Hokies have shot to repeat in ACC
If you're looking for the 2008 ACC football champion, don't stray far from the final score in Saturday's 2007 title game between Virginia Tech and Boston College.
The Eagles, who have to replace almost all of their key offensive players, likely won't be back to represent the Atlantic Division, but the victorious Hokies, by a 30-16 count, almost certainly will remain the class of the Coastal Division.
That's despite the fact that Frank Beamer also will have to deal with heavy personnel losses, including standout linemen Chris Ellis and Carlton Powell and the league's best set of linebackers.
But if the past few seasons have established anything, it is that Beamer's program clearly has passed Florida State and Miami as the ACC's most talented and best prepared. There's just no disputing that point. Since beginning league play in 2004, the Hokies have gone 7-1 three times and 6-2 once in regular-season ACC games while showing an uncanny gift for resiliency during any given crisis period.
There is every reason to believe Beamer's blueprint -- defense, kicking, special teams, unwavering player incentive -- will continue to produce wins at a steady clip. And if the '08 defense does take some time to come around, the offense probably will be able to carry a heavier burden. Returning quarterbacks Sean Glennon and Tyrod Taylor should see to that and junior running back Branden Ore, after some early struggles, was much improved in late season.
Inside the conference, the Hokies' toughest game probably will be a trip to Florida State. The other seven -- Maryland, Georgia Tech, Virginia and Duke at Blacksburg, Va.; and Miami, North Carolina and Boston College on the road -- should be imminently winnable.
The favorite in the Atlantic Division will be Clemson and that is even if junior running back James Davis and junior receiver Aaron Kelly leave school early for the NFL draft.
With quarterback Cullen Harper, runner C.J. Spiller and receivers Tyler Grisham and Michael Palmer, the Tigers loom as the league's highest-scoring team again. They averaged almost 35 points per game in '07, and that was after being held to three in a loss at Georgia Tech.
The Atlantic Division will remain tricky, however. Wake Forest, with Riley Skinner at quarterback and Josh Adams at tailback, will continue to be a winning program, while Maryland and N.C. State logically cannot pile up as many key injuries as each had in '07.
Here's an early guess at how the standings will look at season's end:
ATLANTIC DIVISION: 1. Clemson, 2. Wake Forest, 3. Florida State, 4. Maryland, 5. N.C. State, 6. Boston College.
COASTAL DIVISION: 1. Virginia Tech, 2. Virginia, 3. North Carolina, 4. Miami, 5. Georgia Tech, 6. Duke.
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