... I did pick BC to beat Virginia Tech. Just seemed like BC is a more mentally tough program right now, with where the Hokies seem to be trending under Justin Fuente, whose future in Blacksburg is very precarious (always was, following a legend). The right mindset is one week at a time, but I saw enough from BC after a couple of viewing to believe that if they do take it one week at a time then it's not inconceivable they could be undefeated at the halfway point.
... I defended UNC making the Mack Brown hire over Satterfield and others. Full disclosure, my dad's a UNC grad and I grew up swapping Saturday games at UNC and NC State. Did not have a rooting interest in either, but I've followed their program for a long time closer than others. Just seemed like Mack got burned out at Texas and needed a reset. But I knew the way he recruited NC, VA and elsewhere his first go-round there. He's got a great staff with two stud coordinators (Longo wasn't good enough for the most delusional Ole Miss fans only), the recruiting is going awesome and they sold out season tickets. My prediction back in December was they would quickly become the top program on that side of the ACC. I'm now going even bolder and saying they have a chance to go from 2-9 last year to the ACC title game. Probably not Top-25 caliber right now because of depth and some other concerns, but if they beat Miami at home this week they'll have two very solid wins.
... Louisville got some fight back as expected after totally quitting on Petrino last year (talk about karma for a guy). However, bowl eligibility is probably a year away for the Cardinals. They have some speed and weapons on the outside. Satterfield is clearly a really good coach if you look at what he did with App. But they will get pushed around and the depth will be tested against better opponents and I'm not sold on Puma. They will not be an easy out though. Will guess four wins but make some solid teams sweat and a jump next year.
... Not reading anything into Trevor Lawrence not having his best game for Clemson. Lincoln Riley may well convince everyone that he, coincidentally, has the best player in the country at quarterback every single season. But Lawrence is that dude and dropped some incredible dimes out there per usual. Was wondering if Syracuse could make it interesting with Clemson in a couple of weekends but was not overly impressed with the Orange in the little I saw of their 24-0 (IIRC?) win. Maybe just outside the top-25 in real terms, not going to upset Clemson again.
... Boise State had a true frosh quarterback but even on the road with that, a bad matchup for FSU. Why? Because Boise is mentally tough, and FSU has been mentally weak for a long time. I honestly bought into Taggart because of the consistent progression from year 1 to 2 to 3 in his previous stops and felt like he did it the right way but it's not looking good. I've always said you can usually tell at those big power jobs if a coach is the "right guy" by year two. Saban at Bama, Meyer at OSU, Tressel at OSU, Stoops at OU, etc., and not writing the Noles off completely, did see some good things, but this should be a very winnable game for BC barring a rash of injuries that impact depth at a couple spots on the field.
... Not as down on ND ("ACC", I know) as some. They have some dudes that look the part and they will probably go 10-2. Don't see them winning in Athens but could make it interesting with UGA not having great weapons on the outside and ND having some really large humans on that defensive front. Will be a very good game at Michigan. Might slip up somewhere but I would buy their stock with some clowning on them after UofL proved somewhat feisty in the first half.
... My feelings on Georgia Tech. Yikes. Felt like they were winning 7-8 on average (not every year) with the triple option. Going away from it means you win 2 or 3 for a little while and you're aspiring to get back to 7 or 8. Not getting the next Dabo at an niche engineering school in Atlanta, tough place to recruit.
... Wake's offense could be a problem, what a game for that QB, but going to give up a lot of points and yards if Utah State was any indication.
... Was impressed with Duke early against Bama with the Tide sitting some key players early. Very scrappy bunch as you'd expect with Cutcliffe. I bought the theory that Saban doesn't like to embarass coaches he respects, and would consider Cutcliffe one of those. Came away feeling like Alabama is not going to win the title but will be very good and Duke could keep it more interesting this season than I thought before.
... Can't read anything into NC State's win. It's ECU, a once proud program. Shouldn't have gotten rid of that previous coach. Just like they shouldn't have run off Steve Logan. They want to be an ACC school so badly and can't accept who they are.
... UVA's Blake Perkins is maybe the 2nd best QB in the ACC although Anthony Brown could give him a run for his money if he keeps making strides. Wahoos are the popular favorite to be the "someone's gotta win it" on that side. Not sure a Narduzzi team airing it out 40 times with a 50% completion clip is a great formula for the Panthers as he plateaus and probably regresses.
"No division" ACC power rankings post-Week 1
(Note, I am not totally abandoning my "priors" going into the season just because of one game for each team but will factor that one game)
1. Clemson (easy)
2. Virginia (bullish after W1)
3. Syracuse (but clutter behind Clem)
4. Boston College (having identity counts)
5. Florida State (test w/ how they rebound)
6. Miami (higher but for those OT's)
7. North Carolina (all coaching)
8. NC State
9. Va Tech
10. Duke
11. Wake
12. Louisville
13. Pitt
14. GT
Around the rest of the country...
