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

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Sizing Up the ACC: Clemson Just One in a D-Line Depth-Filled Conference (Orange and White)

Depth? Check. Talent? The ACC has that too on the d-line in 2013, with Clemson in the lead group. Of the new 14-team league, nine return at least two-thirds of their starters and four return their whole unit from last season. Preseason watch list candidates line the group, including Pittsburgh defensive tackle Aaron Donald (Bednarik, Lombardi, Nagurski, Outland), Virginia Tech defensive end James Gayle (Bednarik, Nagurski)…

Best and Worst Times to Be a Miami Football Fan (Athlon Sports)

Believe it or not, there actually was a bad time to be a Miami fan before the decline in the last decade. And we’re not talking about the brief time on probation in the mid-90s. We’re talking about the 1970s. It’s tough to remember a time when Miami was a non-factor in college football, but before the Hurricanes became the dominant program of the 1980s, they were on nobody’s radar…

UNC Football Coach Larry Fedora Has Unique Way to Attract Blue-Chip Prospects (Fayetteville Observer)

North Carolina coach Larry Fedora is one of those cutting-edge guys when it comes to recruiting. Whether it’s staging spring practice scrimmages in recruiting hotspots such as Charlotte and Greensboro, or dressing the Tar Heels in the latest designs by Nike, Fedora knows how to appeal to today’s prospects…

Miami Making Progress in Facility Upgrades (ESPN’s ACC Blog)

Miami athletic director Blake James has spoken repeatedly about giving his programs the resources they need to succeed. Progress is being made in that area on the football side. Work continues on the Schwartz Center for Academic Excellence, with phase I already completed. Miami already has a brand new locker room done, along with a players’ lounge complete with couches and flat-screen televisions…

Stefon Diggs Isn’t Winning the Heisman This Year… I’m Sorry (Testudo Times)

I’d like to be pimps from Oakland or cowboys from Arizona but it’s not Halloween. Grow up Peter Pan, Count Chocula. – John Beckwith; We all had a great time with Pete’s piece that Stefon Diggs was going to win the Heisman. I did, you did, we all did. Unfortunately for all of us, Maryland is too far off the national radar to begin the season for Diggs’ candidacy to be met with any real merit…

2013 Virginia Football Roster Profile: Jake Snyder (Streaking the Lawn)

Snyder came to Virginia as a 3-star recruit from all the recruiting services. He was ranked #20, #42 and #80 by Rivals, Scout and ESPN. Jake was recruited by the likes of Ohio State, Purdue and Colorado, as well as much of the ACC. Fans will recall that Jake’s older brother Matt was a walk-on WR who earned a scholarship mostly by working his ass off. o, despite the offers from some top programs, Jake was UVA’s to lose from the start…

FSU’s AD Search About to Heat Up (Tallahassee.com)

Two weeks after announcing he was in the market for a new athletic director, Florida State President Eric Barron confirmed Tuesday that the first two stages of his search are almost complete.FSU officials interviewed prospective search firms on Friday and Monday, and they soon will hammer out a contract with the outfit they plan to hire…

Today’s Featured Music Clip:

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

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Ranking the ACC’s 2013 Football Uniforms (Athlon Sports)

14. Boston College: The alternates shown here are pretty slick but is the best this team will ever look. The maroon tops and gold pants are a bit antiquated. And the helmets literally have nothing on them. The problem is Boston College isn’t a great school to try new, edgy looks, so the Eagles may be stuck with what they have; 13. Wake Forest: The entire get-up is plain. The helmet is plain. The logo is, you guessed it, extremely plain…

New Coach Reset: Syracuse’s Scott Shafer (CBSSports.com)

The Hire: Coaching experience: Scott Shafer, 46, was a star quarterback at Riverside High School in Painesville, Ohio — where his father spent 28 years as head football coach — and Ohio University before suffering a season-ending knee injury and finishing his career at Baldwin-Wallace College. His coaching career began shortly after his playing career ended, with stops at Indiana and Rhode Island…

