In the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Coastal Division owns the proven programs, at least over the past few years. Virginia Tech and – last year – Georgia Tech won the ACC from the Coastal side of the divide. Not since 2006, with Wake Forest, has the Atlantic boasted the ACC champion, and it’s reasonable to say that such a scenario occurred largely because the Coastal was so weak, not because the Atlantic was so excellent.
In 2010, the Coastal Division is still likely to give the ACC its best team – and the bearer of an Orange Bowl berth – but the Atlantic isn’t chopped liver. There’s a chance that the Atlantic could have a competitive race for reasons other than division-wide mediocrity.
ACC Atlantic Division Preview
Football Odds: Florida State +125
One needs to understand that the football odds over the past few ACC Atlantic races have been train-wrecks more than Indy Car sprints to the finish line. No school in this six-team set has been able to take command of competition and stamp itself as an elite program. Wake Forest did claim the ACC in 2006, but got whacked in that season’s Orange Bowl by Louisville. Boston College took the Atlantic in 2007 and 2008, but got whipped in the ACC title tilt by Virginia Tech. Last year, Clemson won its first Atlantic title but couldn’t stop Georgia Tech’s offense in a wild ACC championship challenge. The division’s marquee program, Florida State, has experienced a period of sustained impotence, but after the retirement of iconic coach Bobby Bowden, the Seminoles might be ready to ramp up their level of quality… and lift the rest of the division to a higher standard.
Only two teams don’t figure to enter into the Atlantic Division title chase. Maryland and Wake Forest stand a great distance from their glory days from the past decade. Coaches Ralph Friedgen and Jim Grobe have not maintained the momentum generated by ACC title seasons in 2001 and 2006, and there’s nothing to suggest that either program can produce an upper-division finish in 2010. This is a four-horse race, and we’ll start with the dangerous outside shot.
North Carolina State disappointed mightily in 2009. A Wolfpack crew coached by Tom O’Brien figured to have the horses it needed to make a run at the flag, but instead, NCSU embarrassed itself by going 2-6 in ACC play. The Pack popped a prominent Pittsburgh team in a display of its immense capabilities, but somehow, that form was never duplicated within the ACC. This year, quarterback Russell Wilson is back at the controls, giving N.C. State a supremely gifted signal caller. If all the pieces fit together, this team can click and make some noise. Don’t bet on NCSU to win the division, but the Wolfpack have a puncher’s chance.
The third choice is Boston College. The Golden Eagles always overachieve relative to their talent, and are the kind of team that will benefit from a crowded ACC race. It’s not meant as a slap to the program, but BC will win only if the Atlantic as a whole fails to live up to expectations. Boston College won’t light up the scoreboard; it will need opponents to slip on the proverbial banana peel.
In recent years, both Florida State and Clemson have indeed slipped up and blown chances to dominate the Atlantic. In 2009, FSU fell short of its goals because of a defense that couldn’t have stopped a half-decent high school offense even if it tried. This season, new coach Jimbo Fisher will have a boatload of offensive weapons and will therefore have an excellent chance of winning the division, but his defense could still prove to be too weak in the end.
Football Odds – ACC Coastal Outlook
The odds-on favorite for the Atlantic is Clemson. Last season the Tigers did just enough to grab the brass ring. In 2010, a team of previously-tormented talents, now liberated by their breakthrough, just might have the mental toughness needed to repeat as division champions and live up to the full measure of its potential. Take Clemson first, FSU second, BC third, NCSU fourth, Wake fifth, and Maryland sixth.
Football Odds Selection: Clemson +250
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