Preseason ACC Predictions: Chris vs. The World

The ACC Kickoff, affectionately known (by me) as a cocktail party for media members in which Boston College looks permanently sad to be there, was held Sunday-Monday in Greensboro, N.C. As part of the event, media pundits took their shot-in-the-dark stab at preseason division standings and All-ACC teams. I, too, took that shot in the dark. The predicted order of finish was released Monday, and the All-ACC team was released Wednesday morning. Below are the real selections vs. my selections.

Tajh Boyd, the preseason player of the year, is expected to lead Clemson to the conference championship.

Photo property of Sports Illustrated/CNN

Predicted order of finish

Coastal Division Standings
Media picks, along with first-place votes
1. Miami (65)
2. Virginia Tech (27)
3. North Carolina (22)
4. Georgia Tech (6)
5. Pitt
6. Virginia
7. Duke
My picks, along with predicted conference record
1. Virginia Tech (7-1)
2. North Carolina (6-2)
3. Miami (6-2)
4. Georgia Tech (5-3)
5. Pitt (2-6)
6. Duke (2-6)
7. Virginia (0-8)
Notes: Can't really complain much about how the Coastal rankings turned out. Any of the top four teams could win the division, and that was represented by the range of first-place votes. The Coastal will be a much more difficult division than the Atlantic. The Atlantic has the powerhouses Clemson and Florida State, but the division tapers off incredibly quickly from there. The Coastal is deep. I would've liked to see Duke get the nod over Virginia in the media ballot. I don't think people realize how sad Virginia was last year, and Duke has some legitimate pieces on its football team. I have UNC over Miami because the Thursday night game in Chapel Hill will be the tiebreaker. I really didn't want to put Virginia Tech high, but the Hokies have one of the more favorable conference schedules in the ACC.


Atlantic Division Standings
Media picks, along with first-place votes
1. Clemson (102)
2. Florida State (18)
3. N.C. State
4. Wake Forest
5. Maryland
6. Syracuse
7. Boston College
My picks, along with predicted conference record
1. Clemson (8-0)
2. Florida State (7-1)
3. N.C. State (4-4)
4. Syracuse (4-4)
5. Maryland (3-5)
6. Wake Forest (2-6)
7. Boston College (0-8)
Notes: Not much argument here, either. Places 3-6 could really go to anyone. My gut says Florida State over Clemson, but the Tigers having home-field for their matchup and Tajh Boyd returning was the tipping point for me. I think I may have been a little too extreme on Virginia's 0-8 ACC record, but I feel pretty confident Boston College won't win a single conference game.

All-ACC team

Quarterback

Media: Tajh Boyd, Clemson

Chris: Tajh Boyd, Clemson

Notes: I think Bryn Renner will really step forward as an elite quarterback, but you can't vote against the returning ACC Player of the Year. It just doesn't happen.

Running Back

Media: Duke Johnson, Miami; James Wilder, Jr., Florida State

Chris: Duke Johnson, Miami; James Wilder, Jr., Florida State

Notes: This wasn't a very difficult pick. Duke Johnson was exceptional last year, and he has real Giovani Bernard potential. James Wilder, Jr. should have a big year in FSU's offense that will go to the ground often.

Miami's Duke Johnson earned the second-most votes (behind Tajh Boyd) for the preseason All-ACC team.

Photo from DoubleCoverageFootball.com

Wide Receiver

Media: Sammy Watkins, Clemson; Michael Campanaro, Wake Forest

Chris: Sammy Watkins, Clemson; Alex Amidon, Boston College

Notes: Wide receiver was without a doubt the toughest selection to make (and hey, why do we select two running backs and only two receivers, when every team in America runs at least three receivers now? Stupid). Watkins, Campanaro, Quinshad Davis, Amidon, Rashad Greene, Stefon Diggs and Jamison Crowder are all potential All-ACC talents. I had Amidon because, you know, he was first-team All-ACC last year and shattered school records. But any of those guys deserved to make the list. Davis got zero votes, which I found a bit surprising.

Offensive Line

Media: James Hurst, UNC; Morgan Moses, Virginia; Brandon Linder, Miami; Tre' Jackson, Florida State; Bryan Stork, Florida State

Chris: James Hurst, UNC; Morgan Moses, Virginia; Brandon Linder, Miami; Tre' Jackson, Florida State; Bryan Stork, Florida State

Notes: Nothing surprising here. Hurst, Stork and Jackson were all-conference selections last year. Stork is one of the best centers in the nation. Moses was a big-time recruit for Virginia and has been relatively quiet thus far in his career, but he's had a great offseason and should turn some heads this year.

James Hurst, the anchor of UNC's offensive line, led all tackles in votes.

Photo from FirstRoundGrade.com

Defensive Line

Media: Kareem Martin, UNC; Jeremiah Attaochu, Georgia Tech; Nikita Whitlock, Wake Forest; Timmy Jernigan, Florida State

Chris: Kareem Martin, UNC; James Gayle, Virginia Tech; Nikita Whitlock, Wake Forest; Aaron Donlad, Pitt

Notes: These, too, were pretty tough selections. Looking back, I should have had Attaochu as one of my DEs. He's making the switch from linebacker to DE this year, and I wasn't sure what type of production he'll be able to post from there. Regardless, Gayle/Attaochu/Martin are all toss-ups at the end spot. I think Aaron Donald was the biggest snub of the All-ACC team. The guy is two-time All-Big East and is up for several national awards. Whitlock has been one of the most productive tackles in the ACC the last couple years, so those merits put him on this list again. Jernigan is probably the best talent of anyone at the spot, but I always go with production vs. potential on these lists.

Linebackers

Media: Jack Tyler, Virginia Tech; Christian Jones, Florida State; Kevin Pierre-Louis, Boston College

Chris: Jack Tyler, Virginia Tech; Christian Jones, Florida State; Denzel Perryman, Miami

Notes: Tyler and Jones were easy selections. Pierre-Louis puts up big numbers, as Boston College linebackers are wont to do. I like Perryman's ability in the Miami defense, and better teams tend to have more All-ACC selections than bottom-dwellers, so that's why I put him on my list over Pierre-Louis.

Cornerback

Media: Ross Cockrell, Duke; Lamarcus Joyner, Florida State

Chris: Ross Cockrell, Duke; Lamarcus Joyner, Florida State

Notes: The easiest position to select. Both are returning all-conference players.

Safety

Media: Tre Boston, UNC; Jason Hendricks, Pitt

Chris: AJ Marshall, Wake Forest; Kyshoen Jarrett, Virginia Tech

Notes: The most difficult part of this entire process was finding two safeties to put on the list. I wish I could have casted zero votes for this position. Tre Boston led all vote-getters, and I bet nobody who covers North Carolina voted for him.

Tre Boston was picked preseason All-ACC despite a difficult year last season.

Photo form BleacherReport.com

Specialists:

Media: Chandler Catanzaro (PK), Clemson; Will Monday (P), Duke; Stefon Diggs (KR/PR), Maryland

Chris: Ross Martin (PK), Duke; Will Monday (P), Duke; Stefon Diggs (KR/PR), Maryland

Notes: In the most Duke thing of all Duke things, the Blue Devils will be loaded in the kicking game. Martin is one of the best talents in the nation. Catanzaro had a big year last year, and he deserves to be on this list. Will Monday is great. Stefon Diggs was the only reason people knew Maryland had a pulse last season.

I'd love to hear your comments about my picks or the media picks. Find me on Twitter @CB_ChrisMoore or leave a comment below.