ACC Tiers: Miami, Clemson, Florida St. and then WHO? | Always College Football

Intro I just look at the rosters in the ACC while I think one team in particular has a roster that is slightly above that of the others I don't think that one roster can adequately contend three consecutive weeks and rout to a national championship hello and welcome it's always college football I'm your host Greg mroy and we appreciate you coming to us from wherever it is you're coming to us from whether that's Spotify Apple podcast ESPN college YouTube channel we appreciate you guys so much for all that you've done to help grow the show the last couple years our numbers are up tremendously the last few years especially from a podcast standpoint we appreciate the growth that you guys have helped us experience we have a great show for you today we did Big 10 the other day we're doing tears okay that's how I think we need to assess the college football World moving forward we need to look at it in tears these are Championship contenders these are teams that can make the playoff these are teams that's floor should be eight or nine wins these are teams whose ceiling should be eight or nine wins these are teams who should make a bowl game and these are teams who if they do make a bowl game they should feel really excited about what their team accomplished this year so we're going to look at it in the six tiers we're going to break the ACC up accordingly so let's dive in the ACC and the six tiers of college football moving forward into the tiers of the ACC we did this and had this practice The BIG 10 is broken down into 5 Tiers already with the big 10 was really successful had a lot of fun doing it I think this is kind of the way we have to look at teams nowadays because we're going to look at tier three teams that might make the college football playoff you might get hot might make the playoff might ruin a team's candidacy in the playoffs so I think looking at college football through the tear lens is appropriate now greder one of this new era this new format so I don't know exactly how it's going to work but here's how I think it's going to work all right so you have Championship contenders that's tier one tier two college football playoff contenders tier three spoilers teams that can win eight or nine but you know that's even in some cases probably pretty tough to do but they're Solid Rock Solid teams you don't really want to play against then you have the teams that are pretty much guaranteed I would think to go to a bowl game or at least hope to go to a bowl game and then teams that a bowl game would be a tremendous accomplishment so you have all these different tiers all right tier one let's start in the ACC tier one I quantify as legitimate National Championship contenders and in tier one in the ACC there are zero now doesn't mean that a Does the ACC have a legit National Title contender? team can't get hot doesn't mean that a team can't come from nowhere to potentially go and compete and beat the likes of Georgia Ohio State multiple teams like that in route to a championship I just look at the rosters in the ACC while I think one team in particular has a roster that is slightly above that of the others I don't think that one roster can adequately contend three consecutive weeks in route to a national championship they might be able to get one maybe they can get two but can they win three in a row I don't know if they can in this league as of this moment so the ACC I don't have anybody in tier one in tier two I have a handful these are college football playoff contenders they can obviously win their league that's one way in but even if they don't win their league I wouldn't be surprised if any of these teams are in the mix for one of those top 12 seeds let's start with the Miami Hurricanes I think they are the best roster in the ACC and those that have pointed to Mario's Miami looks like it has the best roster in the ACC heading into ‘24 shortcomings the process is working okay the process is working they've done a really good job of jump starting the roster with some guys that have been impactful in the portal they've also supplemented that portal with great High School recruiting so you have a nice blend of both you also have really built the roster from the inside out you look at the offensive line they're one of the best in the country the defensive line had a freshman All-American last year in Ruben Bane and they might be in position to have some true freshman stepping onto the field early this year year considering it's one of the highest rated recruiting classes that Miami's had in the last 10 years or CH 10 years in change right now people will point to the win loss record it wasn't good I understand that and there were multiple games in which Miami let the opponent off the hook but the win loss record could be addressed by addressing two issues one turnovers Okay Tyler van djk for all of his talent and he had tons of it he played incredible early in the year at one point he was one of the highest rated quarterbacks in the country after the A&M game it's like this guy is back to his old self well things fell off pretty quickly in the first 17 games of his career he was 34-8 touchdown interception ratio the last half of last year he was five touchdowns against 11 interceptions that's not good enough how many different games did a late turnover or a big mistake cost the Miami Hurricane the other thing that they struggled with they struggled in the red zone that was a huge issue all throughout the year and being able to get to the Red Zone but ultimately they did not punch it in with enough regularity insteps I think the biggest transfer winner in the entire portal process and that's Cam Ward coming over from Washington State he'll take over for Tyler van djk turnover problems Red