ACC Preview
Wolfpack Flows With Rivers
By David
Williams
For Outsports.com
The ACC Conference has long been a league in which
Florida State ruled supreme, with no conference
opponent coming close to challenging them. Things
began to change in 2001, when Maryland came out of
nowhere to knock Florida State from the top, and
teams like North Carolina State and Virginia began
to make some noise. North Carolina State looked to
run away with the ACC title last year, at one point
being 9-0 and ranked No. 4 in the country in some
polls. Then, with no explanation, NC State dropped
their last three games, and finished No. 4 in the
conference. Look for the ACC to once again follow
last year’s example. There really is no consensus
top team this year in the ACC, as pre-season polls
all have Maryland, Florida State, or North Carolina
State picked to win the conference. For those people
who once thought that Miami (FL) and Virginia Tech
would be able to come into this league and just
dominate, well, those people will need to take a
look at this year’s conference race. I expect the
conference race to come down to the wire, and this
is how I see the ACC shaping up.
#1 North Carolina State Wolfpack –
This highly talented Wolfpack team has one clear
leader, and his name is QB Phillip Rivers. This very
talented QB is among my top picks as a Heisman
Trophy candidate this year, and is clearly capable
of carrying this team to the ACC Title this year.
Rivers led the ACC last year in total offense,
throwing for 3,364 yards and 27 touchdowns, and he
looked phenomenal in spring workouts. Look for new
Offensive Coordinator Noel Mazzone to use Rivers
very effectively in his offensive scheme. But the
area most likely to improve on the offense this year
under Mazzone’s direction, will be the RB Corp, led
by T. A. McClendon, who led the ACC last year with
1,101 yards rushing. The Wolfpack ran for an average
144.1 yards per game last year thanks to McClendon’s
emergence, and look for them to average even more
this coming year. The NC State WR Corp looks even
stronger that last year’s squad, as the Wolfpack
finally get to start WR Tramain Hall, who had been
sidelined last year because of eligibility issues.
Add Hall’s 4.38 speed to a highly talented starting
group of Richard Washington and Sterling Hicks,
along with a veteran offensive line that allowed
only 11 sacks last year, and you have a very potent
offensive scheme that will give ACC Defensive
Coordinators headaches all year long. To round out
things for this football squad, you have a
rejuvenated Wolfpack defense, which finished first
in the ACC last year, allowing only 3.4 yards
rushing per carry, and that punished ACC
Quarterbacks last year, totally 48 sacks. When you
mix the offensive talent in with a defensive squad
that looks to beat last year’s numbers, and you have
a formula that adds up to Head Coach Chuck Amato’s
first conference title. NC State does have to travel
to Florida State this year, but they get Texas Tech,
Virginia, Clemson, and Maryland all at home, so NC
State is in fantastic position to bring home a
conference title, and to put Chuck Amato in the
running for ACC Coach of the Year.
#2 Maryland Terrapins -- The Terrapins
would have been my pre-season number one pick for
the ACC, but they have probably the toughest
schedule of the top ACC teams, with only Florida
State playing a tougher non-conference schedule.
Maryland has to travel to Florida State and NC
State, while they do get Virginia at home this year.
Probably the most improved player on this team is
West Virginia transfer QB Scott McBrien, who had a
very rough start last year, throwing for only 127
yards per game in his first three games. McBrien
came alive against Eastern Michigan last year, and
went on to throw for 2,497 yards with 15 touchdowns.
As long as McBrien stays healthy, I look to see him
only get better as the 2003 season unfolds. The
Terrapins will finally have their number one RB back
this year, as RB Bruce Perry returns from a serious
groin injury that sidelined him most of the year
last year. Perry was the ACC Offensive Player of the
Year in 2001, rushing for 1,264 yards, and caught 43
receptions. After watching Perry in spring workouts,
this guy is back to his 2001 form, and will provide
Maryland with the balanced offensive attack it will
need to challenge for the ACC title. The Terps did
lose their top WR from last year’s team, but look
for Latrez Harrison to move nicely into that top
spot, with Steve Suter, and his 4.34 speed to offer
a serious distraction to opposing defenses, allowing
Harrison to play against single coverages. Tight-End
Jeff Dugan should also shine again this year,
forcing defenses to give him lots of respect on
passing plays. Eight of the top ten offensive
linemen return for Maryland this year, providing
great stability for the Maryland offense. The
Terrapin’s defense is among the best in the
conference, led by Linebacker Leon Joe, who benches
470 pounds, but has 4.43 speed, and can close on
opponents faster than anything I have witnessed in
my years of covering college football. Coach Ralph
Friedgen definitely has the talent to win the ACC
this year, if they can overcome their schedule. The
November 22nd game between Maryland and
North Carolina State will be a game that no ACC fan
will want to miss, with the winner more than likely
taking the ACC Title home with them.
