With this past college football season in the rearview mirror, it is time to look back on what all happened and look ahead to next season. In this article, I will review every ACC team’s 2019 season, what they have to look forward to, what they need to be concerned about, and go over what their goals should be for this upcoming season. If you are looking for a specific team, they are listed in alphabetical order.

Boston College

Last Season

2019 started off well for Boston College with a win over Virginia Tech, but things soon changed after a lowly Kansas team came to Chestnut Hill and ran all over the Eagles as they lost 48-24. A win over Rutgers was nice, but that was also followed by two close losses at the hands of Wake Forest and Louisville. A nice win over North Carolina State was nice and a blowout loss to Clemson was rough but expected. The Eagles were in high spirits again with a blowout win over Syracuse, but two straight losses followed that, meaning bowl eligibility was on the line in their regular season finale against Pittsburgh. The Eagles came out on top, but head coach Steve Addazio was fired shortly after and they were blown out by Cincinnati in the Military Bowl. Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley was brought in to replace Addazio.

What to Look Forward to

The Eagles should be improved in the passing game as their top three leading receivers from 2019 return. Kobay White briefly entered the transfer portal but ultimately decided to return to Chestnut Hill. I think White is a very solid talent and would have put up much better numbers under a more consistent passing attack. Tight end Hunter Long will also be back after leading the team in receiving yards last season. Zay Flowers is an intriguing player for Boston College at receiver as he finished third on the team in receiving yards last season and also had 27 carries. His use as a gadget player will be interesting to see. The passing game also should be helped by the hiring of Frank Cignetti at offensive coordinator. Cignetti has been an offensive coordinator at the college level before but since then has been a quarterback coach for the Giants and Packers. On the offensive line, Boston College returns four starters, including center Alec Lindstrom who fans are hoping will turn out to be as good as his older brother Chris, who was a first round pick in 2019. Boston College also has signed a pair of blue chip recruits at offensive tackle in Kevin Pyne and Ozzy Trapilo who could compete for early playing time. While losing AJ Dillon at running back is obviously a big hit, David Bailey is the presumed next man up and is no slouch. Bailey is a similar style of running back to Dill as he weighs 240 pounds and has had his fair share of experience as he had 844 rushing yards on 5.7 yards per carry last season while playing a secondary role. On defense, Max Richardson returns at linebacker after making plays all over the field in 2019. Richardson led the team last season with 107 tackles and 14 tackles for loss. Richardson will be one of the best linebackers in the ACC. Also at linebacker, John Lamot returns as does Isaiah McDuffie who was plagued by injuries in 2019. Marcus Valdez was second behind Richardson in tackles for loss and returns at defensive end. Brandon Sebastian and Jason Maitre both return after starting at cornerback last season. Free safety Mike Palmer also returns and should round out a strong defensive backfield. The secondary should also improve as Hafley has spent significant time as a defensive backs coach in the NFL. For special teams, Grant Carlson returns at punter after averaging 42.7 yards per punt in 2019.

What to be Concerned About

The biggest concern for the offense has to be how they can replace the impact of AJ Dillon at running back. Dillon ran for 1,685 yards in 2019 and was good enough to partially mask some serious issues in other facets of the offense. David Bailey has done well as a secondary back but being the guy will be a different task with more challenges. While Dennis Grosel returns at quarterback, he struggled when he had to step in for an injured Anthony Brown, completing less than 50% of his passes on just 6.3 yards per attempt. Brown could possibly return but it is not likely as his name has been in the transfer portal since early December. It is likely that Grosel will end up as the opening day starter. Phil Jurkovec transferred in from Notre Dame, but he is in the process of trying to get a waiver for immediate eligibility. He has no real reason as to why he could get immediate eligibility but after Tate Martell got his waiver approved, I have learned to never say never. Boston College also loses their top offensive lineman from last season in guard John Phillips, who helped pave the way for Dillon and Bailey. For this offense to balance out, whoever plays quarterback needs to take a step up. On defense, the Eagles really missed having a strong pass rusher at defensive end and lose a starter at the position from last season in Richard Yeargin. Marcus Valdez was solid but having a guy the caliber of prior players like Zach Allen or Harold Landry the last few seasons before 2019 was quite helpful. Safety Mehdi El-Attrach will also be a tough player to replace after being a quality starter last season. On the recruiting trail, the Eagles were a bit underwhelming, bringing in the second worst class in the conference.

Goals For 2020

During his tenure at Boston College, Addazio earned the nickname “seven-win Steve” as in five of his seven seasons in Chestnut Hill saw the team reach seven wins. While that level of consistency is nice, he never beat that mark, and the higher ups at Boston College believe their program to be capable of better (and I agree with them). While I think beating seven wins should be expected later on for Hafley, I do not know if that is needed right now. For this season, I think progress on offense will be important and the main goal should be to hold down a spot in the ACC’s second tier while the first tier is solely occupied by Clemson.

Clemson

Last Season

Clemson ran through Georgia Tech in their season opener and then held off Texas A&M in what was expected to be their toughest regular season game the following week. Clemson then blew out Syracuse, who gave them trouble the previous two years. Against North Carolina, Clemson seemed to have their one regular season slip up as they trailed in the fourth quarter and won 21-20 after North Carolina failed on a two point conversion with a little over a minute left. Clemson lost their number one ranking after that game and played their next two games like they were mad about it as they blew out Florida State and Louisville. Two more blowout wins still did not improve their ranking as they slipped to fifth in the AP Poll, but they finally moved in the right direction after a blowout win over North Carolina State. The Tigers wrapped up their regular season with a win over South Carolina in the Palmetto Bowl and dismantled Virginia in the ACC Championship. Clemson was seeded third in the playoff and had a matchup with Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. After a slow start, the Tigers capitalized on Ohio State’s mistakes and remained undefeated on the season and overall against Ohio State as they won 29-23. Unfortunately for Clemson, their chances of extending their win streak to 30 were ended when they faced the buzzsaw that was LSU. Clemson lost 42-25 to finish 14-1 on the season.

What to Look Forward to

The biggest and most obvious thing for Clemson fans to be excited about is the fact that they will have the best quarterback in college football next season in Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence had a bit of an interception problem early last season but once he quit forcing bad throws, he went on an absolute tear in the second half of the season. Lawrence has a very strong arm, but still can put the proper touch on his throws and also really showed off his athleticism later in the season. Having him back will be a tremendous help and is the main reason I think Clemson is the National Title favorite at the moment. While he probably will not be a contributor this season, the addition of five-star quarterback DJ Uiagaleilei will be very nice for Clemson’s future as he was the top ranked pro-style quarterback in this recruiting class. Uiagalelei is heavy for a quarterback at 246 pounds and has drawn comparisons to Ben Roethlisberger, but he is not immobile. He is also quite the baseball prospect, boasting a 95mph fastball. To make an elite backfield even better, running back Travis Etienne announced that he would return for his senior season. Etienne ran for 1,614 yards and 19 touchdowns on 7.8 yards per carry in 2019 and could have bolstered those numbers if he was given more carries. With what they have back, it is likely that Clemson has the best quarterback and running back in the country. Lyn-J Dixon also returns as a secondary back and has done well with the carries he was given. Five-star freshman DeMarkcus Bowman could also find his way into the rotation. At receiver, Justyn Ross returns, and I think should transition to the number one receiver role fairly seamlessly as his chemistry with Lawrence is evident. Amari Rodgers also returns at receiver and did quite well in 2019, considering he was recovering from a torn ACL from spring practice. Frank Ladson and Joseph Ngata will also be players to watch at receiver after they looked good when they were on the field during their freshman seasons in 2019. Defensively, three out of four starters return along the defensive line. Tyler Davis will be a player to watch on the interior as he racked up 11.5 tackles for loss in 2019 at defensive tackle. The same goes for defensive end Justin Foster who really took his game up a notch last season. The best player on the defensive line will still likely be defensive end Xavier Thomas who has not quite lived up to his status as a top five overall recruit in 2018 but has definitely done well for himself and seems to be on the verge of a breakout season. The defensive front was also bolstered by the signings of multiple five-star recruits. Defensive tackle Bryan Bresee was ranked as the number one recruit in the country and his highlight tape makes that seem more than apparent. Defensive end Myles Murphy was also a top ten overall recruit. Middle linebacker James Skalski was the second leading tackler on the team last season and will also be back. At outside linebacker, Clemson brings in yet another five-star recruit with Trenton Simpson. In the secondary, I think Derion Kendrick will be a player to watch next season and is a breakout candidate. Safety Nolan Turner was the hero for the Ohio State game and will also return. The best thing for the defense is also the fact that they will still have Brent Venables who I believe is the best defensive coordinator in the country by a considerable margin.

