ACC Atlantic
1. Florida State Seminoles (-300)
This Noles team is fully stacked and even though they are without
their QB from last year (Ponder), there is a lot of buzz around EJ
Manuel, who is ready to take over the helm and help improve the 10-4
record from last year. Manuel played in 10 games last year and passed
for 861 yards and can be much more of a duel threat for the Noles this
year. The run game is up for grabs right now between Senior Ty Jones,
Chris Thompson and a true Freshman Devonta Freeman, who is a little
small in size but has the ability to steal the job away from the other 2
guys. A couple good wideouts return for the Noles in Bert Reed and
Willie Haulsted but with Manuel at QB you can look for a lot of
different sets with a mix of wideouts out their. The Noles are going to
have to be deep at the WR position because they are going to spread out a
lot of teams with the duel threat at QB. The offensive line has some
great depth as well as returning 3 out of the 5 starters from last year.
Overall there offense is in great shape and even with the loss of
Ponder, some Noles fans are going as far as saying Manuel is an upgrade.
On the defensive side of the ball they are looking even better. 8 out
of the 11 starters on defense last year are returning and this is going
to be the strong side of the ball yet again for FSU fans. 3 starters on
the DL are coming back, 1 linebacker and the secondary is absolutely
loaded with all 4 starters coming back. It is going to be hard for teams
to do much on this defense this year and that is why they are going to
come out of the Atlantic in 2011.
2. Maryland Terrapins (+300)
The Terps are coming back in 2011 with who I think is the best QB in
the ACC, Danny O’Brien. O’Brien is coming off a season where he threw
just 8 picks but added 22 TD’s. The running back position looks to be a
nice duo with Megget and Adams who are both forming to be 2 really good
college backs. The issue for O’Brien is going to be that there is no
starting wide receivers coming back this year so it is going to be
important for them to get the timing down and work extra in camp to make
sure everything is good for opening day. The O-line is absolutely
stacked as 4 out of the 5 starters are coming back with multiple people
capable of filling in that LT position. The most interesting thing about
Maryland this year is going to be about the new coach. Edsell left
UConn where he liked to pound the football and clock management and work
on play action. I think that O’Brien is your best player on this
offense and he needs to have the ball a lot more in his hands. That is
going to be the one thing that will make or break Maryland this year.
The defensive side of the ball looks alright for the Terps. Both DT’s
are returning but they will need to find a couple replacements at DE
and it looks like they have nice depth ready to fill in. The linebackers
are going to be Maryland’s strong suit this year as they are very deep
there and very talented. Both MLB are coming back and Kenny Tate is
coming off a 100 tackle season and Demetrius Hartsfield was close with
88 tackles. I wouldn’t be surprised to see both of these guys get to 100
tackles this year. The secondary is going to be their weak spot. Only 2
starters coming back, both being CB and they both only had a combined 1
interception last year. The Terps will be solid on the run and short
passes but the secondary could be the weak point in this defense.
3. Boston College Eagles (+700)
The Eagles are coming off a very tough offensive season last year.
Their QB, Chase Rettig played in 9 games as a Freshman last year and
threw for 1,238 yards with a 6 TD’s and 9 INT’s. BC is hoping that
another year will help this kid grow and understand the offense and read
defenses a lot better and I hope they are right. If Rettig can figure
out how to not make mistakes the Eagles have the best RB in the ACC this
year, Montel Harris. Harris ran for 1,242 last year and 8 scores and
like I said, if the QB can not make mistakes and just keep the defense
honest with some good play action, this offense and Harris’ numbers will
improve in 2011. No returners at WR which isn’t a big deal I don’t
think because they are going to be in 2 TE sets a lot and running the
football. The wideouts will have to help out sparingly and just not make
stupid mistakes. 3 returning OL is good news for Harris and it is the
middle of the line. Look for BC to pound in between the guards a lot
this year and keep it in the teeth of the defense with some success.
The Eagles had the #13 defense in the nation last year but there are
holes everywhere. Only 1 DL is returning, only 2 LB, however one is Luke
Kuelchy, who is probably the best defensive player in the nation, and
only 1 returner in the secondary. In order for this defense to be
anywhere close to where it was last year, Coach Spaz is going to have to
put a lot of work in and is going to need a damn near miracle. I think
he does an alright job and this defense will be the strong part of the
team yet again and they will compete in the ACC this year.
4. Clemson Tigers (+400)
The Tigers are starting over in a bunch of positions, but probably
the most important will be the quarterback. Tahj Boyd is going to be
taking over at QB for the Tigers and it looks like he has some potential
to be a great quarterback for the Tigers for years to come. However,
Boyd was not very impressive in the fall last year so I am not sold on
this kid yet and I think he is very important to the Tigers success this
year. The health of their very good running back, Andre Ellington is
going to be another huge factor and how Clemson does this year.
Ellington was very impressive last year but was limited to just 9 games
and if he doesn’t stay healthy there is no chance that this offense will
succeed. The WR and OL are solid as they are both bringing back a
handful of starters but it will be interesting to see what new OC, Chad
Morris’ new uptempo and spread offense will bring for the Tigers. A lot
of question marks on the offensive side of the ball this year.
The defense has some serious holes to fill as well as they return
just 3 out of their front 7 from last year. Obviously having to replace
stud DE Bowers who is now going to tear up the NFL won’t happen but they
need someone to step in and make plays. They only have 2 players in the
secondary returning as well which leaves more than half of their
defense being “rookies”. It is going to be interesting to see who steps
up and makes some plays for the Tigers this year to help them win
football games.
5. North Carolina State Wolfpack (+900)
The departure of QB Russell Wilson gives the Wolfpack literally no
chance to do anything in the ACC this year. Mike Glennon will have to
step up at QB for NC State and there is going to be a ton of pressure on
him that no matter what he does, Wilson could have done more. Glennon
is in a lose-lose situation this year and it is going to show I think.
The leading rusher for the Pack is Greene but he is injured and probably
won’t even be ready for the season. Not 1 starter from WR last year is
coming back and this offensive line returns 3 starters which is the only
good news coming from the O side of the ball. I think you can chalk
this up as a rebuilding year for the Pack’s offense and probably the
whole season I think.
The defense at least brings some starters back. They got 1 DL and 2
LB in their front 7 coming back so they still have a lot of work to do
there. Cole and Manning are coming back at LB and they combined for 161
tackles last year so that is a good core to have up front. The best news
comes from the secondary where they got all 4 returning there and will
be the strong suit of this team for sure, but overall this team is in
trouble and will have a bad year I think.
6. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (+3500)
Tanner Price was just flat awful last year and I know he was a
Freshman but I don’t think he can turn it around this year. The offense
finished 108th in the nation and Price threw for just 7 TD’s but 8
INT’s, not good. Josh Harris will be the RB for the Deacons this year
and he does have an upside but with a QB as bad as Price I think that
teams just start throwing 8 in the box and making Price beat you. Only 1
returning WR which will be even more of a struggle for Price but
thankfully he has 4 returning OL. I think that if Price can just not
make mistakes and can use the play action and let Harris do his thing
then they might be okay, but I see their offense finishing very bad
again this year.
It’s back to the 3-4 defense after last years trial didn’t work out
too well for Wake. They couldn’t stop the run at all last year, giving
up 192.5 yards per game. They do have 7 total starters returning on
defense which is a good sign, but can changing back to the 3-4 really
help this team that much? I guess time will tell, but I think Wake
struggles for another year or 2.