How quickly can UNC bounce back after a mulligan year?
Larry Fedora’s Tar Heels shouldn’t have to wait long to rebound after a 2017 debacle.

North Carolina Tar Heels
Head coach: Larry Fedora (43-34, seventh year)

2017 record and S&P+ ranking: 3-9 (94th)

Projected 2018 record and S&P+ ranking: 6-6 (51st)

Five key points:

1. UNC was due a step backward simply because of a youth movement on offense. But throw in a ton of injuries, and you had a full-blown reset year.

2. With some bounces and better injuries luck, the bounce back could be forceful. The Heels are projected to rebound by 40-plus spots and play in nine one-possession games.

3. Step one toward a nice rebound: picking a QB. Sophomore Chazz Surratt and junior Nathan Elliott alternated between intriguing and shaky in 2017.

4. Whoever starts at QB should have a nice supporting cast. WR Anthony Ratliff-Williams is one of the ACC’s most explosive players, and the RB corps is exciting.

5. The defense was massively banged up, and the run defense could still be an issue, but there are disruptive pieces at the front (DE Malik Carney) and back (CB K.J. Sails).

Link
https://www.sbnation.com/college-footbal...ule-roster

Paul Johnson’s Georgia Tech is building for the future, but we’ll see if he reaches it
The Yellow Jackets face a murderous schedule and might need another year for a great young defensive coordinator to figure things out.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Head coach: Johnson (76-54, 11th year)

2017 record and S&P+ ranking: 5-6 (73rd)

Projected 2018 record and S&P+ ranking: 5-7 (53rd)

Five key points:

1. Since winning 11 games in 2014, Tech has played below the ACC average for three straight years.

2. Johnson just signed his best recruiting class in years and might have nailed his defensive coordinator hire, bringing in former App State DC Nate Woody.

3. Woody could find some disruptive pieces, but they’ll probably be pretty young. It might take him a year to figure things out.

4. The offense should have all the health and experience it lacked last season. We’ll find out how good QB TaQuon Marshall is — last year was inconclusive.

5. The schedule features four likely losses, two likely wins, and six games projected within eight points. A decent year is possible, but a big season will have to wait.

Link
https://www.sbnation.com/college-fo...ia...ule-roster

Dino Babers’ Syracuse must finish strong for a change
The Orange have fast starts and big moments, but need much stronger finishes.

Syracuse Orange
Head coach: Dino Babers (8-16, third year)

2017 record and S&P+ ranking: 4-8 (88th)

Projected 2018 record and S&P+ ranking: 5-7 (71st)

Five key points:

1. So far at Syracuse, Babers is 8-8 in September and October ... and 0-8 in November. The late-season collapses have become a thing.

2. The collapses have been due in part to physical QB Eric Dungey being unable to stay on the field. He’s at least got an exciting backup in four-star Tommy DeVito this time.

3. The QBs will be dealing with a new-ish receiving corps and a run game that still hasn’t established itself.

4. The defense has been good on standard downs and total dreck on passing downs. The line should be a strength, but the back seven has plenty of question marks.

5. Any shot at a bowl bid requires a 3-1 start. After that, the wins are a lot harder to come by.

Link
https://www.sbnation.com/college-footbal...ule-roster

Bronco Mendenhall isn’t entirely wrong about Virginia’s roster
Mendenhall says he has only “27 ACC-caliber football players” this year. You need a few more than that.

Virginia Cavaliers
Head coach: Bronco Mendenhall (8-17, third year)

2017 record and S&P+ ranking: 6-7 (85th)

Projected 2018 record and S&P+ ranking: 5-7 (73rd)

Five key points:

1. UVA rode a strong secondary and a brief burst of offense to its first bowl since 2011, but by the end of the year, looked more like 2016’s 2-10 squad than an actual bowl team.

2.The offense didn’t have enough. We’ll see if that changes with a mobile QB (JUCO transfer Bryce Perkins) and some interesting young WRs joining Olamide Zaccheaus.

3. The run game was a nightmare. Perkins is the only reason that might change.

4. Defensively, things look good. The Hoos have to rebuild the line a bit, but the back eight should be even better than last year.

5. The schedule is tricky. UVA is a projected winner in only three games and will need good close-game breaks, or massive overachievement on offense, to bowl again.

Link
https://www.sbnation.com/college-footbal...ule-roster

Pitt fans, hope you like this roller coaster ride
The Panthers could be a top-40 team again this year. So could about nine of their 12 opponents. Close games are coming.

