The other day I was having a conversation with someone about NC State and their chances this year. While talking to him I realized something, that after Clemson the Atlantic division is about as open as it gets. While we all know that Clemson is the number one team in the country, and the overwhelming favorites to win the Atlantic along with the ACC Championship, the rest of the division hinges on a lot of unknowns. So I decided to take a deeper look at the ACC Atlantic to try and dissect how the rest of the division shakes out.
Lets start with the team that seems to be getting the most attention to finish behind Clemson, the Syracuse Orange. I covered the Orange and their new starting QB Tommy Devito in an earlier article, so to get a little more on them, please check out that earlier piece. The Orange seem to be getting a lot of hype even though they lost their starting QB and top receiver. The Orange return seven starters on defense, and Tommy DeVito appears to be a star in the making. Their top rusher returns in Mo Neal, and they add Oklahoma transfer Abdul Adams to create what should be a stellar backfield. Even though they lost top receiver Jamal Custis, they return 3 receivers that each had over 500 yards.
I believe that Syracuse is the second best team in the Atlantic, and that the September 14th matchup in the Carrier Dome against Clemson will be the game of the year in the ACC.
Florida State should be the third best team in the division, but this is where we get into the unknowns. Willie Taggart had a rough first year at the helm in Tallahassee and had an offensive line that was one of the worst in the nation. They gave up 36 sacks and the running backs averaged an abysmal 2.8 yards per rush. Taggart brought in Kendal Briles as offensive coordinator which should help tremendously because everywhere Briles has been, he has improved each teams offense drastically. James Blackman returns at QB, and Wisconsin transfer Alex Hornibrook is competing with him for the starting job. Blackman will most likely be the opening game starter, but having an experienced backup in Hornibrook should ease the minds of Noles fans in the event of a Blackman injury, or if he doesn’t produce like he needs to.
The defense returns seven starters from last years team that had a great start to the year but faltered in the late stages. I look to see a vastly improved defense that will help keep them in games, especially if the offensive line doesn’t improve a lot. Taggart inherited a team that was less than ideal, and at a school like Florida State, patience is not something that fans have. Look for the Noles to get back on track and win at least 7 or 8 games this year.
North Carolina State lost their offensive coordinator, starting quarterback, two 1,000 yard receivers and three starters from their offensive line. The Wolfpack’s defense though returns eight starters. That defense is going to have to be good enough to keep them in some games until the offense can find its groove. Sophomore Matthew McKay, redshirt freshman Devin Leary, and Florida State transfer Bailey Hockman are all battling it out to fill the shoes at quarterback after Ryan Finley’s departure. Early signs pointed to McKay leading that battle, but there hasn’t been much talk from Head Coach Dave Doeren since camp started. Even with the departures of three o-lineman, the line should still be in pretty good shape. Ricky Person looks to step into the spotlight at running back, and Emeka Emezie, Thayer Thomas, and CJ Riley all return at the receiver position.
The schedule plays out in the Pack’s favor this season as well. Only two top 30 opponents on the schedule, and with ECU, Western Carolina, and Ball State all coming to Raleigh in the first four weeks of the season, it should be a big confidence boost for a team replacing as much as they are on the offensive side of the ball.
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons have had three straight seasons with at least seven wins, and hope to continue that trend in their 2019 campaign. Jamie Newman and Sam Hartman is one of the most interesting QB battles in the conference. Hartman won the starting job at the beginning of the 2018 season, but was sidelined with a season-ending leg injury after a 4-4 start. In those games Hartman threw for over 1900 yards and 16 touchdowns. Newman then came in to lead the Demon Deacons to road wins at NC State and Duke and also a bowl victory over Memphis. Dave Clawson has a tough decision to make, but whoever emerges as the starter should do just fine. Cade Carney returns at running back where he rushed for over 1000 yards in 2018. 3 of their top 5 receivers from last years team return to give Wake a pretty solid core returning to a team that put up stellar numbers through most of last season.
A new defensive coordinator in Lyle Hemphill must replace 6 starters on that side of the ball. Amari Henderson and Essang Bassey return at the cornerback position, but with the loss of both starting safeties the pass defense will need grow up quick. The offense of Wake Forest should be the star of this years team, but if the defense can improve and make up for their losses, this years team could produce another 7 or 8 win season.
Boston College has won exactly 7 games in 5 out of the last 6 seasons (2015 the only exception with 3). You can call it consistent or you can call it mediocre, but Steve Addazio seems to be on the hot seat this year if things don’t start trending upward. Seven wins definitely isn’t disappointing, but when you hang around that number for too long, people start talking. Anthony Brown returns for his junior season after having a breakout year in 2018. Brown threw for 2,121 yards, 20 touchdowns, to only 9 interceptions. Brown seems poised for another strong season. AJ Dillon also returns after a 2018 season that saw him rush for 1108 yards and 10 touchdowns. Dillon is a big, physical back that has great speed. The receiver position is young, losing their top two guys, but Penn State grad transfer Danny Dalton comes in along with younger guys with good size.
The secondary lost a lot, with four of last years top five DBS gone, the linebackers return 4 of their top 6. Addazio probably needs to improve to at least 8-9 wins, but I just don’t see that happening this season. Their schedule is back-loaded with their last six games being NC State, at Clemson, at Syracuse, Florida State, at Notre Dame, and at Pittsburgh. Talk about a murderers row.
Rounding out this look at the ACC Atlantic is the Louisville Cardinals. I wont spend much time on 2018 because, let’s face it, last year was a disaster. Everything went wrong, and it just got worse as the season progressed. Their last four games were lost by an average of 45 points. They finished with a 2-10 record, and fired Bobby Petrino after the season. Louisville then hired Appalachian State head coach Scott Satterfield, in what many are calling the best offseason head coaching hire in college football. Time will only tell if they are right, but things cant get any worse than they did last year.
With that being said, expectations are low in Louisville so anything over 4 or 5 wins is seen as vastly overachieving. Puma Pass and Malik Cunningham are vying for the starting job at quarterback after both got starts last season. Four of their top five receivers return with Dez Fitzpatrick leading the group with 1121 yards and 12 touchdown in his first two seasons. Seth Dawkins and Tutu Atwell provide experience and will be a big help to whoever emerges as the starting quarterback. Hassan Hall returns at running back and has explosive speed.
New defensive coordinator Bryan Brown has a lot of work to do inheriting a defense that was one of the worst in the nation last season. They do return 10 starters, which with the regime change could be beneficial in the long run. The experience is there on defense, but with what they did last year, there isn’t a lot of optimism for things to change drastically. Scott Satterfield’s teams at Appalachian State had 73 interceptions in the last 4 seasons, so look for an emphasis on that. There is a complete rebuild and culture change going on at Louisville. Don’t look for things to improve a lot this year in terms of wins and losses, but with Satterfield’s history it wont take long to turn things around.
So to recap, my predictions for the ACC Atlantic are as follows:
1) Clemson
2) Syracuse
3) Florida State
4) North Carolina State
5) Wake Forest
6) Boston College
7) Louisville
There is a lot of great talent up and down the ACC Atlantic, and with Clemson on each of their schedules, a chance to spoil the season for the defending National Champions.
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