2013 Forecast: Sammy Watkins Poised for Record-Breaking Junior Campaign (Orange and White)

Most FBS-level players, even the stars, would take a “disappointing” season like Sammy Watkins had last year. The numbers were down across the board in 2012 – after setting records in receiving yards (1,219), yards per game (93.8) and touchdowns (12) among more his freshman year. Starting slow due to suspension and dealing with injuries, Watkins still averaged a team-high catch every 7.1 snaps, with 708 yards total…

Florida State Football Recruiting: Camp Recap, Notes, Projections (SB Nation)

Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher camp concluded over the weekend. Overall, the camp was above average, but the level of talent participating was not up to the very lofty standards set by the Seminoles in recent years. But with a new staff, perhaps that should have been expected. The new coaches are working to establish new relationships. That’s not to say that FSU didn’t have elite talent visit during the camp…

Quarterback Commitment Gives Clues to Tech Offense (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

New Virginia Tech offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler landed his first verbal commitment from a quarterback recruit on Sunday. Camp Hill, Pa., prospect Andrew Ford chose the Hokies after they were spurned by David Cornwell (Alabama), Jacob Park (Georgia) and Mason Rudolph (Oklahoma State). But the list of targets, coupled with Ford’s commitment, has offered a glimpse into what Loeffler is looking for in a quarterback…

Miami Hurricanes Preseason Position Preview: The Safeties (State of the U)

I would say it’s been since Kenny Phillips that our last TRUE game changing safety was on the field. Our last groups of safeties lacked that instinct that Phillips possessed. That nose for the ball that helped cause turnovers and highlights throughout the field. I believe we now have those players on this roster and will be a big reason for getting this defense turned around…

No TE at Georgia Tech? No Problem For Recruit (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

When Pennsylvania tight end Trey Klock committed to Georgia Tech on Sunday, some people were scratching their heads because the Yellow Jackets don’t use a tight end on a regular basis in the triple-option offense. “I had a lot of people contact me the last few days, and a lot of fans from other schools complaining about how I’m not going to be used at tight end at Georgia Tech,” Klock said…

Today’s Featured Music Clip:

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

Monday, June 17, 2013

Sizing Up the ACC: Boyd Leads Mix of Youth, Experience at QB (Orange and White)

Tajh Boyd, after back-to-back seasons first-team All-ACC, is class of the conference at quarterback. Is anybody else close? There are a couple candidates. The ACC returns five QBs with over 6,000 career passing yards – a first – and also representative of a more pass-happy conference of late. Nine of the 12, and both incoming teams (Syracuse and Pittsburgh), passed for over 3,000 yards last season…

UNC Football: Larry Fedora Ready for Heels to Make Another Leap Forward (Charlotte Observer)

North Carolina coach Larry Fedora saw his first team set school records for scoring and total offense, win eight games and do enough to win a division title they can’t officially claim due to NCAA sanctions. As he prepares for his second season, Fedora plans to push his players for more. “That’s not the bar for us,” Fedora said in an interview with The Associated Press…

My All-American Ballot (Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Diggs’s Heisman Chances) (Testudo Times)

B Nation is doing our own All-American voting, and most intriguing, to me, was the ability to fill out a ballot of three Heisman contenders. I picked Marqise Lee, Johnny Manziel, and you guessed it, Stefon Diggs. I’m here today to tell you why a Terrapin Heisman is a distinct possibility this season. Let’s start by talking about some of the other candidates – Manziel, Lee and Jadeveon Clowney…

Quit Complaining as the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Head Coach Paul Johnson Can Recruit (iSportsweb)

I’m still amazed that every time a high school player announces that he is giving an oral pledge to play football for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets the first thing that everyone starts bellyaching about is; “nobody else was recruiting him so he must not be that good.”  Or; “he doesn’t have any or enough stars.”  That is becoming such nonsense it’s reached the level of idiocy…

Unique Trip Provides Seminoles Players Chance to Bond, Be Seen By Recruiters (Orlando Sentinel)

Constant banter and laughter fills the weight room at Seminole. The group of rising junior and senior football players make fun of each other after their early-morning workout. Whether it is linebacker Stephen Ruiz being teased about his “scrawny legs” or linebacker Demetrius Artis being called “Meat” because of his brute strength and sturdy build, the kidding demonstrates the level of comfort the players have with each other…

Keys to Victory: The Florida State Seminoles (BC Interruption)

