Forest 2-10 (0-8 ACC)

Coastal

1) Virginia Tech 12-0 (8-0 ACC)
2) Miami 9-3 (5-3 ACC)
3) UNC 8-4 (4-4 ACC)
4) GT 6-6 (3-5 ACC)
5) UVA 6-6 (2-6 ACC)
6) Duke 4-8 (1-7 ACC)

ACC Championship Pick: VT over FSU.

Analysis: I love Florida State’s talent, but I have to go with experience in this one. The Hokies have been there before, winning the ACC 3 out of the last 4 years (including a 44-33 win over Florida State last season).

Contributor J.J. Greenstein offers his divisional picks and ACC champ…

Atlantic

1. Florida State: Though they lost Christian Ponder, they’re replacing him with EJ Manuel, who has a Gator Bowl MVP and experience against three ACC teams, Oklahoma, and was 11-15 with a touchdown pass against South Carolina in last year’s Chik-Fil-A Bowl. The ‘Noles also return their top two rushers and receivers- the offense may be better than it was last year with Ponder. The ‘Noles also return a ton of talent on defense. Watch out!

2. N.C. State: Quarterback Russell Wilson has transferred to Wisconsin, and it’s time to move on. Mike Glennon will be fine for the Pack, who will have an improved offensive line and a running back group that is in much better shape going into this year than it was a year ago. With an improved defense (yes, better even with the loss of linebacker Nate Irving), especially in the secondary, which is full of upper-classmen, this team can improve on last year’s nine win season.

3. Clemson: Questions surround Tajh Boyd, who has only completed 52% of his passes in mop-up duty. They do return Andre Ellington and a talented offensive line. The defense lots quite a bit of talent, but should still be successful. As for me having them picked so low, Dabo Swinney struggles to get the best out of the talent he has on the roster, as apparent in last season’s under .500 finish

4. Maryland: The Terrapins return the ACC’s best quarterback, along with a new coach and system. It still baffles me why they let the Fridge go after a season where he was named the ACC’s Coach of the Year. The new system will set them back, along with the loss of talented wide-out Torrey Smith. They have a tough conference schedule as they must travel to Florida State and NC State and play cross-divisional games against Miami and Georgia Tech.

5. Boston College: Montel Harris returns for the Eagles, which is huge because, in my opinion, he is the most talented running back in the conference. The quarterback situation is still messy, so the Eagles will have to rely on their defense to keep them in games. I’m not sure if they can do it, with conference road games at Clemson, Virginia Tech, Maryland, and Miami. If Chase Rettig can figure things out under center, maybe the Eagles could make some noise, but with their schedule that will be tough.

6. Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons return 17 starters from last year’s team- but the defense last season was horrendous at times- as they gave up over 35 points per game. Running back Josh Harris will need to spark the offense for Wake Forest to make a bowl game. He’ll need to get into a rhythm quickly as the Deacons start their season with six of their first seven games being in-conference.

Coastal

1. Virginia Tech: Until proven otherwise, the Hokies run the ACC. While Logan Thomas is unlikely to be as productive in his first year as Tyrod Taylor was, the Hokies are just reloading and he’ll have plenty of weapons to work with this season. The defense is expected to be solid like usual for a Frank Beamer team. As long as they can get past Appalachian State and East Carolina, they could possibly make a run at going undefeated.

2. Miami: New head coach Al Golden has sparked new energy in a program that had seemed to have lost its swagger. They’ll be solid up front on both sides of the ball and have the luxury of having two quarterbacks with starting experience in Jacory Harris and Stephen Morris. The secondary may be the ‘Canes biggest weakness- and it will be tested often as they play a tough schedule that includes road games at Florida State and Virginia Tech.

3. North Carolina: Like Miami, Carolina’s strength is on the offensive and defensive lines. They also return their receiving corps in tact from last season. New quarterback Bryn Renner is untested (he’s only thrown two passes in his career) and will need to get into a rhythm for the Tar Heels to have a successful season.