What to be Concerned About

Clemson will take quite a hit this offseason on the offensive line as they lose four out of five starters and all four of those starters were either first or second team all-ACC. Tackle Tremayne Anchrum and guard John Simpson have been key players up front for multiple seasons and were both first team all-ACC last season. Their ability and leadership will not be easy to replace. In the passing game, Lawrence will lose his top target as Tee Higgins declared for the NFL Draft after putting up 1,136 receiving yards his junior season. Higgins and his combination of size and athleticism in the open field after the catch made him a very nice target to have and not someone that can whose role can easily be filled. Also negatively effecting the offense and Clemson’s recruiting will be the fact that co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott left to take the head coaching job at South Florida. On defense, the Tigers will miss the unicorn that is Isaiah Simmons as he declared for the draft early. Simmons practically transcended the idea of a position as he lined up at inside linebacker, strong side linebacker, safety, nickel back, and as an edge rusher for solid portions of time. Simmons was all over the field making plays in 2019 and is not a kind of player that comes around often as he has tremendous football IQ, always put himself in the right spot, and is an insane athlete. Clemson will also lose both starting safeties from last season in Tanner Muse and K’Von Wallace. Muse led the team in interceptions and Wallace led the team in pass deflections last season. While cornerback AJ Terrell got torched in the National Championship, he largely has been a quality starter for the Tigers the last two seasons. Clemson also will have a slightly tougher schedule this season as they will travel to South Bend to play Notre Dame in November.

Goals for 2020

Clemson has now been securely in college football’s top tier of programs for the last five years. Dabo Swinney has built a dynasty that has held success for quite a while and is in my opinion the best run program in the country. I think at this point in time, making the playoff should be the expectation, especially while the rest of the ACC is down. Clemson’s goal for this season should be to hoist their third National Championship under Swinney and I think they have the tools to do just that.

Duke

Last Season

Duke started off 2019 with a swift punch to the gut as they were blown out by Alabama in the season opener. The Blue Devils then won two games over non-power five opponents before getting some attention for blowing out Virginia Tech in Blacksburg 45-10. A loss to Pittsburgh was offset by a win over Georgia Tech, but it was at that point that the good times quit coming for Duke. They were blown out by Virginia in their next game, and then narrowly lost to rival North Carolina. A loss to rival Wake Forest sealed Duke’s fate as ineligible for a bowl game, but they still ended the season on a slight high note by beating Miami.

What to Look Forward to

At quarterback, the Blue Devils lose Quentin Harris, but were able to tap into the transfer portal to find his replacement. Chase Brice has been a backup at Clemson the last two seasons, most known for leading a comeback win over Syracuse after an injury to Trevor Lawrence in 2018. Brice has been under the tutelage of an elite coaching staff and I think he will be an upgrade over Harris as a passer. I expect Brice to be the starter this season and I think he will do well. At running back, Deon Jackson returns after leading the team in rushing yards last season as does Mataeo Durant who I expect to take a bigger role in the run game after having more yards per carry than any of the primary ball carriers on the team. I would guess Durant and Jackson will have a split backfield next season and I think that will help both of them. Jalon Calhoun and Noah Gray were the top two leading receivers on the team last season, and both will also return. On the offensive line, four starters return. While the unit was a bit shaky last season, getting everyone back for another season is something to feel confident about. The Blue Devils also were able to land tackle Devery Hamilton from Stanford via the transfer portal and I expect he will compete for playing time immediately. On defensive front, Chris Rumph and Victor Dimukeje return at defensive end and should make for a very strong duo. At linebacker, Brandon Hill returns after missing some time due to injury last season. Shaka Heyward will also return to add some depth to the unit. In the secondary, Marquis Waters and Michael Carter II return after starting last season. Duke also expects that Michigan transfer J’Marick Woods will become the third starting safety. Woods played sparingly at Michigan, but I expect he will get more looks in Durham with the Blue Devils. Leonard Johnson and Josh Blackwell also return as the starting cornerbacks and should be improved this season.

What to be Concerned About

While I think Chase Brice will be an upgrade at quarterback, he will trail behind Quentin Harris in terms of being a rushing threat, which will make things tougher for the offensive line as they will not be able to be bailed out by a better running quarterback. Duke also lost quite a bit of receiver depth as Aaron Young and Scott Bracey both elected to enter the transfer portal after finishing third and fourth respectively on the team in receiving yards. Offensive linemen Liam Smith and Jaylen Miller are uncommitted at the moment but are in the transfer portal as well. Miller was a contender for a starting spot on the offensive line this upcoming season. Trey Hornbuckle and Edgar Cerenord also will be gone along the defensive line. Defensive tackle Trevon McSwain was a very effective run stuffer up the middle and has also graduated. McSwain also led the team in turnovers created (four forced fumbles) and his absence will be felt in that regard as Duke was in the bottom half of the country in turnovers gained and 123rd out of 130 FBS team in turnover margin. Linebacker Koby Quansah will be gone as well after leading the team in tackles last season and finishing second in tackles for loss. His backup last season, Xander Gagnon is also now in the transfer portal. Their lack of depth at linebacker could be tough to overcome. While Duke does not have to play Alabama in non-conference play like they did last season, they still will have to make the trip to South Bend to play Notre Dame. Duke also did not exactly set the recruiting trail ablaze as they failed to sign a blue chip recruit and their class finsihed 12th best in the ACC recruit after finishing 8th in 2019.

Goals for 2020

While 2019 was likely a bit disappointing for Duke fans, it does show the fact that this program has had a major facelift under David Cutcliffe considering that five wins in a rebuilding year is considered a disappointment. The Blue Devils had some woes offensively and their passing game fell to the wayside with Daniel Jones gone. With some continuity across the board on offense and a likely improved passing game, I think they should be able to improve quite a bit, especially with Cutcliffe running the show (I feel like I am going to endlessly hear from NFL announcers about how Cutcliffe coached both Eli Manning and his replacement during their college days). With some playmakers back on defense, I think returning to a bowl game should be the expectation. I think trying to work their way up in the hierarchy that is college football in the state of North Carolina should be another goal for them.

Florida State

Last Season

Florida State started off the season in disappointing fashion as they blew a two score lead in the third quarter against Boise State and fell 36-31 in Tallahassee. In their next outing, they only won after Sun Belt foe ULM missed an extra point that would have sent the game to double overtime. Things stayed bad as the lost 31-17 at Virginia. The Seminoles began to dig themselves out of this hole a bit with double digit wins over Louisville and North Carolina State. Any chance of being in good spirits was dashed when they lost 45-14 at Clemson and lost 22-20 against Wake Forest. A win over Syracuse put them at 4-4, but they fell back below .500 with a 27-10 loss to Miami. It was also after this game that head coach Willie Taggart was fired just 21 games into his tenure at Florida State. Under interim head coach Odell Haggins, the Seminoles won at Boston College and secured bowl eligibility after missing out last season with a win over FCS foe Alabama State. Unfortunately for the Seminoles, they could not end the season on a high note as they lost to rival Florida and lost to Arizona State in the Sun Bowl to finish with back-to-back losing seasons after 2018 was their first losing season since 1976.

What to Look Forward to

To start things off, Florida State made what I believe to be the best hire of this coaching carousel in Memphis head coach Mike Norvell. Norvell has had a lot of success at Memphis and has brought them the consistent success that will certainly have the tools to mimic on a greater scale at Florida State. The Seminoles will also have some continuity at quarterback this season. James Blackman returns after starting off and on in 2019. Florida State also signed a quarterback recruit for the first time since 2017 in Chubba Purdy out of Arizona who is listed as four-star pro style quarterback in the country. Purdy, younger brother of Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy, could be a competitor for the starting gig this season. At running back, Texas A&M transfer Jashaun Corbin will hopefully be a solid addition. Khalan Laborn and Deonte Sheffield could also see some touches as could four star freshman Lawrance Toafili. At receiver, Tamorrion Terry looked quite impressive in 2019 and surprised me when he announced he would return to school. Terry really helped guide things through the air for the Seminoles last season and his return will be huge for the passing game. DJ Matthews finished second on the team in receiving yards last season and will also return. Keyshawn Helton will be another player to watch at receiver as he did well when he was not injured. Four-star freshmen Bryan Robinson and Ja’Khi Douglas could also crack the rotation. On the defensive line, Marvin Wilson announcing his return to school was huge both on and off the field for this team. Wilson more than doubled his total in tackles for loss last season when compared to 2018 and increased his tackles and tackles for loss all while playing in three fewer games. Wilson has battled injuries for a large part of his career, but when he is healthy, he probably was the best overall player on the team last season. Wilson also was one of the few players on the team who seemed to always play hard even when the chips were down, and I assume will provide some much needed leadership for the team during this transition period. Cory Durden also returns at defensive tackle after leading the team in sacks last season. Edge rushers Janarius Robinson and Amari Gainer will also be nice players to have back. Asante Samuel Jr. returns at cornerback after deflecting 14 passes last season. Akeem Dent looked solid during his freshman season and will be back at cornerback as well. Enmett Rice and Leonard Warner both return at linebacker as well after starting last season. The strength of this defense next season will be their duo at safety. Jaiden Lars-Woodbey has a very strong freshman season in 2018 but was bit by the injury bug in 2019. Hamsah Nasirildeen led the team in tackles in 2019 by a considerable margin and missed two games. Having both of them back and healthy will be huge for their secondary and overall defense. Both Nasirildeen and Lars-Woodbey are capable of going back into coverage but can also line up in the box and make plays at the line or between the tackles. Having both of them back is going to really help the defense. Four star freshman Jadarius Green-McKnight could also be useful as a rotational player.

