Miami is one of the most fearsome programs in college football. Sure they have been down of late and there are some questions surrounding future penalties but everyone in college football knows that if, and when, they get things going again they will be a force to be reckoned with.
Former coach Butch Davis did a great job bringing talent to Chapel Hill but he never won enough to justify putting the program in some sticky situations. Last year the program moved on with new coach Larry Fedora and had a very solid 8-4 season.
Pittsburgh is one of two new teams to the ACC this seasonand the timing isn’t great for this once proud program as they are coming off a mediocre season and will be breaking in a new QB.
Virginia Tech really struggled last season, a year where it seemed very little went as planned. The 7-6 season marked the first time the Hokies did not win 10 or more games since joining the ACC all the way back in 2004.
The Virginia Cavaliers have not made the kind of progress expected since promising coach Mike London took over. After an initial 4-8 season the Cavs jumped to 8-5 but then dropped back to 4-8 last season.
Lawrence, Kansas is the home to the University of Kansas, whose reputation is unquestionably as a basketball powerhouse. Year in and year out, it tends to stay that way.
2013-14 Preview (ACC) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Georgia Tech is always one of the hardests teams to play against because you just don’t see too much of their style. With their ground heavy attack they can just maul you if you are not prepared and they are generally solid enough in the other phases of the game to get the victory.
It wasn’t all that long ago that Syracuse was a pretty darn good program, led by players like Donovan McNabb and coaches like Dick MacPherson they more than held their own in the early days of the Big East.
But when they fell, they fell hard and it was difficult to put the pieces back together again.
The Cyclones hope to stake improvement on a blue-collar offensive line and an effective running game. Starting RB James White must bounce back from injury, but he brings veteran experience.
Baylor head coach Art Briles has a fantastic pedigree developing signal-callers, but it’s the running backs in Waco that have everyone talking. The duo of Lache Seastrunk and Glasco Martin might just be the best in America.
There’s no doubt that Kansas State has some talented players sprinkled on its roster. There is also no doubt that aging head coach Bill Snyder deserves all the credit in the world, as he has more than once made this program contend nationally – at a football school that could well be a Bowl Subdivision team (or worse) – without him.
The departure of longtime starting QB Geno Smith signals the departure of a gifted passer and a gifted athlete who put up some mind-numbing statistics. Moreover, it’s not just Smith who says goodbye to Morgantown for the greener pastures of the NFL.
Texas Christian University is in better shape than most Big 12 teams at the quarterback position, although its success still rides on a massive “what-if”.
The Clemson Tigers should definitely be considered among a handful of teams capable of winning the national championship this final season of the BCS. They have a very good base of talent, a schedule that is challenging enough to put them in the equation and seem to have found the ability not to fall completely apart when you least expect, the way a number of Clemson teams have done in the past.
Florida State might be back. They made it to the Orange Bowl last season and took care of upstart Northern Illinois behind a fast and punishing defense that reminded us of Bobby Bowden’s best teams.
2013-14 Preview (ACC) Maryland Terrapins
The start of the Randy Edsall era at Maryland has been less than stellar. Not sure why but the program got tired of coach Ralph Friedgen even though he won there as much as any previous coach they ever had, probably more, including 9 wins in his last season – a number they have fallen short of the last two season, combined.