Zone problems hopefully the thing of the past cam W's career t touchdown interception ratio well last year at least 25 to7 and he's a great Runner so what's one thing that you can use in the red zone that can really make things easier on your offense quarterback run Tyler van djk that wasn't a part of his game quarterback run game though with Cam Ward that's going to be huge in the Red Zone when the field condenses and you can now run the quarterback you also have a great one-w punch at running back you look at the addition of Damen Martinez that's going to take some of the pressure off behind an offensive line that should even be better than a year ago defensively they're going to be great going to be super Stout in the front seven you look at some of the additions they made along the defensive line couple of Big Time highly touted prospects that are already there to complement some transfer portal additions they replaced starters from last year with starters from the power five one from NC State and CJ Clark one from Michigan State and Simeon Barrow you got a great pass rush specialist from Marshall like they have guys up front that are legit difference making dudes well they just brought in a bunch of five stars along the line of scrimmage and they have Ruben Bane front Seven's going to be awesome that's going to be helpful too secondary is a problem a lot of questions but a great pass rush can alleviate some of those concerns so I look at this group collectively I think they can make the playoff and I think they could make a run but they're gonna to stay healthy and they're going have to solidify the back end defensively let's go next to another team in tier two that's the Florida state seminal you look at the offense Can Florida State make it in the 12 team CFP? bunch of guys gone a bunch of guys gone from last year's team and while this year's group might not be as star studded they might be steadier there were things about Jordan Travis's play that I loved I love Jordan Travis still to this day one of my favorite players that I've ever covered from his first start a million years ago to GE against Georgia Tech or first start in the opener against George te was like 2020 to where they're at now really been proud of where he grew but there were moment where it was like chaos offensively well they also lost their top running back they also lost their top two wide receivers they also lost their best playmaking tight end they also lost a couple of great offensive linemen they lost a bunch of guys that were really impactful last year here's the thing I'm not worried about running back at all running back room brings back Lawrence toafili who I think is one of the best football players that they have they bring in a good transfer from Alabama and royell Williams they're going to be all right at running back that doesn't concern me wide receiv receiver is a concern uh I look at what Keon Coleman was the playmaking ability the contested catches that he was able to make the catch and runs I mean the guy took over the LSU game there were a bunch of games where it felt like he just completely took over then you had Johnny Wilson who at six foot7 had great length and was difficult to defend so in the Red Zone you had to be real mindful of where he was everywhere every time he stepped foot on the field I look at who's expected to step into those roles whether it's jakai Douglas the only returner with 10 plus catches last year Kron Point tier has been around for a long time Malik B is a transfer from Alabama never got to see the field really last year at Alabama was supposed to be a huge difference maker last year never really played a whole lot and then you bring in Jaylen Brown from LSU who has top end speed that is unrivaled so they have guys have just their question marks and then you have DJ oui angal who in that run Centric offense last year at Oregon State where was Heavy play action backs the defense stretched the field vertically on play action downfield the guy can throw the ball a country mile now will he be able to play fast enough and will he be accurate enough on some of the underneath and intermediate stuff to make this offense go now I think Mike Norvell is going to do a great job of protecting him I still think he's one of the best play callers in the country so he will protect DJ oui angal but a lot was put on the shoulders of Jordan Travis last year and I would anticipate this offense A lot's going to be put on the shoulders of dju as well defensively that defense last year was unbelievable they lost seven of their top 12 players and it's a big reload project for Adam Fuller here's the positive I feel great about their defensive front it's hard to say that too when you think about it Jared verse being gone Braden fist being gone and yet you're still not super concerned about the defensive line when you lose those two guys that's saying something about what I think Josh farmer can become and with the additions that they made in the transferred portal like ca loha from Oregon State Marvin Jones who's a big-time Prospect from Georgia they bring in another great Edge Defender from West Virginia they also have a couple guys too that are just waiting just waiting in the wings waiting for that opportunity to be thrust under the starting lineup so I think their front is going to be great questions that I have are at the second level I thought Tatum batun did a great job I thought they were solid at linebacker the last couple years now DJ Lundy's played a lot but he was really more the Run stopping linebacker now he's going to be in kind of an every down roll so I'll be watching linebacker closely I like their corners but I'll be watching the rest of the defensive back end and the shell and the structure I'll be looking at those positions early in the season to