Continue reading »]]> This week the big ACC story is the ACC baseball tournament. There is the potential that the ACC could get 4 National Top 8 Seeds, but I’m thinking 3. Let’s see the what the ACC bloggers have to say about this and other goings on in the ACC.

By the way, if you haven’t keep our friends in Oklahoma and that part of the country in your thoughts and prayers.

TarHeelFanBlog details the haul of ACC baseball awards that the North Carolina Tar Heels took in. 

Wolfpack blog BackingthePack look at NC State’s baseball team heading into the ACC baseball tournament.

Virginia Tech has quietly put together a solid baseball team. How are their matchups looking in the ACC Tournament? 

Florida State blog Tomahawknation thinks the ACC’s future is trending upwards for a variety of reasons.

Who will be a breakout player for Georgia Tech this season in football? FromtheRumbleSeat is doing a 3 part series and SS Fred Holton is the first Jacket player profiled.

What does Duke Sport Blog think about Coach K possible returning to coach Team USA? They like it, and I do to. Even if you’re not a Duke fan, you have to admit Coach K has done a wonderful job with Team USA the last few years.

Lastly Congratulations to the Virginia Men’s Tennis team for winning the National Championship today. 

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Continue reading »]]> The ACC Baseball tournament features 6 teams ranked in top 25. That’s 6 of the 8 teams in the ACC Tournament. Only the SEC can also claim 6 top 25 teams, but only the ACC has 4 top 10 teams, that’s 2 more than other conference. The ACC has good chance of landing 3 of the national top 8 seeds. UNC and Virginia appear locked in. Florida State or NC State could possibly be team number 3 and maybe teams 3 and 4. If the ACC doesn’t at least have 2 teams make it to Omaha, it would have to be a considered a real disappointment.

Is this the year ACC can finally break through on their CWS drought? Wake Forest was the last ACC team to win the CWS way back in 1955. Strange as the ACC has been of the country’s top baseball conference’s for years.

Here’s a thought as well Pittsburgh is ranked 21st in the country and Louisville is 12th. The ACC may be the best basketball and baseball conferences in America in the future. That said conference strength is measured in titles, and the winner of the ACCT is going to have a lot of momentum going to into the CWS.

Here is the 2013 ACC Baseball Championship site for schedules and information.

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Continue reading »]]> As we near the end of May, let’s go ahead and rank the ACC football coaches. This will be the first of several ACC rankings as we start with the coaches and move to the ACC postional rankings in preparation for the season.

When I look up and down the ACC’s coaches I see more coaching depth than I’ve seen in literally years. This doesn’t even include Louisville’s Charlie Strong who will join next year and would have certainly been in the top 4.

There isn’t a single coach that hasn’t had some level of success at least the assistant coaching level. Agree or disagree with the rankings?

Leave a comment or hit me up on twitter at @TalkinACCSports

1. Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech

Frank Beamer has had an absolute stranglehold on being the ACC’s top coach for years, but his grip is slipping. After 8 straight 10 win seasons, that included 4 ACC Titles the Hokies went 7-6 last year. The Hokies have clearly fallen behind Florida State and Clemson as the ACC’s top programs, but I’m not giving up on Beamer just yet. If he can put together a 10+ win season he’ll be able to hold off the hard charging Jimbo Fisher and Dabo Swinney.

2. Jimbo Fisher, Florida State

You know I think Jimbo Fisher gets a lot of undeserved criticism. For a coach that’s won 31 games in 3 years, there are whispers of of underachievement.  I don’t think people realized just how far the Seminole’s program had sunk in Bobby Bowden’s final years. Fisher has returned FSU to relevance, and the 11 players drafted in the 2013 NFL draft proves  the talent is returning to Tallahassee.  Yes there are head scratching losses to NC State and Wake Forest in recent years, and I’m not a fan of him calling the offensive plays, but FSU prorgam is in the best shape it’s been in since the late 1990s.

