ACC Football Daily Links — No Ruling in ACC’s Motion to Dismiss Maryland’s Lawsuit Around $52M Exit Fee

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Maryland Big Ten Terrapins Jim Delany John Swofford ACC Exit Fee $52M Lawsuit

Monday through Friday each week, we compile the best links on ACC football from around the web.

Friday, May 24, 2013

No Ruling in ACC’s Motion for Dismissal of Maryland Lawsuit (Washington Post)

The latest development in the University of Maryland’s legal saga against the ACC will take time to reach its conclusion. On Thursday afternoon, Prince George’s County Circuit Court Judge John P. Davey heard arguments from Maryland and the ACC concerning the school’s lawsuit against the conference. The ACC is seeking to get the lawsuit dismissed. Davey declined to make a ruling, saying he will issue a written opinion soon…

ACC Announces Early Season TV Schedule, Kickoff Times (CBSSports.com)

ACC college football fans got a little more catnip on Thursday, thanks to the league releasing an early season television schedule. North Carolina and Wake Forest kick off the ACC schedule on Aug. 29, with the Tar Heels traveling to Columbia to face South Carolina in a nationally televised season opener on ESPN…

Syracuse Football: Post-Spring Depth Chart Impressions (Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician)

The release of the Post-Spring depth chart is one of the only real events that we have to look forward to as football fans during the doldrums of summer…the question is, how much does it actually mean? This chart can be rendered useless come the first day of camp in August with freshmen (and fancy new transfer quarterbacks) on campus, and coaches can use them for different purposes…

Boston College Football Preview: Keys to Defeating Wake Forest (BC Interruption)

As we continue BC Interruption’s Wake Forest preview week, today we look at what Boston College will need to do to beat the Demon Deacons. Last season BC lost 28-14 in a game that was dominated by wide receiver Michael Campanaro who finished the game with three touchdowns. What will BC need to do to win at home on a Friday night against Wake? 1. Limit mistakes…

Miami Hurricanes Preseason Position Previews: The Cornerbacks (State of the U)

Too many times last year I was left speechless. After running out of objects to throw, profanity to scream or dogs to kick (I’m kidding), I was speechless. Games like Virginia left me to the point where cursing at my television no longer eased that bad feeling I got seeing the opposition convert third and long after third and long. Passes over 10 yards were completed at an alarming rate by a team like Duke…

Dabo Swinney, staff Building Tigers’ Future on Peach State Recruiting (Orange and White)

Clemson is on a recruiting roll, and the coaching staff’s prowess in the state of Georgia is again playing a huge part in the Tigers’ success. When running back Adam Choice selected Clemson over Auburn, Georgia Tech, Georgia, Tennessee, Stanford and Florida on Wednesday, he became the seventh member of the Tigers’ 2014 recruiting class and the third highly-rated player from Georgia…

Return of WR D.J. Coles Gives Virginia Tech Huge Offensive Boost (Rant Sports)

Although they most certainly didn’t see their eventual 6-6 regular season coming ahead of them at the time, the Virginia Tech Hokies opened up the 2012 season with a Labor Day night victory against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. That win, however, was bittersweet. During the contest, Virginia Tech lost one of its most versatile offensive weapons in WR D.J. Coles to a season-ending knee injury…

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ACC Football Standout Senior 2013: North Carolina

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UNC Quarterback Bryn Renner Appears Poised for a Breakout Senior Campaign

North Carolina Quarterback Bryn Renner Appears Poised for a Breakout Senior Campaign

Last season’s juniors are now this season’s seniors, and with that comes extra responsibility and expectations. In the ACC, while there were plenty of players selected in the NFL Draft, the conference still returns a strong group of seniors — many of whom are set to make a strong impact in their final seasons of eligibility.

Over these few weeks, we’re going team-by-team in the ACC to identify the “standout senior” that’s key to his respective squad, and why he’s so important. Think we should’ve featured another player, though? Feel free to weigh in with your own thoughts in the comments.

