With SEC Media Days in the rearview mirror, it is time to look at their conference rival…the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). We will split the preview by divisions. We will now take a look at the Coastal Division. The question as we enter 2019 is…Can anyone knock off Clemson?
Coastal:
2010 was the last time the ACC Coastal division tasted victory in the ACC Championship game. Frank Beamer’s Virginia Tech Hokies defeated Jimbo Fisher’s Florida State Seminoles by a final score of 44-33. Since then, the Hokies have won 3 division titles and Georgia Tech has won 2. Duke, North Carolina, Miami (FL), and Pittsburgh have broken through as well to win a division championship. Eight championship games, 6 different teams, the dam would not break. Is 2019 finally the year for the Coastal to return to the podium?
Virginia Tech is coming off a momentous 2018 season. The Hokies held a record of 4-6 heading into their annual showdown with rival Virginia. Trailing late in the 4th quarter, the Hokies rallied to tie the game before prevailing in overtime. This allowed Virginia Tech to play a makeup game against Marshall. The Hokies won and advanced to their 25th straight bowl game. Justin Fuente enters year four at the helm and hopes to duplicate the success of 2016.
Virginia Tech opens 2019 with a conference game, on the road, against Boston College. The Hokies travel to other conference opponents Miami (FL), Georgia Tech, and Virginia. Virginia Tech can be 4-0 heading to South Beach. Defeating the Hurricanes puts Virginia Tech in the driver seat for the rest of the season. Despite, Pitt wining the division last year, I think Tech can win that game at home. After Miami (FL) the Hokies have their two toughest games remaining.
They are both on the road against Georgia Tech and Virginia. Georgia Tech has won 3 in a row and you know Virginia is going to be motivated to end that streak. The Cavaliers had victory in the palm of their hand, only to see it get ripped away. No matter what the story lines are heading into November 29th, Virginia is going to be more driven than ever before to beat their bitter rivals from Blacksburg.
Miami (FL) returned to NCAA prominence in 2017, winning their first ever ACC Division title. The celebration was short lived due to an upset loss to Pittsburgh and a subpar 2018 season. Mark Richt had the Hurricanes on the cusp of advancing to the CFP, but the Hurricanes ate too much turkey on Thanksgiving and did not show up against Pitt. Had that game gone differently, does Miami (FL) defeat Clemson?
Some might tell you it would not have mattered if Miami (FL) won or lost to Pitt, Clemson was winning the ACC no matter what. We might have been treated to a better game than the 38-3 blowout. With Mark Richt out as head coach, defensive coordinator Manny Diaz stands in to take over. Diaz will look to build off Richt’s, brief, but effective success. Miami (FL) returns 12 total starters and has a favorable schedule. The Canes do open against Florida, but that game will not influence what happens in the ACC. It might have CFP implications but should Miami (FL) lose it will not affect their conference standing. Miami (FL) gets Virginia Tech, Virginia, Georgia Tech, and Louisville at home.
That is not an easy slate of games, but I can see the Canes winning all of those. As I mentioned above, the showdown with Virginia Tech puts the winner of that game in the driver seat. Throw in wins against Pitt, Florida State, and Duke and Miami (FL) will be back in play for the ACC Championship. If the Hurricanes faulter, that may open the door for Georgia Tech and Virginia.
Georgia Tech, North Carolina (UNC), and Duke are at the bottom of the division. The Yellow Jackets and Tar Heels have new head coaches as well. These three teams will try and play spoiler with the top teams of the division. Both Carolina schools get the pleasure of hosting Miami (FL) and both games book end the season. North Carolina opens the conference slate for Miami (FL), and Duke closes it out. A win for UNC could catapult their season into the right direction under Mack Brown.
Duke hopes to end the celebration early should Miami (FL) enter Durham division champions. We all saw Pitt do it in 2017, watch out for lightning to strike twice this year. Georgia Tech opens 2019 with a road trip to Death Valley. Starting the season 0-1 is something the Yellow Jackets will have to battle back from. The stretch from October 5-12 will propel the Jackets forward or derail their season.
Georgia Tech plays UNC, Duke, and Miami those three weeks. Should Tech go 2-1, it shapes up quite nicely when they host Virginia Tech on November 16th. Depending on what happened in Miami, not only on October 19th but October 5th, the Tech Bowl could be the showdown for the division. The Coastal is wide open top to bottom in 2019.
We have not even mentioned Virginia and Pittsburgh. Pitt is not going to lay down and give up their championship. Pitt and Virginia coincidentally open the 2019 season against one another. The winner of that game puts themselves in a position to slide into 1st place should the top teams struggle. Week 1, in my opinion, will be more beneficial to Virginia. The Cavaliers have an easier schedule after week 1. I also think Virginia has the better team returning which means they need this week 1 victory more than Pittsburgh.
As I touched on earlier, with these teams being so evenly matched and the Coastal having so much parody, I feel any of these 7 teams can win the division. The prize, unfortunately, for the winner means a showdown with Clemson. Anything can happen in the world of sports. With a year to study this Clemson offense, will the Coastal champion be able to put together the winning formula? I cannot wait to follow this ACC Coastal Division race all season long.