3. Dabo Swinney, Clemson

It’s time give Dabo Swinney his due. The Tigers have put together back to back 10+ win seasons, and they are coming off of a 11 win season that included a win over SEC Power LSU. The Tigers have now established themselves along with Florida State as the ACC teams most likely to eventually breakthrough and contend for a national title. He’s arguably the conference’s best recruiter. If Clemson knocks off Georgia to open the 2013 season, Clemson could jump into the top 5.

4. Al Golden, Miami

Al Golden has impressed me at Miami. With the cloud of the NCAA investigation still hanging over the Miami program, Golden has keep the Hurricanes program afloat. He rebuilt Temple while he was there, and has recruited decently at Miami. Last year he tied for first in the Coastal Division. I have a prediction, Golden will again make Miami a perennial top 20 program.

5. Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech

I don’t think there is a better play caller in the ACC. Johnson’s triple option offense is as tough to defend 5 years later as it was when he first arrived at Georgia Tech. That is with less talent too. He’s made 3 ACC Title games in his 5 years, and turned Navy’s football program around. Unfortunately the Yellow Jacket’s talent level has declined in recent years, but as I’ve said here before Georgia Tech is modifying their recruiting philosophy to recruit more nationally. If Johnson can ever figure out this recruiting thing and start bringing in some stronger classes, the Jackets could be a real force. Yes I know Georgia Tech has a limited curriculum. He can still recruit better.

6. David Cutcliffe, Duke

What David Cutcliffe has done at Duke is remarkable. The Blue Devils football program was an absolute laughing stock when Cutcliffe got there. He’s made Duke respectable, and he got the Blue Devils to their first bowl game since 1994. He’s one of the most respected quarterback gurus in the country. He’s worked with the likes of Peyton and Eli Manning and turning Sean Renfree into a NFL pick. With Duke finally investing in their football program, the Blue Devils rise may not be quite finished.

7. Larry Fedora, North Carolina

In his first year at UNC, Larry Fedora won 8 games and had the Heels not been on probation, they would have represented the ACC Coastal division in the ACC Title. This was following a 12-2 season at Southern Miss. Fedora uptempo offense should be even better in 2013. Fedora and UNC could make a huge splash if they can defeat South Carolina to open the year down in Columbia.

8. Dave Doeren, North Carolina State

This will be Dave Doeren’s first season at NC State, but he’s coming off a 23-4 record at North Illinois that saw the Huskies make the 2012 Orange Bowl. Doeren is a little tough to judge because he has yet to coach in the ACC, but I like the hire. I wasn’t a fan of Tom O’Brien and I think Doeren is a big upgrade for the Wolfpack.

9. Jim Grobe, Wake Forest

That I have Jim Grobe at 9th on this list, is testament to the ACC’s improved depth of coaching. Grobe won the ACC Title at Wake Forest and won 28 games in a 3 year span from 2006-2008. I still think Grobe can coach, but his last winning winning season was in 2008. The talent level has decline since that time. Wake will never recruit all that well no matter who is coaching there, but Grobe hasn’t found those diamonds in the rough that seemed to be there during the 06-08 run. The ascension of Atlantic Division rivals Clemson and FSU has hurt Wake Forest, and it remains to been seen if Grobe got Wake Forest as far as they could go.

10. Paul Chryst, Pittsburgh

I think ACC fans will be surprised by Paul Chryst, he’s a good offensive mind, and was a very successful offensive coordinator while at Wisconsin. There were some worried folks at Pitt when the Wisconsin job opened last year, but the Panthers were able to retain Chryst. I have long felt Pittsburgh is a place that under the right coach can be consistent winner. It would not surprise me to see Pittsburgh become a perennial bowl team under Chryst with the occasional run at the ACC Coastal Title.

11. Mike London, Virginia

Mike London looked like the ACC’s next big thing at head coach, but 3 years after his hire the Cavaliers are right back where they started with London. There are bookend 4-8 seasons in year year 1 and year 3. London is a decent recruiter, but coming into year 4 Virginia fans are going to start expecting some better results. He did win a FCS Championship at Richmond.

