College football preview: ACC team capsules

Special to AJC

ACC Atlantic Division

Boston College

Last season: 8-5, 5-3 in ACC; lost to USC 24-13 in the Emerald Bowl

Returning starters: 8 on offense, 7 on defense, 1 on special teams

Rising star: RB Montel Harris was second in the ACC with 1,457 yards as a sophomore in 2009 and will be counted on to provide that kind of production again this season.

They’ll win the division if: QB Dave Shinskie, a 26-year-old sophomore, can improve on a freshman season in which he threw 15 TD passes, but was picked off 14 times.

They’ll come up short if: The Eagles can’t take advantage of playing their first four games at home. BC doesn’t play a road game until Oct. 9, at North Carolina State.

Chatter: “I can’t play overly cautious. Whether a freak accident happens to me on the field or in a car accident, I can’t let it bother me. I have to make my leg as strong as possible. If some freak accident happens, it happens.” — LB Mark Herzlich, who missed 2009 while undergoing cancer treatments

Must-see game: vs. Virginia Tech, Sept. 25, TBD

Top moment: The play is seared in our brains. On the last play of the game, Doug Flutie rolled to his right and hurled the football as far as he could throw it — about 63 yards — into the end zone, where it landed in the arms of Gerard Phelan, giving the Eagles a 47-45 victory over defending national champion Miami on Nov. 23, 1984. The play was a 48-yard touchdown.

Clemson

Last season: 9-5, 6-2 in ACC; lost to Georgia Tech 39-34 in the ACC Championship game; defeated Kentucky 21-13 in the Music City Bowl

Returning starters: 7 on offense, 6 on defense, 2 on special teams

Rising star: LB Brandon Maye was third on the team with 103 tackles as a sophomore in 2009, so expect him to carry more of the load this season.

They’ll win the division if: QB Kyle Parker, whose baseball career is on hold, can help the Tigers avoid bad losses, such as a 24-21 defeat at Maryland last year.

They’ll come up short if: The Tigers can’t find replacements for TB C.J. Spiller and WR Jacoby Ford, both All-Americans, on an offense that led them to the ACC Championship game.

Chatter: “I haven’t set any personal goals. I’m mainly focused on team goals. That’s the best we could be. I want to get back to the ACC Championship. That’s what I want to do, get to the ACC Championship.”
— SS DeAndre McDaniel

Must-see game: at Florida State, Nov. 13, TBD

Top moment: Clemson claimed its only national title with a 22-15 win over Nebraska in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1, 1982, stuffing an offense that was second in the nation in rushing, sixth in total offense and eighth in scoring. The Tigers finished 12-0.

Florida State

Last season: 7-6, 4-4 in ACC; defeated West Virginia 33-21 in the Gator Bowl

Returning starters: 9 on offense, 6 on defense, 2 on special teams

Rising star: Sophomore Greg Reid (Lowndes) is an electrifying sophomore CB who averaged 18.4 yards on punt returns last year and 25.5 on kickoff returns.

They’ll win the division if: QB Christian Ponder can stay healthy. He had surgery to repair his right shoulder last year, and when he’s on the field, he has proved he’s one of the top QBs in the country.

They’ll come up short if: The defense doesn’t improve under new coordinator Mark Stoops, who came from Arizona. The Seminoles allowed 434.6 yards and 30 points per game last year.

Chatter: “My emotions right now — it’s excitement, but it’s preparation. Just like, you have to prepare to be successful. I can’t be happy just to be here. I have the job now, now what are you going to do with it? It’s like getting to the national championship game: Don’t be happy just to get there. You’ve got to do well in it.” — first-year coach Jimbo Fisher

Must-see game: at Oklahoma, 3:30 p.m. Sept. 11 (ABC /ESPN2)

Top moment: After the “Wide Right” games of 1991 and ’92, a kick finally went Bobby Bowden’s way in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1, 1994. Scott Bentley made a 22-yarder with 21 seconds left to lift the Seminoles to an 18-16 victory over Nebraska for their first national championship.

Maryland

Last season: 2-10, 1-7 in ACC

Returning starters: 7 on offense, 5 on defense, 2 on special teams

Rising star: QB Jamarr Robinson was productive in a backup role in 2009, rushing for 129 yards against Virginia Tech and throwing for a combined 328 against Florida State and Boston College.

They’ll win the division if: Coach Ralph Friedgen can turn the program around again, like he did when he was hired 10 years ago. He took the Terrapins to the Orange Bowl in his first season.

They’ll come up short if: The cupboard truly is bare. There are only 16 seniors on this season’s team, and Friedgen’s job was in jeopardy during the offseason.