... SEC East was a wreck. Muschamp probably gone after this year with that schedule and losing to Mack after one offseason of work in Chapel Hill and Bentley now at. Cheering for backup Hilinski, whose brother committed suicide in a well publicized story. I like Barry Odom as a coach but Wyoming is a terrible Week 1 roadtrip, seems like a silly game to play, and Mizzou plays well late in the year but not so much early on a consistent basis. Was not really impressed with UF's o-line play against Miami, lots of turnover there, but some real weapons and a very, very fast defensive front.
... Super excited to see LSU-Texas. Think the winner has an inside track to the playoff. LSU wins, good bellwether and buy good will for a later loss. Coach O doing better than I expected. Goes to show coaching at LSU and coaching at Ole Miss are two totally different gigs (why I hate HC "rankings"). Big Herman fan (not the personality) and if they win they probably just need to split with OU in the reg season/Big XII title game to get into the playoff assuming they don't stub toe against ISU or another team. Not very impressed with the Big XII's middle and bottom with TTU, WVU, KU, Baylor, TCU and K-State. If LSU beats Texas on the road I will pick them to win at Alabama. They have sick receivers, a nasty defense, and like Burrow as a winner.
... Auburn is the No. 1 darkhorse team nationally. Excellent d-line and real talented team but QB was a question. Bo Nix was not as good as people are saying, but he might have "grown up" on a huge stage. If he's even just clutch, not great or even very good, they can either go very far or knock off a team or two with title hopes. You know Auburn does it every few years.
... Pac-12 has horrible perception from faring poorly in big national games and the Oregon-Auburn outcome didn't help but I'm impressed with what Cristobal is doing out there. Couldn't run for a yard when they needed it (like in the title game vs Auburn) but more physical, better on defense, and I think he does well there. Clay Helton may be in farewell tour with QB out. Actually think Pac-12 is decent this year with a solid Utah team winning the otherwise horrible South, and solid squads Stanford, Washington, Wazzu and Oregon tough up north.
... Could be a banner year for the Big Ten with Ohio State looking insane from the jump (against FAU, I know) with Justin Fields, Michigan being fairly loaded with a chance to crash the playoff, Wisconsin, Penn State, Iowa, Michigan State, etc., looking good as well. My bold prediction here is that Wisconsin wins the league in a shocker. They just do it every so often and Taylor is poised for a monster year. Looked great as a team vs USF. Best the Big Ten has looked on paper since the late 90's with Penn State, OSU, Michigan, Minnesota, Purdue, etc.
...
... I defended UNC making the Mack Brown hire over Satterfield and others. Full disclosure, my dad's a UNC grad and I grew up swapping Saturday games at UNC and NC State. Did not have a rooting interest in either, but I've followed their program for a long time closer than others. Just seemed like Mack got burned out at Texas and needed a reset. But I knew the way he recruited NC, VA and elsewhere his first go-round there. He's got a great staff with two stud coordinators (Longo wasn't good enough for the most delusional Ole Miss fans only), the recruiting is going awesome and they sold out season tickets. My prediction back in December was they would quickly become the top program on that side of the ACC. I'm now going even bolder and saying they have a chance to go from 2-9 last year to the ACC title game. Probably not Top-25 caliber right now because of depth and some other concerns, but if they beat Miami at home this week they'll have two very solid wins.
... Louisville got some fight back as expected after totally quitting on Petrino last year (talk about karma for a guy). However, bowl eligibility is probably a year away for the Cardinals. They have some speed and weapons on the outside. Satterfield is clearly a really good coach if you look at what he did with App. But they will get pushed around and the depth will be tested against better opponents and I'm not sold on Puma. They will not be an easy out though. Will guess four wins but make some solid teams sweat and a jump next year.
... Not reading anything into Trevor Lawrence not having his best game for Clemson. Lincoln Riley may well convince everyone that he, coincidentally, has the best player in the country at quarterback every single season. But Lawrence is that dude and dropped some incredible dimes out there per usual. Was wondering if Syracuse could make it interesting with Clemson in a couple of weekends but was not overly impressed with the Orange in the little I saw of their 24-0 (IIRC?) win. Maybe just outside the top-25 in real terms, not going to upset Clemson again.
... Boise State had a true frosh quarterback but even on the road with that, a bad matchup for FSU. Why? Because Boise is mentally tough, and FSU has been mentally weak for a long time. I honestly bought into Taggart because of the consistent progression from year 1 to 2 to 3 in his previous stops and felt like he did it the right way but it's not looking good. I've always said you can usually tell at those big power jobs if a coach is the "right guy" by year two. Saban at Bama, Meyer at OSU, Tressel at OSU, Stoops at OU, etc., and not writing the Noles off completely, did see some good things, but this should be a very winnable game for BC barring a rash of injuries that impact depth at a couple spots on the field.