Last season Boston College got absolutely waxed against Florida State 51-7 in Tallahassee. Easily this was one of the hardest games to watch, but given the shape of the team in 2012 it wasn’t all that suprising. If you were to put together a list of things BC did wrong you would have a “War and Peace” sized novel on your hand…

Should the Hokies Reinstate Michael Holmes? (Gobbler Country)

Virginia Tech running back Michael Holmes was given the good/bad news when a judge founding him guilty of assault and battery, a misdemeanor, lowering his previous charge of malicious wounding, a felony. @AndyBitterVT: #Hokies RB Michael Holmes has malicious wounding charge reduced to assault and battery, a misdemeanor. Found guilty on that charge…

Today’s Featured Music Clip:

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

Friday, June 14, 2013

Which “Inferior” ACC Program Will Knock Off the Seminoles This Season? (BC Interruption)

It happens every year. Every year the Florida State football program comes into the season with lofty expectations. Things seemingly start off on the right foot. A 69-3 victory over Murray State here … a 55-0, running clock shortened bludgeoning of Savannah State there. Drop 52 on hapless Wake Forest (#TheRivalry) and then win a shootout against Clemson to start the year a perfect 4-0…

B1G 2013 Maryland // How Can We Hate Something We Know Nothing About? (Off Tackle Empire)

Dear Maryland: You’re not welcome here. I don’t want you. Most of us don’t want you. Honestly, Jim Delany doesn’t even want you, but letting you play our teams was unfortunately a necessary evil in order to get the TV money you’ll bring. But my alma mater prints enough dough without your dirty money to sponsor 36 varsity sports (and we still turn a profit, which you guys could learn a thing or two about)…

UM President Donna Shalala Opens NCAA Hearings With “Pretty Strong Case” (Miami Herald)

Nearly three years after former booster Nevin Shapiro began spinning a web of allegations about providing impermissible benefits to former players and coaches, the University of Miami got an opportunity Thursday morning to begin defending itself in front of the NCAA and its committee on infractions. Flanked by legal counsel and school staffers — including Hurricanes football coach Al Golden and basketball coach Jim Larrañaga…

In the Secondary, the Position to Watch for Syracuse Football is a Three-Man Cornerback Competition (Syracuse.com)

The Syracuse defensive backfield unit returns three starters and loses only fourth-round draft pick Shamarko Thomas, perhaps the heart of the defense in 2012. That’s a big loss, but Durell Eskridge, recovering from offseason hand and wrist surgery, should slide into Thomas’ spot. The position to watch this August is cornerback. The Orange returns three players with starting experience…

Q&A With UNC AD Bubba Cunningham (ESPN’s ACC Blog)

The theme on the ESPN.com college football page this week has focused on players, coaches and administrators facing challenges in their first year. North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham knows all about that. Cunningham faced serious challenges in his first year at North Carolina, taking the job in 2011 in the face of uncertainty resulting from an NCAA investigation into improper benefits and academic misconduct…

A Look at the Numbers Behind a Georgia Tech Touchdown Drive (From the Rumble Seat)

This week I wrote a post at Football Study Hall detailing the outcome percentages for drives in college football by yard line and down. So if you have a 1st and 10 at your own 40, I can tell you how often an average team against an average defense would score a touchdown (just under 30% of the time). Percentages are nice and all, but what does this actually look like on a specific drive?…

What If Every School in the ACC Had Its Version of the Larry Fedora Freak Show? (SB Nation)

Are you ready for Fedora’s Freak Show? I bet you are. The logo is out, the one-night event is set for June 15, and the Heels are hoping to get some commitments out of it. This is the logo: @footballscoop: Logo for Fedora’s Freak Show is pretty impressive too. See the video here http://www.footballscoop.com/news/9938-larry-fedora-s-freak-show-goes-to-the-next-level … pic.twitter.com/lqFCCG9c30…

Today’s Featured Music Clip:

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

Thursday, June 13, 2013

In Jailhouse Interviews, Nevin Shapiro Still Talking About Miami, NCAA (SI.com)