make sure that Josh Fuller or Adam Fuller excuse me has adequately replaced those pieces from a year ago but I still think this defense will carry the day but I need the emergence of Playmakers offensively to feel better about Florida State solidifying itself as a tier 2 program in the ACC and potentially if those pieces do come to the Forefront maybe they can Elevate into tier one status this year let's go next to the Clemson Tigers I still have How dangerous is Clemson and why are people sleeping on them? them in tier two most people want to write them off as if they're dead I for one am going to resist the urge of going down the Tyler from Spartanburg rattle uh rabbit hole because I believe in the young nucleus of talent that they had last year if you look at last year's performances too right I mean there were a million different like Florida State needed a sack fumble return to the house and a missed field goal to beat Clemson last year okay NCC State and Miami also took advantage won the game by a touchdown now you look they're at the Midway point of the Season just beyond Midway point they're two and four in the ACCC heading into November well final month they found out who they were they went Young on defense and they rallied with a five-game win streak they beat Notre Dame they beat North Carolina they win a nice crazy bowl game against Kentucky like there's a lot to like about how this team played down the stretch and anytime I look at a team that's lost three games by one score or less uh they weren't good in the Red Zone they could have easily changed a couple things and next thing you know they're cooking with gas after all I mean there was a time last year where Clemson had to call a walk-on that was working and selling insurance and Charleston to come back and become their kicker okay we're talking about a team that finished 121st out of 133 in the Red Zone they scored on just 73% of their Red Zone trips and yet they lost three games by one score or less that includes you know some games against quality competition I might add Miami was pretty good and state was pretty good we know Florida state was good they weren't that far away last year and you look at the last Year too Kade kumnick turned the ball over an awful lot nine picks 10 fumbles lost five of those fumbles compared to just 19 touchdown passes but we expected for Kade Club to just come right in to be the next Trevor Lawrence like yo that is really hard to do and I know it's been easy to look at the Clemson helmet and just assume oh yeah the next guy will be just like DeShawn well Kelly Bryant and Trevor Lawrence they couldn't adequately replace DeShaun Watson Kelly Bryant couldn't and as a result he got replaced by the next generational guy and Trevor Lawrence Trevor Lawrence thought he was going to be just replaced no problem in comes DJ U angal right where they left off didn't work out that way sometimes there's some growing pains when you're thrust into the starting lineup with expectations like Clemson has at the position so I'm cautiously optimistic that Kade kumnick now with 14 starts under his belt is going to be a much better player moving forward I look at Kade Club Nick and I think about his development I compare it comparably to bonick and I look at bonick early in his career and if you just kind of watch their style of play by the way it's it's kind of similar like eerily similar bonix was sporadic and erratic and would just kind of run around and create and just he he felt like the world was just moving too quickly for him well he got a little bit older and transferred to Oregon just everything slowed down everything become a little bit less Helter Skelter I think that can happen with klubnik this year potentially another year in the system another year feeling comfortable with Garrett Riley and hopefully he'll take a significant step forward but I don't think you can play quarterback by yourself you know what deshun Watson had you know what Trevor Lawrence had they had game-changing wide receivers and with all due respect two clums in the last few years the receivers have not been consistent enough why because they've had to rely on freshman at one point last year it was Tyler Brown's show he was their best weapon a wide receiver he was a true freshman at one point two years ago was Antonio Williams guess what he was two years ago a freshman they've had other guys too Adam Randall Troy Stato like they're going to be all right at wide receiver because they had to kind of go young and now those guys have been groomed and are potentially GNA be pushed by the another true freshman in Bryant Wesco who looks like he could become a star brinning stool's been effective at tight end as well Phil mafa is going to add physical element to the Run game and we know the defense going to be great so I am still really optimistic about Clemson can they win the national championship that's a hard one for me to predict but I do think they can be in the mix come playoff time as one of those teams that could secure an at llarge spot let's go next to tier number three these are qualified as the 8/9 win teams from the ACC that no one wants to play dark horses and these are teams that could make their way to the playoff but in all likelihood they're probably an eight nine win team that nobody really wants to play and there's a bunch by the way there's a bunch in the ACC this year I love the depth of this league in tier three is a great example of why this group could be real dangerous and I wouldn't be surprised at all if these teams slide up to tier number two or slide down to tier number four let's start with the NC State wolf pack now they opened up last NC State just keeps winning - are they a dark horse in the ACC year four and three not that dissimilar to Clemson I might add had a couple of