12. Steve Addazio, Boston College

Addazio has brought some much needed energy to a Boston College program stuck in neutral. He’s a Northeastern guy, that’s a good fit for Boston College. Addazio won 9 games at Temple in 2011, but only 4 last year in a transitional season. If Addazio can produce a bowl season at BC this year, he’ll move up this list quickly.

13.  Scott Schafer, Syracuse

Schafer has no head coaching experience, so he’s been the toughest to judge. You would prefer that a head coach have some experience running a program, but he has had some strong defenses at Syracuse while he was DC there. He’s a noted defensive guy and he’ll need that when he faces high powered ACC offenses like Clemson’s in the Atlantic Division. As with Addazio if Schafer gets Syracuse to a bowl, he’ll move up this list.

14. Randy Edsall, Maryland

Somebody has to be at the bottom of these rankings. Edsall really isn’t that bad of a coach. He got Connecticut to a BCS game, and averaged more than 8 wins his final 4 years there. His tenure at Maryland has been a disaster though. He won 2 games in 2011 and just 4 last year. An exodus of players left after year one. He was the victim of a rash of injuries in 2012 at quarterback, but if anyone can make an argument for Edsall to be higher than 12th on this list I’m listening.

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Continue reading »]]> A press-release submission from site contributor @HokieSmash

Virginia Tech one of Seven Schools Nationally with Two on Watch List

 http://theacc.co/FBLottIMPACT051713

GREENSBORO, N.C.—A total of seven football standouts from the Atlantic Coast Conference have been named to the first 2013 Watch List for the Lott IMPACT Award announced Thursday by the Pacific Club in Newport Beach, Calif.

In all, the Watch List honored 42 student-athletes from 37 different colleges around the country featuring players who have made the biggest IMPACT on their teams both on and off the field. IMPACT stands for Integrity Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.

The Award honors the nation’s top defensive player and in doing so takes into consideration an individual’s IMPACT on and off the field.

The ACC, Big 12 and Big Ten each had seven selections on the watch list, while the Pac-12 had 11 players tabbed. The SEC had five players chosen.

Virginia Tech was one of seven schools nationally to have multiple selections on the Watch List. They were joined by Baylor, Northwestern, Ohio State, Stanford, UCLA and Washington.

Named to the Award from the ACC were:

Duke cornerback Ross Cockrell, a senior from Waxhaw, N.C.;

Pittsburgh defensive lineman Aaron Donald, a senior from Pittsburgh, Pa.;

Boston College linebacker Steele Divitto, a senior from Ridgefield, Conn.;

Virginia Tech defensive back Antone Exum, a senior from Glen Allen, Va.

Florida State defensive back Lamarcus Joyner, a senior from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.;

Clemson linebacker Spencer Shuey, a senior from Charlotte, N.C.; and

Virginia Tech linebacker Jack Tyler, senior from Oakton, Va.

The ACC has had one previous winner in the Lott IMPACT Awards nine-year history, Boston College’s Luke Kuechly claimed the honor in 2011.

Voting for the award is held throughout the season by a National Voter Panel of former college coaches and players, select members of the media, past winners of the award and the Board of Directors of the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation, the sponsors of the award.  The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation also announced charity donations of $25,000 which brought their total donations in nine years to over $1 million. The 10th annual Lott IMPACT Trophy Black-Tie Awards Banquet will be Dec. 8 at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach.

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Continue reading »]]> Well the ACC Springs meetings have closed up shop for 2013. From what I’ve read, there were positive feelings all around. Remember this time last year when FSU BOT Chairman Andy Haggard’s comments started a firestorm of rumors right before the 2012 meetings and I asked what should the ACC do? That’s all history now since the conference’s Grant of Rights was signed. The ACC can look to the future. This year’s meetings hit of some of those future topics and here are my thoughts on them.

ACC Network 

From the Orlando Sentinel. 

