Louisville
Last year: 8-5 (5-3 ACC), won 27-21 over Texas A&M in the Music City Bowl
Best win: bowl victory Worst loss: at Pittsburgh, 45-34
Coach: Bobby Petrino (third year in this second stint, in which he is 17-9; seventh year at school overall, 58-18)
Starters returning: 18 (10 offense, 8 defense, 0 specialists)
Offensive player to watch: QB Lamar Jackson. Jackson came on as a true freshman last season to seize the starting job, completing 54.7 percent of his passes for 1,840 yards, 12 TDs, and eight INTs. He was especially dangerous on the ground, though, where he set the career rushing record for a QB at the school in one year, with 960 yards and 11 touchdowns, both of which led the team. In the Music City Bowl victory, he passed and rushed for more than 200 yards each, only the third player in bowl history to accomplish that feat.
Defensive player to watch: LB Devonte Fields. Fields had 63 tackles last year, 22 of which were for loss (he led the nation in TFL per game), 10.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and a recovery.
Special teams player to watch: Traveon Samuel. He averaged 26.8 yards per kick return last season and had a touchdown.
Schedule: vs. Charlotte, at Syracuse, vs. Florida State, at Marshall, at Clemson, vs. Duke, vs. N.C. State, at Virginia, at Boston College, vs. Wake Forest, at Houston, vs. Kentucky.
Outlook: Louisville finished strong last season, going 6-1 down the stretch after a tough start, but still didn't beat many quality teams. The Texas A&M win was nice, but the Aggies could be falling apart under Kevin Sumlin. Still, there are lots of reasons to believe the Cardinals can take another step up. Numerous starters return and Jackson is promising under center. Four offensive line starters are back, Brandon Radcliff is a solid running back, and James Quick and Jamari Staples are fine wideouts. The pecking order in the Atlantic will once again, though, come down to those Clemson and Florida State games. A win at Death Valley seems unlikely, but maybe the Cardinals could spring an upset on the Seminoles at home. The Houston road game will be a tough one as well but won't have a bearing on the ACC title hunt. The possibility exists for a surprising run at a division title, but it's more likely Louisville will end up third again and just beat all the teams it is supposed to beat and have trouble with a few others.
Win-loss prediction: 8-4 or 9-3
Wake Forest
Last year: 3-9 (1-7 ACC) Best win: at Boston College, 3-0 Worst loss: at North Carolina, 50-14
Coach: Dave Clawson (third year, 6-18)
Starters returning: 18 (9 offense, 7 defense, 2 specialists)
Offensive player to watch: QB John Wolford. As a sophomore, Wolford was supposed to take a step up in Clawson's second season in Winston-Salem. The results were mixed. Wolford's completion percentage went up to 60.9 percent from 58.3 in 2014. But he had just nine touchdowns and 11 interceptions, whereas he had 12 TDs and 14 INTs in 2014, so that is kind of a wash. Wolford's progression could be key to the offense as a whole increasing its output in 2016, when scored just a tad more than 17 points per game.
Defensive player to watch: CB Brad Watson. Now a senior, Watson in 2015 was the Demon Deacons' second-leading tackler last year with 72 stops, 2.5 for loss, one sack, two picks, and 16 breakups.
Special teams player to watch: P Alex Kinal. Like last year, he is my player to watch. He booted the ball
75 times in 2015 and dropped 32 inside the 20-yard line. His punts traveled an average of 43.8 yards.
Schedule: vs. Tulane, at Duke, vs. Delaware, at Indiana, at N.C. State, vs. Syracuse, at Florida State, vs. Army, vs. Virginia, at Louisville, vs. Clemson, vs. Boston College.
Outlook: Yeah, when your best win from a year ago was 3-0 against a team that was winless in the conference, that isn't good. Clawson has been at three schools before Wake and has had at least one winning season in his first three years at each stop. At Fordham, he jumped from 3-8 to 7-4 in his third year; at Richmond from 3-8 to 9-4; and at Bowling Green from 2-10 to 5-7 (but his first year, he went 7-6; he later had a 10-win season with the Falcons). That puts some pressure on the Demon Deacons. Clawson has been successful everywhere, but the climb is steep at the smallest school in the ACC, where Jim Grobe was considered a success but still was just 77-82 in 13 seasons. Clawson has made it known he expects to go to a bowl this season. I still think it will be a tall task, especially if Wolford doesn't reach that next level. If he doesn't cut it, Kendall Hinton could get some snaps from under center. He had some nice moments as the backup last season. Lots of returning starters make a bowl possible, but Wake essentially needs to go 6-4 in 10 games that aren't against Clemson and Florida State, since knocking off those squads would be huge feats. The non-conference schedule is soft, so a lot of ACC success might not be necessary to reach six wins.
Win-loss prediction: 5-7 or 6-6
Last year: 8-5 (5-3 ACC), won 27-21 over Texas A&M in the Music City Bowl
Best win: bowl victory Worst loss: at Pittsburgh, 45-34
Coach: Bobby Petrino (third year in this second stint, in which he is 17-9; seventh year at school overall, 58-18)
Starters returning: 18 (10 offense, 8 defense, 0 specialists)
Offensive player to watch: QB Lamar Jackson. Jackson came on as a true freshman last season to seize the starting job, completing 54.7 percent of his passes for 1,840 yards, 12 TDs, and eight INTs. He was especially dangerous on the ground, though, where he set the career rushing record for a QB at the school in one year, with 960 yards and 11 touchdowns, both of which led the team. In the Music City Bowl victory, he passed and rushed for more than 200 yards each, only the third player in bowl history to accomplish that feat.
Defensive player to watch: LB Devonte Fields. Fields had 63 tackles last year, 22 of which were for loss (he led the nation in TFL per game), 10.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and a recovery.
Schedule: vs. Charlotte, at Syracuse, vs. Florida State, at Marshall, at Clemson, vs. Duke, vs. N.C. State, at Virginia, at Boston College, vs. Wake Forest, at Houston, vs. Kentucky.
Outlook: Louisville finished strong last season, going 6-1 down the stretch after a tough start, but still didn't beat many quality teams. The Texas A&M win was nice, but the Aggies could be falling apart under Kevin Sumlin. Still, there are lots of reasons to believe the Cardinals can take another step up. Numerous starters return and Jackson is promising under center. Four offensive line starters are back, Brandon Radcliff is a solid running back, and James Quick and Jamari Staples are fine wideouts. The pecking order in the Atlantic will once again, though, come down to those Clemson and Florida State games. A win at Death Valley seems unlikely, but maybe the Cardinals could spring an upset on the Seminoles at home. The Houston road game will be a tough one as well but won't have a bearing on the ACC title hunt. The possibility exists for a surprising run at a division title, but it's more likely Louisville will end up third again and just beat all the teams it is supposed to beat and have trouble with a few others.
Win-loss prediction: 8-4 or 9-3
Wake Forest
Last year: 3-9 (1-7 ACC) Best win: at Boston College, 3-0 Worst loss: at North Carolina, 50-14
Coach: Dave Clawson (third year, 6-18)
Starters returning: 18 (9 offense, 7 defense, 2 specialists)
Offensive player to watch: QB John Wolford. As a sophomore, Wolford was supposed to take a step up in Clawson's second season in Winston-Salem. The results were mixed. Wolford's completion percentage went up to 60.9 percent from 58.3 in 2014. But he had just nine touchdowns and 11 interceptions, whereas he had 12 TDs and 14 INTs in 2014, so that is kind of a wash. Wolford's progression could be key to the offense as a whole increasing its output in 2016, when scored just a tad more than 17 points per game.
Defensive player to watch: CB Brad Watson. Now a senior, Watson in 2015 was the Demon Deacons' second-leading tackler last year with 72 stops, 2.5 for loss, one sack, two picks, and 16 breakups.
Special teams player to watch: P Alex Kinal. Like last year, he is my player to watch. He booted the ball
Schedule: vs. Tulane, at Duke, vs. Delaware, at Indiana, at N.C. State, vs. Syracuse, at Florida State, vs. Army, vs. Virginia, at Louisville, vs. Clemson, vs. Boston College.
Outlook: Yeah, when your best win from a year ago was 3-0 against a team that was winless in the conference, that isn't good. Clawson has been at three schools before Wake and has had at least one winning season in his first three years at each stop. At Fordham, he jumped from 3-8 to 7-4 in his third year; at Richmond from 3-8 to 9-4; and at Bowling Green from 2-10 to 5-7 (but his first year, he went 7-6; he later had a 10-win season with the Falcons). That puts some pressure on the Demon Deacons. Clawson has been successful everywhere, but the climb is steep at the smallest school in the ACC, where Jim Grobe was considered a success but still was just 77-82 in 13 seasons. Clawson has made it known he expects to go to a bowl this season. I still think it will be a tall task, especially if Wolford doesn't reach that next level. If he doesn't cut it, Kendall Hinton could get some snaps from under center. He had some nice moments as the backup last season. Lots of returning starters make a bowl possible, but Wake essentially needs to go 6-4 in 10 games that aren't against Clemson and Florida State, since knocking off those squads would be huge feats. The non-conference schedule is soft, so a lot of ACC success might not be necessary to reach six wins.
Win-loss prediction: 5-7 or 6-6
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