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ACC Football 2012 Power Rankings: Week 10

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Florida State Ran Away From Duke Early on Saturday, and Now Control the Atlantic Division Race

Does anyone want to win the ACC‘s Coastal division? From the looks of it, no, though the only team that’s even looks remotely ready to do so is unfortunately ineligible for the postseason. In the meantime, the conference’s top two get further from the rest, while everyone else just continues to crash into each other. But let’s get more specific. What have we truly learned over this past weekend, and how do the ACC’s teams currently shake out?

1. Florida State Seminoles (8-1) (5-1) (LW: 1): Some felt that the 27-point spread between Duke and FSU was a bit of an exaggeration. Yet, it appeared as if the ‘Noles took it as a challenge in their 48-7 victory. Though it wasn’t all hearts and rainbows — Florida State committed four turnovers — the team still ran rings around the Blue Devils, locking up the contest by halftime. Beyond the lingering issues with fumbles, this Seminoles team appears to be clicking once again as it heads for the stretch run.

2. Clemson Tigers (7-1) (4-1) (LW: 2): Prior to kickoff last Thursday, there was concern with regards to the Clemson secondary, along with Sammy Watkins, who was slated not to start the game against Wake Forest. What happened instead was a clinic on everything fantastic about the Tigers offense. From the first snap, Clemson was a flurry of pure speed, connecting on long passes at will, and simply over-matching the Deacons’ secondary. The Clemson defense, too, looked like it had stepped up its game, sacking QB Tanner Price five times, while getting consistent pressure on him all night.

3. North Carolina Tar Heels (6-3) (3-2) (LW: 5): After a hot start gave the Heels a 25-7 lead early, the team suddenly found itself down 35-25 at the beginning of the fourth quarter. And that’s when Giovani Bernard came alive. In the final 15 minutes, the Carolina back amassed 182 all-purpose yards and the game-winning score to give his team an eight-point victory. Obviously, the trouble with UNC’s recent gameplan is that it relies far too much on Bernard. But as long as it works — as it did here — you’ll see no complaints from this end.

4. NC State Wolfpack (5-3) (2-2) (LW: 3): What’s more crushing? Losing to your rival for the first time since 2006, or giving up your inside track at the Atlantic division title? Though those burns will likely sting with equal intensity for the Wolfpack, they must rebound quickly if they hope to stick around the divisional race. Should they win out, while FSU loses again, they’ll still find themselves in Charlotte for the title game. But they have to cut down on the dropped passes and fix mental errors in order to pull it off.

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ACC Football Player of the Week, Week 9: Giovani Bernard, North Carolina

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North Carolina Running Back Giovani Bernard is the ACC Player of the Week for Week 9

Each week, we’ll be identifying the best ACC player from that weekend’s games. As always, it’s a completely arbitrary award with no specific criteria beyond the vague concept of “excellence.” No, we don’t take write-ins.

ACC Player of the Week, Week Ninw: Giovani Bernard, RB/North Carolina

While his overall performance — 304 all-purpose yards, three TDs — was the most impressive part of Saturday’s game, you could just as easily praise Bernard for any number of isolated plays or statistics. Tallying his third straight game with at least two scores. His 135 yards on the ground, or his 95 yards receiving. And of course, his 74-yard punt return touchdown with just 13 seconds left on the clock. If Bernard were actually part of the Heisman conversation (sadly, he’s not), he’d have his moment already locked up. So while there was offseason concern over where the sophomore running back would fit into Larry Fedora’s offense, I’m pretty sure any outstanding issues have passed at this point. Bernard is the ACC’s most dynamic running back, and its best playmaker outside of Clemson’s Sammy Watkins. If you didn’t believe it before, feel free to consult the tape.

Honorable Mention:

Tajh Boyd, QB/Clemson (27/38 passing, 428 yards, 5 TD, 27 rushing yards)

Sammy Watkins, WR/Clemson (8 catches, 202 yards, 1 TD)

Ryan Nassib, QB/Syracuse (27/40 passing, 328 yards, 4 TD)

Mike Glennon, QB/NC State (29/52 passing, 467 yards, 5 TD, 2 INT)

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ACC Football 2012 Heisman Watch: Week Eight

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Despite the Bye Week, Clemson QB Tajh Boyd Still Looks Like the ACC’s Top Player

As we detailed last week, the ACC no longer has a viable national title contender, thus has no Heisman candidate to speak of. So, as promised, for the remainder of this season, we’ll now be compiling a watch list for the fictional Chris Weinke Award, to honor the best player in the ACC. These posts will remain under “Heisman Watch” for the purposes of consistency and SEO, however. Have other nominees? Submit your ballots below.