Pitt Panthers
Head coach: Pat Narduzzi (21-17, fourth year)

2017 record and S&P+ ranking: 5-7 (82nd)

Projected 2018 record and S&P+ ranking: 5-7 (45th)

Five key points:

1. In three years, Narduzzi has beaten three heavyweights and nearly lost to Youngstown State ... twice. And with a loaded schedule, Year 4 might not be different.

2. The 2017 team was volatile, but inexperience was a big cause of that, and the Panthers were playing like a top-40 team by the end.

3. QB Kenny Pickett was thrown into the fire, nearly upset Virginia Tech on the road, then did upset 10-0 Miami. RB Darrin Hall improved late, too.

4. The pass defense went from horrid to good, and while the front seven wasn’t great, it was also young. Not so much now.

5. This schedule, man. With a projected top-50 ranking, Pitt is still only a healthy favorite in one game, and nine opponents are projected 53rd or better.

Link
https://www.sbnation.com/college-footbal...ule-roster

Thanks for the short team previews... keep 'em coming!

BC suddenly has an offense again. Funny how much of a difference that can make.
Steve Addazio’s youth movement paid off on offense, and if his defense avoids too many injuries, the Eagles could be scary in 2018.

Boston College Eagles
Head coach: Steve Addazio (31-33, sixth year)

2017 record and S&P+ ranking: 7-6 (66th)

Projected 2018 record and S&P+ ranking: 6-6 (48th)

Five key points:

1. For 2.5 straight years, BC had maybe the worst offense in the power conferences. But midway through 2017, with two freshmen in the backfield, the Eagles emerged from their funk.

2. Funny how scoring points makes life easier, huh? BC won five of six to end the regular season and now returns almost every weapon from that breakout.

3. The defense is perilously thin, but the starting 11 should be exciting, with difference-makers at DE (Zach Allen), LB (Connor Strachan), and DB (Lukas Denis and maybe Hamp Cheevers).

4. Picking up where they left off would be huge. The Eagles are either favorites or merely slight underdogs in each of their first seven games. Then the schedule gets brutal quickly.

5. Addazio’s won seven games in four of his first five seasons, and it’s hard to imagine more than seven or eight this year. But the future’s bright for this offense. Who saw that coming?

Link
https://www.sbnation.com/college-footbal...ule-roster

Duke could be a top-40 team. So could almost every opponent.
David Cutcliffe’s youth movement could reap dividends in 2018. It better, because there are almost no sure wins on the schedule.

Duke Blue Devils
Head coach: David Cutcliffe (59-67, 11th year)

2017 record and S&P+ ranking: 7-6 (65th)

Projected 2018 record and S&P+ ranking: 6-6 (40th)

Five key points:

1. Duke was excellent, terrible, and excellent again in 2017. Not the worst (or most surprising) development for a team with a super-young core.

2. That core is a bit older and could have the Blue Devils playing sustained top-40 ball for the first time in five years.

3. The offense has a high-continuity passing game with QB Daniel Jones and company and a high-upside RB in Brittain Brown. The line’s rebuilding a bit, though.

4. The defense’s biggest loss was in the coordinator chair. If the new co-DCs do their part, this could be one of the best pass defenses in the country. CB Mark Gilbert is a havoc master.

5. The ACC is so loaded that Duke has two likely wins, two likely losses, and something like eight relative tossups. That’s a wide range of outcomes right there.

Link
https://www.sbnation.com/college-footbal...ule-roster

Jimbo Fisher left Willie Taggart a high standard, but also a path to raising it!
7-5? 11-1? Pretty much anything is on the table for Taggart’s first year in Tallahassee

Florida State Seminoles
Head coach: Willie Taggart (first year)

2017 record and S&P+ ranking: 7-6 (43rd)

Projected 2018 record and S&P+ ranking: 7-5 (18th)

Five key points:

1. Jimbo Fisher’s last year in Tallahassee was strange and frustrating, but he was righting the ship when A&M backed up the Brinks truck and took him to College Station.

2. Taggart inherits an almost perfect situation: a young, absurdly talented core with room for growth and less-than-elite expectations, at least briefly.

3. Eight top-40 opponents on the schedule should tamp down the win total.

4. Either of two QBs (Deondre Francois or James Blackman) will inherit a fun skill corps of RB Cam Akers, the streaky WR Nyqwan Murray, and lots of young horses.

5. The defense has to replace a ton of starters, but a thrilling core of sophomores should produce dividends heading into 2019.

Link
https://www.sbnation.com/college-footbal...ule-roster

NC State blew a massive opportunity in 2017, but the future might still be bright
Dave Doeren signed a contract extension, recruiting is picking up steam, and there’s a lot of offensive talent here. But damn, 2017 could have been so much more.