Chatter: “If I do well in the next two years, I think I’ll be at Maryland, and if I don’t, I probably won’t, so it really won’t matter about the administration. I think we have an opportunity at Maryland right now to really get the right people to reach our potential. That’s what I’m hoping we do because I still think we have a lot of potential.” — Friedgen

Must-see game: vs. Florida State, Nov. 20, TBD

Top moment: The early 1950s were the heyday for Maryland football, with the ’51 team going 10-0, including taking a 28-13 victory over No. 1 Tennessee in the Sugar Bowl. The 1953 team, which was 10-1, won the national title despite losing to Oklahoma 7-0 in the Orange Bowl. The final AP poll came out before the bowls in those days.

N.C. State

Last season: 5-7, 2-6 in ACC

Returning starters: 7 on offense, 3 on defense, 2 on special teams

Rising star: Freshman Robert Crisp, from Raleigh, was rated the second-best OT in the country last year by Rivals.com and is expected to contribute immediately.

They’ll win the division if: QB Russell Wilson, who passed for 3,027 yards and 31 TDs in 2009, can come back strong from playing baseball this summer in the Colorado Rockies organization and continue to build chemistry with WRs Jarvis Williams and Owen Spencer.

They’ll come up short if: The defense can’t change its ways. The Wolfpack gave up an ACC-high 31.2 points per game last season, including 52 to Boston College, 45 to Florida State and 42 to Clemson.

Chatter: “You feel pressure every year. It is not any different this season than it was the year before. If you don’t feel pressure to have a winning record and go to a bowl game, you aren’t bleeding or breathing.” — coach Tom O’Brien

Must-see game: vs. Florida State, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 28 (ESPN)

Top moment: Dick Christy, who had never attempted a field goal in a game, kicked a 46-yarder to defeat South Carolina 29-26 on Nov. 23, 1957, for the Wolfpack’s first ACC championship. Christy also scored four TDs and kicked two extra points. It’s still called “N.C. State Football’s Greatest Day” by the school’s media relations department.

Wake Forest

Last season: 5-7, 3-5 in ACC

Returning starters: 6 on offense, 7 on defense, 2 on special teams

Rising star: Kenny Okoro must carry more of the load at CB this season, but he had an excellent freshman season in 2009, with three interceptions and 11 passes defensed.

They’ll win the division if: RB Josh Adams, the ACC offensive rookie of the year in 2007, figures more heavily into coach Jim Grobe’s plans. He rushed for only 541 yards last season.

They’ll come up short if: Whoever replaces QB Riley Skinner — either Skylar Jones, Ted Stachitas or Brendan Cross — can’t match his feat of leading the Demon Deacons to the 2006 ACC title and Orange Bowl in his first season as a starter.

Chatter: “Our guys understand they have to make plays to be a good defense. Hopefully, we’ll go back to being the kind of defense that mixes things up and [causes fumbles] and picks off passes and does the kind of things that that group did for so long.” — Grobe

Must-see game: vs. Georgia Tech, Oct. 2, TBD

Top moment: Wake Forest scored only three field goals, but it was enough to defeat Georgia Tech 9-6 on Dec. 2, 2006, to win the second ACC championship in school history and one of the most improbable titles by any conference team. The Demon Deacons finished 11-3 with an Orange Bowl loss to Louisville.

ACC Coastal Division

Duke

Last season: 5-7, 3-5 in ACC

Returning starters: 9 on offense, 6 on defense, 2 on special teams

Rising star: Sophomore RB Desmond Scott led the Blue Devils in rushing with 262 yards on 70 carries in nine games last season, but will have to fight off Jay Hollingsworth and several other backs this year.

They’ll win the division if: Some of the basketball team’s magic rubs off on the football program.

They’ll come up short if: The Blue Devils can’t build on the improvement of the past two years, when they won a combined nine games under coach David Cutcliffe.

Chatter: “When a young man walks on our campus, I expect him to expect us to win. They’ve seen the success, they’ve seen what our facilities are starting to look like. Now, the thing is, when they’re getting recruited, they have their buddies talking about going to visit us. That didn’t always happen.” — Cutcliffe

Must-see game: vs. Alabama, 3:30 p.m. Sept. 18 (ABC)

Top moment: Duke got off to a 1-3 start in 1989 and was trailing 14-0 against No. 7 Clemson on Sept. 30 when RB Randy Cuthbert carried several Tigers over the goal line for the Blue Devils’ first score. They won 21-17 to start a seven-game winning streak and take the ACC title. Duke hasn’t won one since.

Miami

Last season: 9-4, 5-3 in ACC; lost to Wisconsin 20-14 in the Champs Sports Bowl

Returning starters: 7 on offense, 8 on defense, 2 on special teams

Rising star: CB Brandon Harris is a preseason All-ACC pick after being a Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist in a sophomore season in which he was second in the nation in passes defensed.