4. Georgia Tech: The Jackets surprised many with their unsuccessful season following their 2009 ACC Title- wait that never happened, my bad. They must replace Josh Nesbitt and their top running back, Anthony Allen. The defense was a liability last season and should improve some this season. I don’t see this team winning more than three conference games, and I would bet Paul Johnson finds himself on the hot seat fairly soon.

5. Virginia: I’ve said many times before that Mike London will do a good job at UVa, but it’s going to take time. Their schedule looks too tough for them to pull out six wins; their three cross-divisional games are against the top three Atlantic teams from last season. They brought in a top 25 recruiting class and they’ll be where they want to be soon if they can continue doing that, but patience is a virtue right now in Charlottesville.

6. Duke: The Blue Devils’ passing game is going to put up a lot of points this season, and they’re going to need every one of them as their defense- which just lost safety Issac Blakeney for the season due to suspension. Quarterback Sean Renfree better be incredible if this team wants to make a bowl game this year under Coach David Cutcliffe.

ACC Championship Pick: Virginia Tech – Like last year, the Hokies will prevail over the Seminoles. Though, this season I look for Virginia Tech’s defense to step up and win the game. Ball control with David Wilson will make the difference in keeping the Seminoles defense on the field.

Week by week game picks (Brandon’s)

Date	Opponent	Pick
09/01/11	Western Carolina @ Georgia Tech	GT 38-13
	Wake Forest @ Syracuse	SU 20-13
09/03/11	Northwestern @ Boston College	BC 17-13
	Appalachian State @ Virginia Tech	VT 38-10
	James Madison @ North Carolina	UNC 31-17
	Troy @ Clemson	CU 41-17
	ULM @ Florida State	FSU 49-10
	Liberty @ NC State	NCSU 44-21
	William & Mary @ Virginia	UVa 31-13
	Richmond @ Duke	Duke 31-17
09/05/11	Miami @ Maryland Week One Standings Atlantic 1)       MD: 1-0 (1-0) 2)       FSU: 0-0 (1-0) 3)       BC: 0-0 (1-0) 4)       CU: 0-0 (1-0) 5)       NCSU: 0-0 (1-0) 6)       WF: 0-0 (0-1) Coastal 1)       VT: 0-0 (1-0) 2)       GT: 0-0 (1-0) 3)       UNC: 0-0 (1-0) 4)       Duke: 0-0 (1-0) 5)       UVa: 0-0 (1-0) 6)       UM: 0-1 (0-1)	MD 24-17
09/10/11	Rutgers @ North Carolina	UNC 31-20
	NC State @ Wake Forest	NCSU 17-13
	Stanford @ Duke	Stanford 41-24
	Wofford @ Clemson	CU 49-10
	Charleston Southern @ Florida State	FSU 56-10
	Boston College @ UCF	BC 19-17
	Georgia Tech @ Middle Tennessee State	GT 38-24
	Virginia @ Indiana	UVa 20-16
	Virginia Tech @ East Carolina Week Two Standings Atlantic 1)       MD: 1-0 (1-0) 2)       NCSU: 1-0 (2-0) 3)       BC: 0-0 (2-0) 4)       CU: 0-0 (2-0) 5)       FSU: 0-0 (2-0) 6)       WF: 0-1 (0-2) Coastal 1)       VT: 0-0 (2-0) 2)       GT: 0-0 (2-0) 3)       UNC: 0-0 (2-0) 4)       UVa: 0-0 (2-0) 5)       Duke: 0-0 (1-1) 6)       UM: 0-1 (0-1)	VT 31-21
09/17/11	Auburn @ Clemson	CU 24-17
	West Virginia @ Maryland	MD 27-24
	Duke @ Boston College	BC 21-17
	Kansas @ Georgia Tech	GT 24-14