I once served on a jury for a drug case in which a number of dodgy characters took the stand. I remember one of the instructions we got from the judge before going off to reach a verdict: “You take your witnesses as you find them.” In this week’s Sports Illustrated, Pete Thamel and I explore the NCAA’s investigation into Miami athletics and the ‘Cane mutineer at the heart of the case, notorious booster Nevin Shapiro…

Howard’s Rock Vandalized (The Clemson Insider)

Howard’s Rock, which the Clemson Tigers have rubbed prior to running down the Hill since 1966, was vandalized on June 3 after someone broke into Memorial Stadium and then shattered the case that protects it. A big piece of the rock was removed from the side that faces the gates behind the Hill. Sources have confirmed to us that the Clemson Athletic Department is working closely with police…

Conference Realignment Hypothetical: West Virginia to the ACC (BC Interruption)

Sports Illustrated’s Andy Staples recently doled out grades for each of the last few conference realignment moves. Staples handed out a trio of Bs for the ACC’s additions of Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Louisville, and a B+ for the halvsies deal with Notre Dame. The Big Ten received a B- for poaching Maryland and a D for its addition of Rutgers … because, well, Rutgers…

Wake Forest Rushing to Find Offense in 2013 (Blogger So Dear)

Fans of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons hit their respective pillows the night of November 3, 2012 with visions of another bowl bid dancing (okay, maybe just sitting around playing cards) in their heads. After all, the Deacs had just dispatched Boston College, 28-14, leaving Wake Forest with 5-4 record with three games remaining on the schedule…

More Ideas on Fixing ACC Football Schedule, Including Abolishing Divisions (Daily Press)

Suggestions for overhauling ACC football’s divisions and conference schedule sprouted anew last week when the league announced a rotation of crossover opponents for the 2014-24 seasons. I chimed in, and readers offered several creative alternatives. This week, cyberspace has heard from two other precincts: Andy Bitter, the tireless Virginia Tech beat reporter for the Roanoke Times and Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, and TheKeyPlay…

Duke’s Cutcliffe Talks Playoff Selection Committee, Balance (Fox Sports South)

Duke head coach David Cutcliffe has always been a media-friendly guy, and he held a special Football 101 session for the press on Wednesday at Duke. It’s the third year he’s done that, and even seasoned football media showed up to learn from one of the best offensive minds in the game.A lot of the specifics are not for public consumption, since it had to do with Duke’s strategies…

Hurricanes Player Profiles: The Rise of Clive Walford (State of the U)

Only a week into Clive Walford’s first week of workouts on the Glades Central High football team, coach Randy Shannon had seen enough. Up until he first dawned pads, Clive was a power forward for the Raiders and following his first take on the field, he had received a scholarship from the place he would soon call home, the University of Miami…

Today’s Featured Music Clip:

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

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Big 12 Football: Louisville Sting Worsens (NewsOK.com)

Maybe you noticed. Louisville has made the College World Series. The news just keeps getting worse. The Big 12 could have had Louisville, any time between autumn 2011 (when West Virginia was admitted to the Big 12) and last November, when the ACC invited Louisville. No one blames the Big 12 for taking West Virginia over Louisville; either would have been fine, but the TV networks wanted the Mountaineers. Which was fine…

ACC 2013 All-Conference Team (Athlon Sports)

The 2013 college football season is just around the corner, and Athlon continues its countdown to kickoff with a look at our first, second and third All-ACC teams for this season. First-Team Offense: QB Tajh Boyd, Clemson; RB Duke Johnson, Miami; RB Jerome Smith, Syracuse; WR Stefon Diggs, Maryland; WR Sammy Watkins, Clemson; TE Eric Ebron, North Carolina…

CPJ 5 Years Later: The Great, the Good and the Ugly (From the Rumble Seat)

The end of last season completed the first five years of Coach Paul Johnson’s tenure at Georgia Tech. I thought it would be a good time to take a look back at how he has done over the years. This might get a little long but I hope to put out there everything I could think of on how to measure his performance and identify some things he has done well and other things not so much…

Pederson’s ACC Move Sets Up His Future (ESPN’s ACC Blog)

Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson has taken his share of criticism since returning to the university in 2007. It’s hard to go unscathed when your football program features a revolving door of coaches over a two-year span, ultimately turning the Panthers into a punchline. Now, though, there is no punchline, and there are no more jokes…

