Duke
Last year: The Blue Devils went 10-4, 6-2 in the ACC, and lost in a tight, 52-48 Chick-fil-A Bowl against Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M. Duke started the year off by pounding North Carolina Central and beating Memphis by two touchdowns. Georgia Tech then ran over the Devils by 24 points, and Duke lost in a wild, 58-55 shootout against Pittsburgh. At 2-2, with two wins over bad teams, and 0-2 in the ACC, it looked like it was going to be a year where Duke could maybe improve and just hope to make a bowl game for the second year in a row. That's not what transpired, though. Instead, Duke didn't lose another regular-season contest, winning eight in a row, six against ACC competition. Highlights included a 22-point comeback at Virginia, a three-point win at Virginia Tech, a blowout of Miami, and a tight victory at rival UNC. Duke found itself in the ACC championship game vs. undefeated Florida State after years of being the doormat of the league. The Blue Devils had come a long way. Jameis Winston and the Seminoles brought the Blue Devils back down to reality a little bit, though, with a 45-7 crushing in the title game. In the bowl, Duke led, 38-17, at the half but could not hang on. Duke used a dual quarterback system to some extent with Anthony Boone getting most of the snaps but Brandon Connette also being featured in the offense. Both could run, but Connette did more rushing. Boone completed 64 percent of his passes for 2,260 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. He ran for 214 yards and five scores. Connette completed 62.1 percent of his throws for 1,212 yards, 13 touchdowns, and just six picks. He rushed for 337 yards and 14 touchdowns, easily the most rushing TDs on the team. His 337 yards made him fifth on the team in rushing yards. Josh Snead, with 651 yards and two TDs, led the team in rushing while Jeal Duncan (562, three TDs), Juwan Thompson (348, one TD), and Shaquille Powell (344, two scores) all saw significant action. Wideout Jamison Crowder led the team with a very impressive 108 catches for 1,360 yards, and eight touchdowns. TE Braxton Deaver was second on the team with 46 catches, 600 yards, and four TDs. WR Brandon Braxton caught 39 balls for 361 yards and two TDs. Defensively, Duke stepped up, something that had been missing in previous seasons. The Blue Devils gave up 26.2 points per game, about 10 points per game less than 2012 when the team went 6-7 and reached bowl eligibility for the first time since 1994.
Offense: Connette has transferred to Fresno State and offensive coordinator Kurt Roper took the same job at Florida. Boone is back for his senior season in Durham, though, and I'm sure coach David Cutcliffe would be thrilled if Boone cut down on his interceptions, but the 6-foot-1, 225-pounder is a quality starter with experience for the Blue Devils. Connette's rushing production at QB could be replaced by Thomas Sirk, a sophomore who did not see any time a year ago as he recovered from a right Achilles tendon tear he suffered in the spring game. Sirk entered the program in 2012 as the No. 19 freshman pro-style QB in the nation, according to Rivals.com, and has a lot of athletic ability. In the running game, Duke loses two of its top four from last season -- Thompson has graduated and Duncan is out for academic reasons. That leaves Snead and Powell to carry the load. It is unclear if Cutcliffe will supplement those two with others, but it seems likely given the four-headed approach a season ago. In the receiving corps, TE Deaver was lost to a torn ACL on Aug. 18, and I'm guessing that will mean more time for David Reeves (three catches, 38 yards, one TD), the only other tight end to record receiving stats a year ago. The offense does get back Crowder, however, so getting the top target returning is obviously a huge boost for the offense. WR Braxton has graduated, and a couple names who are likely to see more action this year are Max McCaffrey (26 catches, 282 yards, four TDs), Issac Blakeney (19 receptions, 244 yards, four scores), and Johnell Barnes (15 catches, 217 yards). The offensive line returns three starters, including 2013 All-ACC guard Laken Tomlinson.
