Nina's Sports Bad Boys Blog World: Andy Staples: 2011 ACC conference preview

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Andy Staples: 2011 ACC conference preview

ACC 2011 Conference Report

Is Florida State really back? Will Virginia Tech's reign ever end? Can Al Golden return Miami to prominence? SI.com's Andy Staples tackles that and much more in his 2011 ACC conference preview.

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How They'll Finish

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Offensive MVP

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Defensive MVP

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Impact Freshman

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Coach On The Hot Seat

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Three Key Nonconference Games

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Three Key Conference Games

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Five Key Questions

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You idiots in the media say Florida State is back every year. Why should anyone believe you this year? That's a great question. As faithful readers know, I tend to refer to the league that stretches along the Atlantic coast as the Virginia Tech Conference, and I will continue to do so unless some other program proves that the Hokies aren't going to dominate the league year after year. Florida State looks like that program. Jimbo Fisher seems to be moving along the same trajectory as mentor Nick Saban did at Alabama. For the first time in years, FSU should take the field with superior athletes in every conference game. E.J. Manuel is about as seasoned as a first-year starting quarterback gets. Xavier Rhodes and Greg Reid should make plays in the secondary. Youngsters such as 6-6, 240-pound receiver Kelvin Benjamin should contribute quickly. FSU won't ever dominate the conference the way it did during its first 10 years in the league, but as long as Fisher keeps doing what he's doing, the Seminoles should be in the title hunt most years.
So does that mean Virginia Tech is going to slide? Not exactly. As noted above, Logan Thomas looks like the real deal. He'll have the Hokies' top five pass-catchers from 2010 as targets. The passing game may have to make up some of the production the running game lost when Darren Evans and Ryan Williams turned pro, but tailback David Wilson did average 5.5 yards per carry last year. An opposing quarterback would be a fool to throw in the direction of cornerback Jayron Hosley, who led the nation last year in interceptions with nine. Virginia Tech still has plenty of talent and a weak nonconference schedule that leaves open the possibility of an undefeated regular season.
Can Al Golden bring Miami back to prominence? That's going to be tough. If Florida State were still down, Golden's job wouldn't be so hard. Miami plays divisional games against Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech every year, and the Hurricanes also have the misfortune of an annual interdivisional rivalry with the Seminoles. Miami still has plenty of talent, but Golden is going to have to get more out of the Hurricanes than Randy Shannon did. Golden would like to name a starting quarterback (Jacory Harris or Stephen Morris) by Aug. 22, but the strength of Miami's offense might be its running game. Lamar Miller and Mike James combined to average 5.9 yards per carry in 2010. Grinding out drives on the ground could help Miami's offense and its defense.
Georgia Tech was the last non-Virginia Tech team to win the VTC. How will the Yellow Jackets fare? If you could bottle coach Paul Johnson's rage toward the NCAA and administer a few drops on each player's tongue before each game, Georgia Tech would go undefeated and win the national championship. So get on that, engineers. Failing that, Georgia Tech still may impact the title race. Only one team faces the Yellow Jackets after an open date. It's Virginia Tech, on a Thursday, and Georgia Tech also has an open date before the game. That means everyone else will have only a standard game week to prepare for Georgia Tech's option. For defenses that listen to their coaches and don't freelance, that's manageable. For defenses that rely on athleticism more than scheme, that's a big problem.
What happens to North Carolina in the wake of the Butch Davis firing? North Carolina's players have been through the wringer. Last season, they saw a team that could possibly have competed for a national title dismantled by an NCAA scandal. Then, in their infinite wisdom, North Carolina officials allowed coach Butch Davis to keep his job. After going through the entire offseason, North Carolina officials, in their infinite wisdom, fired Butch Davis. The Tar Heels are in an awful spot, but they still have some good players. Defensive end Quinton Coples is one of the ACC's best defenders. Many of North Carolina's defenders were thrown into the fire last season to replace suspended teammates, and that experience should benefit the Tar Heels this season.