Swofford said Monday even though the ACC’s proposed new television network was discussed in athletics directors meetings Monday, it’s still in its early development stage.

“It’s preliminary,” he said.

Representatives from ESPN were on hand to catch administrators up on the conference’s current exposure, but discussions about the future have yet to begin in earnest.

“We don’t want to let any grass grow,” Swofford said, emphasizing the need for patience. “We want to be very thorough with it.”

Swofford typically understates any planning that the ACC does, and in many case you are completely unaware of any ACC moves until they happen. Hence his Ninja Commissioner nickname. I believe these talks are further along than are publicly being released. Now that doesn’t mean a network is year away. I think we are still looking at 2015 or 2016, but I’ve heard it could be as many as 5 years from now. I don’t think that will be the case. I’d expect a  ACC network in 2 or 3 years. Swofford says “we don’t want to let any grass grow”, you know that means these negotiations are really about to accelerate.

8 Game Conference Schedule

From ESPN

Though league scheduling was not a major topic on the spring meetings agenda, ACC coaches unanimously support an eight-game conference slate. 

And they told the athletic directors as much.

I’m not surprised by this. Maybe the in the future the ACC can look at 9 games, but when 2 of your biggest football brands Clemson and Florida State have yearly in state rival, a 9 game conference really hurts their flexibility in scheduleing. Also with Notre Dame being a OOC game for each ACC once every 3 years, it only makes sense right now.

No Divisional Changes 

From ESPN

There’s been no discussion at all about divisional realignment, and Swofford says there are no plans to change the way the divisions look.

While there are  matchups like Georgia Tech\Florida State that should be played more often, overall I am indifferent to divisional moves.

I’m not against them, but I also don’t see a great need for them. Moving teams around for the sake of possible matchups gets in the business of trying to manufacture quality games. The last time the ACC tried this by splitting Miami and Florida State with dreams of marquee ACC Championship Games in Florida it was a disaster. Now some think Clemson and FSU should be split…

This is something to me that can be looked at and changed at any time. I don’t see it as a priority at the moment. Maybe the permanent rivalry should be dropped from every year to 2 out of every 3 years to increase the frequency of playing other cross-divisional teams.

Bowl Money Distribution

From the Daily Press

The ACC has historically pooled bowl revenue after expenses and shared it evenly. But with the football playoff set to generate another windfall, I asked Swofford if the ACC is considering rewarding its football champion, or playoff teams, with a bonus.

“There’s some discussion about that,” he said. “There’s some preliminary ideas that have been thrown out just for consideration.”

This idea I’m all for. TV money should always be equally distributed, but if Virginia Tech makes the Orange Bowl, I’ve have no problem if they get a $2 Million bonus. If you don’t go to a bowl certainly it doesn’t makes sense to me that someone who does should share equally, especially for the case of a team on probation.

The ACC is also going to look into ensuring that teams that make the ACC Championship don’t lose money. That’s a no brainer.

Bowl Alliances 

From ESPN

First on the agenda will be solidifying bowl tie-ins. Much progress has been made here, and official announcements should come in the next several weeks. It already has been reported the ACC has been exploring a new tie-in with the New Era Pinstripe Bowl and reconnecting with the Gator Bowl. Opponents are also set to change in the Russell Athletic Bowl (Big 12) — which could move up in the pecking order – and the Belk Bowl (SEC). Both previously featured a team from the soon-to-be renamed Big East. 

Earlier this week we heard that the Russell Athletic Bowl would be the ACC’s top bowl, and that the Gator was lost. Now we hear the Gator Bowl is in… There wasn’t enough definitive information for me to have an opinion on this. I’m fine if the Russell Athletics Bowl becomes the ACC’s top bowl after the Orange Bowl. Tie in the Big 12′s number #2 team and a good payout and it’s great. If it’s an agreement with the Big East the way it currently is then uh oh. What you will have is more rotation of teams through some bowls from all the power 5 conferences and that’s a good thing.

We’ll have to wait on this.