bad losses to Duke bad loss to Notre Dame so after the byee they kind of figured things out they get going a little bit you beat Clemson you beat Wake Forest you beat North Carolina first time they've done that in 20 years Dave Doran gets a team back to eight plus wins which has been pretty amazing streak considering it's never happened at NC State four years in a row when anyone not named Philip Rivers was the quarterback they went out they signed Grayson McCall from Coastal Carolina three-time Sun Bel player of the year has won a lot of games he's thrown for over 10,000 career yards so he considering some of the options in the portal that's a great addition and then when he's signed all of a sudden the floodgates open you go get Jordan Waters out of Duke who over the last couple years 1,600 yards you go get Justin Jolly from Yukon Big Time tight end transfer you go and add a couple of pieces at the wide receiver spot from Ohio State from Wake Forest to take some of the pressure off of Casey concepion who's the only player in the FBS last year with 200 plus 250 plus rushing yards and 750 plus receiving yards the guys just to get on the ball see what he does with it he's electric absolutely electric if you haven't watched him go check him out he was the ACC rookie of the year last year on defense they do lose pton Wilson anytime you're having to replace 400 career tackles uh all AC honors every year and bedar bedner buttus award winner All-American like anytime you got to replace a guy like that it's going to be tough sledding okay the good news is there were a couple guys that were on the fence for NC State on the defensive side they were considering a jump to the NFL considering putting their name maybe in the portal to kind of Leverage up with nil and they all decided to come back including a great defensive Bend and Davin van I think a lock down corner and Aiden white couple of safeties too I mean they're in a good spot and you look at their schedule now they really only face two of the top eight programs in the ACC and you look at their schedule just one through 12 game one through Game 12 they should be favored in 75% of their games they also have a really nice non-conference opportunity against Tennessee and while by far their most difficult conference game is at Clemson they got Clemson a year ago so I think NC State's poised to make a lot of noise again this year because look at what Dave Dorne created the guy is just Rock Solid he's really steady and I would expect much of the same from him assuming they can keep Grayson McCall upright keep him healthy because they have had some wo a quarterback at times the last couple years let's go next to Louisville also in tier number three Can Louisville do it again and surprise everyone in the ACC Brian Braum excuse me Brian Braum Brian Braum's the OC Jeff Braum is incredible I mean I I don't know how else to say it he took Purdue to the conference champion ship game it took him five years to get there but he got him there didn't take long at Louisville took just one year the funny thing is you look back at the style of offense that Jeff Braum played at Purdue and it was like we're going to throw it all over the yard we can't run it so we're just gon to throw it pitch and catch baby well he gets to Louisville he says yeah I kind of like this Isaac gendo guy I like this jaar Jordan guy like we're just gonna hand it off run for 2,000 well it's pretty amazing that they'll adjust their offense based on what they have and they really turned into a complimentary team that allowed their defense to be incredible and their offense to really feature The Playmakers whether it's Jamari thrash at wide receiver or the two-headed monster a running back that they had throughout then they already proved that they can do a great job in the portal they went out and they had 31 more players second most in the country massive class and within that class was the addition of Tyler shook seventh year quarterback from Texas Tech now got banged up few times in his time at Texas Tech prior to that he was at Oran so he's been well traveled this guy's got a lot of potential he's got some playmaking ability too and Jack plumber the guy who he's replacing little bit more pocket presence a little bit more of a kind of stay within the offensive scheme Tyler shu's got some game like he can create on his own he got a big arm he's also gonna have some really capable weapons on the perimeter as well the addition of Colin Lacy from Louisville was massive over 1300 yards last year seven touchdowns highly coveted Prospect in the portal they were able to land him they also got jakori Brooks from Alabama was really solid you get a couple of big-time tight ends one from San Diego State one from Miami one from Kentucky yes Kentucky Isaiah Cummings transferred from Kentucky to Louisville that's how backwards the world is right now but they added three guys that are going to make their offense a little bit more versatile then defensively this is really where you feel best about them outside of knowing that Jeff bram's going to score points Jeff bram's going to score know that but you think about how Louisville won last year and it was really good on third down defense and they were really good in the Red Zone they were allowing just 68% of the time scores on Red Zone trips I was number one in the country they were number 10 in third down conversions plus they bring back Nine Stars so they got a lot of pieces to like on the defensive side including Ashton gelot who's a take over the game and of the line of scrimmage Defender so they can do a lot with those guys they got game changers on the outside they got game changers up front Louisville is going to be really good and their schedule sets up for a very challenging run but a run that wouldn't really surprise me if they made a lot of noise during it five of the toughest games that they have this year at Notre Dame tell me Notre Dame won't have that one Circle considering how things went last year yet they will so Notre Dame will have their eye on the prize Georgia Tech is at home Miami is at home I think Miami has a chance to potentially make the playoff well they have to go to Louisville never easy to do that they travel to Clemson Clemson will be a tough place to play no doubt about it so that will be a game be very very interesting as well and they have to go to Kentucky where they have not fared well Against the Wild Cats these last couple years all right going to be interesting to see how things go for Louisville dis year but I do think they have fortified some of the departures off last year's roster and have a program now a program that will just continue to replace that Talent all right tier four these are the spoilers and I I kind of SMU joins the ACC, what are the expectations combine these with tier three tier three are the ones that I trust just a little bit more tier four they have a high ceiling but their floor is also a little bit lower so I qualify these as just a a touch lower than what we would see in tier three those are teams that I think are pretty much the floor would be eight wins these teams that we'll discuss here the ceiling is eight wins so but kind of interchangeable and the depth of this group is pretty considerable for the ACC let's go to the spoilers SMU uh they went 11-3 last year the problem is they were 11-0 against non- Power five teams and 0 and three against the power five now they're playing a power Five schedule now they were competitive in all those games they were really competitive against some of those teams for sure uh but they ultimately couldn't hang on against Oklahoma TCU and Boston College in the bowl game so looking at how they transitioned Rett Lashley was pretty aware that watching UCF transition to the power five watching Cincinnati watching these other teams transition to a power Five schedule where did they come up short and most of the time it was because they just didn't have enough dudes along the line of scripts now it's great they have great quarterback pressing tone that was really effective last year but will the offensive line be able to hold up that I I think it's a question mark they're going to have great weapons they're going to have great running backs they're going to have great skill will the offensive line be good enough to hold up throughout the course of a power Five schedule 12 games now remember 0 and three against Power five teams last year you look at the defense now they did a really good job from 22 to 23 they got much better allowed just 17 points a game last year was one of the best improvements in the country under defensive coordinator Scott Simmons the problem is they look a little bit thin up front based on last year's roster well what they do they go out and they add eight power five defensive linemen to bolster their interior in the portal I also think their schedule is pretty manageable too yes they host Florida State that'll be at the end of September that'll be a great litmus test see where SMU is at they go to Louisville so keep an eye on SMU it's year one but things set up okay for them as they transition into the power five for the first time and really really long time speaking of production returning nobody has more Virginia Tech returns A LOT - will it pay off? than Virginia Tech now we know what their whole MO is they want to run the ball they want to stop the run they want to be aggressive on defense they need to improve just a little bit on offense but they found an identity last year I mean six and three down the stretch uh an incredible incredible Beatdown against Virginia there to win their 18th Commonwealth cup in the last 19 tries and then a really nice and impressive performance against Tain in the Military Bowl has the hokes feeling themselves a little bit with some momentum this off season now they bring back everybody okay we know since chirone drones took over at quarterback and how they redesign the offense around his skill set they should be in a really good spot we know that he's going to be dynamic with the ball in his hands now the next step for him is Taking Chances downfield and hitting those downfield shots that that was a huge issue last year if they can improve in that area and create explosives with how they run the ball they're going to be a very difficult offense to defend they bring back all their white outs they got their running back production back they got some serious star power on defense Antoine Powell Ryland had 13 and a half tackles for loss last year and finished second in the ACC with nine and a half sacks all right they are entering into this upcoming year with a lot of known Commodities and if you look at the schedule should be looking at at least eight wins I mean you really should at Vandy that should feel good about that one Marshall at ODU I understand ODU has been a challenge in the past shouldn't be this year Rutter be careful there that's one of the sneaky good non-conference games that no one's talking about but be careful with that matchup at Miami at Stanford Boston College comes to them Georgia Tech comes to them you're at cuse Clemson comes to you at Duke and UVA is at home this year you look at that schedule I think it's a challenging schedule which is why I don't have Virginia Tech right now in What can we expect from North Carolina and Mack Brown tier three because I think that schedule's really tough I think ruter 78 win football team Miami 78 win football team Georgia Tech has a real high ceiling Clemson has a real high ceiling I think this is a really really tough schedule but I would not be surprised at all if we fast