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

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Different Vibe at This Year’s ACC Meetings (ESPN’s ACC Blog)

A year ago today, Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher was asked exactly zero questions about his football team when facing the media contingent at ACC media days. All anybody cared about was whether the Seminoles were joining the Big 12. His athletic director, Randy Spetman, did not even stop to talk with reporters, walking — nay, sprinting — to the tune of a no comment…

ACC Bowl Lineup: Russell Athletic Bowl Favorite to Land ACC #2 (BC Interruption)

According to ESPN’s Brett McMurphy, the Russell Athletic Bowl is now the leading candidate to get the ACC’s second team in the new bowl lineup beginning in 2014. With the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl set to join the new College Football Playoff semifinal rotation, the ACC will lose its slot in that game beginning in 2014…

ACC Network: Sooner Rather Than Later (Cardiac Hill)

The ACC meetings are underway and commissioner John Swofford has had his hands full over the year. But according to him at the meetings, he’s going to be pretty busy trying to set up an ACC Network. And judging my his comments, that time seems like it will be sooner rather than later: “We don’t want to let any grass grow, and I don’t think ESPN does either”…

UVa, Virginia Tech Attempt to Balance Competitive, Business Concerns in Football Scheduling (Daily Press)

Bold non-conference schedules will serve Virginia Tech, Virginia and the ACC well as college football drives toward the playoff era. The challenge is in balancing that ambition with business and competitive concerns. Strength-of-schedule has long been a key component for the NCAA basketball tournament selection committee…

Boston Tragedy Hits Close to Home for Boston College’s Steve Addazio (Orlando Sentinel)

It’s one of the reasons he chose to leave Temple and take over the head coaching job at Boston College this off-season. It’s also why the events of April 15^th touched him so deeply. It was on that day – Patriots’ Day – in Boston that two suspects allegedly set off two pressure cooker bombs that killed three people and injured more than 250 people during the Boston Marathon…

Should Kentucky Keep Louisville? (ESPN’s SEC Blog)

The slow days of spring and summer that precede the college football season can bring some interesting topics to bat around in your brain. Well, that very thing happened this week when John Clay of the Lexington Herald-Leader brought up the notion of potentially ending the Kentucky-Louisville football series. He dove into the subject because of a tweet from J. Rowland stating that he didn’t believe Kentucky had anything to gain…

Pitt Coach Chryst Holds Players to High Standards On, Off Field (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

When Pitt players are arrested, break team rules or get frustrated enough to leave school, coach Paul Chryst’s emotions boil over into anger, disappointment and confusion. Some of those feelings are directed at the student-athletes. Some of it he fires back upon himself and his coaching staff. Chryst took a break from the ACC spring meetings Tuesday to answer questions about some recent indiscretions by his players…

Today’s Featured Music Clip:

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

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Quest for Best: Tajh Boyd’s in Range for Multiple ACC Records (Orange and White)

It’s easy to get lost in the numbers Tajh Boyd is putting up, going into a season where he’s sure to a Heisman candidate. The Hampton, Va. native has led the ACC in total offense back-to-back seasons, compiling 8,456 yards in two seasons as a starter – 1,836 more than the next conference QB in that span (Virginia Tech’s Logan Thomas). Going into 2013, Boyd is the fourth among the active FBS career leaders in total offense (8,818)…

Happy Birthday #goacc (SB Nation)

My how the time flies. It seems like only yesterday #goacc was just a crazy mistake of a fever dream manifested through life changes and stress. I thought it would go away in an instant, just run its course and disappear like most things I do. But it is a year old, and I couldn’t be prouder. It isn’t really because of me, and that’s the best part…

How Many Games Will Florida State Win in 2013? (Athlon Sports)

Despite a revamped coaching staff and a handful of new starters, hopes are high in Tallahassee for the Seminoles to win 10 games in 2013. New quarterback Jameis Winston turned in a terrific performance this spring and appears to be headed for a breakout year in his first season as a starter. In addition to Winston, Florida State’s offense returns a solid one-two punch at running back with James Wilder Jr. and Devonta Freeman…

Hard Ball: Jimbo Fisher Can’t Let Matthew Thomas Walk Without Consequence (Sporting News)

There’s no winner in this thing, and that’s the only certainty. It’s a textbook, step-by-step, point-by-point painful and shameful explanation of the ills of college football recruiting: Mother wants son to go to a specific school. Son wants to play for a different school, but doesn’t want to disappoint and sides with his mother’s choice. Months later, son wants out of his letter of intent to sign with the school he wanted to play for all along…

NC State’s Watson Has a Heart to Help Others (ESPN’s ACC Blog)

Asa Watson says he has always had the heart to help people. In quite a twist, it was his bad heart that got him started on one of his first mission trips at NC State. It was 2011, the year Watson had his first heart surgery to correct a rapid heartbeat. Coaches told him he would have to redshirt. Watson decided he wanted to do something big…

Video: Maryland WR Stefon Diggs Stars in 5-Hour Energy Spoof (CBSSports.com)

Maryland wide receiver Stefon Diggs is a versatile player. As a freshman in 2012, Diggs averaged 15.7 yards per touch as he recorded 848 receiving yards, 114 rushing yards and 934 yards returning kicks and punts for the Terrapins. But did you know how productive the star wide receiver can be in ONE HOUR?…

Louisville Reportedly in the Mix for Two Quarterbacks (Card Chronicle)

Though we’d all love for him to stick around for one (or 25) more year(s), the biggest question surrounding Louisville football after this season is more than likely going to be which quarterback is going to replace Teddy Bridgewater and lead the Cardinals into the first year of the ACC era…

Today’s Featured Music Clip:

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

Monday, May 13, 2013

Recruiting Pitches: ACC (ESPN’s ACC Blog)

Inspired by Florida’s “#ComePlayWRFortheJoker” campaign, our recruiting writers looked at other ways schools can sell themselves on the trail. Here’s a look at recruiting pitches for the ACC: Boston College Eagles  — What they’re selling: B.C. has a metropolitan area to sell prospects. There are several top professional sports teams to enhance the college atmosphere…

Tempo: Clemson at Forefront of Changing Football Landscape (Orange and White)

Chad Morris is constantly looking for an edge. Part of it? #Tempo – it’s what Chad Morris puts at the end of each tweet, the constant push for more plays per game. We’ve touched on seconds per play before, and Football Study Hall did a breakdown in terms of plays per minute of possession, over college football as a whole. Per FSH, 63 percent of teams’ plays per minute (PPM) have gone up over the last four years…

ACC Proved Out of UC’s League (Cincinnati.com)

Former University of Cincinnati president Greg Williams said he did everything he could to keep the school in one of the nation’s major leagues, including seeking alternatives beyond the Big East Conference.Williams, who resigned suddenly last August and now lives in New York, has been criticized by some for putting too much effort into keeping the Big East afloat in what turned out to be a lost cause…

Debating Future of Purdue-ND, MSU-ND (ESPN’s Big Ten Blog)

After Notre Dame finalized its arrangement with the ACC last fall, it decided to suspend its annual series against Michigan. It begs the question: What will become of Notre Dame’s other two Big Ten rivalries against Purdue and Michigan State? All three schools have decisions to make. The Big Ten’s move to a nine-game conference schedule beginning in 2016 makes it harder for Purdue and Michigan State to play Notre Dame annually…

Boston College Football: Does QB Wes Lunt to the Eagles Make Sense? (BC Interruption)

One of the biggest transfer options this offseason is pro style quarterback Wes Lunt, who will be leaving Oklahoma State after his freshman season. Lunt, who started four games in 2012, finished the season with 1,108 yards, 6 TDs and seven interceptions. The reason for the transfer is reportedly due to a change in offensive style, with more of an emphasis on utilizing a mobile quarterback, and the naming of Clint Chelf as the 2013 starter…

Clemson Fans Have Had Enough of Losing the Rival Game (Greenville News)

They come to hear the words from the Top Man, not just any words, but the words they want to hear concerning the approaching college football season.In a private moment, most coaches will concede making the rounds at spring booster clubs isn’t the highlight of their calendar year, one of those things they could just as well do without, and it’s not because they don’t like fans…

An Ode to Danny Coale (Gobbler Country)

When it was announced Virginia Tech and Michigan have agreed to a home-and-home series in 2020 and 2021, the Twitterverse blew up with the hashtag, “It was a catch!” @AndyBitterVT: VT-Michigan have met once in football. You might remember the overtime Sugar Bowl matchup in January of 2012? #wasitacatch? I don’t know if Andy Bitter was being serious or if he was trolling…

Today’s Featured Music Clip:

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

Friday, May 10, 2013

Recruiting: UVA in Good Position For Top Commonwealth Targets (Streaking the Lawn)

Here is a breakdown of Virginia’s top remaining in-state targets, and how their recruitments are trending. We give predictions for where they will land, and a confidence percentage on our picks. Andrew Brown (Defensive Tackle, Oscar Smith): Things continue to look good for UVa in the recruitment of the 5-star defensive tackle. Brown last visited Charlottesville for the Spring Game in April, the most recent of many visits…

Virginia Tech, Michigan Set Up Series for 2020 and ’21 (The Virginian-Pilot)

Virginia Tech and Michigan’s Sugar Bowl match-up last year went over so well that the teams have agreed to a home-and-home series. The Hokies and Wolverines will play each other in 2020 and 2021, the schools announced Thursday. The first game will be at Michigan Stadium on Sept. 19, 2020. The second will be in Blacksburg on Sept. 11, 2021…

Summer Hype Could Help Louisville Football (WDRB-TV)

By this point, the University of Louisville’s 2013 football schedule has been the butt of more jokes than airplane food. But over the past couple of weeks, the program has also gotten some serious national attention. Mark Schlabach of ESPN.com rated the Cards No. 4 in his early preseason rankings; Andy Staples of SI had them ranked No. 8 in his post-spring Top 25….

Checking in With UNC OC Blake Anderson (ESPN’s ACC Blog)

North Carolina is a team folks are not sleeping on in the Coastal this year, thanks to immediate results in Year 1 under Larry Fedora. But there certainly are some questions that have to be addressed on offense, with players like Giovani Bernard, Jonathan Cooper and Brennan Williams gone. I had a chance to check in with North Carolina offensive coordinator Blake Anderson to see how his offense has progressed…

Pitt’s NFL Draft Drought Should End in 2014 (Cardiac Hill)

For the past two years, Pitt hasn’t produced an NFL Draft pick. That’s a bit rare for a program that has churned out so much NFL talent over the years. But that drought should end in 2014. We’re a year away, but at this point, the Panthers’ two favorites to be drafted are likely seniors Aaron Donald and Devin Street. Both evaluated their options and thought about leaving after this season…

Maryland May Drop Some Planned Games With FCS Schools (Baltimore Sun)

Joining the Big Ten means that Maryland’s football team will soon have Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan and other schools as new division opponents. But it also means the school’s nonconference schedules are being upgraded and that some previously-scheduled games could be dropped…

Charlotte Group Wants to Host Marquee College Football Game Annually (Charlotte Observer)

The Charlotte Sports Foundation is trying to make marquee college football games on Labor Day weekend an annual event at Bank of America Stadium. Foundation executive director Will Webb, speaking at a Thursday press conference to officially announce a matchup of North Carolina and South Carolina in Charlotte on Labor Day weekend of 2015, said an annual game is a goal…

Today’s Featured Music Clip: