2014-15 Football Previews – (ACC) – Panthers
At various times in their history Pitt has been among the top teams in the country…but it has been a long time since Marino and Dorsett have been on campus.
At various times in their history Pitt has been among the top teams in the country…but it has been a long time since Marino and Dorsett have been on campus.
Boston College used to be one of those consistently good but not great programs and with coach Steve Addazio on board it looks like they can probably get back to that level.
It is hard to picture how they did it but Wake Forest won the ACC and played in the Orange Bowl back in 2006. It turned out to be a serious outlier as the program slowly but surely fell back to earth, ultimately costing coach Jim Grobe his job.
Steve Sarkisian is out, but he left a whole bunch of talent for Chris Petersen to work with in the new head coach’s first year roaming the sidelines for the University of Washington Huskies.
Given their fertile recruiting grounds it seems like only a matter of time before the Hurricanes have a Florida State like renaissance.
NC State is looking to snap an eight game losing streak coming into the season. The program snatched up Dave Doeren his first year on campus was hardly a success.
The Michael Sam narrative and the sociological strides that are occurring in all zones of society – including high-level competitive sports – dominated the press this past offseason when it came to the Missouri Tigers.
It must seem like a long time since stars like Peyton Manning, Peerless Price, Jamal Lewis, Al Wilson and Eric Berry graced Rocky Top.
There may not be a tougher SEC team to predict this season than the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The Bulldogs closed out last year with a 7-6 record, with a 3-5 record versus in-conference foes. The record also included two narrow OT wins against Arkansas and rival Ole Miss near the end of the campaign.
It was a decent first season for Scott Shafer at Syracuse. A 6-6 record qualified them for the Texas Bowl and a win over Minnesota gave them a winning record for the year.
Lots of change for Louisville this season as they enter the ACC and welcome back Bobby Petrino as coach. Under former coach Charlie Strong the Cardinals were beasts of the Big East but last year they fell short in their bid to capture an AAC title.
It took a hell of a team to break the SEC’s stranglehold on the BCS trophy but that is what Florida State did last season. The Seminoles dominated on offense and defense last season and they look as good as any team of recent vintage in terms of the possibility of a repeat championship.
When the Tiger beat Georgia in an opening week thriller it looked like last season might be the year they break through on the promise they have been building over the years.
The Ole Miss Rebels haven’t truly had a glory year since Eli Manning was calling the signals early in the last decade. Yet head coach Hugh Freeze and his staff has the personnel in 2014 for it to be memorable.
I would have said that Florida’s Tim Tebow was the most celebrated college football player in a generation – that is, until Johnny Football came along.
The University of Florida, Gators fans and the team’s boosters are not accustomed to losing. Clearly, last year’s 4-8 effort went over like a lead zeppelin in Gainesville.