What to be Concerned About

Entering this season, I think Florida State has a slight quarterback controversy. James Blackman split time last season and while he did not do particularly poorly, he seemingly has yet to live up to expectations. Also, as with any team that has subpar offensive line play, Blackman is not very mobile and this makes things much worse for him in terms of evading the rush, especially when you add that he has had issues with a knee injury, and he has a slow release. Jordan Travis saw some time toward the end of last season and while he is definitely a better athlete, his polish as a passer is clearly below Blackman. With that being said, the Seminoles might need to have someone who can run a bit. Chubba Purdy might could compete for the starting role, but he did not enroll early and that decreases his chances. Still, I could see him being used later on in the season. I believe Blackman will win out but having a quarterback competition is rarely a fun or good thing for a team. The Seminoles also lose the heart and soul of their offense the last two seasons as Cam Akers departs for the draft. Akers was a tremendous power back for Florida State the last three seasons and has done extremely well at fighting through tackles and playing with a certain grit and toughness that was rarely seen on this team in recent years. Akers did quite well while being dealt a terrible hand the last two years and he will not be an easy guy to replace. Florida State also loses some depth at receiver as Tre’Shaun Harrison transferred to Oregon State and tight end Tre’ McKitty transferred to Georgia. On the offensive line, things were still quite rough as only five teams in FBS football allowed more sacks than the Seminoles did and only four allowed more tackles for loss. Also, two starters will be gone from last season’s offensive line. Getting Devontay Taylor from FIU via the transfer portal at offensive tackle was good, but it will take a lot more to patch this up. While the defensive front returns almost all of their key players, the secondary will lose a couple of important guys. Stanford Samuels III has been a key part of the secondary for three seasons and has left early for the draft, and the safety group will also lose some depth as Levonta Taylor has graduated. Taylor stepped in for Nasirildeen and Lars-Woodbey while they were injured and did fairly well in their absence. That kind of depth is nice to have and will be missed.

Goals for 2020

The last three seasons have been the worst for Florida State football in the last 45 years. The Seminoles have brought in tremendous talent, but they have not been able to get their players to play up to their ability and play disciplined. I do not think Florida State needs to attach a win number to their goal this season, I think they just need to start playing at or at least near their talent level. If they do that, I think this will be quite a nice season for them, even with some apparent weaknesses still there.

Georgia Tech

Last Season

The Yellow Jackets started off 2019 and the Geoff Collins era by being thrown into the fire and facing Clemson in their opening game. That did not go so well, but they did notch their first win of the season by beating South Florida in their next game. The joy of that win did not last long as Georgia Tech lost to The Citadel, an FCS team the following week (The Citadel tan the triple option and I believe they were trying to make Georgia Tech see the error in their ways and return to it). Their next game was a loss against Temple, where Collins coached last season. That loss had to hurt and while the Yellow Jackets were licking their wounds, they kept it semi close, but still lost to North Carolina and at Duke to fall to 1-5 on the season. The four game losing streak was eventually snapped as they beat Miami 28-21 in overtime. That was ally followed by three consecutive losses before another win against North Carolina State. The Yellow Jackets could not do too much against rival Georgia in the season finale and ended the season with a 3-9 record.

What to Look Forward to

When looking at the offense on a large scale, I think it is definitely good for returning players to have now had a full year of playing non-triple option football. The triple option is a very specific and specialized offense and having more time to adapt to their new schemes will definitely be beneficial. Georgia Tech hit the recruiting trail hard this offseason and made quite a few big signings. Four-star quarterback Jeff Sims was a nice get as he was a top 10 dual threat quarterback in the country and will at least compete for the starting job, if not win it. At running back, four-star recruit Jahmyr Gibbs could be an immediate impact player. Jordan Mason will also return for 2020 after leading the team in rushing yards last season. Tobias Oliver will be an interesting player to watch for the Yellow Jackets this season. Oliver originally was recruited to play quarterback under the triple option scheme but has shifted under new coaching to a running back. Oliver threw 26 passes in 2019, was third on the team in rushing, and also caught 11 passes. It will be interesting to see how he is used in the offense in 2020. Georgia Tech also returns their top three leading receivers from last season. Ahmarean Brown had a strong showing during his true freshman season playing from the slot. Adonicas Sanders and Malachi Carter finished second and third respectively and could have had more yards if they each did not miss some time. Adding to the receiving corps will be Miami transfer Marquez Ezzard who is eligible after sitting out last season due to transfer rules. On the offensive line, Georgia Tech returns four starters from last season. They also dipped into the transfer portal to get two offensive linemen as they signed guard Ryan Johnson from Tennessee and tackle Devin Cochran from Vanderbilt. On the defensive line, Georgia Tech returns all four starters. Defensive tackle Quon Griffin led the team in sacks while appearing in just eight games. Kelton Dawson and Antwan Owens return at defensive end after starting last season. Charlie Thomas led the team in tackles for loss in 2019 and returns at linebacker. In the secondary, the Yellow Jackets return every starter from last season. Cornerback Tre Swilling was likely the best player on the defense last season and having him back will be very nice. Nickel back Kaleb Oliver led the team in interceptions and will also return.

What to be Concerned About

To put it simply, Georgia Tech really struggled through the air last season. The Yellow Jackets were in the bottom 10 in the FBS in passing yards, third down conversion percentage, and passing efficiency. They were in the bottom three in first downs and the worst in the FBS in completion percentage. James Graham took most of the snaps at quarterback and he completed just 45% of his passes and had a touchdown to interception ratio of 12/7. It is possible that Jeff Sims takes the job, but that is a lot of faith to put into a four-star true freshman. Regardless, it will be hard to have supreme confidence in whoever is playing quarterback to start the season. Georgia Tech also seems to lack depth at running back outside of Jordan Mason. The Yellow Jackets also lose Tyler Davis at tight end, which will be a tougher loss since they also do not have a ton of depth there considering they never had a tight end on their team when running the triple option. On defense, David Curry will be a tough guy to replace at linebacker as he led the team in tackles by a considerable margin in 2019. Christian Campbell provides a lot fo depth at safety and he will also be gone. Georgia Tech’s schedule in 2020 will also be a bit unforgiving. Three of their four non-conference games will be against UCF, Notre Dame, and against rival Georgia in the Clean, Old Fashioned Hate game.

Goals for 2020

Last season, as expected, was a time of rough transition for Georgia Tech. the good news is that the team seemed to improve through last season and Collins has been putting in work on the recruiting trail. While I still do not think all problems would be solved, I think putting together a functioning offense is a fairly reasonable expectation. In terms of goals, Georgia Tech needs to just aim to adjust to the post triple option era more and more offensively.

Louisville

Last Season

Louisville started off the Scott Satterfield era with a loss to Notre Dame, where the Cardinals hung tough for a half. Their 2018 win total was matched in their next two games as they beat up on G5 Western Kentucky (I just have to bring up that Louisville played Western Kentucky in Nashville. That is so dumb. Why on earth would you play a neutral site game between two teams who are in the same state and have it take place in an entirely different state?) and FCS Eastern Kentucky. Their 2018 win total was surpassed and doubled after wins over Boston College and Wake Forest, which put the Cardinals at 4-2. A loss to Clemson was a bit demoralizing, but they rebounded with a win over Virginia the next week. Louisville could not secure bowl eligibility quite yet as they fell to Miami, but got it done the next week with a win over North Carolina State. The Cardinals could not bring home a win over rival Kentucky but beat Mississippi State in the Music City Bowl to finish 7-6, which is quite an impressive mark after going 2-10 the previous season.

What to Look Forward to

At quarterback, Micale Cunningham was established as the starter earlier on last season, and never relinquished it once he had it. Cunningham completed 62% of his passes for 2,061 yards and a touchdown to interception ratio of 22/5 while throwing for 11.8 yards per attempt. Cunningham also made an impact as a rusher with 482 rushing yards. Having him back will be very nice for the Cardinals and I think another year with him, and the coaching staff will only make him better. At running back, Javian Hawkins really burst onto the scene last season and he will be back for 2020. After getting just two carries as a freshman, Hawkins ran for 1,525 yards on 5.8 yards per carry in 2019. Hawkins added a dynamic to Louisville’s offense that they completely missed in 2018 and having him back will be huge for their offense. Hassan Hall will also be back as a secondary back. At receiver, Chatarius Atwell also returns after putting up 1,272 receiving yards in 2019. Atwell is just 5’9” and 153 pounds, but he is a constant big play threat in the offense and is someone opposing defenses have to be ready for. Des Fitzpatrick also returns at receiver after finishing second on the team in receptions and receiving yards last season. At tight end, Marshon Ford returns as well and added quite a bit to the passing game last season. Louisville also returns all three starters along the interior offensive line from last season. They also signed junior college transfer Trevor Reid at offensive tackle who will look to make an immediate impact. Louisville returns a host of linebackers from a unit that will definitely be the strength of the defense this season. CJ Avery led the team in tackles at inside linebacker, and he will be back as will fellow starter at inside linebacker Dorian Etheridge. Rodjay Burns led the team in tackles for loss at outside linebacker and will also be back. Monty Montgomery played a key reserve role at inside linebacker and led the team in sacks and will also return. Both starting cornerbacks from last season return as Chandler Jones and Anthony Johnson look to make up a strong duo. Jones led the team in pass deflections last season while Johnson led the team in forced fumbles. Russ Yeast also returns at safety and will be a key player in the secondary.

