ACC Football Preview
FAVORITE
• The way Miami linebacker Jon Beason sees it, not only should Miami be the defending conference champs, it pretty much is. "They're wearing our rings," Beason said of Florida State, a team that took the back door into the BCS last season. Of course, had Miami beaten Florida State in the season opener and/or not tanked against Georgia Tech, it would have played in the ACC championship game and had a shot at those rings. This season, the Hurricanes have an obscenely fast defense and a more comfortable, more seasoned Kyle Wright at quarterback, which should be enough talent to get them the jewelry they desire. The fact that a four-loss team, even a program as storied as FSU's, could represent the ACC in the BCS is emblematic of the state of the league. In Year 2 of the ACC Uberconference Experiment, Commissioner John Swofford may find he created a monster too powerful for its own good. With perennial powerhouses Miami, Florida State and Virginia Tech combining with a gaggle of teams you'd rather not face, such as Clemson and North Carolina, which upset Miami last season, a question emerges: How can a team from this league run the table, win the ACC championship game, and then win it all?
"There's a top," Boston College Coach Tom O'Brien said. "But there's no bottom. I don't think many teams want to schedule Wake Forest or Duke."
DARK HORSE
• They have the best player in the conference (and maybe the country), a quarterback with three years of starting experience and an NFL-tested coach. Georgia Tech, it seems, has everything but a top-25 ranking. With Calvin Johnson at wide receiver and Reggie Ball at quarterback in Chan Gailey's offense, the Yellow Jackets are a threat to upset any team in the country. They'll get a chance on the season's first weekend, when Notre Dame comes to Atlanta. A shocker in that game could give the Ramblin' Wreck enough momentum to carry it through a brutal ACC schedule. The Jackets proved last season they possess the chops to beat an elite team when they pulled a 14-10 upset at Miami and also beat Auburn to open the season. HEISMAN HOPEFUL
• Because exposure can count for so much in the Heisman race, why not Calvin Johnson? After all, he makes "SportsCenter" more often than Stuart Scott with his did-you-see-that? catches. He has an appropriate stage, with an opening week appearance on national television against Notre Dame. If he catches, say, eight balls for 120 yards and a touchdown or two, he could snare front-runner status from Fighting Irish quarterback Brady Quinn. Of course, Johnson depends on Reggie Ball throwing him the ball, which may or may not be a good thing. If Ball can't deliver, other hopefuls from the ACC range from the prototypical (Miami and Florida State quarterbacks Kyle Wright and Drew Weatherford) to the atypical (freakish Clemson defensive end Gaines Adams). ON THE HOT SEAT
• None of the 12 ACC teams have switched coaches in the past two offseasons, remarkable considering the nature of college football. While there's pressure on Ralph Friedgen to right the ship at Maryland and for Ted Roof to do something at Duke, their situations pale in comparison to Larry Coker's. The Miami head man won a national championship with Butch Davis's players, but he's yet to make serious national noise with his own. An embarrassing 40-3 loss in to LSU in the Peach Bowl placed a magnifying glass over Coker this season. After replacing a handful of assistants, most notably offensive line coach and right-hand man Art Kehoe, Coker could be the next casualty of a program hungry for another national championship if he can't turn Miami's talent into wins. Here's guessing the ACC won't go three offseasons without heads rolling. GAME OF THE YEAR
• Virginia Tech at Miami, Nov. 4: It didn't take long for these Big East defectors to take control of the league. The winner should have the inside track in the Coastal Division, the stronger of the two this season. If you like speed with your defense, you'll love this one. 