	Virginia @ North Carolina	UNC 27-17
	Arkansas State @ Virginia Tech	VT 45-6
	South Alabama @ NC State	NCSU 42-17
	Gardner-Webb @ Wake Forest	WF 49-17
	Ohio State @ Miami	UM 28-21
	Oklahoma @ Florida State Week Three Standings Atlantic 1)   NCSU: 1-0 (3-0) 2)       BC: 1-0 (3-0) 3)    MD: 1-0 (2-0) 4)       CU: 0-0 (3-0) 5)       FSU: 0-0 (2-1) 6)       WF: 0-1 (1-2) Coastal 1)       UNC: 1-0 (3-0) 2)       VT: 0-0 (3-0) 3)       GT: 0-0 (3-0) 4)       UVa: 0-1 (2-1) 5)       UM: 0-1 (1-1) 6)       Duke: 0-1 (1-2)	OU 27-23
09/22/11	NC State @ Cincinnati	UC 24-21
09/24/11	Florida State @ Clemson	FSU 27-24
	Kansas State @ Miami	UM 24-21
	Massachusetts @ Boston College	BC 42-17
	North Carolina @ Georgia Tech	GT 14-10
	Southern Miss @ Virginia	UVa 27-20
	Temple @ Maryland	MD 31-17
	Tulane @ Duke	Duke 42-24
	Virginia Tech @ Marshall Through One Month Atlantic 1)   BC: 1-0 (4-0) 2)   MD: 1-0 (3-0) 3)   NCSU: 1-0 (3-1) 4)       FSU: 1-0 (3-1) 5)       CU: 0-1 (3-1) 6)       WF: 0-1 (1-2) Coastal 1)       GT: 1-0 (4-0) 2)       UNC: 1-1 (3-1) 3)       VT: 0-0 (4-0) 4)       UVa: 0-1 (3-1) 5)       UM: 0-1 (2-1) 6)       Duke: 0-1 (2-2)	VT 55-17
10/01/11	Bethune Cookman @ Miami	UM 38-10
	Clemson @ Virginia Tech	VT 31-17
	Duke @ FIU	FIU 28-27
	Georgia Tech @ NC State	NCSU 21-14
	Idaho @ Virginia	UVa 31-13
	North Carolina @ East Carolina	UNC 31-28
	Towson @ Maryland	MD 55-10
	Wake Forest @ Boston College Week Five Standings Atlantic 1)   BC: 2-0 (5-0) 2)   NCSU 2-0 (4-1) 3)   MD: 1-0 (4-0) 4)   FSU: 1-0 (3-1) 5)   CU: 0-2 (3-2) 6)   WF: 0-2 (1-3) Coastal 1)       VT: 1-0 (5-0) 2)       GT: 1-1 (4-1) 3)       UNC: 1-1 (4-1) 4)       UVa: 0-1 (4-1) 5)       UM: 0-1 (3-1) 6)       Duke: 0-1 (2-3)	BC 24-13
10/08/11	Boston College @ Clemson	CU 24-20
	C. Michigan @ NC State	NCSU 48-17
	Florida State @ Wake Forest	FSU 34-14
	Louisville @ North Carolina	UNC 27-16
	Maryland @ Georgia Tech	GT 17-14
	Miami @ Virginia Tech Week Six Standings Atlantic 1)   NCSU: 2-0 (5-1) 2)       FSU: 2-0 (4-1) 3)       BC: 2-1 (5-1) 4)       MD: 1-1 (4-1) 5)       CU: 1-2 (4-2) 6)       WF: 0-3 (1-4) Coastal 1)       VT: 2-0 (6-0) 2)       GT: 2-1 (5-1) 3)       UNC: 1-1 (5-1) 4)       UVa: 0-1 (4-1) 5)       Duke: 0-1 (2-3) 6)       UM: 0-2 (3-2)	VT 31-10
10/15/11	Clemson @ Maryland	CU 24-21
	Florida State @ Duke	FSU 38-17
	Georgia Tech @ Virginia	UVa 24-21
	Miami @ North Carolina	UNC 20-14
	Virginia Tech @ Wake Forest Week Seven Standings Atlantic 1)       FSU: 3-0 (5-1) 2)       NCSU: 2-0 (5-1) 3)       BC: 2-1 (5-1) 4)       CU: 2-2 (5-2) 5)       MD: 1-2 (4-2) 6)       WF: 0-4 (1-5) Coastal 1)       VT: 3-0 (7-0) 2)       UNC: 2-1 (6-1) 3)       GT: 2-2 (5-2) 4)       UVa: 1-1 (5-1) 5)       Duke: 0-2 (2-4) 6)       UM: 0-3 (3-3)	VT 38-17
10/22/11	Boston College @ Virginia Tech	VT 27-16
	Georgia Tech @ Miami	UM 24-17
	Maryland @ Florida State	FSU 24-13
	NC State @ Virginia	NCSU 21-17
	North Carolina @ Clemson	CU 28-24