What to be Concerned About

Along the offensive line, Louisville loses their anchor for the past couple seasons in Mekhi Becton. Becton is a mammoth of a man at 6’7” and 375 pounds and losing him as a powerful but still athletic in run blocking and pass protection will be impactful. The Cardinals also lose their other starting offensive tackle from last season as Tyler Haycraft has graduated. At receiver, the graduation of Seth Dawkins does decrease the depth at the position as he was third on the team in receiving yards. Keion Wakefield was another player that coaches hoped would make a step up at receiver, but he transferred to West Virginia. Louisville loses a lot of talent along the defensive line as well. Defensive tackle GG Robinson was a key player on the defense for two seasons and did well at plugging up the middle in Louisville’s 3-4 defense and he will be gone. Robinson was second on the team in sacks last season while often commanding double teams. His presence will be a tough one to replace. Amonte Caban started at defensive end last season and will also be gone. Boosie Whitlow will be gone as well at outside linebacker after being a solid playmaker last season. At safety, Khane Pass graduated and will be missed as he was one of the more reliable players on the defense. While Louisville’s recruiting class in 2020 was improved from 2019, there is not a lot of star power to it and relied a bit more on junior college players than I am sure most would have liked.

Goals for 2020

Louisville’s turnaround this past season was one of my favorite stories in college football. The Cardinals were dreadful in 2018, but quickly turned things around under Satterfield to increase their win total by six games. I see no reason for that win total to not increase again this season. The Cardinals return a lot of skill position talent, and have solid players returning on defense. While the ACC has Clemson sitting a top of it, I think the title of second best team in the conference is largely up for grabs. I think Louisville has a legitimate chance of taking it this season and I believe that should be their goal.

Miami

Last Season

Miami started off 2019 on the wrong foot as they lost to in-state rival Florida in an ugly game. Things were not any better when the Hurricanes lost 28-25 to North Carolina in their next game. After two non-conference wins, the Hurricanes dipped below .500 again with a loss to Virginia Tech. A win over Virginia was nice, but it was soon offset by a loss to Georgia Tech. That loss seemed to ignite something as Miami then went on a three game win streak with wins over Pittsburgh, Florida State, and Louisville. The regular season ended on a pretty low note as the Hurricanes lost to in-State G5 opponent FIU, and then lost again to Duke to finish the regular season 6-6. In the Independence Bowl, the Hurricanes fell back below .500 as they lost 14-0 to Louisiana Tech.

What to Look Forward to

After dipping into the transfer portal, Miami looks to have solved their quarterback problem that has plagued them since Brad Kaaya left. The Hurricanes landed D’Eriq King from Houston, the top quarterback in the portal. At Houston, King set a record by having 15 consecutive games with both a passing and rushing touchdown. In his last full season with Houston, King threw for 2,982 yards and a touchdown to interception ratio of 36/6 while rushing for another 674 yards and 14 touchdowns. King is a dynamic player that should definitely elevate the ceiling of this offense. Miami returns Cam’Ron Harris at running back who was second on the team in rushing yards last season. They also signed a pair of four-star running backs in Jaylan Knighton and Don Chaney Jr. who will look to make an immediate impact. The Hurricanes also will have a Brevin Jordan back at tight end. Jordan will arguably be one of the best tight ends in the country this season and was second on the team in receiving yards last season despite missing four games. Mike Harley is also back at receiver after starting last season. While Miami definitely struggled on the offensive line last season, they do get all of their starters back, which should help, especially considering they started two freshmen, a redshirt freshman, a sophomore, and a redshirt sophomore by the end of the season. At defensive end, the Hurricanes get back Gregory Rousseau, who might be the best defensive end in the country. Rousseau really burst onto the scene in 2019 with 54 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, and 15.5 sacks. Having him back will be huge. Miami also dipped into the transfer portal to get their other starting defensive end. Quincy Roche had a very productive 2019 season at Temple where he racked up 19 tackles for loss and 13 sacks and earned AAC Defensive Player of the Year. Roche and Rousseau will make up one of the best if not the best pass rushing duos in the country. At linebacker, Miami also will have a great new addition in Jaelan Phillips. Phillips was the number one overall recruit in the class of 2017, but battled injuries at UCLA and saw the staff that he signed with get fired. After sitting out 2019 due to the transfer, Phillips will be able to play this season and should be an impact player on the defense. DJ Ivey is back at cornerback after leading the team in interceptions last season. Ivey and Al Blades should be a strong duo at cornerback. Bubba Bolden also will be back at safety after missing a good chunk of last season. In terms of the coaching staff, I think many Miami fans were excited to hear that Dan Enos was replaced at offensive coordinator and Rhett Lashlee was brought in. Lashlee has done very well as a recruiter at Auburn and had success as SMU’s offensive coordinator last season.

What to be Concerned About

While Miami has found their quarterback for 2020 with D’Eriq King, their long term future at the position is concerning. Jarren Williams started most of 2019 and is now in the transfer portal. While there were reports of laziness and immaturity from Williams during the season and that he missed practice often, I think he was the most talented quarterback Miami had and to lose him is not ideal. N’Kosi Perry has seen time the last two seasons and I really do not think he can be the guy. Not to mention, he has also had some character concerns. Tate Martell was thought to be the starter going into 2019, but rarely saw action and was rumored to be switching to receiver at certain points last season. To put it simply, who their starting quarterback will be for 2021 is vastly unknown and that should worry Miami fans. In terms of this upcoming season, the Hurricanes will have to replace their leading rusher from last season as DeeJay Dallas left early for the draft. Lorenzo Lingard was thought of as someone who could fill in, but he left for Florida via the transfer portal. At receiver, the Hurricanes lose Jeff Thomas who was a key part of their receiving corps the last three seasons. They also lose KJ Osborn who led the team in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns last season. While there is a lot of retention on the offensive line, that whole unit was far from good last season. The Hurricanes allowed the fourth most sacks per game in the FBS. Their pass protection desperately needs to improve if they want to get the most out of D’Eriq King. On the defensive line, Miami loses Jonathan Garvin, who’s presence at defensive end, I think helped free up Rousseau. It is also likely that Scott Patchan will be gone at defensive end as he is currently in the transfer portal. Patchan probably would not start on this team, but he would be a key reserve. Trevon Hill also will be gone at defensive end after starting last season. Pat Bethel is also gone at defensive tackle. Miami also loses all of their key members of a linebacking corps that led this defense that last three seasons. Shaquille Quarterman has been a four year starter at linebacker and has been the face of a defense that has led this program for the last three seasons. Losing Quarterman will be quite impactful. Michael Pinckney, along with Quarterman, has been an impact player on the defense for four seasons and will also be gone. Zach McCloud and Romeo Finley also played key roles in the position group and are graduating as well. At cornerback, Trajan Bandy decided for the draft after being the team’s top cornerback last season. Robert Knowles will also be gone at safety.

Goals for 2020

Miami football the last 15 years (or really since they lost the National Championship to Ohio State) has been defined by untapped potential and a series of bad coaching hires. There have been many Miami teams in that span that have had tremendous talent but none of them have truly been able to pull it all together for one reason or another. If this team can play up to their talent level, they could win the ACC Coastal with ease. Unfortunately, it is hard for me to be fully convinced they will. I think Miami’s main focus needs to be to try and play up to their talent level. If they can do that, good things will follow.

North Carolina

Last Season

North Carolina started off the season with a surprising win over South Carolina in their season opener. They continued to ride the high with a win over Miami in their next game. Unfortunately for the Tar Heels, they fell back to earth with two straight losses in close games. At 2-2, North Carolina had arguably their best performance of the season as they went toe to toe with Clemson but ultimately fell by one point after missing a two point conversion with a little over a minute left. The Tar Heels got back to .500 by winning two of their next three with their loss being to Virginia Tech in six overtimes. After falling to Virginia and Pittsburgh, North Carolina needed to win their last two games to be bowl eligible. They beat FCS foe Mercer and then beat down on rival North Carolina State to get the job done. Once in their bowl game, the Tar Heels boat raced Temple to finish the season 7-6, a five game improvement over last season to cap off year one for Mack Brown.