North Carolina Tar Heels: Bryn Renner, QB

Last season, all the focus was on Giovani Bernard, and rightfully so. The now-Cincinnati Bengals running back put in one of the best seasons in UNC history at his position, and was a large part of the program’s eight wins last season. But by focusing in on Bernard, the team’s quarterback — Renner — ended up shuffled into the background; something that could end up being a blessing for him in his senior season. For those who may not be aware, Renner’s thrown for nearly 6,500 yards over the past two seasons, to go with 54 touchdowns and just 20 picks. While his accuracy may have taken a slight dip in 2012 (from 68-percent completion to 65), he’s still throwing better than most starters in the game. And all this while running a Larry Fedora offense that’s entirely based off of calling as many plays as possible, while worrying about efficiency later. While Renner was not a natural for the spread style Fedora installed upon coming to Chapel Hill, he sure looked like one by the end 2012, completing 81 of 110 passes (74 percent) for 970 yards and 10 scores over his final three games.

The biggest key for Renner, right off the bat, is the advantage he gains from a quick release. In 2011, he took 26 sacks in 13 games, but in 2012, he had just 11 all season. o course, some of that is due to the fact that he had a top-10 draft pick in front of him (Jonathan Cooper), but Cooper was there in 2011 as well. Even better, that quick release hasn’t created a huge discrepancy in yards-per-attempt either, as is typical. Throwing 72 less balls in 2012 (in one less game), he averaged nearly eight yards per attempt — versus nearly nine yards per throw in 2011. While “efficiency” isn’t the right word here, as he did complete a lower percentage of throws, I think it is safe to say that Renner was more effective as a passer in 2012 than the season before. And this year, despite some turnover on the line, we may see even more improvement.

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ACC Football Chat: Discussing Non-Conference Rivals and the Evolving Recruiting Landscape

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Florida and Miami Have No Intentions on Renewing Their Rivalry Past 2013

Florida and Miami Have No Intentions on Renewing Their Gridiron Rivalry Past 2013

Earlier in the week, our own Hokie Mark started up a conversation surrounding three- and four-way rivalries over on SB Nation’s Every Day Should Be Saturday. The basics: there are several three-way rivalries being played out this season, and some of them are going away for a long time after that. Some due to disinterest, others due to scheduling. But what Mark was getting at was the unique setup for three- and four-way rivalries, and which are some of the most- and least-heralded in the country.

Of course, this turned into a jumping-off point for an email conversation between he and I, which I’ve compiled below for everyone. While the main topic focused on non-conference rivals, we also branched out into what’s become an increasingly year-round discussion for everyone: recruiting. Check it out:

Mark: Hello again, John! Only 100 days until the football season begins — a very special one for Syracuse and Pittsburgh, to be sure. For the Orange, the season essentially begins and ends with old rivals: Penn State and Boston College. How do you feel about renewing those rivalries, and are there other rivalries for ‘Cuse that you’d like to see reawakened?

John: I’m about as excited as you can get, considering we’re still about 100 days out. Rekindling the rivalry with Boston College has been one of my favorite aspects of the ACC move, since it easily addresses our crisis of football identity (though much of the media doesn’t think so). Penn State, while arguably our oldest and most storied rival, hasn’t filled that role in over 20 years. It’s nice to play them when we can, but I think most fans have kind of moved on from the Nittany Lions — especially those of us who aren’t old enough to remember when SU and PSU were rivals to begin with.

As far as other rivalries worth rekindling, only two come to mind, and one’s not necessarily a “rivalry” at all. West Virginia‘s always been among our most-hated opponents, and with Syracuse beating the Mountaineers the last three times out (including last December’s Pinstripe Bowl), it’s only created a more hostile tension between the two fan bases. I was at the game in December, and ‘Neers fans were not what you would call “friendly” toward the Orange contingent, by any means. The other aforementioned opponent was Virginia Tech. While never traditionally considered one of Syracuse’s rivals, the Hokies and SU played plenty of heated games toward the latter years of the original Big East football conference that are worth rehashing. Of course, the ACC’s divisional setup won’t do much to help us play Tech more often, so that one’s also kind of off the table.

What about you, from a VaTech perspective? Any rivalries you’d like to start back up — feasible or not? Have any ill will left toward Syracuse from the Big East days?