Defense: This side of the ball has six returning starters but Duke recently took a hit with the loss of linebacker Kelby Brown (114 tackles, 11 for loss, one sack, two INTs) for the year with a torn ACL. A few other key losses are ends Kenny Anunike (67 tackles, 13.5 for loss, six sacks) and Justin Foxx (54 tackles, 5.5 for loss, four sacks) and cornerback Ross Cockrell (46 tackles, two for loss, one sack, three INTs). Brown will probably get replaced with either senior C.J. France (20 tackles) or junior Deion Williams (17 tackles, 0.5 for loss). Anunike and Foxx's likely replacements are Dezmond Johnson (22 tackles, 2.5 for loss, one sack) and Jordan DeWalt-Ondijo (nine tackles, 2.5 for loss, two sacks). The likely new starting Blue Devil cornerbacks are Byron Fields (42 tackles, one for loss, one sack) and Breon Borders (26 tackles, four picks), who had more interceptions than the other 2013 starting CB, Garett Patterson, with just one. Some key returners include leading tackler LB David Helton (133 tackles, four for loss, one sack) and All-ACC first-team safety (and former Ohio State transfer) Jeremy Cash, who racked up 121 tackles, nine for loss, and four interceptions last season. Don't overlook DeVon Edwards (64 tackles, three picks), a sophomore who can play all five spot in the back end of Duke's 4-2-5 setup.
Special teams note: Punter Will Monday (42.7 yards per punt) is back along with kicker Ross Martin (13 of 19 a year ago, but 10 of 12 up to 39 yards). The return game will also benefit from Crowder, who recorded 16 yards per punt return and two TDs last year, and Edwards, who averaged 30.2 yards on kick returns and a pair of TDs, too.
Schedule, notes, outlook: Elon, at Troy, Kansas, Tulane, at Miami, at Georgia Tech, Virginia, at Pittsburgh, at Syracuse, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Wake Forest. Those first four games are fluffernutter soft. Virginia could maybe even go 4-0 against that crowd. Elon was a bad FCS team in 2013, Troy was 6-6, Kansas went 3-9, and Tulane did make a bowl, but was nothing special at 7-6. The Blue Devils have a very good chance I'd say of opening 4-0. I see the Blue Devils losing to Georgia Tech and having a tough game against Miami. I'd like to think Virginia could give Duke a game, but the Devils have had the Cavaliers' number dating back to 2008 in almost every meeting. Luckily, Duke gets both the Hokies and Tar Heels at home, perhaps the Devils' two biggest competitors for a second-straight division title. The road games at Pitt and Syracuse could be tough, but I'd expect Duke to beat Wake Forest to end the year. All in all, Duke has some good pieces returning to a team that was pretty darn good last season and more than an aberration in my opinion. Cutcliffe is a great coach and I think Duke will remain relevant for however long he wants to stay there (he's 59 by the way). New offensive coordinator Scottie Montgomery is a Duke alum from the late 90s but has zero OC experience. He was the Blue Devils' receivers coach a year ago and was with the Steelers before that. I don't think Duke puts up the offensive numbers it did a year ago (a record 459, 32.8 per game). Another thing to watch on offense is to see if losing Deaver at tight end holds Duke back. Maybe defenses can key more on Crowder now. Same for the defense -- how will it react to losing Brown for the season? An easy schedule with key games at home should help Duke blow past the six-win mark again, but I don't think this team will be successful in defending its division crown.
