In part two we look at top newcomers, division winners, and give our picks for ACC champion.
Which freshman are you most excited to see on the field?
Mike: Florida State redshirt freshman quarterback Deondre Francois is hands down the freshman that I am most excited to watch heading into the season. With Sean Maguire now sidelined, it looks like the future is now for the Florida State offense. Jimbo Fisher has gone as far as to say that Francois makes some throws in practice that remind him of a Heisman winner from a couple of seasons ago (Winston, for those playing at home), but his ultimate success will obviously determined in live game action. From all indications, he’s an incredible athlete and has a great arm, which will be tested from the get-go in the Seminoles’ primetime opener against Ole Miss.
Jeff: Clemson DL Dexter Lawrence is the freshman I’m looking forward to seeing this season. Ranked by many as the top recruit in the country, Lawrence impressed teammates and coaches immediately in practice this spring. Peers can be the hardest people to impress, so it says a lot to see those comments from his teammates. With the player turnover last year on Clemson’s defense, Lawrence will have plenty of opportunities early and often to disrupt opposing backfields.
Justin: Miami’s Shaquille Quarterman will be a critical piece on defense especially with the recent dismissal of two defensive starters. Quarterman was already likely to start at middle linebacker, and now he’ll be asked to lead as well. The 6-foot-1, 240-pounder has impressed coaches athletically but also with his ability to pick up the defensive scheme as a true freshman.
Who will win the Atlantic?
Mike: As much as I love the potential of Francois at Florida State, the veteran presence of Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson in that high-powered offense with some of the best receivers in the country in Mike Williams and Artavis Scott is too much to pick against. Couple the offense with a Clemson pass rush that is loaded with young four and five star talent and that makes it extremely difficult for me to pick against the Tigers in their match-up against Florida State in late October. Let’s face it now, the winner of that match-up will ultimately become the Atlantic Division Champion, as while I believe that Louisville will be very good, I’m still not sure that they have enough in the tank to beat Florida State or Clemson this season.
Jeff: The Atlantic Division will be a battle between Florida State and Clemson. In college football, more times than not, the teams with better QBs win the day. Clemson has the better QB, so I’m giving them the edge over Florida State. FSU may have Clemson at home, but the conference game they should be worried about first is going on the road to Louisville with an inexperienced QB in a week 3. Clemson repeats as division champion here.
Justin: Florida State is going to have the best defense in the conference and quite possibly the country. Modern football is dominated by the offenses, until you run into that kind of buzzsaw. I think the ‘Noles can take the Atlantic assuming they get at least acceptable quarterback play.
Who will win the Coastal?
Mike: North Carolina. The Tar Heels have too many weapons on offense for the rest of the division to contend with. Although that game against Pittsburgh could be very intriguing if the Panthers’ defense can keep the ‘Heels off the scoreboard. There’s a ton of upside with the Panthers as James Conner returns after his battle with cancer. By all indications, Conner is close to 100%, which if true, is a huge add to an already above average Pittsburgh running game. Ultimately though, I like Mitch Trubisky at quarterback over Pitt’s Nate Peterman, which should lead to Carolina defeating the Panthers in their early season tilt which could ultimately decide the winner of the Coastal.
Jeff: As usual, the Coastal race is hard to predict. North Carolina and Miami figure to be the favorites, but can you ever count out Virginia Tech? What about Paul Johnson having an experienced senior QB at Georgia Tech? This division always comes down to tiebreakers and close win/loss records. Again, strong QB play usually wins the day. UNC and Miami both have strong QBs, but since Miami will be adjusting to a new coach, I’ll give the edge to UNC to repeat as division champions. But I fully expect “Coastal Chaos” to show up again this season.
Justin: I’m of the same mind as Jeff and as such, don’t really want to pick anyone in this division. Carolina gets the nod from me by default, but I’m not sure I believe in them that much more than any other team involved. Just give the the ol’ ‘ACC Wheel of Destiny’ a spin and see what happens.
Who will win the ACC?
Mike: I love Clemson to not only win the ACC, but to get back to the National Championship. I’m betting on the arm of Deshaun Watson and Brent Venables’ defense to put the Tigers right in the mix come season’s end, defeating the North Carolina Tar Heels in a shootout to win the Conference Crown and move on to the College Football Playoff.
Jeff: I have to go with Clemson over North Carolina. Now, it’s a long season and two things will determine the validity of this prediction. First, the health of Watson at the end of the season. If he’s healthy, Clemson will be hard for anybody to beat. Second, did UNC’s defense make another step in improving this season? They played within 8 points of Clemson last season and any improvement in UNC’s defense can help close that gap. I’m expecting Clemson to be in the national title discussion again.
Justin: I’ll stick with the Florida State bandwagon. People get nervous about the possibility of a young quarterback, but if Jimbo Fisher puts a guy under center I generally trust his assessment of that player. It worked just fine for Jameis Winston.
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