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ACC Football Daily Links — Is Realignment Truly “Dead,” Or is the Big Ten & ACC’s Battle for the Northeast Just Beginning?

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Maryland Navy Football ACC Big Ten B1G Conference Realignment Expansion Northeast

Monday through Friday each week, we compile the best links on ACC football from around the web.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

The ACC’s Battle in the Northeast (Southern Pigskin)

It is a given that because of the power of SEC football, the ACC, once it became clear that the future of major conferences was to have divisional play, had to move up the east coast into the northeast. Many SEC fans innately scoff at any such move. The northeast is the region with easily the lowest per capita number of college sports fans, and the region cares more for college basketball than college football…

Maryland vs. the ACC (ESPN’s ACC Blog)

At 1:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, there will be a hearing in Upper Marlboro, Md., that should provide more information about the ongoing legal dispute between Maryland and the ACC. Maryland intends to leave the ACC and play in the Big Ten in 2014, but the ACC intends to get every penny of the league’s $52 million exit fee from the Terps…

ACC Football to Continue FCS Games; Which Schools Make the Most Scheduling Sense for Boston College? (BC Interruption)

While the Big Ten has mandated that member schools will no longer play FCS schools in an effort to boost strength of schedule, there will be no such mandate in the ACC. Coaches and athletic directors said during last week’s spring meetings that they have no issue playing one FCS game a season. Georgia Tech’s new A.D. Mike Bobinski said discussions about eliminating the annual FCS game went basically nowhere…

College Football 2013 Preseason Top 25: #6 Clemson Tigers (Athlon Sports)

Offense: Tajh Boyd’s decision to return for his senior season was a huge recruiting coup for Clemson coach Dabo Swinney. Boyd took a major step forward as a junior, emerging as one of the nation’s top quarterbacks. He earned ACC Player of the Year honors and was also named first-team All-America by the American Football Coaches Association…

Pitt Cashing In on Labor Day Visit From FSU (Tallahassee Democrat)

With less-than-enthralling home schedules in 2012 and 2013, Florida State officials have had to be resourceful when it comes to filling seats at Doak Campbell Stadium.They have created an in-house telemarketing center, offered discounts for multi-game purchases, hosted numerous youth groups, and this fall will bring back former head coach Bobby Bowden for appearances at two separate games…

Hard Lessons Prepare Edwards for ’13 (‘NoleNation)

When the 2012 season ended, Mario Edwards Jr. was exactly where he’d expected to be, starting in the Orange Bowl with an eye toward the future, where he’d be anchoring Florida State’s defensive line. The path to get there though, never went quite according to plan. “It was a bit of a roller coaster,” Edwards said. His first season at FSU hardly followed the script Edwards had envisioned when he left high school as the nation’s No. 1 recruit…

Adam Choice: Clemson Beats Out Georgia Tech and Auburn for 4-Star RB (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Clemson is off to a hot start with recruiting the state of Georgia for 2014. The ACC school added another one of the state’s elite skill players when running back Adam Choice committed to Clemson over Georgia Tech and Auburn, while also considering Texas and Stanford. The 5-foot-9, 200-pounder from Thomas County Central High School hails from one of the state’s most famous football families…

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ACC Football Standout Senior 2013: NC State

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Facing Defensive Turnover, NC State's Relying on Darryl Cato-Bishop to Be a Disruptive Force

Facing Defensive Turnover, NC State’s Relying on Darryl Cato-Bishop to Be a Disruptive Force

Last season’s juniors are now this season’s seniors, and with that comes extra responsibility and expectations. In the ACC, while there were plenty of players selected in the NFL Draft, the conference still returns a strong group of seniors — many of whom are set to make a strong impact in their final seasons of eligibility.

Over these few weeks, we’re going team-by-team in the ACC to identify the “standout senior” that’s key to his respective squad, and why he’s so important. Think we should’ve featured another player, though? Feel free to weigh in with your own thoughts in the comments.

