PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- After spending three days at the ACC Football Kickoff earlier this week, I have a few observations about each conference team.
Atlantic Division
Florida State -- Bobby Bowden is never going to retire. He said basically as much several times during his interviews Monday. Perhaps, however, after Bowden is cryogenically frozen standing on the sideline at Doak Campbell Stadium, Florida State will finally be able to fire offensive coordinator Jeff Bowden.
Also, senior linebacker Buster Davis gets the award for best player quote of the event when he was asked to describe his leadership style compared to that of senior running back Lorenzo Booker:
"I'm a cross between General George Patton and General Ulysses S. Grant. I'm a history major. Lorenzo, he's like Bill Clinton during the first four years."
Clemson -- Tommy Bowden's Tigers have become the sexy sleeper pick to dethrone the Seminoles in the Atlantic Division. The first five questions asked to Bowden were about these expectations. I, however, will not get on the Clemson bandwagon until I can get a sense of how good of a quarterback Will Proctor is.
Boston College -- The Eagles still seem like outsiders at these ACC events. I did not hear one person talk about Boston College throughout the entire event. But Tom O'Brien's squad should once again be a solid, middle-of-the-pack team.
Maryland -- Ralph Friedgen is the man. He gets the award for most humorous off-the-record quotes. Unfortunately for him, however, I see no reason to expect that the Terrapins will improve upon two straight 5-6 seasons. I just do not see quarterback Sam Hollenbach having enough moxie win big games, especially the Thursday showdown with West Virginia scheduled for Sept. 14.
N.C. State -- It will not be pretty in Raleigh this season as the Wolfpack struggles and the pressure on Chuck Amato rises to even higher than before.
Wake Forest -- I just feel bad for Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe. He's an excellent coach but, no matter what anyone says, it is impossible to build a consistent winning ACC program at Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons should, however, register a surprising upset or two this year.
Coastal Division
Miami -- Larry Coker has a thankless job. Unless he wins the national championship, his job security will likely be on the line. Miami fans, you are not in the Big East anymore. You are going to lose some games. Deal with it.
Virginia Tech -- It is hard to make predictions about this year's edition of the Hokies, due to questions at the quarterback position. If quarterback Sean Glennon has what it takes, however, the Hokies may have some more stomping good times in Blacksburg. The Hokies will likely be a little less hard-to-take now that Marcus Vick and showboat Jimmy Williams are gone.
Georgia Tech -- Can junior wide receiver Calvin Johnson live up to the hype? I say no and due to no fault of his own. I just do not see quarterback Reggie Ball being consistent enough with his passing to allow Johnson to have the monster season that some are predicting.
Virginia -- If quarterback Christian Olsen can limit his mistakes, I can definitely see the Cavaliers surprising some people this year. It seems like the team has developed a nice level of chemistry. I still stand by my 7-5 prediction with a trip to the Emerald Bowl.
North Carolina -- John Bunting did himself no favors when he constructed a schedule that includes out-of-conference games against South Florida and Notre Dame. The Tar Heels also do not have a quarterback to speak of.
Duke -- Who cares?
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