Win-loss prediction: 7-5 or 8-4
North Carolina
Last year: The Tar Heels went 7-6, 4-4 in the ACC, and beat Cincinnati, 39-17, in the Belk Bowl. The record doesn't tell the story of North Carolina's year, though. The Tar Heels started out the season 1-5, with a tough first-half of the season including losses against South Carolina, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, and Miami. The low point might have been a blowout vs. East Carolina in which the Heels gave up 55 points. I predicted that UNC would find itself back in a bowl even after a dismal start and ended up being correct. The season leveled off and the second half was much easier, as UNC played the likes of Virginia, N.C. State, and Old Dominion, the last being an 80-20(!) demolition. UNC also got nice wins over bowl eligible teams Boston College and Pittsburgh. The regular season closed with a second-consecutive loss to arch-rival Duke but UNC played well in its bowl game vs. the Bearcats. Bryn Renner started out the season as UNC's signal caller but ended up injuring his shoulder and missing the final five games of the regular season. It ended up being a blessing in disguise as dual-threat QB Marquise Williams took over and the Tar Heel offense took off. Renner completed 65.8 percent of his passes for 1,765 yards, 10 touchdowns, and five interceptions. Williams completed fewer of his passes, 58.1 percent for 1,698 yards, but threw more TDs (15) and had a better TD-INT ratio (15-6) than Renner. Williams was also a weapon in the running game, with 536 yards and six TDs. Indeed, he ended up being the team's leading rusher. He was followed by T.J. Logan (533 yards, four scores), A.J. Blue (298 yards, one TD), Romar Morris (296 yards, five scores), and Khris Francis (236 yard, one TD). At wideout, Quinshad Davis led the way with 48 catches for 730 yards and 10 touchdowns, but the leader of the receiving corps was tight end Eric Ebron, an All-ACC first-teamer who grabbed 62 catches for 973 yards and three touchdowns. He was taken in the NFL draft by the Lions as the No. 10 overall pick. Ryan Switzer (32 catches, 341 yards, three TDs), T.J. Thorpe (24 receptions, 267 yards, two TDs), and Bug Howard (22 catches, four TDs) rounded out the bulk of UNC's receiving production. The defense, like the rest of the team, played better in the second half of the year. It gave up just 4.82 yards per play in the second half of the season, which, if extrapolated out over the whole year, would've put the 'D' 13th in the nation in that category. In the first six contests of the season, the Tar Heels gave up 30.7 points per game, but ended the season at 24.5 points per game.
Offense: This unit brings back eight starters, but one, Williams, now a junior, might not even start. Despite the jolt he gave the offense last year, Williams has been in a competition with redshirt freshman Mitch
Trubisky, since the spring. Trubisky is a 6-foot-3, 215-pounder who was the No. 21 overall QB in the nation coming out of high school. Head coach Larry Fedora is expected to make a call on the starter in the coming days. Personally, I think he has to go with Williams. He helped the offense last year despite not being a terrific passer and has probably only gotten better. Fedora could still use Trubisky in garbage time. Perhaps Fedora has used the competition as a way to push Williams. The running game gets back almost all the contributors from last year -- Logan, Morris, Francis -- except for Blue. Also watch out for Elijah Wood, a five-star recruit who enrolled in time for spring practices. The receiving corps is looking decent as well with Davis, Switzer, and Johnson back. Thorpe hurt his foot for the third time in the past two seasons in early August and is out indefinitely. With Thorpe's injury, look for someone like Kendrick Singleton (six catches, one TD) to see more time. Good luck to tight end Jack Tabb (seven catches, one score) in replacing Ebron's production. If he can be half the monster Ebron was, the offense will appreciate it. The offensive line brings back three starters but loses a couple good ones in All-ACC honorable mention center Russell Bodine and first-team tackle James Hurst.
Defense: The defense brings back seven starters and obviously hopes to build on a solid closing to the 2013 campaign. Key losses include safety Tre Boston, UNC's leading tackler with 94, 4.5 for loss, and five interceptions, defensive end Kareem Martin (82 tackles, 21.5 for loss, 11.5 sacks), and cornerback Jabari Price (80 tackles, 4.5 for loss, nine pass breakups). Another key loss, for something other than graduation (it wasn't disclosed), was senior defensive tackle Shawn Underwood, who was maybe going to start. Another defensive tackle, Greg Webb, a redshirt freshman, is not on the team anymore as well and a reason was not given. A linebacker, Clint Heaven, has transferred to Northern Iowa. So while a decent number of starters are returning, UNC could be lacking depth on this side of the ball. At tackle, Ethan Farmer and Justin Thomason (52 tackles, four for loss combined a season ago) are ready to go as starters. At one defensive end, Jessie Rogers, Junior Gronkonde, and Dejuan Drennon are expected to battle for snaps while at the other end, which functions also as a hybrid linebacker, UNC returns Norkeithus Otis (49 tackles, 13 for loss, 7.5 sacks, one INT). The two true linebackers in UNC's 4-2-5 system are steadying forces who are back from last year: Travis Hughes (76 tackles, 5.5 for loss, one sack) and Jeff Schoettmer (85 tackles, 4.5 for loss, half a sack). The defensive secondary is highlighted by three returning starters: strong safety Dominique Green (59 tackles, 1.5 for loss, three INTs), free safety Tim Scott (49 tackles, two for loss, one sack, two picks), and corner-safety Malik Simmons (47 tackles, two for loss).