NC State Wolfpack
Head coach: Dave Doeren (34-30, sixth year)

2017 record and S&P+ ranking: 9-4 (38th)

Projected 2018 record and S&P+ ranking: 7-5 (37th)

Five key points:

1. Good news: Doeren has sustained success and produced a lot of draft picks, and as he begins his new contract, recruiting is picking up steam.

2. Bad news: State had a huge opportunity in 2017 but couldn’t top nine wins and now must replace seven draft picks. It’s hard not to see a window closing.

3. Good news: the offense could be dynamite. QB Ryan Finley and WRs Kelvin Harmon, Jakobi Meyers, and Stephen Louis make up one of the ACC’s most proven attacks.

4. Bad news: the defense was a major disappointment last year, and that was with four NFL-caliber linemen. And the linebackers and secondary are now thin and unproven.

5. Good news: the schedule is manageable. Aside from the trip to Clemson, S&P+ gives State at least a 40 percent win probability in every game. There’s a path to another solid season (and a path to something far worse).

Link
https://www.sbnation.com/college-footbal...ule-roster

Dave Clawson’s now pulled off the same 4-year rebuild at 4 different levels of college football
And his 2018 Wake Forest Demon Deacons should be solid once again.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Head coach: Dave Clawson (21-29, fifth year)

2017 record and S&P+ ranking: 8-5 (37th)

Projected 2018 record and S&P+ ranking: 7-5 (34th)

Five key points:

1. Clawson has become a renowned program builder. He needed just three years to flip Wake Forest from 3-9 to 8-5, and his program has depth it usually can’t boast.

2. Can anyone replace QB John Wolford? The former Deac turned in a spectacular senior season, and likely replacement Kendall Hinton is suspended to start 2018.

3. Whoever’s at QB will have support. Slot receiver Greg Dortch is the most efficient wideout in the ACC, and RB Matt Colburn II was a major catalyst late in 2017.

4. The defense loses some serious havoc producers in the front seven, but development in the secondary could offset losses in run defense. CBs Essang Bassey and Amari Henderson are studs.

5. In a brutally deep ACC, Wake should be capable of holding its own, with mere competence at QB. S&P+ gives the Deacs excellent odds of matching last year’s win total.

Link
https://www.sbnation.com/college-footbal...ule-roster

Why Justin Fuente might be another year away from a Virginia Tech breakthrough
Unexpected attrition is holding Justin Fuente back in Blacksburg, and he might need until 2019 to get all the chess pieces in order.

Virginia Tech Hokies
Head coach: Fuente (19-8, third year)

2017 record and S&P+ ranking: 9-4 (29th)

Projected 2018 record and S&P+ ranking: 8-4 (21st)

Five key points:

1. A year after unexpectedly losing a starting QB, VT has had to deal with injuries and attrition on defense all offseason.

2. At this point, the Hokies have exactly one experienced contributor in either the linebacking corps or secondary. Freshmen and sophomores will litter the two-deep.

3. Even all-world coordinator Bud Foster might struggle with that level of inexperience.

4. The offense has decent efficiency components and isn’t relying on a freshman QB (Josh Jackson, now a soph) any more. The star power and big-play potential are minimal, though.

5. The schedule is favorable. Tech will face three bad teams in September, which could give the D a chance to gel. Getting to at least eight wins is possible, which would be a feat.

Link
https://www.sbnation.com/college-footbal...ule-roster

Mark Richt’s Miami Hurricanes are the projected favorite in all 12 of their 2018 games
Does Richt have the QB to avoid landmines? If so, the Canes could be ready for a huge season.

Miami Hurricanes
Head coach: Richt (19-7, third year)

2017 record and S&P+ ranking: 10-3 (17th)

Projected 2018 record and S&P+ ranking: 9-3 (13th)

Five key points:

1. For a fleeting moment, Miami was The U again last year, dominating Notre Dame and moving to 10-0 and second in the country. Then came three straight losses.

2. An increasingly depleted skill corps led to a late collapse for QB Malik Rosier. It’ll be interesting to see how he responds or if a younger QB has a chance to surpass him.

3. If QB is stable, the offense is otherwise loaded. A healthy Ahmmon Richards is one of the nation’s best WRs, and RB Travis Homer, WR Jeff Thomas, etc., are ultra-explosive.

4. The defense was a turnover machine, in part because of the havoc the line was creating. The line has suffered considerable turnover, though, and will need help from a seasoned, exciting back seven.