What to Look Forward to

Sam Howell had a very strong showing during his freshman season and should only be better with a season under his belt. Howell threw for 3,641 yards and 38 touchdowns last season and I expect those numbers to rise in 2020 and I think Howell could even be a very under the radar Heisman contender. At running back, North Carolina relied heavily on the duo of Javonte Williams and Michael Carter and they will get both of them back. Carter ran for 1,003 yards and Williams ran for 933 of his own. At receiver, Dazz Newsome elected to return to school, which will really help the passing game. Newsome is North Carolina’s best receiver when it comes to taking the top off of a defense and adds another layer to their passing attack. Dyami Brown also returns after leading the team in receiving yards last season. Beau Corrales rounds out the starting receiving corps and is the best possession receiver the Tar Heels have. Four-star freshman Josh Downs is another receiver to keep an eye out for. Garrett Walston returns at tight end after starting last season. The Tar Heels also return four starters on the offensive line. Raymond Vohasek worked just way into the starting lineup at defensive end during last season and I think he could really take a step up this season. Four-star defensive ends Desmond Evans and Myles Murphy could make an immediate impact this season as well, especially considering Evans was a top 50 recruit. Linebacker Chazz Surratt elected to return to school, which was very exciting to me as I think he will continue to improve. Surratt was a quarterback up until last season before making the position switch and did very well in his new spot as he had a team leading 115 tackles and 15 tackles for loss while being named first team all-ACC. A full offseason training in his new position should only make him better. Jeremiah Gemmell returns as the other starter at inside linebacker while Tomon Fox returns at outside linebacker. Gemmell finished second behind Surratt in tackles while Fox was productive as an edge rusher. Storm Duck and Trey Morrison return as starting cornerbacks. Duck had an impressive showing his freshman season and I think he will be a player to watch in 2020. Also at cornerback, the Tar Heels added Kyler McMichael and Bryce Watts via the transfer portal. Both sat out 2019 due to transfer rules but could make an impact this season. Safety Myles Wolfolk led the team in interceptions while only playing in five games and will also return.

What to be Concerned About

In the passing game, the Tar Heels lost some depth via the transfer portal as three receivers are in the portal and tight ends Carl Tucker and Noah Turner already transferred out. Tucker was someone that could have saw reps in 2020. While this might not have a major impact at the moment, there could be some depth issues if any starter goes down. On the offensive line, the Tar Heels loss Charlie Heck who has been the anchor of the offensive line at left tackle the last two seasons. Heck was the only offensive lineman on the team to get all-ACC recognition and will definitely leave a hole that will be tough to fill. On the defensive line, Aaron Crawford will be gone at nose tackle. Crawford did quite well at anchoring down the middle for the Tar Heels and will be missed, as will defensive tackle Jason Stowbridge who was a key part of the defensive line the last three seasons. North Carolina also loses Dominique Ross at outside linebacker who started last season. Safety Myles Dorn was second on the team in interceptions and first in pass deflections and will also be gone. North Carolina also has a pretty tough non-conference schedule this season. In opening weekend, they play at UCF, then travel to Atlanta to play Auburn in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff. Even their game against an FCS opponent is against James Madison, who is one of the best programs in the FCS.

Goals for 2020

North Carolina surprised a lot of people by getting back to bowl eligibility in just one season under Mack Brown. To make things even better, the Tar Heels return quite a lot of production from last year’s team. I think that the ACC Coastal is up for grabs and North Carolina has no reason they can not go for it. I think winning the division should be their goal, but at least eight wins is another good mark to set.

North Carolina State

Last Season

North Carolina State started off 2019 with two wins over East Carolina and FCS foe Western Carolina. The Wolfpack had a fairly surprising loss to West Virginia but rebounded with a win over Ball State. They fell in their ACC opener to Florida State, but took down Syracuse the following week to move up to 4-2. The Wolfpack lost their next three games. While losses to Wake Forest and Clemson were somewhat expected, a blowout loss at the hands of Boston College. North Carolina State failed to get up to .500 as they lost to Louisville. With bowl eligibility on the line, the Wolfpack played close, but lost a lowly Georgia Tech team and could not reverse their misfortunes as they lost to rival North Carolina in the regular season finale. The Wolfpack had an epic collapse to end the season as they lost their last six games to finish 4-8, their first losing season since 2013.

What to Look Forward to

North Carolina State’s three most used ball carriers last season were two freshmen and a sophomore. Zonovan Knight emerged as the Wolfpack’s top back as a true freshman and having him back will be nice. Jordan Houston, also a freshman, settled into the role of secondary back and was also effective as a pass catcher out of the backfield. Ricky Person Jr. is another person to watch for as I think he will get himself some carries this season. At receiver, Emeka Emezie will return after leading the team in catches and receiving yards last season. Devin Carter and Thayer Thomas also return after getting their fair share of looks as well, and four-star true freshman Porter Rooks could also see his number called often as well. Tight end Cary Angeline will be back after being the team’s top red zone target last season as he led the team in receiving touchdowns. On the offensive line, North Carolina State returns four starters from a pretty strong unit last season. I think that this offensive line will be good enough to really build the offense around. At defensive tackle, Alim McNeill will be back after anchoring the middle well last season. Four-star freshman Davin Vann could also get some looks at defensive tackle. Penn State transfer Daniel Joseph will now be eligible at defensive end and should make an impact this season. Ibrahim Kante and Savion Jackson will also be players to watch at defensive end. Payton Wilson has a strong redshirt freshman season at linebacker, and I expect him to really make an impact this season. Isaiah Moore and Calvin Hart Jr. will also be players to keep an eye out for in the linebacking corps. USC transfer Levi Jones will also likely see time at inside linebacker. Malik Dunlap and will return at cornerback after seeing a lot of reps last season. Tanner Ingle tied for the leader on the team in tackles with Wilson and will also be back. For the special teams unit, Christopher Dunn returning at kicker will be nice, as will the return of Trenton Gill at punter who averaged 47.6 yards per punt in 2019.

What to be Concerned About

North Carolina State will lose their top quarterback in terms of passer rating, completion percentage, and yards per attempt as Matt McKay transferred time Montana State. The Wolfpack never truly committed to a guy last season, but I believe McKay was their best guy and to lose him will be disappointing. This means there will now be a two-person battle between Devin Leary and Bailey Hockman. Leary completed less than 50% of his passes during his redshirt freshman campaign in 2019, but still looks to be the favorite to win the job as of now. In his defense, Leary definitely faced the toughest part of North Carolina State’s schedule. He has a pretty strong arm but struggled to go through his progressions at times. If he can maintain more consistency and get better at reading a defense, I would expect him to keep the job. Hockman transferred from Florida State and last season was his first time getting real game action as a college quarterback. Hockman looks like the better athlete of the two and had a higher completion percentage than Leary, but he has a weaker arm and threw more interceptions when you proportion out how many passes he threw. It still would not surprise me to see Hockman win their job considering new offensive coordinator Tim Beck likes mobile quarterbacks. Speaking of Tim Beck, it completely baffles me as a Longhorns fan as to how this guy keeps getting offensive coordinator jobs. Beck runs a remarkably conservative offense where he runs a quarterback into the ground and seems to absolutely refuse to ever take downfield shots at the defense. Beck has been run off at three different programs yet somehow gets jobs and I honestly am just kind of impressed at this point that he is still getting these coaching opportunities. North Carolina State fans need to hope Beck has learned from his errors at Texas and that fourth time will be the charm for him. At receiver, Tabari Hines graduates after being an impact player as a graduate transfer. Starting offensive guard Joshua Fedd-Jackson is currently in the transfer portal and while he could possibly come back, losing him would not be ideal since he was a starter last season. On defense, Larrell Murchison was definitely the Wolfpack’s best defensive player last season as he led the team in tackles for loss and sacks whine playing interior defensive line and losing him will be tough. Defensive end James Smith-Williams is also graduating after starting last season. Buck linebacker Brock Miller transferred to Boise State after being a starter last season. The Wolfpack also lose both starting cornerbacks from last season as Kishawn Miller graduates and De’Von Graves transferred to Northern Arizona. Jarius Morehead and Stephen Griffin also graduate, which will also deplete the secondary.

Goals for 2020

North Carolina State had to basically do an entire offensive rebuild in 2019, and it clearly showed as they often struggled to move the ball. Unfortunately for the Wolfpack, they likely have to have a similar project on defense this season. The Wolfpack have benefited largely from a conference that has been down the last few seasons. The ACC’s middle class has started to step up and the Wolfpack need to be able to follow suit. I believe they can, but it will not be easy. In terms of goals, I think offensive progress and finding some playmakers on defense should couple well into getting back to a bowl game.

Notre Dame

Last Season

Notre Dame started off 2019 with a win over a Louisville team that was a tougher out than expected. The Fighting Irish then had their 14 game regular season win streak snapped as they lost at Georgia in a tight game. Notre Dame got up to 5-1 after beating Virginia, slaughtering Bowling Green, and narrowly beating USC. After a bye week, the Fighting Irish inexplicably came out completely flat and lost 45-14 at Michigan. They then narrowly beat Virginia Tech, but finally found their footing after blowing out Duke. Notre Dame then blew out their final three regular season opponents and played the Camping World Bowl against Iowa State like they were mad they did not get a NY6 bid and won 33-9 to finish the season 11-2.