Special teams note: North Carolina seems to be in anywhere from good to really good shape with special teams. The Tar Heels' kicker, Thomas Moore (14 of 19 a season ago) returns, their punter returns, Tommy Hibbard (43 yards per punt) and UNC has two dynamic return men in kick returner Logan (26.9 yards per return, two TDs) and punt returner Switzer (20.9 yards per return, five touchdowns), one of the best in the country.
Schedule, notes, outlook: Liberty, San Diego State, at East Carolina, at Clemson, Virginia Tech, at Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, at Virginia, at Miami, Pittsburgh, at Duke, N.C. State. At the ACC media days in July, UNC was picked fourth in the division but it was a tight vote. The Tar Heels actually received the second-most votes (27) to win the Coastal after Duke (33), followed by Miami (26), and Virginia Tech (23). However, the actual predicted order of finish went -- with number of total votes -- Miami (614), Duke (597), Virginia Tech (571), and North Carolina (570). I agree with this mixed view. I'm not totally sure what to make of UNC, but I do not think it will win the division. The non-conference schedule outside of Liberty is pretty challenging. SDSU was 8-5 a year ago, East Carolina beat UNC a year ago and was 10-3, and Notre Dame isn't a creampuff despite its recent ups and downs. The offense will probably be pretty good no matter who is under center, but the running attack was lacking last season and there are two key starters missing from the line. The receivers will be good but certainly, Ebron will be missed. I'm less convinced about the defense, who has some good returning players, but lacks depth and experience overall. UNC proved it could beat bad teams in 2013, but rarely showed it could beat good teams, with the exception of BC, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati, but none of those squads were world beaters. UNC went 4-6 last year against teams in bowls, including its win over the Bearcats. Having Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech at home helps, as does missing out on Florida State, but UNC has several games in the ACC that could be dogfights. Quality special teams play could possibly help UNC win a (possibly extra) game or two.
Win-loss prediction: 7-5 or 8-4
Last year: The Blue Devils went 10-4, 6-2 in the ACC, and lost in a tight, 52-48 Chick-fil-A Bowl against Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M. Duke started the year off by pounding North Carolina Central and beating Memphis by two touchdowns. Georgia Tech then ran over the Devils by 24 points, and Duke lost in a wild, 58-55 shootout against Pittsburgh. At 2-2, with two wins over bad teams, and 0-2 in the ACC, it looked like it was going to be a year where Duke could maybe improve and just hope to make a bowl game for the second year in a row. That's not what transpired, though. Instead, Duke didn't lose another regular-season contest, winning eight in a row, six against ACC competition. Highlights included a 22-point comeback at Virginia, a three-point win at Virginia Tech, a blowout of Miami, and a tight victory at rival UNC. Duke found itself in the ACC championship game vs. undefeated Florida State after years of being the doormat of the league. The Blue Devils had come a long way. Jameis Winston and the Seminoles brought the Blue Devils back down to reality a little bit, though, with a 45-7 crushing in the title game. In the bowl, Duke led, 38-17, at the half but could not hang on. Duke used a dual quarterback system to some extent with Anthony Boone getting most of the snaps but Brandon Connette also being featured in the offense. Both could run, but Connette did more rushing. Boone completed 64 percent of his passes for 2,260 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. He ran for 214 yards and five scores. Connette completed 62.1 percent of his throws for 1,212 yards, 13 touchdowns, and just six picks. He rushed for 337 yards and 14 touchdowns, easily the most rushing TDs on the team. His 337 yards made him fifth on the team in rushing yards. Josh Snead, with 651 yards and two TDs, led the team in rushing while Jeal Duncan (562, three TDs), Juwan Thompson (348, one TD), and Shaquille Powell (344, two scores) all saw significant action. Wideout Jamison Crowder led the team with a very impressive 108 catches for 1,360 yards, and eight touchdowns. TE Braxton Deaver was second on the team with 46 catches, 600 yards, and four TDs. WR Brandon Braxton caught 39 balls for 361 yards and two TDs. Defensively, Duke stepped up, something that had been missing in previous seasons. The Blue Devils gave up 26.2 points per game, about 10 points per game less than 2012 when the team went 6-7 and reached bowl eligibility for the first time since 1994.