5. With a schedule that features just three projected top-40 opponents, the Canes are a projected favorite in every game. Do they have the QB situation to run the table?

Link
https://www.sbnation.com/college-footbal...ule-roster

Don’t assume Bobby Petrino’s offense will fall apart without Lamar Jackson
Louisville’s personality will change, but the Cardinals’ strengths and weaknesses should remain similar without their superstar.

Louisville Cardinals
Head coach: Bobby Petrino (75-27, 10th year)

2017 record and S&P+ ranking: 8-5 (16th)

Projected 2018 record and S&P+ ranking: 7-5 (29th)

Five key points:

1. There is no truly replacing QB Lamar Jackson, the best player in Louisville history.
However, Petrino appears to have pieces on offense, from QB Jawon Pass to a trio of awesome receivers.

2. The offense might be really good again, but the defense might be really bad again.

3. Petrino’s on his third defensive coordinator in three years, and Brian VanGorder has to break in a new secondary.

4. For that matter, the defense needs to find some new play-makers in the front seven, too. Last year’s defense collapsed, compared to its 2016 form, but this year might not see a rebound.

5. The Cardinals are still going to have a chance. Seven games are projected within eight points, and UL is favored in nine games overall.

Link
https://www.sbnation.com/college-footbal...ule-roster

Clemson made the Playoff in a reset year. The reset’s over.
Dabo Swinney’s Tigers are the clear class of the ACC, again.

Clemson Tigers
Head coach: Dabo Swinney (101-30, 11th year)

2017 record and S&P+ ranking: 12-2 (eighth)

Projected 2018 record and S&P+ ranking: 11-1 (third)

Five key points:

1. Remember when Clemson was a perpetual underachiever? Yeah, me neither.

2. The Tigers made the CFP semifinals and won the ACC in a rebuilding year and, with most of last year’s production returning, should make another serious title run in 2018.

3. QB Kelly Bryant (if he keeps his job) will have both experience (WR Hunter Renfrow) and high-upside sophomores (RB Travis Etienne, WR Tee Higgins) at his disposal. A seasoned OL, too.

4. The defense ... good lord, it’s going to be awesome. It’s downright unfair to everyone else that DT Christian Wilkins and DE Austin Bryant decided to come back.

5. The schedule features trips to FSU and Texas A&M, but the Tigers are still projected double-digit favorites in every game and have as good a chance as anyone of running the table.

Link
https://www.sbnation.com/college-footbal...ule-roster

(07-16-2018 02:00 PM)GTFletch Wrote:  Dino Babers’ Syracuse must finish strong for a change
The Orange have fast starts and big moments, but need much stronger finishes.

Syracuse Orange
Head coach: Dino Babers (8-16, third year)

2017 record and S&P+ ranking: 4-8 (88th)

Projected 2018 record and S&P+ ranking: 5-7 (71st)

Five key points:

1. So far at Syracuse, Babers is 8-8 in September and October ... and 0-8 in November. The late-season collapses have become a thing.

2. The collapses have been due in part to physical QB Eric Dungey being unable to stay on the field. He’s at least got an exciting backup in four-star Tommy DeVito this time.

3. The QBs will be dealing with a new-ish receiving corps and a run game that still hasn’t established itself.

4. The defense has been good on standard downs and total dreck on passing downs. The line should be a strength, but the back seven has plenty of question marks.

5. Any shot at a bowl bid requires a 3-1 start. After that, the wins are a lot harder to come by.

Link
https://www.sbnation.com/college-footbal...ule-roster

I hope Syracuse can get to a 3-1 start. But the durability of the quarterback has been a problem. I think the offensive line is supposed be improved so maybe they can keep him a little bit healthier. I just wish he would stop running as much as he does…

After previewing every ACC team for 2018, here’s how I think the conference stacks up


2018 projected standings
Total projected wins are in parentheses.

Atlantic Division
Clemson 6.9 (10.5)
Florida State 4.4 (7.1)
Louisville 4.4 (7.1)
NC State 4.0 (7.0)
Wake Forest 3.8 (6.7)
BC 2.8 (5.7)
Syracuse 2.4 (4.9)

Coastal Division
Miami 6.0 (9.3)
Virginia Tech 4.9 (8.1)
Pitt 3.8 (5.3)
North Carolina 3.6 (6.2)
Duke 3.5 (6.2)
Georgia Tech 3.0 (5.3)
Virginia 2.5 (5.1)



Link
https://www.sbnation.com/college-footbal...r-rankings

Thanks, GTFletch.