What to Look Forward to

Notre Dame looks to have retention and a clear starter at quarterback, which is pretty rare for them. Ian Book elected to return for his redshirt senior season. Book has faced some criticism, but I still believe he is a solid quarterback. I think his lack of a strong arm is what has led to his criticism, but he still makes smart plays and is athletic enough to make plays with his legs. Jafar Armstrong returns at running back and is very good at catching passes out of the backfield. Four-star freshman Chris Tyree was a nice signing for the Fighting Irish and could also see time in the backfield. At receiver, Notre Dame landed some help via the transfer portal when they signed Bennett Skowronek from Northwestern. Skowronek has been one of Northwestern’s top receivers the last few seasons but has been held back by an inconsistent passing game and should make an immediate impact with the Fighting Irish. Kevin Austin Jr. also will be back in the lineup after missing the 2019 season. Braden Lenzy and Lawrence Keys also return at receiver and should round out the starting lineup. Four star and top 50 overall recruit Jordan Johnson will also be someone to watch for as well at receiver. At tight end, Notre Dame signed a five-star recruit that could make an immediate impact in Michael Mayer. On the offensive line, Notre Dame was hit with good news when tackle Liam Eichenburg announced that he would return to school. Fellow tackle Josh Lugg returns as well and in terms of the future at the position, there he’s been slot of positive buzz around four-star freshman Tosh Baker. At defensive tackle, the Fighting Irish return Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa and Kurt Hinish who were starters last season. Linebacker Drew White tied for first on the team in tackles and will be back. In the secondary, Kyle Hamilton had a stellar freshman season and getting him back will be very nice. Houston Griffith also returns at safety and I think he will take a step up with his increased reps. Jeremiah Owusu-Karomoah tied White for first in tackles and led the team in tackles for loss while playing the rover position and getting him back will also be a big help for the defense. The Fighting Irish will also get back TaRiq Bracy who looked good in spots at cornerback and landed safety Isaiah Pryor as a graduate transfer from Ohio State via the transfer portal.

What to be Concerned About

Notre Dame will lose their top running back from last season as Tony Jones Jr. entered the NFL Draft. They also lose their top four leading receivers from last season. Chase Claypool emerged as a great red zone target and a terrific jump ball receiver in 2019 and losing him will be tough. The same goes for tight end Cole Kmet, who stepped up as a secondary option in the passing game. Claypool and Kmet developed strong chemistry with Book last season and their skill sets worked very well with Book’s. Chris Finke will also be gone at receiver after being a consistent part of the offense the last few seasons and being a strong leader. Javon McKinley will also be gone after playing a big role in the offense his senior season. Offensive linemen Tommy Kraemer and Trevor Ruhland will be gone after starting last season. Last season, Notre Dame sported a strong duo at defensive end as Julian Okwara and Khalid Kareem were both very good pass rushers and manned their spots well. Losing both of them will be tough. Asmar Bilal was another one of the top playmakers on the defense at middle linebacker, and he will be tough to replace. In the secondary, Notre Dame is undergoing a significant amount of attrition this offseason. Both starting cornerbacks, Donte Vaughn and Troy Pride Jr., are both graduating and leave a hole at the position. This is made even worse considering Shaun Crawford was an often-used backup that has also graduated. Jalen Elliott and Alohi Gilman made a very strong duo at safety and losing both of them is also going to be tough. Elliott has been an impact player the last three seasons, and Gilman was solid in pass coverage, and also made some big hits as he led the team with three forced fumbles. Losing all of these players in the secondary will prove to be a challenge for defensive coordinator Clark Lea. Speaking of coordinators, while moving on from offensive coordinator Chip Long seems like a good move, going with Tommy Rees as the new offensive coordinator seems a bit bold since he has never held a coordinator position before and is just 27 years old. Notre Dame’s schedule in 2020 will also be quite tough. Their schedule includes a game against Wisconsin at Lambeau Field, a game against Clemson in November, a season ending trip to USC, and games against a few scrappy opponents that should make things tough in Navy (their season opener that is held in Dublin, Ireland), Stanford, Pittsburgh, and Louisville.

Goals for 2020

Notre Dame has really started to get back into a groove as a program. The Fighting Irish have won at least 10 games for three straight seasons and are beginning to climb back up the ladder of top programs. I think that for this season, their goal should be to keep the 10 win streak alive and maintain that status. This season will be an interesting one as there will be a lot of change at key positions, but I think head coach Brian Kelly has definitely earned the vote of confidence.

Pittsburgh

Last Season

Pittsburgh started off their 2019 on a bad note as they lost to conference rival Virginia in the season opener, and also fell to rival Penn State in a game where they had plenty of opportunities to come out with a win. After their 1-2 start, the Panthers came out with a nice win, handing UCF their first regular season loss since 2016. Three more close wins later had Pittsburgh at 5-2 and in good position to repeat as ACC Coastal champions. Unfortunately, Pittsburgh lost to Miami and while they brought home wins over Georgia Tech and North Carolina, they closed out the regular season with losses to Virginia Tech and Boston College to finish off the regular season 7-5. In the QuuckLane Bowl, the Panthers faced an Eastern Michigan team that looked to be no match for them. Eastern Michigan gave Pittsburgh all they could handle before the Panthers escaped with a 34-30 win to finish off the season 8-5.

What to Look Forward to

While he has definite flaws as a passer, getting Kenny Pickett back at quarterback is nice for the Panthers. Pickett had a bit of an issue with interceptions in 2019, but he plays very tough, is effective as a runner, and always seems to step up when the game is on the line. Pittsburgh also returns AJ Davis at running back, who led the team in rushing yards last season. Pittsburgh tends to use more of a split backfield so getting back Vincent Davis and Todd Sibley Jr. will also be helpful for the offense. Sibley and AJ Davis are a bit more of the typical power back that Pittsburgh has used under Pat Narduzzi, while Vincent Davis is more of a speed back. At receiver, Taysir Mack returns and will look to step into the role of number one receiver after a strong showing last season. Shocky Jacques-Louis also returns at receiver and will be an interesting player to watch as I wonder if Pittsburgh will turn him into more of a gadget player. Jacques-Louis was third on the team in receiving yards and primarily lined up at receiver, but also had some carries out of the backfield. Also at receiver, Jordan Addison was Pittsburgh’s highest rated recruit in the class of 2020, and will likely see reps this season. At tight end, the Panthers signed a graduate transfer that will look to take the starting role in Lucas Krull out of Florida. On the offensive line, Pittsburgh returns four starters, including center Jimmy Morrissey who was named first team all-ACC and guard Bryce Hargrove who was named third team all-ACC. At defensive tackle, the Panthers return another first team all-ACC player in Jalen Twyman. While often drawing double teams and having to play from the trenches, Twyman led the team in sacks and tackles for loss and can take some pressure off of the rest of the defensive line. Deslin Alexandre and Patrick Jones will also be back as the starting duo at defensive end. Habakkuk Baldonado also made some big plays in a reserve role and will also be back at defensive end. Keyshon Camp was out for all but one game last season due to a knee injury and Rashad Weaver missed all of last season due to a knee injury as well. Weaver was a quality starter in 2018 and Camp was an opening day starter last season. Getting both of them back and healthy will make a very strong unit even better. Pittsburgh’s defense was quite adept at creating negative plays for opponents as they finished with the ninth most most tackles for loss in the FBS. This should continue to be the case as five of their top six finishers in tackles for loss return and they get two starting quality players back. Cam Bright returns at linebacker after finishing third on the team in tackles last season. Paris Ford was a first team all-ACC safety last season and will look to be even better in 2020. Damarri Mathis and Jason Pinnock will return at cornerback and should make a solid duo at the spot.

What to be Concerned About

At running back, the Panthers lose V’Lique Carter via the transfer portal. Carter did well as a secondary back and pass catcher out of the backfield. Without him, they will lose a bit of depth at the position. In the receiving corps, Pittsburgh loses Maurice Ffrench. Ffrench did very well in Pittsburgh’s offense as an athletic receiver who had great breakaway speed. In addition to that, he was pretty effective as a kick and punt returner. The offense was able to go to an extra gear with him on the field and losing him definitely takes away that part of their offensive game plan. The Panthers also lose the top two tight ends on their depth chart from last season. On the offensive line, Nolan Ulizio was a solid player at right tackle and will be missed. On defense, the Panthers lose Amir Watts at defensive tackle who did pretty well with Camp out with his injury. Kylan Johnson was an effective player at inside linebacker during his one season with Pittsburgh and filled his role well. Losing both him and Saleem Brightwell at linebacker will definitely be a big hit to that position group. Free safety Damar Hamlin was a big impact player in the secondary and one of the main reasons Pittsburgh’s opponents only completed 51% of their passes on average. Losing him will be tough. Dane Jackson will also be gone at cornerback after being a three year starter for the Panthers. Pittsburgh also loses three rotational players in the secondary via the transfer portal, which will negatively affect the long-term potential of that unit.