ACC Basketball Tournament in MSG

From ESPN

The ACC coaches want to get the conference tournament in Madison Square Garden and discussed it at length during the league meetings in Amelia Island, Fla., on Tuesday and Wednesday

This one is simple to me. Absolutely the ACC Tournament should be played in NYC at some point. It should not be the permanent home. The Greensboro Charlotte, NC are still the most centrally located sites to the majority of the ACC schools. More than half the ACC can drive to NC, within 7 hours. I’d like to see a format something like this…

2 years in North Carolina, 1 year Atlanta, Georgia, 2 years in North Carolina, 1 year NYC, 2 years North Carolina, 1 year Atlanta, Georgia, 2 years North Carolina, 1 year NYC.

You may also throw in the occasional Washington DC, Florida site, or other Northeastern city, but I’d pretty much stick with the above.

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Continue reading »]]> The ACC spring meetings are currently going on at the moment, and later this week I’ll give you my impressions of what went on. Before that though there was an interesting piece written by Dennis Dodd of CBSSportsline titled “On-field results don’t come close to matching potential for ACC” that I want to talk about.

From that article Dodd details the ACC’s NFL pedigree, then asks the question why hasn’t the ACC been more successful on the field? Hers’s an excerpt…

In the last three recruiting classes, only the SEC has signed more prospects than the ACC in ESPN’s top 150. In the last nine NFL drafts the SEC and ACC are the only two leagues to have at least 30 players drafted. Florida State just had 11 players taken last month, a school record matching its total of the previous four drafts combined.

In the 2012 Pro Bowl it wasn’t even close. The SEC (26) and ACC (20) had more players on the rosters than the other three BCS conferences (Big Ten, Pac-12 and Big 12) combined (44).

Conclusion: The ACC is recruiting good players and producing more than its share of pros. But the mystery grows when they actually play football at ACC schools.

First if you are a fan of an ACC school, this is actually a positive. This proves you can recruit talent to the ACC and produce NFL players in significant numbers, so what’s happening on the field? The answer is far simpler than Dodd made it appear. What do all successful teams have? Talent and coaching. Well the talent is there in general, so it obviously must be the coaching.

Going back the last 10 years in the ACC reads like a who’s who of collegiate head coaching mediocrity  There are names like Georgia Tech’s Chan Gailey, UNC’s Jim Bunting, Clemson’s Tommy Bowden, the last 5 years of Bobby Bowden’s tenure at FSU, Miami’s Randy Shannon, Virginia’s Al Groh need I go on? The coaches that were actually decent X’s and O’s guys couldn’t get elite talent to their schools. I’m talking about guys Maryland’s Ralph Friedgen, Wake Forest’s Jim Grobe, Georgia Tech’s Paul Johnson, NC State’s Tom O’Brien, Duke’s David Cutcliffe and to a lesser extent even Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer who has been the ACC’s most successful program in the last decade.

The Hokies had decent talent but would frequently get exposed in BCS games.

It’s not hard to see that the problem has been at the coaching level. I think we are beginning to see changes there though that bode well for the future. Dabo Swinney of Clemson is not a noted football strategist, but has surrounded himself with very strong assistant coaches to compliment his recruiting ability. Georgia Tech is currently undergoing changes in their recruiting philosophy. I would like to see Jimbo Fisher give up the play calling duties at FSU, but he’s a very good recruiter. In addition, there’s no denying he has Florida State moving in the right direction.

There have been recent coaching changes at UNC , NC State and Boston College. Duke is upgrading their football facilities. That will certainly aid in David Cutcliffe’s recruiting. Louisville managed to retain one of the hottest coaching names in the business in head coach Charlie Strong last season as they prepare to join the ACC next year.

So the great mystery Dodd was wondering about wasn’t that complicated. It was the odd case of a last decade of good talent with mediocre coaches and inferior talent with good coaches. It certainly appears that moves are being made in the ACC to align the good coaching with good talent.