	Wake Forest @ Duke Week Eight Standings Atlantic 1)       FSU: 4-0 (6-1) 2)       NCSU: 3-0 (6-1) 3)       CU: 3-2 (6-2) 4)       BC: 2-2 (5-2) 5)       MD: 1-3 (4-3) 6)       WF: 0-5 (1-6) Coastal 1)       VT: 4-0 (8-0) 2)       UNC: 2-2 (6-2) 3)       GT: 2-3 (5-3) 4)       UVa: 1-2: (5-2) 5)       Duke: 1-2 (3-4) 6)       UM: 1-3 (4-3)	Duke 31-28
10/27/11	Virginia @ Miami	UM 31-16
10/29/11	Boston College @ Maryland	MD 20-17
	Clemson @ Georgia Tech	GT 28-24
	NC State @ Florida State	FSU 27-17
	Virginia Tech @ Duke	VT 31-17
	Wake Forest @ North Carolina Through Two Months… Atlantic 1)       FSU: 5-0 (7-1) 2)       NCSU: 3-1 (6-2) 3)       CU: 3-3 (6-3) 4)       BC: 2-3 (5-3) 5)       MD: 2-3 (5-3) 6)       WF: 0-6 (1-7) Coastal 1)       VT: 5-0 (9-0) 2)       UNC: 3-2 (7-2) 3)       GT: 3-3 (6-3) 4)       UM: 2-3 (5-3) 5)       UVa: 1-3 (5-3) 6)       Duke: 1-3 (5-3)	UNC  28-20
11/03/11	Florida State @ Boston College	FSU 24-16
11/05/11	Duke @ Miami	UM 24-21
	North Carolina @ NC State	UNC 21-17
	Notre Dame @ Wake Forest	ND 34-17
	Virginia @ Maryland Week 10 Standings Atlantic 1)       FSU: 6-0 (8-1)* 2)       CU: 4-2 (7-2) 3)       NCSU: 3-2 (6-3) 4)       MD: 3-3 (6-3) 5)       BC: 2-4 (5-4) 6)       WF: 0-6 (1-8) Coastal 1)       VT: 5-0 (9-0) 2)       UNC: 4-2 (8-2) 3)       UM: 3-3 (6-3) 4)       GT: 3-3 (6-3) 5)       UVa: 1-4 (5-4) 6)       Duke: 1-4 (3-6) *Clinched Atlantic	MD 24-20
11/10/11	Virginia Tech @ Georgia Tech	VT 22-17
11/12/11	Maryland vs. Notre Dame	ND 27-17
	Duke @ Virginia	UVa 28-20
	Miami @ Florida State	FSU 27-21
	NC State @ Boston College	BC 23-17
	Wake Forest @ Clemson Week 11 Standings Atlantic 1)       FSU: 7-0 (9-1)* 2)       CU: 4-3 (7-3) 3)       NCSU: 3-3 (6-4) 4)       MD: 3-3 (6-4) 5)       BC: 3-4 (6-4) 6)       WF: 0-7 (1-9) Coastal 1)       VT: 6-0 (10-0) 2)       UNC: 4-2 (8-2) 3)       UM: 3-4 (6-4) 4)       GT: 3-4 (6-4) 5)       UVa: 2-4 (6-4) 6)       Duke: 1-4(3-7) *Clinched Atlantic	CU 38-21
11/17/11	North Carolina @ Virginia Tech	UNC 23-21
11/19/11	Boston College @ Notre Dame	ND 24-17
	Clemson @ NC State	NCSU  28-26
	Georgia Tech @ Duke	Duke 31-28
	Maryland @ Wake Forest	WF 24-21
	Miami @ USF	UM 28-24
	Virginia @ Florida State Week 12 Standings Atlantic 1)       FSU: 8-0 (10-1)* 2)       NCSU: 4-3 (7-4) 3)       CU: 4-4 (7-4) 4)       BC: 3-4 (6-5) 5)       MD: 3-4 (6-5) 6)       WF: 1-7 (2-9) Coastal 1)       VT: 6-1 (10-1) 2)       UNC: 5-2 (9-2) 3)       UM: 3-4 (7-4) 4)       GT: 3-5 (6-5) 5)       UVa: 2-5 (6-5) 6)       Duke: 2-5 (4-7) *Clinched Atlantic	FSU 35-14
11/25/11	Boston College @ Miami	UM 28-23
11/26/11	Clemson @ South Carolina	SC 31-21
	Duke @ North Carolina	UNC 27-17
	Florida State @ Florida	FSU 24-20
	Georgia @ Georgia Tech	GT 28-27
	Maryland @ NC State	NCSU 24-17
	Vanderbilt @ Wake Forest	WF 27-17
	Virginia Tech @ Virginia Final Regular Season Standings Atlantic 1)       FSU: 8-0 (11-1)* 2)       NCSU: 5-3 (8-4) 3)       CU: 4-4 (7-5) 4)       MD: 3-5 (6-6) 5)       BC: 3-5 (6-6) 6)       WF: 1-7 (3-9) Coastal 1)       VT: 7-1 (11-1)# 2)       UNC: 6-2 (10-2) 3)       UM: 4-4 (8-4) 4)       GT: 3-5 (6-5) 5)       UVa: 2-6 (6-6) 6)       Duke: 2-6 (4-8) *Clinched Atlantic #Clinched Coastal	VT 27-13

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Bowl Projections!

Orange: Florida State
Sugar: Virginia Tech
Chick-Fil-A: NC State
Champ Sports: UNC
Sun Bowl: Clemson
Meineke Car Care: Miami
Music City: Georgia Tech
Independence: Maryland
Military: Virginia
Emerald: Boston College

Bonus Thoughts…

1) Two BCS bowls teams for the first time in conference history. Virginia Tech and FSU might not necessarily be the best of the best, but the conference and OOC schedules are conducive to impressive final records. I don’t think either could afford a second loss in making a BCS bowl as an at-large though.

2) National champ shot? Probably not, but we’ve seen some weird stuff over the years with the BCS. Phil Steele has Bama/Oklahoma in the final, which would definitely be a scenario that would exclude the ‘Noles with a loss to OU projected. The ACC’s lack of national power over the years will work against the ‘Noles or the Hokies regardless. They’ll need to run the table for the best chance at it.

3) We ended up with 10 ACC bowl teams. Honestly, it’s not because I think the conference is going to be great – it’s more like the middle of the conference is so mediocre that they’ll all be around the six win mark.

4) More on Virginia Tech…UNC might not be where they lose (pre-ACC Championship anyways), but I don’t think they’ll go 12-0 so that’s the one that stood out to me. It’s the week after playing the physical Yellow Jackets – Virginia Tech lost at home to UNC on a Thursday in this scenario in 2009. But it could be more like last season where they won 28-21 over the Jackets and went on the road to Chapel Hill for a 26-10 win. Georgia Tech is another option for the one loss – Hokies fell 28-23 down in Atlanta in 2009. Of course, it could be fluky too like ECU or Duke or dare I say it Hokies’ fans, Virginia? Again, not 100% certain where it comes, but don’t think they’ll go 12-0.

5) I’m probably over-optimistic on OOC games. If Georgia were to go into GT and win, that knocks the Jackets down to six wins and on the edge for a bowl. Same goes for BC/UCF. If those swing the other way, the ACC could go from 10 to eight, but the quantity of teams wouldn’t be as big a deal as grabbing two BCS slots.

Your turn…