Goals for 2020

Pittsburgh has enjoyed mild success the last couple seasons and has definitely benefited from a couple of down years for their division. I think that this season will be a big one for the Panthers as there quite a few things about this team I like. I feel like they have solid depth at running back, a good offensive line, a scary defensive line, a solid secondary and a quarterback that can get the job done. If all of those pieces can come together, I think Pittsburgh can benefit from a schedule that is a bit easier than years past and make a run at eight wins. I like both of their coordinators, but head coach Pat Narduzzi has yet to truly prove himself. I think we will find out a lot about Narduzzi’s coaching chops this season. I think the eight wins I previously mentioned should be a good goal to set, and I think bringing home a division title is not out of the question.

Syracuse

Last Season

Syracuse entered last season with high expectations after going 10-3 in 2018 (some idiot with a blog even predicted that they would go 10-2 and win a NY6 Bowl). Those hopes were dashed quickly when they were blown out 63-20 by Maryland in their second game of the season. A blowout loss to Clemson put the Orangemen at 1-2, but they seemed to put it back together a bit with two non-conference wins. Their next two games were both one score losses at the hands of North Carolina State and Pittsburgh. Syracuse then fell to 3-6 with losses to Florida State and Boston College. It was after the 58-27 loss to Boston College when they fired defensive coordinator Brian Ward. The firing looked to create some sort of spark as the Orangemen won against Duke the next week. Unfortunately, their hopes of salvaging bowl eligibility were dashed the next week when they lost to Louisville, but they were able to have a nice ending to their disappointing season as they beat Wake Forest in overtime to finish 5-7.

What to Look Forward to

Syracuse returns Tommy DeVito at quarterback. While DeVito struggled early, I think he started to settle into things as the season went on. On the season, DeVito completed 63% of his passes for 2,360 yards and a touchdown to interception ratio of 19/5. He also ran for 122 yards, and this account for the fact that Syracuse allowed the third most sacks in the country on average. While part of the blame should be put on DeVito holding the ball too long and trying to make things happen with his legs a bit too much, he clearly was dealt a bad hand in terms of pass protection. I expect him to improve this season. When it comes to the offensive line, four starters return, junior college transfer Mark Petry could make an immediate impact at tackle as could Florida transfer Chris Bleich at guard, and offensive line coach Kirk Martin was replaced. While all of these things are not going to build Rome in a day, they should mean there will be some improvement. At receiver, I think Taj Harris will be a player to watch as he steps into the number one receiver role. Harris has been a consistent part of the passing game his freshman and sophomore seasons and I think he will be able to handle the increased workload well. Nykeim Johnson did well in 2018 but was hampered by injuries last season. I think he should have a bounce back year at receiver in 2020. At tight end, Aaron Hackett returns after starting last season. At defensive tackle, Josh Black returns after starting last season. Chris Elmore is another player on the interior defensive line that I think will step up and make an impact this season. Brandon Berry also returns after doing well as a rotational player at defensive end last season. In the linebacking corps, Mikel Jones was an impact player during his freshman campaign in 2019 and should only improve this season. In the secondary, Trill Williams returns as the nickelback after filling that role last season. Getting Andre Cisco back at safety will be huge for this defense. In his first 22 games in a Syracuse uniform, Cisco has picked off 12 passes. Cisco also upped his total in tackles last season from 2018 while playing in four less games. It would it surprise me to see Cisco be a first team all-American or a Jim Thorpe Award finalist this upcoming season. Eric Coley also returns at safety and I expect him to seamlessly transition into the starting role at strong safety. Ifeatu Melifonwu returns at cornerback after taking on a much bigger role in 2019. If Melifonwu can become even close to the athlete his older brother, Patriots safety Obi Melifonwu is, he will be a real impact player for the Orangemen. Andre Szmyt is one of the best kickers in the country and took home the Lou Groza Award as a redshirt freshman in 2018 and will be nice to have back. Syracuse also has a pretty easy non-conference schedule and I think going 4-0 in non-conference play would not be too difficult.

What to be Concerned About

The Orangemen elected to demote offensive coordinator Mike Lynch to running backs coach. While I do not think that was an inherently bad decision, it definitely was one when you learn that they hired Sterlin Gilbert to be offensive coordinator. Gilbert was the offensive coordinator for my Texas Longhorns for one season and I have to say that he was quite bad at his job (he was so bad that he was fired, and Texas’s athletic staff felt that Tim Beck was an upgrade over him). He held the same position at South Florida and after Quinton Flowers could not drag his offense to success, his flaws showed again. Syracuse fans better hope that Gilbert’s one season as head coach at FCS McNeese State allowed him to hone his craft at offensive coaching and play calling because if not, they are going to have a bad time. At running back, Syracuse loses Moe Neal who was their leading rusher the last two seasons. They also lack a real apparent replacement for him and will likely have to go with running back by committee at least at first in 2020. Receiver Trishton Jackson left school early after leading the team with 1,023 receiving yards and being on the receiving end of 48% of the passing touchdowns thrown this season by Syracuse. As I mentioned previously, Syracuse also had bad offensive line play last season and I worry about how much of an improvement they will really have this season. On the defensive line, three out of four starters are gone. Alton Robinson has been a reliable playmaker at defensive end the last couple seasons and his presence has freed up other defensive linemen. Fellow defensive end Kendall Coleman will also be gone. At linebacker, Lakiem Williams will also be gone after leading the team with 110 tackles and 12.5 tackles for loss last season. Williams really was a pleasant surprise on the 2019 team, and it will not be fun to replace him. The same goes for Andrew Armstrong, Syracuse’s other starting linebacker last season who was second on the team in tackles. In the secondary, cornerback Christopher Frederick and safety Evan Foster will be tough losses.

Goals for 2020

Syracuse had a largely disappointing 2019 season. The program really seemed to waste the momentum set by the 2018 season and I think that is a tough fact to deal with, especially considering Syracuse loses a lot of pieces from last season’s team. This season will be a make or break year for Dino Babers as head coach as I worry he will just try to rest on his laurels from the 2018 season. While they lose a lot on defense, I still think the Orangemen can benefit from a fairly easy schedule and can be a bowl team. I think that should be the goal they set for 2020.

Virginia

Last Season

Virginia started off 2019 with a win over conference foe Pittsburgh, a win that had to have felt good since losing to Pittsburgh cost the Cavaliers a division title in 2018. Virginia had another impressive win two weeks later when they beat Florida State and ended up starting the season 4-0. They then ran into a speed bump as they lost to Notre Dame, then Miami the next week, and then to Louisville in the span of four games. At 5-3, Virginia really needed to up their game if they wanted to win the ACC Coastal. After two narrow victories and a non-conference win over Liberty, the stage was set. In order to win the division, Virginia needed to beat rival Virginia Tech for the first time since 2003. Virginia did just that and got the monkey off their back to win the division (and capped off an insane streak where all seven ACC Coastal teams won the division in the span of seven seasons). Virginia’s good luck ran out in the ACC Championship where they lost to Clemson. Due to bowl and conference tie ins, the Cavaliers made the Orange Bowl and faced off with Florida in a game many people believed Virginia would be blown out. While the Cavaliers hung tight, they fell 36-28 and finished the season 9-5. While it ended with two losses, it is hard to call this season anything except a success.

What to Look Forward to

At running back, Virginia returns Wayne Taulapapa and PK Kier, who were their top two running backs last season. Taulapapa led the team in rushing touchdowns while Kier led the team in yards per carry. At receiver, Terrell Jana returns after finishing second on the team in receiving yards. Tavares Kelly will be another receiver to watch as he found success lining up in the slot. Tanner Cowley also returns at tight end after starting last season. The Cavaliers also return all five starters from last season on the offensive line. They also bring in four-star offensive tackle Andrew Gentry to add some depth to the group. On the defensive line, Jowon Briggs returns at nose guard after starting as a freshman. Aaron Faumui also will be an impact player up front after doing well as a rotational player in 2019. Four-star freshman Jonathan Horton could also see reps at defensive end. At linebacker, Virginia gets back Charles Snowden. As an outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense, Snowden did well rushing the passer last season as he racked up five sacks and 11 tackles for loss. He also was third on the team in tackles and had four pass deflections. The cherry on top is that the 6’7” Snowden also caught a 24 yard pass last season. I expect him to be the best player on the defense in 2020. Fellow outside linebacker Noah Taylor is another good playmaker and had 12 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks last season. Zane Zandier led the team in tackles and tackles for loss at inside linebacker and is also returning. In the secondary, Nick Grant and Heskin Smith return as the starting cornerbacks. Joey Blount was a versatile playmaker at free safety and getting him back will definitely help the defense.

