Blitz Power Rankings: ACC Coastal

[TarHeelNation11]

Here's mine:

1. Miami -- Kaaya makes the Hurricanes dangerous and there's too much talent and speed on that roster for the Hurricanes to continue to struggle. Mark Richt will be rejuvenated and will rejuvenate that program and breathe new life into it. If Miami can't put all the pieces together, they've got the ingredients to win the division.

2. North Carolina -- The issues on the defensive line (namely, lack of quality) are too much to ignore. Throw in the uncertainty of how well Trubisky will do as the full-time starter and it's enough for me to peg the Tar Heels as the second best in the division.

3. Georgia Tech -- I could be way off on this one (because let's face it, GT Football is harder to read than Nathaniel Hawthorne) but to me, last year was straightup Murphy's Law for the Jackets. With Justin Thomas being a senior and with everyone back healthy, I think GT could make noise again this year. Defense will continue to be an issue, but if their offense is efficient they can offset that.

4. Pitt -- Will Connor be back? With Boyd gone, Pitt's offense will suffer. Count me in as one that thinks they just had a hot year last year and will come back down to earth a bit this year.

5. Virginia Tech -- How quickly will Fuente revolutionize the offense? They've got good pieces in Hodges and Isiah Ford and the RB McMillan, but who the heck is going to play QB? If the defense can be Foster-like and the offense can improve marginally, VT could vault to the top 3.

6. Duke -- Will Sirk make a full recovery? Cash is gone which is a blow for their defense -- he single-handedly beat Georgia Tech last year, for instance. Duke's stellar (for them) 2016 class won't be able to help them much right away. I think the Devils fail to go bowling this year.

7. Virginia -- I'm only putting them at #7 because I can't put them at #8. Bronco Mendenhall better read up on Houdini because he's going to have to magic his way out of a horrendous situation in Charlottesville. They have huge question marks everywhere but running back and safety. Yikes.

 

[Elijah.Lumbee]

On the road right now but off the cuff I'd go
1. The good guys
2. Vt- I feel like you're not giving them enough credit.
3. Miami- QBs win games. I don't see the special in Kaaya but a lot of good "football guys" do and I'll wait to reserve judgement.
4. GT- the scarlet letter was the WORST
5A. Duke
5B. Pitt
Both teams are just too chock full of ?'s to separate for me.
7. VA- Good luck with that tire fire this year Bronco.

 

[tarheel0910]

Here's mine:

1. Miami -- Kaaya makes the Hurricanes dangerous and there's too much talent and speed on that roster for the Hurricanes to continue to struggle. Mark Richt will be rejuvenated and will rejuvenate that program and breathe new life into it. If Miami can't put all the pieces together, they've got the ingredients to win the division.

2. North Carolina -- The issues on the defensive line (namely, lack of quality) are too much to ignore. Throw in the uncertainty of how well Trubisky will do as the full-time starter and it's enough for me to peg the Tar Heels as the second best in the division.

3. Georgia Tech -- I could be way off on this one (because let's face it, GT Football is harder to read than Nathaniel Hawthorne) but to me, last year was straightup Murphy's Law for the Jackets. With Justin Thomas being a senior and with everyone back healthy, I think GT could make noise again this year. Defense will continue to be an issue, but if their offense is efficient they can offset that.

4. Pitt -- Will Connor be back? With Boyd gone, Pitt's offense will suffer. Count me in as one that thinks they just had a hot year last year and will come back down to earth a bit this year.

5. Virginia Tech -- How quickly will Fuente revolutionize the offense? They've got good pieces in Hodges and Isiah Ford and the RB McMillan, but who the heck is going to play QB? If the defense can be Foster-like and the offense can improve marginally, VT could vault to the top 3.

6. Duke -- Will Sirk make a full recovery? Cash is gone which is a blow for their defense -- he single-handedly beat Georgia Tech last year, for instance. Duke's stellar (for them) 2016 class won't be able to help them much right away. I think the Devils fail to go bowling this year.

7. Virginia -- I'm only putting them at #7 because I can't put them at #8. Bronco Mendenhall better read up on Houdini because he's going to have to magic his way out of a horrendous situation in Charlottesville. They have huge question marks everywhere but running back and safety. Yikes.

I would switch Miami and UNC. Miami has always had talent, but no one has really been able to take advantage of it since Butch left. Obviously Richt is the best coach they have had since Butch by a wide margin, but I've got to see it happen first. I think they are going to be improved, but not enough to take the top spot this year.