forward to season's end at Virginia Tech is lurking in the mix for eight or nine wins it would not surprise me whatsoever let's go go next to North Carolina now here's what I think is difficult to wrap your head around this team has rins and repeat the last couple years great starts to the season before theyve fall off into Oblivion in November ma Brown said after the bowl game we'd be a 12- win team if we played better on defense well that led to them making an adjustment on the defensive side of the football in comes Jeff Collins former head coach of Georgia Tech former defensive coordinator of Mississippi State and Florida you look at the offense I think the offense is going to be just fine Max Johnson steps in for Drake May he's not Drake may but I do think their weapons on the perimeter are pretty dang good they do have to replace quite a bit few pieces up front but the skill positions are stacked and the tight end room is as deep as it's ever been plus you have an elite running back in Omari on Hon who had 253 carries last year and averaged gosh like a million yards per carry thereabouts the guy gets a lot of volume and he runs extremely hard and they have the Darwin Barlo Edition who's also very physical it takes some of the load off him but you have a difference making running back in Hampton who is in the mix for the do Walker Award last year they have struggled on defense for a long time the good news is Jeff Collins's defenses have always played with tremendous intensity and almost to the point where it's like this is hectic it is Havoc creating and they're hopefully going to create a lot of mistakes by the opposing offense they have a couple of pieces back like Cayman Rucker and a couple others that they can kind of build the off build the defense around but either way hope the defense can take a step this year for m brown as far as the schedule at Minnesota got to get that one got to get that one early in the season at Duke rivalry game on the road but they have a lot more known Commodities than Duke Georgia Tech comes to them that should be an exciting game they're at Florida State if they can get things solved defensively that might be an interesting one as well even though I give Florida State a significant leg up and they host NC State a team that's had their number the last few years North Carolina team that's kind of being slept on right now not saying I'm picking them like win the league but no one's really talking about him because so much of the emphasis is put on Drake may but they have a lot of good pieces in other places let's go next to tier number five okay tier five these are the teams that could and should make a bowl game this year anything less than a bowl game Georgia Tech, Pitt and Syracuse SHOULD make a bowl game would be a disappointment let's start with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets now one of the strangest teams last year to evaluate they were great when nobody was giving them any credit and they were very average when people were touting them as the favorite okay they were 19o underdogs against Miami get a win 12o underdogs against North Carolina get a win they won four ACC games when they were underdogs yes that is accurate they also got blown out by a Mac team and got beat by Boston College tough to wrap their head around but either way Georgia Tech they were great in an underdog role and they might be in an underdog role a lot when looking at this schedule this year now Haynes King did a lot of great things last year whether it was his athleticism his improved accuracy all those things were great he kept the defense honest with his ability to scramble and create big plays problem is he still turned the ball over an awful lot 16 interceptions last last year that was the worst in the power of five they did surround him with great weapons def though Jamal Haynes making the switch from wide receiver to running back paid off the guy averaged over six yards to carry last year he's got lightning speed to compliment Hayes King who also has lightning speed to compliment the receivers who all seem to have lightning speed and six of their top seven receivers return the bad news is the defense was not good they hired a new defensive coordinator in Tyler santui who is taught by Mike Elco at Duke the last couple years that's Mike elco's guy he loves him so he's Implement a defense that looks a little different than what Georgia Tech has used the last couple years I think he's a great defensive mind and should lead to Improvement on that side of the ball now I think the schedule's brutal okay you have six of the top teams in the ACC you also pick up Georgia and you have Notre Dame so the schedule is brutal on paper from a Personnel standpoint Georgia Tech should be very very dangerous and we already said that when they're an underdog they are extremely dangerous problem is they're going to be an underdog a lot at Syracuse at Louisville at North Carolina Notre Dame comes to them be careful Irish that would be a spot where you need to be very careful at Virginia Tech Miami comes to them be careful kanes even though I think Miami will have that one circled given the way things went last year NC State comes to them and then they're on the road at Georgia in the final game of the regular season tough spot for them that's why they're in tier five even though their roster would them more towards tier four and some of the retur EAS that they have in the improvements I expect defensively let's also go with the pit Panthers coming off the worst season for Paton ardui in a long time terrible year they've missed on a couple quarterback transfers it just didn't really materialized but but I'm cautiously optimistic now he kind of went against the grain here he decided to fire Frank cetti as his offensive coordinator and he went and gets Cade Bell from the FCS which is a guy that you're probably not super familiar with but I can just tell you this the offense is going to be very exciting it's an offensive style that is very different from what we've seen from pit the last few years they're uptempo they want to be attacking they want to ramp It Up play a lot of plays and it should lead to great offensive production after all Bell's offense at valasta state was pretty dang impressive back in 2018 they set the division two scoring record then he turns to Western Carolina turns them into an offensive Juggernaut their offense led the FCS in total offense at 54 yards a game and third and passing and fourth and scoring so I look at their offensive higher and I'm really optimistic and I think that group hopefully will get things going because their weapons aren't bad they just got to get things going because the offensive line has not been as good the last couple years they did lose Charlie Partridge defensively which will be a huge piece that is missed defensive line coach wasn't a coordinator or anything but they will miss his presence and it's already evident by some of the guys that have left and the drop off that maybe you've seen him recruiting in the front seven defensively look at the schedule West Virginia is on the schedule at North Carolina at SMU Clemson is at home before they go to Louisville so there's some wins in there and I would expect pit to bounce back in a big way I think they'll get to bowl eligibility but anything beyond that is difficult for me to predict at this point Syracuse I also expect to see back in the postseason extremely favorable schedule at times and the talent additions that we've seen top 40 High School class top 25 transfer portal class we not used to seeing that from Syracuse these last few years you bring in Kyle McCord who was at one point a five-star Prospect sat there waited for his opportunity in Columbus goes 11 to1 and says yep don't let the door hit you on the way out completed 66% of his passes though for over 3100 yards and 24 touchdowns he also made good decisions didn't throw a lot of picks either he has a great weapon and Ronde Gadson who was poised in the preseason last year to be considered for an All-American candidacy but got banged up early side to return and now should be the go-to guy as kind of the hybrid oversized wide receiver there that they move around to the offense the schedule has me feeling pretty good about Syracuse this year you got Georgia Tech at your place you're at NC State Virginia Tech it comes to you you're at BC and then you got Miami at home as well be careful Miami we know that Syracuse has been a house of horrors for many teams over the years you would not want your playoff dreams dashed in an upset on the road against the orange so I think Syracuse could be a team that certainly is playing in the postseason again this year with what they've improved roster wise and the way the schedule sets up let's go next to Cal Cal and BC have enough to get to 6 wins - check the schedule and roster Now cal I thought did a pretty good job of adding players to the portal they've already improved positions of need like wide receiver in the secondary they also were able to hold on to Jaden KN now Jaden KN was an all Pack 12 running back last year a lot of people aren't familiar with his game but he led the Pack 12 with 1300 yards the guy is the real deal so I'm really really encouraged that he was able to come back they also returned three of their top four wide receivers and supplemented the roster with a bunch of significant additions the schedule tricky for sure at Auburn at Florida State Miami is at home NC State is at home so a couple big opportunities there in Berkeley two knockoff teams that I think have a real chance to be in the top 25 by the time they play the Bears and they go to SMU So Cal bunch of loses on there bunch of losable games but not enough to make me think they won't be playing in the post season again this season let's go next to Boston College now crazy what's going on with Boston College this offseason Jeff Halley leaves to become a position coach for Green Bay Packers well in comes Bill O'Brien I didn't think that you could upgrade at the at the head coaching spot but they did I like Jeff Halley a lot Bill O'Brien's a massive upgrade uh extremely well-respected offensive mind he worked with Tom Brady was the OC for both Bill bich and Nick Savin uh took over at Penn State under impossible circumstances and did a pretty good job under those circum ances was the head coach for the Houston Texans for seven years and the guy has been an off an offensive Mastermind for a really long time and now he gets the keys to the C that is Thomas castalanos who is a great athlete I mean incredible athlete first Boston College quarterback ever to throw for 2,000 plus yards and rush for another thousand yards okay the best running quarterback there in a decade he also added 28 total touchdowns problem is there needs to be some decision-making improvements too many turnovers too many poor decisions and if they can make sure that those are coached out of him they'll be in a really great spot and given the late change that they had with the coaching staff they went to the portal added a bunch of skill positions added a bunch of wide receivers added a couple tight ends I think Boston College is well position to improve pretty significantly this year plus you look at what they have middle tier to kind of bottom tier of the ACC they got some opportunities to make a little noise and to pull some upsets and we know the Boston College has done that time and time again in the last decade and change at Florida State that'll be a tough one we know that Missouri is at uh you're on the road at Missouri two teams that are probably going