Handicapping ACC Football
The ACC is on an upswing. Right now Clemson is about as good as it has ever been, Florida State is getting back its expected heights and Miami seems to be righting itself as well, although more slowly.
Florida State Seminoles
Win Total Over/Under: 10
BCS Champion Odds: +1600
Conference Winning Odds: +225
Atlantic Coast Conference Overview
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The league may not have a surefire BCS contender in it but it has great depth that is only being helped by the additions of Syracuse, Pitt and ultimately Louisville, all formerly of the Big East, who will slide into the middle of the league and try and work their way to the top.
This year the strength is in the Atlantic Division where Clemson and Florida are a clear notch above everybody else in the division.
They are the two best teams in the league and will battle it out for the chance to compete for the league title. It seems like that is always the way since the ACC and other leagues have gone to the divisional format.
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There is never an even distribution.
Why Florida State will have the most wins in the ACC
Talent: First I have to say that the choice of FSU over Clemson was a narrow one. In looking at the Seminoles talent what jumps out is 4 returning starters on offensive line. This will allow them to have a balanced offense no matter who winds up being under center this season, though dynamic Jameis Winston is looking pretty good so far.
On the defensive side of the bal only 4 true starters return but this defense will have 6 senior starters and in reality many played as much as the starters last season on a defense that was tops across the board in the conference and in the to 6 in all major categories nationally.
I have great faith they can be elite again and that will give them an edge over Clemson.
Schedule: Another edge is in the scheduling category. The Noles have a solid schedule including their conference slate and a nonconference game against Florida. Meanwhile Clemson has games against South Carolina and Georgia, both of which they will be underdogs in – it doesn’t leave much room for error by the Tigers. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Even though FSU has to travel to Clemson when you add up the probable wins for both teams at this stage of the game FSU comes out on top even though the Tigers have the kind of schedule that would put them in the title game if they go undefeated.
Coaching: The ACC is a funny league for coaching. The dean of coaches is Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech but his team is not expected to challenge for the top of the league this season After that it gets pretty interesting as a bunch of coaches haven’t been at their schools very long. Again this is a close one between FSU and Clemson.
Dabo Swinney at CU has been impressive in getting better talented players but I am not sure he is a great big game coach.
Whereas Jimbo Fisher at FSU has been around more and knows what it is like to win at the really elite programs like those in the SEC.
He is a top recruiter and brought in another top class again this season to replenish the troops. Its close but I give the Noles’ the edge here too.
Prediction: 11-1
Some of the brand names players like E.J. Manuel have graduated from the program but this team is right where it wants to be – on the rise. After some down years at the end of the Bowden era they have built themselves back up and could be about to burst in a real way.
Their one loss could be to Clemson which might keep them out of the ACC Conference Championship but the rest of their schedule is manageable which is why they have the nice high win total, just a smidge over the Tigers.
That just might be theme of the ACC season.