 

[TarHeelNation11]

I would switch Miami and UNC. Miami has always had talent, but no one has really been able to take advantage of it since Butch left. Obviously Richt is the best coach they have had since Butch by a wide margin, but I've got to see it happen first. I think they are going to be improved, but not enough to take the top spot this year.

I debated back and forth on #1 and #2. The rest didn't take me much time at all.

 

[Archer2]

I would switch Miami and UNC. Miami has always had talent, but no one has really been able to take advantage of it since Butch left. Obviously Richt is the best coach they have had since Butch by a wide margin, but I've got to see it happen first. I think they are going to be improved, but not enough to take the top spot this year.

I agree. Otherwise, I agree with the OP.

 

[Tigertown_a_Rick]

Here's mine:

1. Miami -- Kaaya makes the Hurricanes dangerous and there's too much talent and speed on that roster for the Hurricanes to continue to struggle. Mark Richt will be rejuvenated and will rejuvenate that program and breathe new life into it. If Miami can't put all the pieces together, they've got the ingredients to win the division.

2. North Carolina -- The issues on the defensive line (namely, lack of quality) are too much to ignore. Throw in the uncertainty of how well Trubisky will do as the full-time starter and it's enough for me to peg the Tar Heels as the second best in the division.

3. Georgia Tech -- I could be way off on this one (because let's face it, GT Football is harder to read than Nathaniel Hawthorne) but to me, last year was straightup Murphy's Law for the Jackets. With Justin Thomas being a senior and with everyone back healthy, I think GT could make noise again this year. Defense will continue to be an issue, but if their offense is efficient they can offset that.

4. Pitt -- Will Connor be back? With Boyd gone, Pitt's offense will suffer. Count me in as one that thinks they just had a hot year last year and will come back down to earth a bit this year.

5. Virginia Tech -- How quickly will Fuente revolutionize the offense? They've got good pieces in Hodges and Isiah Ford and the RB McMillan, but who the heck is going to play QB? If the defense can be Foster-like and the offense can improve marginally, VT could vault to the top 3.

6. Duke -- Will Sirk make a full recovery? Cash is gone which is a blow for their defense -- he single-handedly beat Georgia Tech last year, for instance. Duke's stellar (for them) 2016 class won't be able to help them much right away. I think the Devils fail to go bowling this year.

7. Virginia -- I'm only putting them at #7 because I can't put them at #8. Bronco Mendenhall better read up on Houdini because he's going to have to magic his way out of a horrendous situation in Charlottesville. They have huge question marks everywhere but running back and safety. Yikes.

You make a lot of good points TB11!

I also agree that the 1 and 2 positions are problematic for the reasons that you mentioned above, but I've got to believe that our experience on the OL and at the RB and Skill positions, has got to make the transition to Trubisky a little easier as he's been working with those guys a couple years now on the practice field.... I think that his relationship with both WR Switzer(His Roommate) and Fritts(Former HS TE) are going to pay dividends for this team this year, and I'm not sure Miami's DL will be any better than ours was this year?....They did bring in a couple of quality coaches on that side of the ball from Missouri(DL Coach) and Miss State(D-Coor Diaz), but I don't know at the moment if they can make the type of impact that our D-staff made last season? I believe that we will see a lot of improvement upfront this year on our DL if we can stay healthy?As you know, depth is a problem, but experinece is getting better ....Besides, our secondary should be among the tops in the country this year, which should help against an experienced QB like Kaaya....The game in Coral Gables could come down to a special teams' play, and I like our chances in that department as well, based on the returning players, so I'm going to go with the Tar Heels to repeat as Coastal Champs this coming season.....

I agree with your 3-7 predictions, and also agree that Georgia Tech will be much-improved over last season if they can stay healthy?

As for Pitt, I hope the Conner kid does return because that would mean another victory against Cancer, which I'm all for!....Of course if Conner doesn't return, Pitt has a very good option in the Ollison kid who was part of the ALL ACC Freshman team as a RB who I believe rushed for over 1,000yds, last season, and the Panthers do return their QB?

Also will be interesting to see which Virginia program improves the most under first-year head coaches Fuentes and Mendenhall?

