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The annual publications have their Top 25 and conference predictions out, including the ACC. Let's look at both the national and area forecasts.
Both the Sporting News and Lindy's have Georgia sitting in the top spot, while College Football News has the Bulldogs at no. 2, and Athlon lists them at no. 5.
The consensus of the magazines has Ohio State at No. 1, with Georgia, USC, and Oklahoma tied at no. 2. That's because forecaster Phil Steele placed Georgia way down at no. 9.
“If I were an AP (Associated Press poll) voter, I would probably put them at no. 1,” Steele said. “But I base my rankings on where I think a team will finish, not where they should start.
Anthony Gimino, the senior editor at Lindy's, said, “You look at Georgia's schedule and you know how hard it is. But, when you are picking no. 1, you should go with the best team.”
Georgia's schedule is the toughest in the nation. The Dawgs have away games at South Carolina, Arizona State, LSU, Florida, Kentucky, and Auburn. The South Carolina and Arizona State tilts are back-to-back, as are the LSU and Florida games. At home, Georgia has Alabama and Tennessee.
Ohio State has the easiest schedule of the top five, even with the early-season showdown at USC. The Buckeyes have been toasted in the last two national championship games. First Florida, then LSU won national titles at the Buckeyes' expense. Don't overlook Illinois in the Big Ten.
The winner of the Ohio State-USC battle will be right there with Georgia, provided the Dawgs don't step on one of the early-season land mines. Oklahoma is right there also, but Missouri may be the best Big 12 team.
The fans of these superpowers are like no other. For instance, Georgia had 700 season tickets become available this year. The Dawgs have over 9,000 on their waiting list for season tickets (for their 92,700-seat stadium.) The 700 who got them had to pony up $10,600 plus the cost of the tickets, ($40 per) and that amount didn't entitle the buyer to purchase tickets for any away contests. To get Arizona State tickets, many Dawg fans bought ASU season tickets. The entire package cost $99.
In the ACC, few schools have that manic level of interest. Clemson limped to a 9-4 finish last season, but is the consensus pick to win the league this season. QB Cullen Harper, WR Aaron Kelly, and the dynamic duo of tailbacks James Davis and C. J. Spiller, give the Tiger fans plenty of hope as Clemson tries to end a 16-year dry spell as ACC champions. But the Tigers lost most of their offensive line and all three linebackers. Coach Tommy Bowden says the talk of titles is “premature.”
Virginia Tech, as always, will be a tough customer. Wake Forest will stay under the radar screen and may surprise again. Virginia will continue to improve and Florida State may be the surprise team of the year.
Closer to home, UNC must improve its abysmal offense. The Tar Heel defense improved last season, but Carolina must find a way to score more often. Over at “quarterback-less” N. C. State, four-star freshman QB Mike Glennon arrives in Raleigh. But, with their opening tilt at South Carolina, don't look for coach Tom O'Brien to throw his young phenom into the Gamecock crock pot. State has talented running backs in Andre Brown and Toney Baker, but lots of gaps in the lines.
Even with a new and proven coach in David Cutcliffe, Duke is still the worst team in the ACC. Unless Cutcliffe is a long-lost relative of Houdini (and the survey says ... nyet,) the Blue Devils will be lucky to win more than two or three games.
East Carolina has made great strides in Skip Holtz's brief tenure there. The 41-38 bowl win over Boise State and the huge victory over UNC has given the Purple People cause for hope. But the Pirates' early season schedule is challenging (Virginia Tech, at State, and West Virginia,) so the record may not be a true indicator of the improvement at ECU.
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