ACC Preseason Poll

ya fsu doesn have some holes, but that defense is gonna be sick larryd. the front 4 and the linebackers are just ridiculous. pope and boulware both return at linebacker. at d-line, moore, dockett, and emanuel are all studs and the back-ups are just as good as the starters.

offensively, greg jones is the best rb in the acc i believe. that guy is a beast. chris rix is ok, but he doesn't have to be spectacular for fsu to win. the wr's are an unknown kinda i guess but fsu always has capable receivers. i know the thorpe guy is supposed to be really good.

anyway, i just think fsu is the team to beat in the acc. i wouldn't be surprised to see them go through the acc undefeated. i could possibly see them losing to uva since the game is @virginia and right after the miami game so maybe they'll be an emotional letdown or something, but other than that, i don't think fsu will have any problems.

 

the secondary is awful and so is the front four -- my grandmother with her bad hip could run on it. the linebackers are fast, but they are undersized. pope can hit, but he overpursues. and boulware isn't great against the run. he'll get caught out of position, too. he likes to make big plays.

greg jones is coming off a blown knee late in the season. rix got benched last season. he refuses to listen to the coaches and his teammates think he's a cocky mofo. until he does something on the field, they wont trust him.

the receivers are awful -- worst fsu has ever had, as a group. the best receiver is a converted defensive back.

fsu will lose acc games.

 

I would be surprised if ANYONE went undefeated in the ACC.

 

ME TOO

 

I agree. This is really going to be a fun season of ACC football. The league is strong through the middle of the conference and a number of schools have an opportunity to be a big surprise. None of the teams are juggernauts and I expect none will be serious National Championship contenders.

That said, anything can happen. I was a sophomore at Clemson in 1981 and that was a hell of a ride. We started the season unranked and then just slowly moved up the polls as teams in front lost. I have to say we were not the best team in the Country, we just had the right circumstances fall into place and when put in the position to win it all by beating Nebraska, the team pulled it off. I would not be at all shocked if the conference champion has 2 conference losses.

As for the lofty expectations at Clemson, you are definitely right, but I am not sure it's a bad thing. Why not set your goals high and shoot for them. Don't overlook dollars though. Imho Tommy Bowden won't really be on the hot seat until seats in Death Valley sit empty on gamedays. Ken Hatfield averaged 8 wins a year and was canned....imo.....because of horrible game attendance. As long as Bowden can keep the seats full, I believe he will remain the head football coach. Most probably disagree with that, but it's how I see it. On a side note, it's interesting that the offense has never been as effective since Rodriguez went to West Virginia.

 

I just think UNC is better than Clemson. UNC had one of the toughest schedule in the nation last yr and again will have trouble. I just don't think Clemson is that good. Its my humble opinion and we are talking the middle of the ACC - so really, no big deal.

 

Attendance???? Clemson reports sell outs, but GO to a game. The place is 1/3 empty! Hell, they were selling tickets at BI LO to try to drive in traffic.

 

I have been to many many many games at Death Valley and I will have to respectfully disagree with your characterization. You suggest that the norm in Death Valley would is around 55,000 people. You will see that number at a meaningless game against a weak opponent with a lousy Tiger team.

This season, imho there will be 83,500 + for the Georgia game, Furman and Middle Tnn will not likely be well attended (sad but true - not like my days in the early 1980's); however, an upset win over Georgia will improve attendence for both those games and I would predict 65,000 to 70,000 in the stands. The UVA, UNC and FSU games will imho have near capacity attendance, and if the team has had a bad year and is not in bowl contention then the Duke game might be the worst attended all year, maybe even in your 1/3 empty range.

On a side from that, Clemson remains one of the best teams in the ACC in terms of "in the seat" total attendance in the ACC. In addition the remain one of, if not the best traveling team in the league, especially for bowl games.

 

clemson better hope they beat Georgia. Georgia game is crucial with 2 easier games followed by Tech and Maryland. Season could be over before it even gets started good.

 

I could not agree more. That game will likely set the tone for the entire season. The good news for Tiger fans is that we won't have Klopp punting this year. Clemson outplayed Georgia last year, and lost the game because of horrible special teams.