1. Tajh Boyd, QB/Clemson (1,972 total yards, 16 total TD, 5 INT, 68.2 percent completion) (LW: 1)

Nothing’s changed for Boyd, our clubhouse leader, since his team had a bye last week. So while other candidates may be hot on his tail, he’ll get his opportunity to further distance himself from the pack on Saturday, when his Tigers take on Virginia Tech on ABC. We’ve said it before, but the junior’s evolution can be traced to his increased mobility — something that could very well be on display this weekend if the Hokies rush the passer as well as they did in their previous game.

2. EJ Manuel, QB/Florida State (1,990 total yards, 15 total TD, 4 INT, 72.1 percent completion) (LW: 3)

Manuel’s big game against Boston College showed that he’s still a contender to be named the ACC’s top player, as he threw for 439 yards and four touchdowns against a very overmatched Eagles defense. And while the yardage numbers were surely impressive, what’s most striking is Manuel’s much improved accuracy. This past weekend, he completed 27 of 34 passes (79.4 percent), his third game with a completion rate of 75-percent or higher.

3. DeAndre Hopkins, WR/Clemson (49 catches, 777 yards, 8 TD) (LW: 2)

Hopkins made some serious waves in the season’s first half, catching defenses off-guard and elevating himself as Clemson’s biggest playmaker. And for the second half of the year? Tajh Boyd will find him on the field; that won’t be a problem. But as defenses amass more game film on him and adjust to him as the focal point of the Tigers’ passing attack, things may start to change. This, of course, is completely nullified by a healthy Sammy Watkins, something Hopkins likely knows himself.

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ACC Football 2012 Power Rankings: Week Eight

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The Tar Heels May Be the Coastal Division’s Top Team, But Unfortunately, Are Ineligible to Play for the ACC Championship

The ACC continues to be a riddle, and as such, so do these power rankings. Beyond the top two, who’s a true conference championship contender? Will the Coastal champ finish with a better record than 4-4? Based on what we’ve seen so far, we’re really no closer to finding out any of this, but as we do every week, we’ll take our best guess here in the power rankings.

1. Florida State Seminoles (6-1) (3-1) (LW: 1): EJ Manuel had a field day against the BC secondary on Saturday, throwing for 439 yards and four touchdowns, en route to a 51-7 victory. Of course, it helps when your defense played the way it did, too. The Eagles came to town with one of the conference’s better passing attacks. They left with just 129 yards through the air, and a pick. If Florida State’s going to win themselves an ACC title, they’ll need to play at that level for the remainder of the season.

2. Clemson Tigers (5-1) (2-1) (LW: 2): The Tigers were off this past weekend, which may be the only thing that can slow this offense down. On Monday, OC Chad Morris mentioned to the Post-Courier that Sammy Watkins is “ready to break out,” which is something that should horrify opposing defenses. Should he finally get back to full-strength, Watkins adds yet another dimension to this group, making for an entertaining second half.

3. North Carolina Tar Heels (5-2) (2-1) (LW: 6): If not for postseason ineligibility, UNC would be the Coastal division frontrunners, having already knocked off two of their three biggest competitors (and facing the third, Duke, this weekend). And if not for Giovani Bernard‘s injury earlier this season, perhaps this team would be in the top 25, too. Over the last two games — both big wins for the Heels — the sophomore’s amassed 485 total yards and four scores. As long as he stays healthy, Carolina’s likely to keep winning.

4. NC State Wolfpack (4-2) (1-1) (LW: 5): The Wolfpack are in the driver’s seat in the Atlantic division, but the jury’s still out on whether they’ll take full advantage or not. Through six games, we’re still unsure about the secondary — already lit up several times this year — and quarterback Mike Glennon‘s play has been mostly inconsistent (FSU comeback aside). Every remaining game is very winnable, but it will come down to their ability to execute late. All they have to do is win out, and they’ll find themselves playing for their first BCS Bowl trip.

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ACC Football 2012 Midseason Recap: Atlantic Division

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NC State’s Upset of FSU Steals the Headlines, But There’s Plenty More to Talk About From the ACC’s First Half

At the midway point in the 2012 season, little is decided in the ACC. Neither division has a clear frontrunner, no team is assured a trip to the postseason and no team has clinched a bowl spot either. Nonetheless, it’s been an entertaining season within the conference — something we’ll try to highlight here. Along with evaluations for each team, we’ll be providing additional predictions for the second half as well.

Below is the Atlantic division midseason evaluation. Also be sure to check out the Coastal division recap too, which is now live.

Boston College Eagles (1-5) (0-3): Doug Martin’s ability to revive the Boston College offensive attack is all that saves this team from an utter abyss (and even that statement’s pushing it) in Frank Spaziani’s lame-duck final season at the helm. Despite the leaps and bounds by which Chase Rettig has grown, it just doesn’t matter when your defense plays this terribly as a whole. On the bright side, the Eagles hopefully get one more season of Martin coaching Rettig and breakout receiver Alex Amidon under a different head coach in 2013. It would take a miracle for this squad to win six games at this point.