#3 Florida State Seminoles -- There
are plenty of pre-season pollsters who are picking
Florida State to win the ACC this year, and they do
have the advantage of playing both Maryland and NC
State at home. Florida State has by far the toughest
non-conference schedule this year, playing Colorado,
Miami (FL), Notre Dame, and Florida this year. That
all spells out a lot of trouble for FSU QB Chris Rix.
Quite frankly, the QB position is the weak spot of
this Florida State team. Chris Rix is the starter,
basically by default, because Florida State does not
have better talent behind him. Chris Rix can at
times look like a Heisman Trophy Candidate, but he
lacks consistency. When Rix is good, there is
probably none better in the conference. But when he
is bad, he is really bad, and lately he has been
showing his bad side a lot. Look for Rix to remain
as the starting QB, unless Fabian Walker can show
much improvement over his 2003 Sugar Bowl
performance against Georgia. The star of this
offense is RB Greg Jones. Jones, who weighs 248
pounds with 4.5 speed, was well on his way to a
1,000 yard season, until he went down against Wake
Forest. Look for him to return this fall, and look
like he never stopped running last year. Florida
State’s Offensive Line lost a lot of starters from
last year’s squad, but they do have very impressive
looking players to step up and fill the holes.
Whether or not they can maintain the 4.7 yards per
carry of last year’s unit remains to be seen. The WR
Corp of last year’s squad was quite honestly,
pathetic. The only team’s WR Corp to drop more
passes than Florida State was Syracuse. Florida
State dropped over 32 passes last year. Look for
them to be much better this year, as Chris Davis
returns from a knee injury that kept him sidelined
last year, and Craphonso Thorpe who returns to
provide a good balance to the FSU passing attack.
Look for FSU’s defense to show much improvement over
last year’s unit, which was the worst defensive unit
fielded by Florida State in over a decade. Several
players return this year, providing Florida State
with something it did not have last year, veteran
leadership. While this defense will not challenge
for the best defense in the ACC, it will prove to be
respectable, something last year’s defense was not.
Head Coach Bobby Bowden faces an extremely
challenging road this 2003 season, and the only way
that Florida State will win an ACC Title this year
will be if everything goes right for this team. That
rarely happens in college football, especially
facing the schedule that Florida State is facing.
#4 Virginia Cavaliers -- This Virginia
team looks to seriously cause major headaches for
the top 3 favored teams in this conference. Head
Coach Al Groh has brought respectability to this
program, and has the Virginia faithful believing in
this team, and for good reason. Even though I have
them fourth in the conference, that does not mean
that this team cannot challenge for an ACC Title,
but their schedule is against them, facing NC State
and Maryland on the road. QB Matt Schaub lit up the
skies in Cavalier land last year, throwing for over
2,976 yards and 28 touchdowns, setting school
records. Schaub won ACC Player of the Year honors
last year, and finished ranked number two in the
NCAA for completion percentage. Sophomore RB Wali
Lundy returns this year to finish what he started
last year. Lundy replaced RB Alvin Pearman last
year, averaging 112.7 yards per game against three
of the top collegiate defensive units. Lundy
finished with 826 yards rushing, as well as being
the teams second Wide Receiver, hauling in 58
catches. Virginia returns the best Tight End Corp in
the ACC, led by Heath Miller. Michael McGraw returns
to lead this year’s veteran WR Corp, and I expect
this group of Wide Receivers to shine even more this
year, as Matt Schaub continues to mature as QB.
Virginia’s Offensive Line returns eight of their top
ten starters, and looks to provide both Schaub and
Lundy a great line to play behind. Virginia is also
fielding a much-improved Defensive Back unit, and a
very strong Defensive Line as well. But the strength
of the Cavalier Defense will be their group of
Linebackers, perhaps the best in the ACC. If
Virginia can pull off one or two upsets on the road
this year, Coach Al Groh could possibly win
Virginia’s first ACC title in a decade.
#5 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets – Head
Coach Chan Gailey brought his running attack style
offense into Yellow Jacket land, and went on to lead
Georgia Tech to a winning season and a bowl game
last year. Look for Tennessee transfer QB A.J. Suggs
to pick up where he left off last year, as he
finished the 2002 season very strong, averaging 223
yards per game the last five games of the season.
Suggs finished with 2,242 yards passing last year,
and look for that number to only get larger this
year. RB Tony Hollings has incredible 4.39 speed,
and a powerful 211-pound frame. Chan Gailey will
throw this powerful run offense against ACC
opponents this year. Mix this with one of the
strongest returning defensive units of last year,
and don’t be surprised to see Georgia Tech upsetting
some people this year on their way to a possible
eight or nine-win season, and another bowl game.