Offense: Connette has transferred to Fresno State and offensive coordinator Kurt Roper took the same job at Florida. Boone is back for his senior season in Durham, though, and I'm sure coach David Cutcliffe would be thrilled if Boone cut down on his interceptions, but the 6-foot-1, 225-pounder is a quality starter with experience for the Blue Devils. Connette's rushing production at QB could be replaced by Thomas Sirk, a sophomore who did not see any time a year ago as he recovered from a right Achilles tendon tear he suffered in the spring game. Sirk entered the program in 2012 as the No. 19 freshman pro-style QB in the nation, according to Rivals.com, and has a lot of athletic ability. In the running game, Duke loses two of its top four from last season -- Thompson has graduated and Duncan is out for academic reasons. That leaves Snead and Powell to carry the load. It is unclear if Cutcliffe will supplement those two with others, but it seems likely given the four-headed approach a season ago. In the receiving corps, TE Deaver was lost to a torn ACL on Aug. 18, and I'm guessing that will mean more time for David Reeves (three catches, 38 yards, one TD), the only other tight end to record receiving stats a year ago. The offense does get back Crowder, however, so getting the top target returning is obviously a huge boost for the offense. WR Braxton has graduated, and a couple names who are likely to see more action this year are Max McCaffrey (26 catches, 282 yards, four TDs), Issac Blakeney (19 receptions, 244 yards, four scores), and Johnell Barnes (15 catches, 217 yards). The offensive line returns three starters, including 2013 All-ACC guard Laken Tomlinson.Defense: This side of the ball has six returning starters but Duke recently took a hit with the loss of linebacker Kelby Brown (114 tackles, 11 for loss, one sack, two INTs) for the year with a torn ACL. A few other key losses are ends Kenny Anunike (67 tackles, 13.5 for loss, six sacks) and Justin Foxx (54 tackles, 5.5 for loss, four sacks) and cornerback Ross Cockrell (46 tackles, two for loss, one sack, three INTs). Brown will probably get replaced with either senior C.J. France (20 tackles) or junior Deion Williams (17 tackles, 0.5 for loss). Anunike and Foxx's likely replacements are Dezmond Johnson (22 tackles, 2.5 for loss, one sack) and Jordan DeWalt-Ondijo (nine tackles, 2.5 for loss, two sacks). The likely new starting Blue Devil cornerbacks are Byron Fields (42 tackles, one for loss, one sack) and Breon Borders (26 tackles, four picks), who had more interceptions than the other 2013 starting CB, Garett Patterson, with just one. Some key returners include leading tackler LB David Helton (133 tackles, four for loss, one sack) and All-ACC first-team safety (and former Ohio State transfer) Jeremy Cash, who racked up 121 tackles, nine for loss, and four interceptions last season. Don't overlook DeVon Edwards (64 tackles, three picks), a sophomore who can play all five spot in the back end of Duke's 4-2-5 setup.
Special teams note: Punter Will Monday (42.7 yards per punt) is back along with kicker Ross Martin (13 of 19 a year ago, but 10 of 12 up to 39 yards). The return game will also benefit from Crowder, who recorded 16 yards per punt return and two TDs last year, and Edwards, who averaged 30.2 yards on kick returns and a pair of TDs, too.