Clemson Tigers (5-1) (2-1): Clemson’s offense has been a sight to behold this season, putting up 41.3 points per game (11th in the country). Unfortunately, the defense has seen little improvement with Brent Venables’ arrival, allowing over 27 points over six games. Thus far, they’ve had little problem just running opponents off the field, but November dates against NC State and South Carolina loom large as potential stumbling blocks to end the year. With a better, fitter Tajh Boyd on the field, there’s hope they’ll avoid the same late stumbles from last season. The emergence of DeAndre Hopkins also helps, as we’re still unsure how Sammy Watkins will finish out the season. Orange Bowl’s the goal, but short of that, another BCS game wouldn’t be out of the question if they win out.

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ACC Football 2012 Heisman Watch: Week Seven

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After Another Stellar Performance This Weekend, Tajh Boyd Takes Over the Top Spot in Our Heisman Watch

With Florida State’s loss last week, it appears that the ACC‘s dream scenario — its first Heisman trophy winner in over a decade — was lost as well. So, as promised, for the remainder of this season, we’ll now be compiling a watch list for the fictional Chris Weinke Award, to honor the best player in the ACC. These posts will remain under “Heisman Watch” however, for the purposes of consistency and SEO. Have other nominees? Submit your ballots below.

1. Tajh Boyd, QB/Clemson (1,974 total yards, 16 total TD, 5 INT, 68.2 percent completion) (LW: 2)

Boyd has been a man on fire these past two weeks, racking up 869 total yards and seven total scores. He even caught a pass for a two-point conversion last Saturday. So while he’s a very long shot to win the Heisman, there’s no player better suited to win the first annual Chris Weinke Award. The Clemson junior is now — more than he ever has been — the axis on which the Tigers’ offense rotates, and is catapulting himself through the school’s record books as well.

2. DeAndre Hopkins, WR/Clemson (49 catches, 777 yards, 8 TD) (LW: 3)

But what would Boyd be without his new primary target, “Nuk” Hopkins? Whether Sammy Watkins has played or not, this junior wideout has been a force, and some would say among the best at his position. In just six games, he’s already just 23 catches shy of his total from all of 2011, and his eight scores are one less than his career total coming into this season. Hopkins is a playmaker who flat-out takes over games, and as long as he’s on the field, it’s been damn-near impossible to completely shut down the Clemson offensive attack.

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ACC Football 2012 Power Rankings: Week Six

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After a Wild Weekend of ACC Football, Miami Vaults Up Our Power Rankings

Week five was a rough one for the ACC, as several squads were upset in non-conference matchups. So while the league’s reputation may have taken a hit, no harm was done at all to Florida State, who continues to make a serious push for a national championship. Below them (and Clemson), however, we have quite a bit of sorting out to do…

1. Florida State Seminoles (5-0) (LW: 1): The ‘Noles offense didn’t necessarily look amazing against USF on Saturday, but they didn’t have to. After letting up a ton of points against Clemson, the defense got back to business, and completely shut down the Bulls at every turn, letting up just 268 yards and 17 points. Not lost in the effort either was another strong — yet unsung — effort by the running game, which is ranked as the eighth-best ground attack in the FBS.

2. Clemson Tigers (4-1) (LW: 2): Considering they’ve been without Sammy Watkins for three of their five games now, it’s impressive that the Clemson offense has still been able to put up such big numbers. Having a stacked arsenal of targets will do that for a team. Without Watkins, DeAndre Hopkins has stepped up in a big way, and is now considered among the best wideouts in college football, based on his 42 catches and six scores. I’m still not convinced we’ve seen both receivers at 100-percent for a full game yet, either; a horrifying thought for opposing defenses.

3. Miami (FL) Hurricanes (4-1) (LW: 5): This Miami squad is sporting a bevy of playmakers, the likes of which it hasn’t seen since its late 90s, early 00s heydays. We already knew the types of performances we could expect from running backs Mike James and Duke Johnson. But the show that Stephen Morris put on against an NC State pass defense that was one of the nation’s best in 2011? Literally unprecedented for any ACC or Miami quarterback. Win or lose, the ‘Canes have become a must-watch team every week.

4. Virginia Tech Hokies (3-2) (LW: 3): This fourth spot is where the big questions begin. We knew that Virginia Tech’s offense would struggle — and they have, mightily — but I doubt anyone believed the defense would also experience its own issues. As stated time and time again, Logan Thomas can’t do it by himself. Now that he’s been forced to, you see the glaring errors in his game, hurting both his team’s chances and his draft stock.

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