Florida State & Virginia Tech to lead the ACC: College Football Preview

Jimbo Fisher's Florida State Seminoles are the +150 favorites to represent the Atlantic Coast Conference in the BCS and 12/1 to win their third National Championship, first since 1999. FSU is following up on a 10-4 campaign that ended with a 26-17 victory in the Chick-fil-A Bowl over the South Carolina Gamecocks after a defeat in the ACC Championship to Virginia Tech. 

College football odds makers like a repeat of that 'Noles, Hokies battle for this year's conference title. Frank Beamer and Va Tech rank among the top programs in the nation, even-money favorites in the Coastal Division and +250 to take home their fourth ACC trophy in the past five seasons.

Ten other schools hope to upset those betting odds, but only three enter the season as hard threats to Florida State and Virginia Tech - Miami, North Carolina, and Maryland. It's not necessarily a down year for ACC College Football, but six bowl invites might be all the conference can realistically expect. 

Nine schools played on through the holidays last season with the previous five mentioned joined by Georgia Tech, Clemson, North Carolina State and Boston College. 

FSU & Va Tech lead ACC into 2011 

It's been eight seasons since the ACC sent a team to the BCS Championship, and it would be at least a small upset for that streak to be broken this time. The Seminoles and Hokies certainly possess teams that could crash the party, and the irony is if either does it will be with totally different numbers in the SOS column of the process. 

Florida State has the tougher slate of the two, much tougher. They will host the Oklahoma Sooners, tabbed #1 in most preseason projections, on Sept. 17 and that one game will go a long way to determining the Seminoles' season. Win it and they instantly become a top 5 team; lose it and it means having to win out to have any shot of playing for the BCS title. That means beating Florida on the road at the end of the regular season, then winning the ACC Championship. 

Along the way there will also be road trips to Clemson and Boston College plus home dates with Maryland and Miami. 

Virginia Tech Hokies' strength of schedule? It's the same as their ACC slate. The Hokies will host Appalachian State and Arkansas State while traveling to East Carolina and Marshall for their non-conference schedule. Yes, I remember what the Mountaineers did several years ago in Michigan. The Pirates aren't a non-con slouch, and Va Tech did embarrass itself last year in a loss to little ol' James Madison after a hard-fought defeat to Boise State in the season opener. 

The simple truth remains that Frank Beamer's boys have a pretty darn good shot at going 12-0 in the regular season, and that alone will have them part of any BCS talk. The Hokies have a very favorable conference slate with Clemson, Miami, Boston College and North Carolina all coming to Blacksburg. 

While the two teams share disparate schedules, they're alike in that each is breaking in a new quarterback. Christian Ponder departed Florida State for Minnesota as the 12th-overall pick in the recent NFL draft. Former Hokies signal caller Tyrod Taylor was a 6th-round pick by the Baltimore Ravens. 

EJ Manuel has already proven himself behind Ponder the past couple of seasons, plus will have a deep, experienced offensive line and a great running game backing him up for the Seminoles. Logan Thomas is the heir apparent at Va Tech. Though the guy Thomas is replacing was picked well behind FSU's previous QB, he's got more pressure on him stepping in as the new QB. 

Like the 'Noles, the Hokies also have a good ground game returning and both teams possess stellar defenses, which should take pressure off their new starting quarterbacks. 

Terps & Canes make sideline changes 

Two teams that figure to chase Virginia Tech and Florida State along the way will be breaking in new head coaches. Al Golden takes over at Miami, joining the Hurricanes from Temple and replacing Randy Shannon. The Maryland Terrapins' new guy is Randy Edsall from UConn, taking over for Ralph Friedgen whose reward for being named the 2010 ACC Coach of the Year was to have his contract bought out. 

The fortunes of both teams could lay in the very first week of the schedule. Miami will be at Maryland on Monday, Sept. 5 in an ESPN clash, and opening with such a key conference game for each school is huge. 

The slate won't really get any easier for the Hurricanes who return 13 starters from a year ago including senior QB Jacory Harris. Miami will return home after that trip to College Park and host the Ohio State Buckeyes two weeks later before entertaining Kansas State. 

The Hurricanes, +150 to win the Coastal Division and +350 to win the conference, also have road games at Va Tech, UNC and FSU. 

Randy Edsall has the returning ACC Freshman of the Year as his quarterback, Danny O'Brien. The Terps bring back 13 starters and have a formidable non-conference slate with home clashes vs. West Virginia, Temple and Notre Dame (Nov. 12). 

Tar Heels look to throw wrench in works

North Carolina was pounded by an NCAA probe just as the 2010 season was getting underway, and as a result the squad was playing under a dark cloud all year. There could still be some sanctions coming down the pipe, and head coach Butch Davis isn't in the clear just yet. 

Still, this is a team that can play the role of dark-horse spoiler this season. The Heels return seven starters from a solid defense and will turn the offense over to Bryn Renner, one of the nation's top quarterbacks among the 2009 recruits. 

The schedule suggests this squad should be 5-1, possibly 6-0 when the Hurricanes make landfall in Chapel Hill on Oct. 15. If Davis' boys can pull that upset, it means a key game a month later when UNC heads to Blacksburg to battle the Hokies. 

Playing in the tougher Coastal Division means the Tar Heels have to climb over both Va Tech and Miami, definitely no easy task. But at 5/1 to pull the upset as conference champs, 2/1 to make it to the ACC Championship, North Carolina is an intriguing bet. 

Best of the rest 

Clemson (+1200) is the sixth choice in the conference following a 6-7 season that ended with the Tigers falling to South Florida in the Meineke Bowl. Dabo Swinney is on a bit of a hot seat entering his third full season at the reins and Clemson does have four key matchups at home in Death Valley. 

There is a very tough 3-game stretch early in the '11 campaign with Auburn and Florida State coming to town followed by a road game at Virginia Tech. Clemson also has UNC on Oct. 22, a game to mark on your calendar, especially if it sets up a prime letdown event with the Heels coming off an upset win over Miami the week before. 

One should never underestimate any Paul Johnson team, and it's no secret entering the season that Georgia Tech will run the ball, run it some more and then run again. The Yellow Jackets are 25/1 to win the conference, but one of the minor bowl games is probably the best Johnson & Co. can hope for. 

Boston College (20/1 to win ACC) should go into their final two games of the season needing at least one win to be bowl eligible. Those games are on the road at Notre Dame and Miami. North Carolina State (30/1), Virginia (30/1), Wake Forest (100/1) and Duke (150/1) make up this year's fodder for the rest of the ACC.