NC State Wolfpack Football Has Big Week in Recruiting (Fayetteville Observer)

N.C. State’s football program followed up its baseball squad’s successful weekend by hitting a couple of home runs itself Monday. First-year head coach Dave Doeren scored significant verbal commitments from two of the state’s top prospects for the Class of 2014. One of those, of course, was Jefferie Gibson from Gray’s Creek High School. The gifted wide receiver-defensive back announced his choice Monday afternoon…

Boston College 2013 Previews: Florida State Seminoles (BC Interruption)

If you want to look back at 2012 and find one of the most embarrassing whoopings BC took, you would need to look no further than their game against Florida State. The eventual ACC Champions stomped the Eagles gaining 649 yards of total yards en route to an epic 51-7 win. BC looked completely unprepared, and were undressed by a much superior FSU team. Now let’s never speak of that loss again…

Clemson Football Showing Uncommon Tie Between Academics, On-Field Success (Orange and White)

Clemson’s football program has an APR score of 985 according to data released by the NCAA on Tuesday, tied with Wisconsin for the highest among the top 25 US News and World Report Public Institutions. Clemson was tied for fourth in the nation among all FBS schools, trailing only Northwestern, Boise State and Duke. The Clemson football program’s APR score has improved every year…

Today’s Featured Music Clip:

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

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Analysis: How Much Do Recruiting Rankings Correlate to Winning in the ACC? (Syracuse.com)

How much does recruiting matter in the ACC? A lot. If you’re really, really good at it. Not much if you’re everyone else. Last week we took a look at Syracuse’s four-star verbal commitments and found them to be largely underachievers. This week I wanted to see how great the correlation was between recruiting success and on-field success in the ACC…

Realignment Report Card: Grading Moves Three Years After Chaos Began (SI.com)

The conference realignment merry-go-round began spinning in earnest three years ago this week. On June 10, 2010, Colorado accepted an invitation to join the Pac-10. The next day, Nebraska accepted the Big Ten’s offer. The drama would continue in fits and starts for 34 months, finally ending at the highest level of college sports this April when ACC presidents agreed to a Grant of Rights arrangement…

ACC Television Revenue Increased 64.5% in 2011-12 (Daily Press)

ACC television revenue nearly tripled from 2008-12, while the conference’s bowl income increased 50 percent and league basketball tournament receipts declined. This according to the ACC’s five most recent federal tax returns. The net result for the conference’s 12 member schools during that time: Their average annual share of league revenue increased more than 43 percent, from $11.8 million to $16.9 million…

2013 Forecast: Tajh Boyd Has Trips to NYC, Pasadena in Mind for Final Campaign (Orange and White)

Tajh Boyd had a really, really good 2012 season. The Hampton, Va. product set conference records in points in a game (48) and a season (278), total touchdowns by game (8) and a season (46), passing touchdowns (36) – leading the nation in 25-plus yard passes as well (48) en route to an ACC Player of the Year honor. Tajh Boyd has had a really, really great career too…

Greg Dent’s Felony Charges to Affect FSU’s Plans at WR This Season? (Orlando Sentinel)

If Florida State’s football season were to begin today, the Seminoles would currently be charged with the unenviable task of searching for another player to step up and fill the shoes of a receiver who has long been expected to blossom into one of their best playmakers. That’s because the said playmaker would be suspended, unable to compete with the team…

Boston College-UConn to Renew Football Series? (BC Interruption)

Not only are Boston College and Connecticut renewing hostilities on the hardwood, but the two schools could also be looking at restarting a non-conference football series as well. According to The New Haven Register’s David Borges: According to multiple sources, UConn and BC have been in discussions about meeting in non-conference games in coming years…

Wake Forest Football Still Hitting Florida Hard (Blogger So Dear)

One key component of Wake Forest’s success on the gridiron during the Grobe era is the establishment of a Florida talent pipeline. Deacon stalwarts like Alphonso Smith, Stanley Arnoux and Riley Skinner are just some of the talent plucked out of the Sunshine State to make a difference in Winston-Salem. Coach Steed Lobotzke took time today on Twitter to let everyone know that the Deacs’ efforts in Florida weren’t falling by the wayside…

Today’s Featured Music Clip: