Louisville
Last year: Louisville went 12-1 a year ago and 7-1 in its only season in the new American Athletic Conference. The Cardinals beat Miami, 36-9, in the Russell Athletic Bowl. Louisville ran through the early portion of its schedule, beating Ohio, Eastern Kentucky, Kentucky, Florida International, Temple and Rutgers all by at least 14 points. The Cardinals were then blindsided in conference play by QB Blake Bortles and Central Florida, 38-35. UCF ended up being one of the breakout teams of last season. The Golden Knights went 12-1 (their only loss by three points to a No. 12-ranked South Carolina team) and beat Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl. After disposing of South Florida and Connecticut, Louisville then struggled a bit, only beating lowly Memphis and slightly-above-average Houston by a touchdown each. The Cardinals ended on a high note, though, downing Cincinnati in overtime to secure second place in the conference before running over the Hurricanes in the bowl game. It ended up being the final year that QB Teddy Bridgewater and coach Charlie Strong were at Louisville and they made it one to remember. Bridgewater headed off to the NFL draft, skipping his final year of eligibility, and Strong won the job opening at Texas. Bridgewater had an incredible season, competing 71 percent of his passes for 3,970 yards, 31 TDs, and four INTs. He is now fighting to be the Vikings' starting QB. At running back, Dominique Brown rushed for 825 yards and eight scores while Senorise Perry recorded 677 yards and six touchdowns. At wideout, Damian Copeland came up with 58 catches for 780 yards and five TDs while DeVante Parker racked up 55 receptions for 885 yards and 12 TDs. Eli Rogers caught 44 passes and four TDs. Defensively, the Cardinals gave up just 12.2 points per game, created 27 turnovers, and sacked QBs 43 times.
Offense: Bridgewater is gone, but sophomore Will Gardner has lots of confidence from both teammates and coaches that he will be a capable replacement. New (old) coach Bobby Petrino, back in familiar
territory, is renowned for his offensive prowess and he will surely be able to quicken the development of Gardner. However, Gardner is lacking in the experience department, having completed just eight of 12 passes a year ago for 112 yards, two TDs, and zero picks. Seven starters do return to a talented offense, including WRs Parker and Rogers. Tight end Gerald Christian (28 catches, 426 yards, four TDs), who is on the John Mackey Award watch list this preseason, is back and gives Gardner another solid weapon. At running back, Brown will lead the charge and former Auburn RB Michael Dyer will look to produce more than a year ago when injuries slowed him down with the Cardinals (223 yards, two TDs). He has the talent to break out, though -- at Auburn in 2011 he had 1,242 yards (20th nationally) and 10 touchdowns. He was suspended before the Chick-fil-A Bowl against Virginia that year for violation of team rules and ultimately transferred to Arkansas State for the 2012 season but ended up not playing because the NCAA denied his request for immediate eligibility. The Cardinals return three starters on the offensive line and a fourth who has starting experience. Kelby Johnson, a junior college transfer who spent time at Virginia from 2011-12, will provide depth to the line.
Defense: The unit returns just four starters. Linebackers Preston Brown (98 tackles, 12.5 for loss, 4.5 sacks, three forced fumbles; third-round pick of the Bills) and Marcus Smith (18.5 tackles for loss, 14.5 sacks, four forced fumbles; first-round pick of the Eagles) and safeties Calvin Pryor (75 tackles, 5.5 for loss, three picks, two forced fumbles; first-round pick of the Jets) and Hakeem Smith (45 tackles, two for loss, three INTs; signed as free agent by Titans) will be missed. New defensive coordinator Todd Grantham will install a 3-4 scheme at Louisville, a switch away from Strong's 4-3 Under scheme. Grantham spent four seasons as Georgia's DC and the Bulldogs were solid some years but finished 11th in the SEC last season in scoring defense. He was believed to be on shaky ground with the Bulldogs but was hired away by Petrino anyway. The linebackers are mostly converted defensive ends, with Lorenzo Mauldin (40 tackles, 9.5 sacks) and James Burgess (72 tackles, nine for loss), the team's leading returning tackler, leading the way. The defensive line is very inexperienced. The safeties are also a work in progress but the probable starting cornerbacks are pretty good: Terrel Floyd (47 tackles, four picks) and Charles Gaines (22 tackles, five picks).
Special teams note: John Wallace (20 of 24 on field goals in 2013) is probably going to be one of the best kickers in the conference and Gaines returned 10 kickoffs a season ago (most on the team) for an average of 30.1 yards per return and a touchdown.
Schedule, notes, outlook: Miami, Murray State, at Virginia, at Florida International, Wake Forest, at Syracuse, at Clemson, N.C. State, Florida State, at Boston College, at Notre Dame, Kentucky. If Louisville can win its opener against Miami, it probably has a decent chance at opening 6-0 before a big game at Death Valley playing new division rival Clemson. After Miami, Virginia might actually be the Cardinals' biggest challenge in their first five games, which probably isn't saying a lot for Louisville's schedule, but the Cavaliers will return a pretty experienced defense. UVa could have a chance in that game with it being early in the season. Maybe the UVa defense can get on Gardner early and the offense can find some holes as Louisville's 'D' adjusts to its new look. Syracuse could be pretty challenging, but I expect a win for the Cardinals in that game. The second half of the season gets much tougher with the Tigers, Florida State, and even Notre Dame posing as obstacles. Gardner's talent is being pushed, and whatever drop off he might be from Bridgewater could be off set by the potency of a Petrino offense. And it might have to be, because Louisville's defense will probably struggle as it loses a great defensive mind in Strong and lots of experience while switching philosophies. Overall, though, Louisville should settle in nicely to its new digs in the ACC and is the favorite for the No. 3 spot in the Atlantic Division.
Win-loss prediction: 8-4 or 9-3
Wake Forest
Last year: In 2013, the Demon Deacons went 4-8 and 2-6 in the ACC, posting a third-straight regular-season losing record. Coach Jim Grobe resigned after the season after leading the program for 13 years. A poor offense sunk the Demon Deacons throughout the season as they scored only 18.3 points per game. Wake easily defeated Presbyterian to start the season but then lost to Boston College and Louisiana-Monroe in consecutive games before beating Army. After that, Wake lost six of its final eight games, only beating Maryland and winless-in-the-ACC N.C. State. The Demon Deacons took it on the chin from Florida State (59-3) and Clemson (56-7). At QB, Tanner Price completed 54.5 percent of his passes for 2,233 yards, 13 TDs, 10 picks. He also rushed for 240 yards and five touchdowns. Josh Harris led the team in rushing yardage with just 470 and four TDs. As a team, Wake ran for just a little over 1,100 yards during the season for an average of 94.1 yards per game, 116th out of 123rd in the country. Michael Campanaro had another great season at receiver, culminating his solid career as a Demon Deacon by catching 67 balls for 803 yards and six touchdowns. He was selected by the Ravens in the sixth round of the draft. The second-most receptions went to Tyree Harris with 23 catches for 225 yards. He did not score, though. The defense was not great but certainly not horrible. It gave up 24.1 points per game and just the 32nd-most yards per game in the country. It did not matter, though, with the offense being unable to punch the ball into the end zone.
Offense: The unit returns five starters, but that doesn't mean much because the entire team is pretty much starting from scratch with new coach Dave Clawson, who came to Winston-Salem in the offseason after five successful years at Bowling Green. Clawson is known as a rebuilder and has been good at it, turning around programs at Fordham and Richmond before the MAC's Falcons. His first year at Fordham, the Rams went 0-11, but in years four and five, they went a combined 19-6. As a Spider, Clawson went 3-8, then 9-4, 6-5, and 11-3, the final season finishing in the FCS playoff semifinals. He laid the groundwork for a certain Mike London to win it all at UR in 2008. At Bowling Green, Clawson began 7-6, dipped to 2-10, but then won five, eight, and 10 games a year ago and won the MAC. So, it is OK to expect that Clawson can make
Wake bowl eligible and perhaps more, but it just probably won't happen this season. Another thing Clawson has been known for is flexibility on offense. He lets the players decide the strategy instead of trying to stick to one model. His first season at Bowling Green, the Falcons passed for more than 4,000 yards. They ran for 2,000 yards in 2012 and then last season, they threw for 3,725 yards and rushed for 2,707 more. With Price graduating, the stage was set for Tyler Cameron, a sophomore, to take over the job. He failed to impress in the spring, however, and just a couple days ago, Clawson named true freshman John Wolford the starter. Wolford is a 6-foot-1, 205-pound three-star prospect out of Jacksonville that broke Tim Tebow's state of Florida records for career all-purpose TDs and passing yards so it sounds like he certainly has some hype. At running back, with Harris having graduated, Orville Reynolds is expected to assume the most carries, a player who was used mostly in the passing game last year (12 catches, 166 yards, two TDs) but whose natural position is running back (36 yards a year ago). Dominique Gibson (138 yards, one score) will see work as well. At receiver, Wake will really miss Campanaro but also, Sherman Ragland and Spencer Bishop are gone (combined 39 catches, 411 yards, three TDs), meaning Harris will likely really step into a starring role. Jared Crump (16 catches, 176 yards, one TD) and Jonathan Williams (17 receptions, 221 yards) will need to step up as well. Also, a familiar name, E.J. Scott, a transfer from UVa (whose game I liked) will look to bolster the WR corps.
Defense: Five starters return to a unit that was a strength of the team last year but is getting an overhaul. The Deacons will now use a 4-2-5 scheme as opposed to a 3-4. As a result, some linebackers are moving into linemen roles. Tackle Nikita Whitlock (82 tackles, 19 for loss, nine sacks, two forced fumbles) will be very hard to replace and will have to be done by committee as probably no one will match his production. Names to watch out for on the line are Zachary Allen, Desmond Allen, Josh Banks, and Johnny Garcia. At linebacker, Wake has second-leading tackler Brandon Chubb returning (88). Wake's strength relies at cornerback, with returning starters Kevin Johnson (58 tackles, three INTs) and Merrill Noel (53 tackles, three picks). Leading tackler Ryan Janvion (95) returns at strong safety.
Special teams note: Wake Forest did itself no favors last year on special teams. Kicker Chad Hedlund was just 8 of 12 on field goals and the Demon Deacons averaged just six yards on punt returns and 17.4 yards on kick returns.
Schedule, notes, outlook: at Louisiana-Monroe, Gardner-Webb, at Utah State, Army, at Louisville, at Florida State, Syracuse, Boston College, Clemson, at N.C. State, Virginia Tech, at Duke. Wake Forest better hope it can win some of its non-conference games because once it starts ACC play, it probably won't have a decent shot at winning again until traveling to N.C. State. And this is possible, especially with Gardner-Webb and Army on the schedule, but La.-Monroe and Utah State were pretty good a year ago. Who knows, though. Perhaps Clawson and his new staff will surprise people. I don't really doubt his ability to turn around the floundering Demon Deacons, it just could take some time. Not one of his three other teams had more than seven wins in his first season and Richmond and Fordham went a combined 3-19 in his first seasons at those schools. So fans should expect some struggles this year. The offense must replace its top QB, RB, and WR, and the signal caller is going to be a true freshman. I think the defense will probably take a step back with the loss of Whitlock and the switch to a new scheme, but there are some good players on that side of the ball.
Win-loss prediction: 3-9 or 4-8
Last year: Louisville went 12-1 a year ago and 7-1 in its only season in the new American Athletic Conference. The Cardinals beat Miami, 36-9, in the Russell Athletic Bowl. Louisville ran through the early portion of its schedule, beating Ohio, Eastern Kentucky, Kentucky, Florida International, Temple and Rutgers all by at least 14 points. The Cardinals were then blindsided in conference play by QB Blake Bortles and Central Florida, 38-35. UCF ended up being one of the breakout teams of last season. The Golden Knights went 12-1 (their only loss by three points to a No. 12-ranked South Carolina team) and beat Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl. After disposing of South Florida and Connecticut, Louisville then struggled a bit, only beating lowly Memphis and slightly-above-average Houston by a touchdown each. The Cardinals ended on a high note, though, downing Cincinnati in overtime to secure second place in the conference before running over the Hurricanes in the bowl game. It ended up being the final year that QB Teddy Bridgewater and coach Charlie Strong were at Louisville and they made it one to remember. Bridgewater headed off to the NFL draft, skipping his final year of eligibility, and Strong won the job opening at Texas. Bridgewater had an incredible season, competing 71 percent of his passes for 3,970 yards, 31 TDs, and four INTs. He is now fighting to be the Vikings' starting QB. At running back, Dominique Brown rushed for 825 yards and eight scores while Senorise Perry recorded 677 yards and six touchdowns. At wideout, Damian Copeland came up with 58 catches for 780 yards and five TDs while DeVante Parker racked up 55 receptions for 885 yards and 12 TDs. Eli Rogers caught 44 passes and four TDs. Defensively, the Cardinals gave up just 12.2 points per game, created 27 turnovers, and sacked QBs 43 times.
Offense: Bridgewater is gone, but sophomore Will Gardner has lots of confidence from both teammates and coaches that he will be a capable replacement. New (old) coach Bobby Petrino, back in familiar
territory, is renowned for his offensive prowess and he will surely be able to quicken the development of Gardner. However, Gardner is lacking in the experience department, having completed just eight of 12 passes a year ago for 112 yards, two TDs, and zero picks. Seven starters do return to a talented offense, including WRs Parker and Rogers. Tight end Gerald Christian (28 catches, 426 yards, four TDs), who is on the John Mackey Award watch list this preseason, is back and gives Gardner another solid weapon. At running back, Brown will lead the charge and former Auburn RB Michael Dyer will look to produce more than a year ago when injuries slowed him down with the Cardinals (223 yards, two TDs). He has the talent to break out, though -- at Auburn in 2011 he had 1,242 yards (20th nationally) and 10 touchdowns. He was suspended before the Chick-fil-A Bowl against Virginia that year for violation of team rules and ultimately transferred to Arkansas State for the 2012 season but ended up not playing because the NCAA denied his request for immediate eligibility. The Cardinals return three starters on the offensive line and a fourth who has starting experience. Kelby Johnson, a junior college transfer who spent time at Virginia from 2011-12, will provide depth to the line.Defense: The unit returns just four starters. Linebackers Preston Brown (98 tackles, 12.5 for loss, 4.5 sacks, three forced fumbles; third-round pick of the Bills) and Marcus Smith (18.5 tackles for loss, 14.5 sacks, four forced fumbles; first-round pick of the Eagles) and safeties Calvin Pryor (75 tackles, 5.5 for loss, three picks, two forced fumbles; first-round pick of the Jets) and Hakeem Smith (45 tackles, two for loss, three INTs; signed as free agent by Titans) will be missed. New defensive coordinator Todd Grantham will install a 3-4 scheme at Louisville, a switch away from Strong's 4-3 Under scheme. Grantham spent four seasons as Georgia's DC and the Bulldogs were solid some years but finished 11th in the SEC last season in scoring defense. He was believed to be on shaky ground with the Bulldogs but was hired away by Petrino anyway. The linebackers are mostly converted defensive ends, with Lorenzo Mauldin (40 tackles, 9.5 sacks) and James Burgess (72 tackles, nine for loss), the team's leading returning tackler, leading the way. The defensive line is very inexperienced. The safeties are also a work in progress but the probable starting cornerbacks are pretty good: Terrel Floyd (47 tackles, four picks) and Charles Gaines (22 tackles, five picks).
Special teams note: John Wallace (20 of 24 on field goals in 2013) is probably going to be one of the best kickers in the conference and Gaines returned 10 kickoffs a season ago (most on the team) for an average of 30.1 yards per return and a touchdown.
Schedule, notes, outlook: Miami, Murray State, at Virginia, at Florida International, Wake Forest, at Syracuse, at Clemson, N.C. State, Florida State, at Boston College, at Notre Dame, Kentucky. If Louisville can win its opener against Miami, it probably has a decent chance at opening 6-0 before a big game at Death Valley playing new division rival Clemson. After Miami, Virginia might actually be the Cardinals' biggest challenge in their first five games, which probably isn't saying a lot for Louisville's schedule, but the Cavaliers will return a pretty experienced defense. UVa could have a chance in that game with it being early in the season. Maybe the UVa defense can get on Gardner early and the offense can find some holes as Louisville's 'D' adjusts to its new look. Syracuse could be pretty challenging, but I expect a win for the Cardinals in that game. The second half of the season gets much tougher with the Tigers, Florida State, and even Notre Dame posing as obstacles. Gardner's talent is being pushed, and whatever drop off he might be from Bridgewater could be off set by the potency of a Petrino offense. And it might have to be, because Louisville's defense will probably struggle as it loses a great defensive mind in Strong and lots of experience while switching philosophies. Overall, though, Louisville should settle in nicely to its new digs in the ACC and is the favorite for the No. 3 spot in the Atlantic Division.
Win-loss prediction: 8-4 or 9-3
Wake Forest
Last year: In 2013, the Demon Deacons went 4-8 and 2-6 in the ACC, posting a third-straight regular-season losing record. Coach Jim Grobe resigned after the season after leading the program for 13 years. A poor offense sunk the Demon Deacons throughout the season as they scored only 18.3 points per game. Wake easily defeated Presbyterian to start the season but then lost to Boston College and Louisiana-Monroe in consecutive games before beating Army. After that, Wake lost six of its final eight games, only beating Maryland and winless-in-the-ACC N.C. State. The Demon Deacons took it on the chin from Florida State (59-3) and Clemson (56-7). At QB, Tanner Price completed 54.5 percent of his passes for 2,233 yards, 13 TDs, 10 picks. He also rushed for 240 yards and five touchdowns. Josh Harris led the team in rushing yardage with just 470 and four TDs. As a team, Wake ran for just a little over 1,100 yards during the season for an average of 94.1 yards per game, 116th out of 123rd in the country. Michael Campanaro had another great season at receiver, culminating his solid career as a Demon Deacon by catching 67 balls for 803 yards and six touchdowns. He was selected by the Ravens in the sixth round of the draft. The second-most receptions went to Tyree Harris with 23 catches for 225 yards. He did not score, though. The defense was not great but certainly not horrible. It gave up 24.1 points per game and just the 32nd-most yards per game in the country. It did not matter, though, with the offense being unable to punch the ball into the end zone.
Offense: The unit returns five starters, but that doesn't mean much because the entire team is pretty much starting from scratch with new coach Dave Clawson, who came to Winston-Salem in the offseason after five successful years at Bowling Green. Clawson is known as a rebuilder and has been good at it, turning around programs at Fordham and Richmond before the MAC's Falcons. His first year at Fordham, the Rams went 0-11, but in years four and five, they went a combined 19-6. As a Spider, Clawson went 3-8, then 9-4, 6-5, and 11-3, the final season finishing in the FCS playoff semifinals. He laid the groundwork for a certain Mike London to win it all at UR in 2008. At Bowling Green, Clawson began 7-6, dipped to 2-10, but then won five, eight, and 10 games a year ago and won the MAC. So, it is OK to expect that Clawson can make
Defense: Five starters return to a unit that was a strength of the team last year but is getting an overhaul. The Deacons will now use a 4-2-5 scheme as opposed to a 3-4. As a result, some linebackers are moving into linemen roles. Tackle Nikita Whitlock (82 tackles, 19 for loss, nine sacks, two forced fumbles) will be very hard to replace and will have to be done by committee as probably no one will match his production. Names to watch out for on the line are Zachary Allen, Desmond Allen, Josh Banks, and Johnny Garcia. At linebacker, Wake has second-leading tackler Brandon Chubb returning (88). Wake's strength relies at cornerback, with returning starters Kevin Johnson (58 tackles, three INTs) and Merrill Noel (53 tackles, three picks). Leading tackler Ryan Janvion (95) returns at strong safety.
Special teams note: Wake Forest did itself no favors last year on special teams. Kicker Chad Hedlund was just 8 of 12 on field goals and the Demon Deacons averaged just six yards on punt returns and 17.4 yards on kick returns.
Schedule, notes, outlook: at Louisiana-Monroe, Gardner-Webb, at Utah State, Army, at Louisville, at Florida State, Syracuse, Boston College, Clemson, at N.C. State, Virginia Tech, at Duke. Wake Forest better hope it can win some of its non-conference games because once it starts ACC play, it probably won't have a decent shot at winning again until traveling to N.C. State. And this is possible, especially with Gardner-Webb and Army on the schedule, but La.-Monroe and Utah State were pretty good a year ago. Who knows, though. Perhaps Clawson and his new staff will surprise people. I don't really doubt his ability to turn around the floundering Demon Deacons, it just could take some time. Not one of his three other teams had more than seven wins in his first season and Richmond and Fordham went a combined 3-19 in his first seasons at those schools. So fans should expect some struggles this year. The offense must replace its top QB, RB, and WR, and the signal caller is going to be a true freshman. I think the defense will probably take a step back with the loss of Whitlock and the switch to a new scheme, but there are some good players on that side of the ball.
Win-loss prediction: 3-9 or 4-8
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