Also agree that Duke's Defense will be hard-pressed to find a capable replacement for Jeremy Cash....That guy was seemingly everywhere in several of their games last year, and was the last line of defense in some cases....Don't know if the Sirk kid will be ready or not when the season starts, but he is an opposing figure back there when healthy, and runs the ball hard in short yardage situations...

Going to be interesting to see how much our DL improves this coming season, and agree that's one of the main storylines that we'll see and hear about heading into fall camp as will be the play of our young and somewhat inexperienced LBer corp....

Would be great to see the Tar Heels repeat as Coastal champs, and hope I'm right in predicting they'll do just that...

 

[Raising Heel]

4. GT- the scarlet letter was the WORST.

This is an outstanding call back. I LOLd.

 

[WoadBlue]

Here's mine:

1. Miami -- Kaaya makes the Hurricanes dangerous and there's too much talent and speed on that roster for the Hurricanes to continue to struggle. Mark Richt will be rejuvenated and will rejuvenate that program and breathe new life into it. If Miami can't put all the pieces together, they've got the ingredients to win the division.

2. North Carolina -- The issues on the defensive line (namely, lack of quality) are too much to ignore. Throw in the uncertainty of how well Trubisky will do as the full-time starter and it's enough for me to peg the Tar Heels as the second best in the division.

3. Georgia Tech -- I could be way off on this one (because let's face it, GT Football is harder to read than Nathaniel Hawthorne) but to me, last year was straightup Murphy's Law for the Jackets. With Justin Thomas being a senior and with everyone back healthy, I think GT could make noise again this year. Defense will continue to be an issue, but if their offense is efficient they can offset that.

4. Pitt -- Will Connor be back? With Boyd gone, Pitt's offense will suffer. Count me in as one that thinks they just had a hot year last year and will come back down to earth a bit this year.

5. Virginia Tech -- How quickly will Fuente revolutionize the offense? They've got good pieces in Hodges and Isiah Ford and the RB McMillan, but who the heck is going to play QB? If the defense can be Foster-like and the offense can improve marginally, VT could vault to the top 3.

6. Duke -- Will Sirk make a full recovery? Cash is gone which is a blow for their defense -- he single-handedly beat Georgia Tech last year, for instance. Duke's stellar (for them) 2016 class won't be able to help them much right away. I think the Devils fail to go bowling this year.

7. Virginia -- I'm only putting them at #7 because I can't put them at #8. Bronco Mendenhall better read up on Houdini because he's going to have to magic his way out of a horrendous situation in Charlottesville. They have huge question marks everywhere but running back and safety. Yikes.

Miami also has issues on D. That and a new staff should mean a couple of league Ls other than FSU. AS we play the Canes the week after thew FSU game, I think the odds are good for a UNC W even down there.

If we can get the D as a whole to step up just a bit, especially on the DL, we should win the Coastal. Canes #2.

If Connor is back nearly full speed/power, I think the Pitt offense will be a load for most Ds. Pitt will pound and pound, and eat clock, and pound and pound. Ds will focus so much on the run game, that WRs will be wide open - similar to GT when the option game clicks. That and another little improvement on D could make the Panthers a solid 8-4 team.

VT returns solid talent. The D should be at least as good as it was last year. And I think Fuente will produce a more consistent offense.

GT may get it all back together and finish 9-3. Or GT could struggle again and need to upset UGa to salvage a losing campaign. My guess is a .500 team that might win 7.

Mendenhall is going to make the Hoos tougher on both sides of the ball. I think that with Dook likely being down from last year, UVA avoids last place.

 

[Roady]

...Miami has good athletes and if they get great QB play, they will be one of the top coastal teams.

But, to me, they are difficult to read as Kafka.

They could go 12-0 or 7-5.


....UNC is much the same to me...the Heels have the talent and QB to go 12-0 but also may have a WTF loss or two. I see 10-2.

....Pitt should be a solid #3. But could move up.

....GT? One of those ACC teams that can be much better than their record....five of their losses last year were by less than 7 points.

 

[nolegeorge]

UNC has less holes to fill than any other team in the Coastal and I think you all will win it again this year. After that, I think its a toss up .... I could see PITT or UM next but I can also see how one could argue for GT if they get a couple good bounces. The bottom line is that this side of the ACC is way more evenly matched and just might be more fun to watch than the Atlantic. Dont want to get too far off topic but I really think UL is going to give FSU & Clemson a run this year. I can see 5 teams from the Coastal going to bowl games this year. Just my two pence.