... Not as down on ND ("ACC", I know) as some. They have some dudes that look the part and they will probably go 10-2. Don't see them winning in Athens but could make it interesting with UGA not having great weapons on the outside and ND having some really large humans on that defensive front. Will be a very good game at Michigan. Might slip up somewhere but I would buy their stock with some clowning on them after UofL proved somewhat feisty in the first half.
... My feelings on Georgia Tech. Yikes. Felt like they were winning 7-8 on average (not every year) with the triple option. Going away from it means you win 2 or 3 for a little while and you're aspiring to get back to 7 or 8. Not getting the next Dabo at an niche engineering school in Atlanta, tough place to recruit.
... Wake's offense could be a problem, what a game for that QB, but going to give up a lot of points and yards if Utah State was any indication.
... Was impressed with Duke early against Bama with the Tide sitting some key players early. Very scrappy bunch as you'd expect with Cutcliffe. I bought the theory that Saban doesn't like to embarass coaches he respects, and would consider Cutcliffe one of those. Came away feeling like Alabama is not going to win the title but will be very good and Duke could keep it more interesting this season than I thought before.
... Can't read anything into NC State's win. It's ECU, a once proud program. Shouldn't have gotten rid of that previous coach. Just like they shouldn't have run off Steve Logan. They want to be an ACC school so badly and can't accept who they are.
... UVA's Blake Perkins is maybe the 2nd best QB in the ACC although Anthony Brown could give him a run for his money if he keeps making strides. Wahoos are the popular favorite to be the "someone's gotta win it" on that side. Not sure a Narduzzi team airing it out 40 times with a 50% completion clip is a great formula for the Panthers as he plateaus and probably regresses.
"No division" ACC power rankings post-Week 1
(Note, I am not totally abandoning my "priors" going into the season just because of one game for each team but will factor that one game)
1. Clemson (easy)
2. Virginia (bullish after W1)
3. Syracuse (but clutter behind Clem)
4. Boston College (having identity counts)
5. Florida State (test w/ how they rebound)
6. Miami (higher but for those OT's)
7. North Carolina (all coaching)
8. NC State
9. Va Tech
10. Duke
11. Wake
12. Louisville
13. Pitt
14. GT
Around the rest of the country...
... SEC East was a wreck. Muschamp probably gone after this year with that schedule and losing to Mack after one offseason of work in Chapel Hill and Bentley now at. Cheering for backup Hilinski, whose brother committed suicide in a well publicized story. I like Barry Odom as a coach but Wyoming is a terrible Week 1 roadtrip, seems like a silly game to play, and Mizzou plays well late in the year but not so much early on a consistent basis. Was not really impressed with UF's o-line play against Miami, lots of turnover there, but some real weapons and a very, very fast defensive front.
... Super excited to see LSU-Texas. Think the winner has an inside track to the playoff. LSU wins, good bellwether and buy good will for a later loss. Coach O doing better than I expected. Goes to show coaching at LSU and coaching at Ole Miss are two totally different gigs (why I hate HC "rankings"). Big Herman fan (not the personality) and if they win they probably just need to split with OU in the reg season/Big XII title game to get into the playoff assuming they don't stub toe against ISU or another team. Not very impressed with the Big XII's middle and bottom with TTU, WVU, KU, Baylor, TCU and K-State. If LSU beats Texas on the road I will pick them to win at Alabama. They have sick receivers, a nasty defense, and like Burrow as a winner.
... Auburn is the No. 1 darkhorse team nationally. Excellent d-line and real talented team but QB was a question. Bo Nix was not as good as people are saying, but he might have "grown up" on a huge stage. If he's even just clutch, not great or even very good, they can either go very far or knock off a team or two with title hopes. You know Auburn does it every few years.
... Pac-12 has horrible perception from faring poorly in big national games and the Oregon-Auburn outcome didn't help but I'm impressed with what Cristobal is doing out there. Couldn't run for a yard when they needed it (like in the title game vs Auburn) but more physical, better on defense, and I think he does well there. Clay Helton may be in farewell tour with QB out. Actually think Pac-12 is decent this year with a solid Utah team winning the otherwise horrible South, and solid squads Stanford, Washington, Wazzu and Oregon tough up north.
... Could be a banner year for the Big Ten with Ohio State looking insane from the jump (against FAU, I know) with Justin Fields, Michigan being fairly loaded with a chance to crash the playoff, Wisconsin, Penn State, Iowa, Michigan State, etc., looking good as well. My bold prediction here is that Wisconsin wins the league in a shocker. They just do it every so often and Taylor is poised for a monster year. Looked great as a team vs USF. Best the Big Ten has looked on paper since the late 90's with Penn State, OSU, Michigan, Minnesota, Purdue, etc.
...
