It's the conference that gave us Burt Reynolds, The Bowden Bowl and the Dean of Obese Coaches, Ralph Friedgen, and like every league, the ACC has its share of burning questions. Here's five queries that have The Señior reaching for Tinactin.1) Is this the year the ACC returns to prominence? Since the league expanded into two divisions, it hasn't earned an at-large BCS bid and in those guaranteed games, the ACC is 0-3. But there's a real possibility that could change this season.
Clemson enters the season with a wealth of talent and enormous expectations. Behind quarterback Cullen Harper and the Thunder and Lightning tandem of James Davis and C.J. Spiller at running back, Tommy Bowden's boys are as close to a near-lock to win the ACC title as you're going to get.
So who could give the ACC that elusive at-large bid? Virginia Tech.
Granted, the Hokies aren't as star-studded as last year but the schedule is oh-so kind to Frank Beamer in '08. Virginia Tech should be 4-0 going into Nebraska, which is a bit of an enigma under Bo Pelini. Besides that, a trip to Florida State and Miami and Maryland, which has to go to Virginia Tech on a Thursday night, where the Hokies are 10-2 all-time. There's a real chance they could be unbeaten going into the ACC title game vs. Clemson, making a BCS berth highly likely.
2) Clemson's the runaway favorite. So will it fold as usual? In 2006, the Tigers were 7-1 and ranked 10th before a 1-4 collapse ended any thoughts of an ACC title. Last season, Clemson seemed poised for a trip to Jacksonville before Matt Ryan led Boston College to a come-from-behind win.
Why will this year be any different? For one, the Atlantic Division will be a cakewalk. If the Tigers don't take the division it will be the biggest disappointment of the Bowden Era. But it won't happen because there's just too much talent on both sides of the ball (Harper, Davis, Spiller, WRs Jacoby Ford and Aaron Kelly, safeties Michael Hamlin and Chris Clemons and defensive ends Ricky Sapp and Da’Quan Bowers) to let it happen again.
If they can get an inexperienced offensive line to gel before that season-opening game with Alabama in the Georgia Dome, pencil Clemson in for a spot in the ACC title game.
3) Can Georgia Tech succeed running Paul Johnson's triple-option? Not this season. Johnson does have a quarterback who has shown he can run in Josh Nesbitt, who averaged 6.4 yards per carry as a freshman, but Johnson needs time to be able to bring in guys more adept at his style of play.
Johnson admittedly won't be bringing any receivers to Atlanta looking to pull down 100 catches but where he will win is with quarterbacks who are being recruited to switch to running back with other programs and backs who want to run in a system proven to get them yards. If you don't believe he can win with this offense in the ACC, just wait.
4) Will Florida State's Jimbo Fisher-led offense improve in Year 2? There's two two place you'll always find "talent" in Tallahassee: 1) Among the student body and 2) On the football field.
Despite averaging just 23.3 points per game last season, there's a lot to like about the Seminoles offense. Drew Weatherford showed vast improvement last year in his decision making as he threw a career-low three picks in a 2,049-yard, nine-touchdown season, Antone Smith showed why he was so sought after in high school in running ofr 819 yards and three scores and Preston Parker established himself as a nightmare for defenses on the field (and one for himself off it).
What's not to like is a big, big problem. The offensive line returns just two starters after tackle Daron Rose transferred and guard Evan Bellamy was lost for the year with a blood clot. Aside from the two sophomore starters, the 'Noles' two-deep has just one player that isn't either a redshirt freshman or a true freshman.
It's a recipe for disaster.
5) What effect will David Cutcliffe have on Duke? So far, tons. He already stole four-star running back Desmond Scott from Rutgers. The Durham, N.C., native is a monumental grab for Cutcliffe considering the Blue Devils landed just one in-state Top-25 player from the 2003-08 recruiting classes. Three three-star commits have also given their nods to Cutcliffe for '09.
As far as this season, expect a change in attitude more than anything. Cutcliffe inherits a team that hasn't won more than four games in a season since 1994 and despite his offensive ingenuity, it's hard to imagine four-plus wins out of this group. Still, look for the Blue Devils to give teams more of a game than they did during the Ted Roof experiment.
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