Schedule, notes, outlook: Elon, at Troy, Kansas, Tulane, at Miami, at Georgia Tech, Virginia, at Pittsburgh, at Syracuse, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Wake Forest. Those first four games are fluffernutter soft. Virginia could maybe even go 4-0 against that crowd. Elon was a bad FCS team in 2013, Troy was 6-6, Kansas went 3-9, and Tulane did make a bowl, but was nothing special at 7-6. The Blue Devils have a very good chance I'd say of opening 4-0. I see the Blue Devils losing to Georgia Tech and having a tough game against Miami. I'd like to think Virginia could give Duke a game, but the Devils have had the Cavaliers' number dating back to 2008 in almost every meeting. Luckily, Duke gets both the Hokies and Tar Heels at home, perhaps the Devils' two biggest competitors for a second-straight division title. The road games at Pitt and Syracuse could be tough, but I'd expect Duke to beat Wake Forest to end the year. All in all, Duke has some good pieces returning to a team that was pretty darn good last season and more than an aberration in my opinion. Cutcliffe is a great coach and I think Duke will remain relevant for however long he wants to stay there (he's 59 by the way). New offensive coordinator Scottie Montgomery is a Duke alum from the late 90s but has zero OC experience. He was the Blue Devils' receivers coach a year ago and was with the Steelers before that. I don't think Duke puts up the offensive numbers it did a year ago (a record 459, 32.8 per game). Another thing to watch on offense is to see if losing Deaver at tight end holds Duke back. Maybe defenses can key more on Crowder now. Same for the defense -- how will it react to losing Brown for the season? An easy schedule with key games at home should help Duke blow past the six-win mark again, but I don't think this team will be successful in defending its division crown.
Win-loss prediction: 7-5 or 8-4
North Carolina
Last year: The Tar Heels went 7-6, 4-4 in the ACC, and beat Cincinnati, 39-17, in the Belk Bowl. The record doesn't tell the story of North Carolina's year, though. The Tar Heels started out the season 1-5, with a tough first-half of the season including losses against South Carolina, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, and Miami. The low point might have been a blowout vs. East Carolina in which the Heels gave up 55 points. I predicted that UNC would find itself back in a bowl even after a dismal start and ended up being correct. The season leveled off and the second half was much easier, as UNC played the likes of Virginia, N.C. State, and Old Dominion, the last being an 80-20(!) demolition. UNC also got nice wins over bowl eligible teams Boston College and Pittsburgh. The regular season closed with a second-consecutive loss to arch-rival Duke but UNC played well in its bowl game vs. the Bearcats. Bryn Renner started out the season as UNC's signal caller but ended up injuring his shoulder and missing the final five games of the regular season. It ended up being a blessing in disguise as dual-threat QB Marquise Williams took over and the Tar Heel offense took off. Renner completed 65.8 percent of his passes for 1,765 yards, 10 touchdowns, and five interceptions. Williams completed fewer of his passes, 58.1 percent for 1,698 yards, but threw more TDs (15) and had a better TD-INT ratio (15-6) than Renner. Williams was also a weapon in the running game, with 536 yards and six TDs. Indeed, he ended up being the team's leading rusher. He was followed by T.J. Logan (533 yards, four scores), A.J. Blue (298 yards, one TD), Romar Morris (296 yards, five scores), and Khris Francis (236 yard, one TD). At wideout, Quinshad Davis led the way with 48 catches for 730 yards and 10 touchdowns, but the leader of the receiving corps was tight end Eric Ebron, an All-ACC first-teamer who grabbed 62 catches for 973 yards and three touchdowns. He was taken in the NFL draft by the Lions as the No. 10 overall pick. Ryan Switzer (32 catches, 341 yards, three TDs), T.J. Thorpe (24 receptions, 267 yards, two TDs), and Bug Howard (22 catches, four TDs) rounded out the bulk of UNC's receiving production. The defense, like the rest of the team, played better in the second half of the year. It gave up just 4.82 yards per play in the second half of the season, which, if extrapolated out over the whole year, would've put the 'D' 13th in the nation in that category. In the first six contests of the season, the Tar Heels gave up 30.7 points per game, but ended the season at 24.5 points per game.