NC State Wolfpack: Darryl Cato-Bishop, DE

For the Wolfpack defense, the secondary has been the unit’s crown jewel in recent years, rightly or wrongly — something that’s about to change. As the team’s best coverage men like David Amerson and Earl Wolff depart, it’s an opportunity for the team to take a new focus not seen much since Mario Williams roamed the defensive line. We’re of course talking about an individual pass-rush guided by one standout defender. Enter: Cato-Bishop, the senior who could change all that.

After missing the first two games last season (rough outings for State, which went 1-1), Cato-Bishop returned in the third contest against South Alabama, and made his presence felt immediately. Leading a strong pass-rush, he racked up 1.5 sacks while pressuring Jaguars’ quarterbacks into quick throws and effectively shutting down the run game. Though the stat line doesn’t necessarily pop for the rest of the year, he still managed to record over a half-sack per game in the ensuing nine regular season contests, and make major strides in stuffing the run, too. But of course, there’s certainly room for improvement for Cato-Bishop, especially in terms of getting after the quarterback.

In 13 games, 455 passes were attempted against the Wolfpack, a group that at times took advantage of the fact (33 sacks as a team) and at others, did not (still allowed 249 passing yards per game). That’s where having an elite pass-rusher comes in, as the players on this version of NC State may not realize. When David Amerson was in the defensive backfield in 2011, teams tried to gameplan around him while others tested him. After watching a full season of game tape, teams realized how to challenge Amerson, and as a result, he got burned more often. Cato-Bishop, on the other hand, doesn’t the same gaudy film going into his final season, which can actually be a bonus for him.

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ACC Football Daily Links — Why is the ACC Struggling Wth Season-Ending Rivalry Matchups?

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Syracuse Pittsburgh Football 2013 Orange Panthers ACC Rivalry Games Boston College Eagles Season-Ending

Monday through Friday each week, we compile the best links on ACC football from around the web.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

ACC Season-Ending Rivalry Games: Not New, Not Hard, Not Created in a Vacuum (BC Interruption)

If the ACC is going to move towards every program having a season-ending rivalry game, the youngbloods Pitt and Syracuse are also going to need a dancing partner. On Monday, ESPN’s Heather Dinich weighed in on Pitt and Syracuse’s need for a rivalry game to end the season. Many silly things were said that largely ignores the entirety of Syracuse and Boston College football history…

Doeren Takes Different Rivalry Approach Than Fedora (WRAL Sports)

If the history of football coach hirings and firings at the University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University holds, second-year Tar Heel coach Larry Fedora and new Wolfpack hire Dave Doeren will meet six or seven times as representatives at opposite ends of the Triangle. Exactly how the styles of the two will differ – or perhaps parallel – won’t become completely clear for at least a season or two…

Doc Five: Players Who Could Keep Johnny Manziel From Another Heisman — No. 4 Jameis Winston (Dr. Saturday)

Before you get too worked up… The last six Heisman Trophy winners have come out of the blue to win. Some were entirely off the radar (Johnny Manziel, Cam Newton). Others were coming off solid seasons but weren’t considered Heisman contenders. HeismanPundit.com does a very good preseason watch list every year, and none of the last six winners were in the preseason top 10…

Something to Prove: Clemson Wide Receiver Sammy Watkins (SI.com)

Only a year removed from a dazzling freshman campaign in which he made 82 catches for 1,219 yards and 12 touchdowns, Clemson wide receiver Sammy Watkins entered the 2012 season with lofty expectations. Yet the 2011 All-America regressed in his second year, both on and off the field. Watkins was arrested on drug-related charges in May 2012 and was subsequently suspended for the Tigers’ first two games…

Detroit Lions Likely to Start College Football Bowl Game (SB Nation)

@McMurphyESPN: Detroit Lions expected to start new bowl in 2014, likely B1G vs. ACC, at Ford Field sources told @ESPN. Would eliminate Little Caesars Bowl; Bowl tie-in redistribution season has produced its strangest result yet. Fun thing about college football bowl games: they can be commissioned and administered by anybody with money. They were originally started in the name of tourism and now lumber onward in the name of branding…

Remember the Name: Swinney Says DE Kevin Dodd Has Made “Amazing Progress” (Orange and White)