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Continue reading »]]> Sergio Garcia had a lot to say this past week, and actually it would have probably just been better if he had kept quiet. Garcia basically blamed Tiger Woods for a poorly hit shot, called him unlikable, and said he was a victim. I really don’t care for Tiger Woods so it’s kind of weird I’m not behind the comments Garcia made.

 Sergio Garcia’s comments can be found on ESPN. 

“I’m not going to lie,” Garcia said after completing the third round in a three-way tie for the lead with Woods and David Lingmerth. “He’s not my favorite guy to play with. He’s not the nicest guy on tour.”

Garcia became annoyed early in the third round when he hit his second shot well to the right of the par-5 second hole. While standing over the ball, he heard commotion behind him as Woods was surveying his second shot from an area to the left of the fairway where he had to clear a path of spectators.

That’s wonderful Sergio. You blame Tiger for your mis-hit and you don’t think he’s very nice. As I said, I’m not a Tiger fan, I don’t like the way he acts on the course, but suck it up Sergio. Garcia complains about the golfing gods, he complains about the Masters, he complains about everything. That’s why this latest complaint rings hollow. Who knows if Tiger was being inconsiderate. This is from Yahoo Sports.  If you’ve kept up with the story, Tiger said the marshals told him that Sergio had already hit.

Sports Illustrated talked to the chief marshal for that section of the course, John North, who said he stood over the ball to keep the gallery away from it and was 5 feet away when Woods played his shot.

”Nothing was said to us and we certainly said nothing to him,” North said. ”I was disappointed to hear him make those remarks. We’re there to help the players and enhance the experience of the fans. He was saying what was good for him. It lacked character.” 

Ouch… Stuff like that is why I’m not a big Tiger guy. Does it really matter though? If Sergio wanted to stick to Tiger he would not have dumped 3 shots in the water in his last 2 holes when he was tied for the lead. Sergio was the one with the beef, why put it on public display? If Garcia had an issue with Woods, he should have taken it up with him privately or just beat on the course.

Sergio did neither.

Continue reading »]]> Time to check in with the ACC bloggers and see what’s happening across the ACC.

What are the expectations of each ACC Football program? ACC Prescription gives his take on each ACC team. 

On the eve of prep basketball star Andrew Wiggin’s decision of where he’ll attend school, TomahawkNation looks at how Florida State’s  European trip could factor in his decision. Frankly if Wiggin’s doesn’t attend FSU because of that, I’d really question what’s going on in his head. That can’t be factor can it?

Georgia Tech proved how deep ACC baseball is when they took a series from #1 ranked North Carolina.  The ACC has 6 teams in the top 25, and Georgia Tech is not one of them. Georgia Tech blog FromtheRumbleSeat talks about building momentum for the homestretch for the Yellow Jackets.

DukeSportsBlog says expectations for Duke’s basketball team will be sky high, but  the window of time to take advantage is limited. 

Good article from Virginia Tech Hokie blog Gobbler Country on the strengths, weaknesses, and pro-prospects of Erick Green.   NBA teams could do a lot worse than drafting  Green in my opinion.

Do you know who’s pumped about their basketball schedule? How about Syracuse blogger NunesMagician. Hey as much as I love football and it is my favorite, I’m really looking forward to seeing Syracuse, Pitt, and Notre Dame this year in basketball.

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Continue reading »]]> The most sought after prep college player in the country Andrew Wiggins appears to have set a date of this Tuesday to announce his college choice, according to NBC Sports. Where he ends could change the fortunes on any team he chooses. Kentucky would become the prohibitive favorite to win the national title. Kansas and UNC would be on the short list of national championship contenders, and Florida State would go from bubble team to a likely top 25 team.

In college football I hesitate to say a player in his freshman year can change the face of a team, but with college basketball an elite freshman can certainly do such a thing. Carmelo Anthony anyone?

So where does he end up? By most accounts, he doesn’t like a lot of media attention. That could mean FLorida State where his parents went to school, or it could be a UNC, Kentucky, or Kansas where the early pressure may be less. I think it will be Noles. Where do you think he’ll end up?