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QUESTION: Who is the ACC first-half coach of the year?
There are two reasonable and correct answers to the question, “Who was the ACC’s best coach in the first half of the 2019 season?”
Dabo Swinney is not on the list.
Dabo isn’t coaching poorly by any stretch, but Clemson has been far less impressive than many people expected. The Tigers were fortunate to escape Chapel Hill with a win against North Carolina. The Clemson offense has struggled in several games, not just one.
Pat Narduzzi and Scott Satterfield have forged significant achievements at Pittsburgh and Louisville, respectively, but the Panthers and Cardinals are going through growing pains and have not yet established a steady upward trajectory.
The two ACC first-half coaches of the year, by far, are Bronco Mendenhall of Virginia and Dave Clawson of Wake Forest. There are no other contenders for ACC Coach of the Year. It is a two-man race, and everyone else is trying to finish third.
The main question surrounding the ACC COY competition is as follows: If Virginia wins the ACC Coastal, will that achievement seal the award for Mendenhall, or does Clawson have a path to the award even if the Hoos finally make an ACC Championship Game appearance in Charlotte?
The details of the ACC’s second half will tell us how this race will evolve.
If Virginia gets tripped up in a game it frankly shouldn’t lose, but UVA still wins the Coastal and Wake Forest manages to win 10 games, I would say that Clawson will — and should — win the award. Wake Forest’s biggest game won’t be against Clemson, because no ACC team should expect to beat Clemson or invest all its hopes in upsetting the Tigers.
Wake Forest’s biggest game will be against Florida State. If the Demon Deacons win that game before an idle week and their Nov. 2 test against North Carolina State, they really could finish 11-1, and they will probably finish with at least 10 wins.
In a wide-open ACC where every non-Clemson spot is up for grabs, Wake Forest could legitimately become the No. 2 team in the conference, though it obviously won’t win the Atlantic Division and have a chance to face Virginia in Charlotte.
If it becomes clear that Wake Forest is the No. 2 team in the conference — enough to merit an Orange Bowl bid while Clemson goes to the Fiesta Bowl in the College Football Playoff semifinals — Clawson can beat out Mendenhall even if Virginia wins its first division title.
My main piece of advice: Let this race play out instead of insisting the choice is already clear.
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