#6 Clemson Tigers -- Head Coach Tommy
Bowden came to Clemson promising great things. After
going 8-0 in the first part of the 2000 season, many
thought he was right about making those promises.
Since then, Clemson has gone 15-14, and Tiger fans
are growing impatient with Bowden. QB Charlie
Whitehurst began his college career last year
strong, throwing for 694 yards and 8 touchdowns. But
that was against the two bottom teams in the ACC
last year. After that, Whitehurst struggled; hitting
only 12 of 26 passes against Maryland last year for
130 yards. Still, Whitehurst set, or tied 15 Clemson
freshman records. He provides a good nucleus for
Bowden to build upon this year. If Bowden can find
some talent in a very weak appearing RB corp,
Clemson just might be able to mount an exciting
offensive attack, as Clemson is returning a very
talented WR corp this year, led by WR Derrick
Hamilton, who led the ACC last year in all-purpose
yards with 144.8 yards per game. Mix the offensive
talent with a defensive unit that is growing
stronger each year, you have a team that could make
some noise in the ACC, and make their fifth-straight
bowl game, possible buying Bowden one more year at
Clemson.
#6 North Carolina Tarheels -- This is
a North Carolina team that is facing a long season,
playing Wisconsin, North Carolina State, Maryland,
and Georgia Tech all on the road. Head Coach John
Bunting has done well with tough schedules, going
8-5 in 2000 against the toughest schedule in the
NCAA that year. Last year looked promising for the
Tarheels, but this team was devastated with
injuries, and finished 3-8. QB Darian Durant was on
pace last year to set school records for yards,
completions, and attempts before a season-ending
thumb injury against Virginia. He is back this year,
and mix in Junior RB Jacque Lewis, and SEC Freshman
of the Year transfer Chad Scott from Kentucky, and
the Tarheel offense is showing some life this fall.
The North Carolina Defense, led by second-year
defensive coordinator Dave Huxtable, is showing vast
improvement over last year’s squad. While this North
Carolina team is not at ACC Title caliber just yet,
look for them to surprise some teams, and maybe even
become bowl eligible this year.
#7 Duke Blue Devils – Head Coach Carl
Franks has been at Duke for five years, and has just
a 5-40 record overall. Duke cannot begin to compete
in the ACC until the school goes out and brings in a
top-caliber coach. Perhaps Duke needs to take some
of the money its Basketball team makes, and invest
it in a coach who can turn Duke’s football fortunes
around. One bright spot on the Duke team is RB Chris
Douglas. Douglas sat out most of the year last year
because of injuries, but rushed for 841 yards in
2001, and was ranked seventh nationally in
all-purpose yards. Add Fullback Alex Wade, who took
Douglas’s place last year rushing for 158 yards per
game, and you have a very potent running attack.
Duke is returning a veteran WR corp this year, but
Duke has limited talent, at best, with starting QB
Adam Smith. Duke’s defense also looks to be
improved, but not enough to bring this team out of
the ACC cellar. Hopefully, Duke’s Athletic Director
will wake up from the snooze he has been taking for
the last several years, and will go out and find a
coach that can bring Duke out of the ACC cellar, and
into competition with the rest of the ACC.
#8 Wake Forest Demon Deacons -- The
only team worse than Duke this year is Wake Forest.
However, unlike Duke, Wake Forest has a very good
head coach in Jim Grobe. Grobe has done a very good
job in the limited time he had been here, and was
rewarded with a 10-year extension on this contract.
This year will be a rebuilding year for Wake Forest,
but they have very solid talent at the QB position,
with Sophomore Cory Randolph, and True Freshman Zac
Taylor. Another bright spot for Wake Forest is their
RB corp, led by Sophomore Chris Barclay, who has 4.4
speed and rushed for almost 800 yards in his
freshman season. Wake Forest is returning a pretty
strong defensive unit this year that only looks to
get better with experience. While Wake Forest may be
at the ACC cellar this year, do not look for them to
remain their long, as this team is loaded with
talent that just needs to gain experience before
they begin challenging teams in the ACC. While this
team is very inexperienced, no teams should overlook
the Deacons, as they just may pull off an upset or
two this year.
As you can see, the ACC is no longer Florida State’s
personal playground. The top four teams in this
conference all stand a very good chance to win the
ACC title this year. I have read several articles in
which football forecasters have predicted that the
top ACC teams will not be able to compete once Miami
(FL) and Virginia Tech join the ACC. I strongly
disagree with that method of thinking. I look for
Maryland, Virginia, Florida State, and North
Caroline State to all hold their own, forcing the
new additions to really earn the conference titles
they may win. For ACC fans, I see a very exciting
future ahead. Maybe, just maybe, the ACC Football
Title will be as heavily a contested title as the
ACC Basketball Title. That would be very good for
College Football, very good indeed. Stay tuned as I
take on the PAC-10 Conference next week.
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