They’ll win the division if: QB Jacory Harris can cut down his interceptions — 17 in 2009 — and bounce back from a thumb injury that required surgery in January.

They’ll come up short if: The defense, with All-Americans Harris and DE Allen Bailey (McIntosh County Academy), can’t keep up with the explosive offenses of Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Florida State, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech.

Chatter: “Coach [Randy] Shannon, he has changed our program a lot. From academics, to discipline, to team bonding, we’re all together. Now that he’s done that, he’s loosened up a bit, too.” — Bailey

Must-see game: at Ohio State, 3:40 p.m. Sept. 11 (ESPN)

Top moment: The nation certainly took notice of Miami on Jan. 2, 1984, when the Hurricanes upset undefeated Nebraska 31-30 in the Orange Bowl behind redshirt freshman QB Bernie Kosar. DB Ken Calhoun knocked away a last-minute two-point conversion pass, giving Miami its first national championship.

North Carolina

Last season: 8-5, 4-4 in ACC; lost to Pittsburgh 19-17 in the Meineke Car Care Bowl

Returning starters: 10 on offense, 9 on defense, 2 on special teams

Rising star: Redshirt freshman QB Bryn Renner is tall (6-foot-3) and has a strong arm. With starting QB T.J. Yates (Pope) on the hot seat, Renner could take over the offense this season.

They’ll win the division if: The talented defense comes together and the Tar Heels can forget about an offseason and preseason that brought NCAA investigators to campus.

They’ll come up short if: Yates can’t improve on a season in which he threw 15 interceptions and only 14 TD passes and Renner doesn’t provide depth at the QB position.

Chatter: “If we do stay healthy, you’re going to see a team that’s going to get better, week after week after week. By the middle of the season, toward the end of the season, you’re going to see a pretty good football team.” — coach Butch Davis

Must-see game: vs. Georgia Tech, noon, Sept. 18 (WATL)

Top moment: North Carolina lost to Texas 34-0 in 1947, so the Tar Heels were ready when the Longhorns arrived in Chapel Hill to open the 1948 season. Charlie “Choo-Choo” Justice threw for two TDs and ran for two more as North Carolina won 34-7 to start a 9-1-1 season.

Virginia

Last season: 3-9, 2-6 in ACC

Returning starters: 6 on offense, 6 on defense, 2 on special teams

Rising star: Kris Burd returns to his starting WR position after leading the Cavaliers with 31 catches and 413 yards as a sophomore. He had only one TD catch, however.

They’ll win the division if: First-year coach Mike London’s run-first philosophy pays off with a stable of six unproven TBs. Virginia hasn’t averaged 100 rushing yards per game in either of the past two years.

They’ll come up short if: It’s another typical season. The Cavaliers have two winning seasons in the past five years.

Chatter: “I’ve just learned that sometimes you have to be resilient. You just have to keep representing yourself, your friends, your family and your school — whoever — in a positive way. It’s easy to kind of tuck your tail and walk away and back down. It’s a lot more difficult to stand your ground and stay strong and stay focused on what you have to do.” — QB Marc Verica

Must-see game: at Virginia Tech, Nov. 27, TBD

Top moment: No. 2 Florida State rolled into Charlottesville on Nov. 2, 1995, with a 29-game ACC winning streak, having gone undefeated against conference opponents since joining the ACC in 1992. The night belonged to the Cavaliers, who snapped the streak with a 33-28 victory in the first Thursday night game at Virginia.

Virginia Tech

Last season: 10-3, 6-2 in ACC; defeated Tennessee 37-14 in the Chick-fil-A-Bowl

Returning starters: 8 on offense, 5 on defense, none on special teams

Rising star: In 2009, Ryan Williams became the first player to lead the ACC in rushing (1,655 yards) and scoring (22 TDs) as a freshman.

They’ll win the division if: Williams and Darren Evans, who rushed for 1,265 yards in 2008 before missing last season, dominate opponents and control the clock.

They’ll come up short if: The Hokies can’t overcome a November schedule that includes games against Georgia Tech, at North Carolina and at Miami. They lost two of those three games last season.

Chatter: “I want to be, and everyone else on the team wants to be, part of a national championship for coach [Frank] Beamer. Our trophy room has a spot reserved for a national championship. We’d love to put something in that glass.” — QB Tyrod Taylor

Must-see game: vs. Boise State, 8 p.m. Sept. 6, Landover, Md. (ESPN)

Top moment: Virginia Tech might not have made it to the 2000 Sugar Bowl if Michael Vick hadn’t rallied the Hokies to a 22-20 victory at West Virginia on Nov. 6, 1999. Tech finished the regular season 11-0 to earn a berth in its first national title game, losing to Florida State 46-29.

-- Andy Johnston