Offense: This unit brings back eight starters, but one, Williams, now a junior, might not even start. Despite the jolt he gave the offense last year, Williams has been in a competition with redshirt freshman Mitch
Defense: The defense brings back seven starters and obviously hopes to build on a solid closing to the 2013 campaign. Key losses include safety Tre Boston, UNC's leading tackler with 94, 4.5 for loss, and five interceptions, defensive end Kareem Martin (82 tackles, 21.5 for loss, 11.5 sacks), and cornerback Jabari Price (80 tackles, 4.5 for loss, nine pass breakups). Another key loss, for something other than graduation (it wasn't disclosed), was senior defensive tackle Shawn Underwood, who was maybe going to start. Another defensive tackle, Greg Webb, a redshirt freshman, is not on the team anymore as well and a reason was not given. A linebacker, Clint Heaven, has transferred to Northern Iowa. So while a decent number of starters are returning, UNC could be lacking depth on this side of the ball. At tackle, Ethan Farmer and Justin Thomason (52 tackles, four for loss combined a season ago) are ready to go as starters. At one defensive end, Jessie Rogers, Junior Gronkonde, and Dejuan Drennon are expected to battle for snaps while at the other end, which functions also as a hybrid linebacker, UNC returns Norkeithus Otis (49 tackles, 13 for loss, 7.5 sacks, one INT). The two true linebackers in UNC's 4-2-5 system are steadying forces who are back from last year: Travis Hughes (76 tackles, 5.5 for loss, one sack) and Jeff Schoettmer (85 tackles, 4.5 for loss, half a sack). The defensive secondary is highlighted by three returning starters: strong safety Dominique Green (59 tackles, 1.5 for loss, three INTs), free safety Tim Scott (49 tackles, two for loss, one sack, two picks), and corner-safety Malik Simmons (47 tackles, two for loss).
Special teams note: North Carolina seems to be in anywhere from good to really good shape with special teams. The Tar Heels' kicker, Thomas Moore (14 of 19 a season ago) returns, their punter returns, Tommy Hibbard (43 yards per punt) and UNC has two dynamic return men in kick returner Logan (26.9 yards per return, two TDs) and punt returner Switzer (20.9 yards per return, five touchdowns), one of the best in the country.
Schedule, notes, outlook: Liberty, San Diego State, at East Carolina, at Clemson, Virginia Tech, at Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, at Virginia, at Miami, Pittsburgh, at Duke, N.C. State. At the ACC media days in July, UNC was picked fourth in the division but it was a tight vote. The Tar Heels actually received the second-most votes (27) to win the Coastal after Duke (33), followed by Miami (26), and Virginia Tech (23). However, the actual predicted order of finish went -- with number of total votes -- Miami (614), Duke (597), Virginia Tech (571), and North Carolina (570). I agree with this mixed view. I'm not totally sure what to make of UNC, but I do not think it will win the division. The non-conference schedule outside of Liberty is pretty challenging. SDSU was 8-5 a year ago, East Carolina beat UNC a year ago and was 10-3, and Notre Dame isn't a creampuff despite its recent ups and downs. The offense will probably be pretty good no matter who is under center, but the running attack was lacking last season and there are two key starters missing from the line. The receivers will be good but certainly, Ebron will be missed. I'm less convinced about the defense, who has some good returning players, but lacks depth and experience overall. UNC proved it could beat bad teams in 2013, but rarely showed it could beat good teams, with the exception of BC, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati, but none of those squads were world beaters. UNC went 4-6 last year against teams in bowls, including its win over the Bearcats. Having Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech at home helps, as does missing out on Florida State, but UNC has several games in the ACC that could be dogfights. Quality special teams play could possibly help UNC win a (possibly extra) game or two.
Win-loss prediction: 7-5 or 8-4
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