ACC Betting Preview – Hokies Poky Into BCS
Last year, the Virginia Tech Hokies – who had won three of the previous five Atlantic Coast Conference championships and had claimed three ACC Coastal Division crowns in four years – missed out on any hardware whatsoever. NCAA football betting diehards were stunned.
Coach Frank Beamer’s team suffered a terrible home loss to North Carolina and then failed to take down Georgia Tech in Atlanta. While Virginia Tech stayed home in early December, Georgia Tech threw a curveball to the sports betting cognoscenti and topped Clemson for the 2009 ACC title. The Jackets won their first ACC crown in the conference title game era, while Clemson took its first-ever ACC Atlantic Division flag. What will 2010 bring? Let’s see.
Team On The Rise:
It’s hard to talk about surprises and disappointments in a league that manifests a lot of the same patterns each year. The most consistent overachiever in the ACC, relative to its resources and brand name, is Boston College. What was solid under Jeff Jagodzinski is still solid under new coach (and former defensive coordinator) Frank Spaziani. With linebacker Mark Herzlich back from a successful battle with cancer, BC should give ACC Atlantic favorites Clemson and Florida State a good run for the money in 2010. If any other ACC team did well, it would be living up to its potential. When BC does well, it always seems to be at least something of a pleasant surprise. Groups of online betting analysts could tell you as much.
Team On The Decline:
If Boston College is always the overachiever in the ACC, there are several teams which routinely fail to live up to expectations. There’s the Miami outfit which has not yet won so much as a division title under the leadership of head coach Randy Shannon. There’s a North Carolina team which has a lot of NFL studs but has not yet gelled as a complete gang of 22 (plus special teams). There’s Maryland, which has fallen on hard times since winning the league in 2001 and coming back with a very solid campaign in 2002. All these programs ought to be doing better than they’ve showed on the field.
However, the team which wastes more talent than any other ACC club is North Carolina State. Despite the presence of immensely-gifted signal caller Russell Wilson, the Wolfpack plummeted to the bottom rung of the Atlantic in 2009. It’s up to coach Tom O’Brien to bring out the best in N.C. State, but until the Pack prove themselves, they shouldn’t be trusted.
Best Player In The Conference:
North Carolina outside linebacker Bruce Carter. The Tar Heels have disappointed on the field relative to the NFL-level talent they possess on their roster, but boy, do they have some gems. Carter is merely the foremost specimen and playmaking stud on a defense laden with high-profile athletes. He made a splash two years ago when he blocked multiple kicks in a game against Connecticut. In the time since then, Carter has continued to fly around the field and cause havoc for opponents, but more on defense instead of special teams. A combination of speed and power makes Carter the outside pass rusher who has to be contained at all costs.
Who Will Win The ACC:
Clemson and Florida State are very good teams in the Atlantic, but Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech are even better in the Coastal. Ultimately, Virginia Tech gets Georgia Tech at home in the regular-season game of the year. Give the nod to the Hokies in that game, and take Virginia Tech over Clemson for the league championship.