to be ranked the top 10 to 12 in the preseason Michigan State comes to you that's a game you absolutely have to win Jonathan Smith is reloading what they're doing at Sparty you're reloading with what you're doing there at Boston College maybe you can get one done there at home at Virginia Tech Louisville comes to you Syracuse comes to you at SMU and then North Carolina comes to you as well I think Boston College can get to the postseason if they're have to pull an upset or two but I think they will with what they returned from last year and then finally this is tier six I think the likelihood of a bowl game is really Slim for these next few teams now I would love it if they got there but it's hard for me to Envision Improvement that significantly to get you over the hump let's start with Virginia this is the toughest one for me because they had five onore losses in 2023 they also have a ton of Sorry Duke, Stanford and Wake Forest - Great schools, little chance for a bowl game returning production so you would think there'd be drastic improvement from where they were last year to where they are this year the problem is they got to replace their best playmaker in Malik Washington and I think there are some things about their quarterback situation that are somewhat unsettled Tony musket got a little banged up iname Anthony kandria did a lot of good things also a lot of really forgettable things really up and down which most freshmen are so they still got to iron at that quarterback spot so you look at that spot if they can get those things figured out they might be well positioned to make a leap but I don't know I don't know just yet I think the acc's gotten better I think Virginia has stayed the same in many ways so I'm not as optimistic about them I also think that this schedule a lot of people saying it's a pretty easy start to the season I disagree I think there's a lot of real significant potholes at wake that's a pothole they're better than wake but that's a pothole Maryland I think Maryland's a team that's a seven eight win football team the in the Big 10 at Coastal Carolina got to be careful there we know Coastal has been a spoiler in the past Boston College at home I already told you I think Boston College the team that's going to the bowl game this year Louisville's at home at Clemson North Carolina at pit at Notre Dame SMU comes to you then you're at Virginia Tech I just have a hard time finding six wins there for Tony Elliott and the Virginia Cavaliers let's go next to Duke now Manny Diaz uh takes over a situation and is GNA try to recreate what worked in his last tenure as a head coach he found lightning in a bottle when he hired Rhett Lashley to be the offensive coordinator so what does he do when he gets a head job yet again he goes to Rhett lashley's tree gets Jonathan Brewer Brewer was with Lashley at SMU the last couple years but was on staff at Miami with Diaz when Lashley was calling the place quarterback competition's got to be ironed out whether it's Grayson Loftus or Texas trans for Malik Murphy either way they got to get that ironed out we'll see how things work but all nine defensive and offensive lineman are gone all right that is a problem look at the Inside Out roster built from the inside out not a lot to feel great about with what Duke returns they also have a brutal schedule North Carolina's at home at Georgia Tech Florida State SMU at Miami at NC State and Virginia Tech is at home so really tough schedule they get to the postseason that would be an impressive achievement let's go next to Stanford look getting back to bowl games still a lot of things to do total rebuild of what they're trying to be they need an offensive line to improve drastically the defense needs to be better in the front seven what we saw last year they went young they went really really young they the fifth most snaps by freshman and hopefully that will pay dividends down the road I just don't know if it's going to be this year so I think you got another year of rebuilding for Stanford before things can maybe become more competitive in 2025 and then finally the Wake Forest Demon Deacons now Warren Rogero their offensive coordinator said that there was an issue trying to find distribution to their playmaking wide receivers unit last year was kind of up and down they also got to figure out the quarterback spot and they got torched over and over and over again on deep balls last year defensively so a lot to iron out for Wake Force have a difficult time seeing them get the ball eligibility especially considered the schedule Old Miss difficult game at home at NC State Clemson at North Carolina at Miami I look at what Dave Clawson did for a long time that did a lot of great things but right now the talent is not what it was they retained it better than they did in years past but do they have enough to be competitive and improved AC that's a question I'm not quite ready to answer that'll do it for us here at Thanks for Watching always college football continue to like rate and subscribe to the show wherever it is you get the show we appreciate you guys thanks so much to all of you that have tweeted into the show at always CFB and thanks so much for those of you that have told your friends about what we're doing here at ACF it does not go un notice the numbers are going up we don't have some crazy marketing budget so the numbers going up like crazy y'all must be the ones that are doing the hard work for us and spreading the word about what we're doing here at ACF so for all of us here at always college football we wish you the very best and we'll see you next time and remember it's always college football hey guys it's Greg maroy thanks for watching Always college football make sure you like rate and subscribe to ESPN's YouTube channel and wherever you listen to your podcast