Kevin Dodd. Remember the name, and get back to Dabo Swinney after the 2013 season and he’ll tell you more. “Kevin Dodd’s progress in one year is amazing,” Swinney said recently during a wrap-up of Clemson’s spring practice. “Nobody has even asked me about Dodd, but after this season everybody’s going to be asking me about Dodd. I promise you”…

10 Greatest Clemson Tigers (Since 1967) (Athlon Sports)

10. Brian Dawkins, S, 1992-95: Dawkins didn’t fully blossom until his professional career, which ended in his retirement after the 2011 season. Before his potential Pro Football Hall of Fame career for 16 years in the NFL, Dawkins was productive safety for two coaches (Ken Hatfield and Tommy West) at Clemson. A three-year starter, Dawkins was a second-team All-ACC selection as a sophomore and junior…

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ACC Football Daily Links — ACC Network’s Progress Could Stall Over Broadcast Rights Issues

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Florida State Miami Hurricanes Seminoles Football Rivalry ACC 2012 Network Viable Rights Tied Up

Monday through Friday each week, we compile the best links on ACC football from around the web.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

ACC Network May Stall Over Rights Issues (Sports Business Journal)

Don’t expect an ACC-branded TV channel to be launched any time soon. The biggest problem so far is a rights issue. ESPN needs to control the conference’s syndicated rights to launch a channel. But those rights are tied up until 2027 through deals with Raycom and Fox Sports Net. “There’s no way an ACC network co-exists with a syndicated model,” said Chris Bevilacqua, a media consultant…

ACC Considers Permanent Late-Season Rivals for All Teams (BC Interruption)

According to CBSSports.com’s Jeremy Fowler, the ACC is considering creating permanent rivalry games for all of its football teams on the last weekend of the regular season starting in 2014. What a cool idea. It’s amazing that no one has ever thought of this before. Six programs currently have long-standing rivalry games played on the final weekend of the regular season…

Winning the Future (Tomahawk Nation)

Last week, ACC athletic directors, coaches and Commissioner John Swofford gathered at the Ritz-Carlton Resort in Amelia Island for the league’s annual spring meetings, where they discussed a range of topics. Last year’s drama is no more. A grant-of-rights agreement passed last month has fortified the league. Stability has replaced volatility. Along with stability has come a dramatic change in how the ACC is perceived…

Clemson-Pittsburgh Unlikely “Rivals” in New ACC Football Landscape (Orange and White)

Perhaps more so than any school involved in ACC shuffling and expansion, Pittsburgh arrives in the ACC with few, if any, longstanding football rivalries. The ACC has positioned the Panthers as advantageously as possible, adding them to the Coastal Division roster, where they’ll play former Big East opponents Virginia Tech and Miami each season…

Duke’s Football Recruiting Ploy is Telling Kids They Can Be Just Like Eli Manning (USA Today)

Duke football head coach David Cutcliffe really wants Millard West (Neb.) defensive end Harrison Phillips, a three-star recruit according to Rivals.com, to come to Durham. In an effort to entice Phillips to commit, Cutcliffe is promising that he can grow up to be just like one of his former players, current New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, and also drive Aston Martins and ride in helicopters (bottom right)…

Brandon Mitchell Transfers to NC State (SB Nation)

Former Arkansas quarterback Brandon Mitchell announced Monday that he will enroll at N.C. State, according to Joe Schad. As a graduate transfer, he is eligible to play in 2013 and he has one year of eligibility remaining. Mitchell found himself stuck behind Ryan Mallett and Tyler Wilson on the depth chart during his three seasons with the Razorbacks. After losing Arkansas’ quarterback competition this spring, he decided to move on…

Syracuse Football: Greatest Orange QB; Or, Who the Hell Cares? (Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician)

It’s my fault. I’m the one that threw in the following line for a column last week: When the best quarterback in program history, a player who will have jersey retired this fall, someone who led the program to its last great heights, says THAT, there’s something wrong here. The BEST quarterback in program history. A bold statement inconspicuously thrown into a reference about Donovan McNabb…

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