What to be Concerned About

With the graduation of quarterback Bryce Perkins, Virginia loses by far their most reliable source of yardage from the last two seasons. Perkins threw for 3,530 yards and 22 touchdowns while completing 64% of his passes and ran for another 769 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2019. In addition to being able to attack defenses through the air, Perkins led the Cavaliers in rushing yards and was nearly 300 yards ahead of second place. Perkins really took an offense with minimal running back and offensive line talent and made them into an offense that was often times completely viable. His impact was big and replacing him will not be easy. As things stand right now, redshirt sophomore Brennan Armstrong is the presumed starter for 2020. That beings said, I would not be shocked to see Virginia get a graduate transfer to be their starter. At receiver, the Cavaliers lose Hasise Dubois who led the team in receiving yards and always seemed to step up in big moments. While Dubois was more of a possession receiver, Virginia also loses Joe Reed who was more of their speed receiver. Losing them both will definitely make things tougher for whoever the new quarterback is. While Virginia returns all five starters on the offensive line, the unit definitely struggled last season. Their deficiencies were definitely masked at times by Perkins. I expect the offensive line to get better, but the road to competency is still a fairly long one. All in all, this entire offensive situation is going to be a tough environment for a first year starter at quarterback. On the defensive line, Virginia loses both starting defensive ends from last season as Richard Burney and Eli Hanback have both graduated. Inside linebacker Jordan Mack led the team in sacks while missing two games and will also be gone. While he did not provide a great contribution in 2019 due to an injury shortened season where he played just six games, losing Bryce Hall at cornerback has to be disappointing. Hall had an FBS leading 21 pass deflections an was an all-American.

Goals for 2020

Virginia had a very good season in 2019 that I believe fans of the Cavaliers will look back on fondly. Bronco Mendenhall has done a very good job in Charlottesville when it comes to giving this program a much needed boost. I think that this season will show how Virginia can handle an offensive retooling and how they can handle what many people will believe to be a down year. I think Virginia should aim to stay above rival Virginia Tech in the ACC hierarchy, try to find an offensive indemnity, and I would probably say eight is a good win total to aim for.

Virginia Tech

Last Season

Virginia Tech started off last season with some results that would definitely lead to concern. The Hokies lost their season opener to Boston College, had an uninspiring 31-17 over a 1-11 Old Dominion, and another uninspiring 24-17 win over FCS foe Furman. The Hokies got it together a bit by beating Miami and starting off a three game win streak to boost their record to 5-2. A loss to Notre Dame was disappointing, but Virginia Tech turned around and beat up on Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, and Pittsburgh. This left everything on the line when the Hokies made the trip to Charlottesville to play rival Virginia in the Commonwealth Cup. For the first time since 2003, Virginia Tech lost the game. To add insult to injury, they also lost the Belk Bowl to Kentucky to finish the season 8-5.

What to Look Forward to

In the middle of last season, Virginia Tech made the switch to Hendon Hooker at quarterback and never looked back. Hooker only had a completion percentage of 61%, but he threw for 9.6 yards per attempt and threw for 13 touchdowns to just two interceptions. Hooker also added 356 yards and five touchdowns. Having him back at quarterback will be very nice for the offense. While the Hokies have an opening at running back, I think they did well in filling it as they signed two graduate transfers that should bolster the group. Khalil Herbert has been a strong secondary back at Kansas that would have had more carries if they did not also have an elite back playing for them. Raheem Blackshear led Rutgers in rushing yards in 2018 before redshirting 2019. I think that having those two in the backfield will generate a strong run game. In the receiving corps, Tre Turner will be back after leading the team in receiving yards in 2019. Tayvion Robinson will look to build on a strong showing during his freshman season. James Mitchell will also be back at tight end. The Hokies also return all five starters on the offensive line. They also add Coastal Carolina transfer Brock Hoffman who sat out 2019 due to transfer rules (which was stupid). Jarrod Hewitt and Dashawn Crawford return at defensive tackle. Both started last season and will be complimented by TyJuan Garbutt and Emmanual Belmar at defensive end who also started last season. Rayshard Ashby returns at middle linebacker after leading the team in tackles for two straight seasons. Where Ashby really improved in 2019 was his versatility. His total in tackles increased but he also went from 9.5 to 17 tackles for loss and from one to five sacks. Ashby’s ability to make plays all over the field was a big reason Virginia Tech’s defense improved last season. Dax Hollifield also returns at linebacker, meaning that all starting linebackers and defensive linemen return from last season. Caleb Farley had four interceptions and broke up 12 passes in 10 games last season and will probably be the best player on the defense in 2020. Jermaine Waller also returns and will be solid as well. Chamorri Conner was another versatile playmaker last season at nickelback and I think he will only get better this season. Divine Deablo also returns and did well as the only true safety Virginia Tech uses on their defense.

What to be Concerned About

In what was a bit of a surprising decision, Deshawn McClease, the leading rusher on last year’s team, elected to leave school early for the draft. While I think Blackshear (I find it a bit funny that Virginia Tech signed a player named Blackshear via the transfer portal in football just a few months after losing a basketball player with the same last name via the transfer portal) and Herbert should do well, there is always some risk with signing graduate transfers. At receiver, the Hokies saw five players in that position group alone enter the transfer portal. This includes Damon Hazelton, who was 26 yards shy of leading the team in receiving yards and only played in nine games. This also includes Hezekiah Grimsley, who has been a solid rotational player at receiver and was the hero of the game when the Hokies best Virginia in 2018. Having those two along with three backups leave will definitely hurt the present and future of that position on the roster. Tight end Dalton Keene will also be gone as he elected to leave school early for the draft. On the defensive line, the Hokies lose Robert Porcher via the transfer portal. Porcher appeared in just two games in 2019, but he saw reps as a true freshman. Reggie Floyd has graduated after being the starter at the rover position last season. Floyd played an important role on the defense and his position requires a specific type of player so losing him will be tough. Virginia Tech also loses longtime defensive coordinator Bud Foster who retired after last season. While Foster definitely lost a step the last couple seasons, he is a legend at Virginia Tech and even near the end was a position on staff that people never had to be worried about. The Hokies also have 13 players currently in the transfer portal. While five of them have not chosen a new school, head coach Justin Fuente did he will not allow any player who enters the portal back on the team. At the start of last season, I felt like Virginia Tech was going to collapse in on themselves due to Fuente losing support from the players. While they turned things around during the middle of the season, that concern has not gone away. The Hokies also signed the worst recruiting class in the ACC just a year after ranking sixth and the 72nd best nationally. They have never been worse than eighth in the ACC or 43rd nationally. There were eight G5 teams with better classes and just one P5 team with a worse class.

Goals for 2020

Last season was a very up and down one. They started and finished poorly but had a very good run during the middle stretch. As I talked about before, I was fully convinced Justin Fuente was going to be fired a few weeks into the season when the Hokies were 2-2. I honestly think switching to Hendon Hooker at quarterback saved him his job. Virginia Tech has a lot of defensive talent returning, a solid quarterback, and some new weapons in the run game and I think could challenge for the ACC Coastal (I know I have said it about multiple teams, but the division feels wide open to me). I think the Hokies need to set that as their goal and also need to find themselves a firm ground to stand on. The players do not seem to have bought into Fuente and something needs to be down to change that.

Wake Forest

Last Season

Wake Forest had an exciting win in their season opener, beating Utah State 35-34. During Wake Forest’s 5-0 start, they had two more nail biting wins, besting North Carolina and Boston College in one score games. The Demon Deacons finally saw their run end as they lost in a shootout to Louisville. Two more wins put them at 7-1. Unfortunately, Wake Forest slipped up against Virginia Tech and were blown out by Clemson the following week. A win over Duke temporarily stopped the bleeding, but they lost to Syracuse to end the regular season. Unfortunately for the Demon Deacons, they fell to Michigan State in the Pinstripe Bowl to finish the season 8-5 after starting 7-1. While that seems a bit disappointing, they were bit by the injury bug later in the season and saw their schedule get tougher.

What to Look Forward to

While Wake Forest is in a time of transition at quarterback, they could still definitely be in a worse situation. Sam Hartman started for the first part of 2018 before he was injured and usurped by Jamie Newman. Hartman also did well in relief last season when Newman went down. Hartman numbers also improved from 2018 in terms of completion percentage, yards per attempt, and passer rating. Kenneth Walker returns at running back after a solid freshman season in 2019 where he led the team in yards per carry. The Demon Deacons received some very good news when receiver Sage Surratt announced that he would return to school. Surratt played in just nine games and had 66 catches, 1,001 receiving yards, and 11 touchdowns. Surratt, who was also a highly touted basketball recruit out of high school, is a master at getting contested catches and boxing out cornerbacks for jump balls. Having him back will definitely make the Demon Deacons a lot more effective through the air. Donavon Greene appeared in just four games during his true freshman season to preserve his redshirt, but I think he will definitely be an impact player in the receiving corps next season as he was the highest rated recruit to ever sign with Wake Forest. Stanford transfer Donald Stewart will be another player to watch as I think he will work his way into the rotation this season. On the offensive line, guard Terrance Davis was a nice signing from Maryland via the transfer portal and I expect him to make an immediate impact. Looking at the defensive line, both starting defensive tackles from last season return in Sulayman Kamar and Tyler Williams. Defensive end Carlos Basham surprised a lot of people when he elected to stay in school and hold off on the draft. Basham racked up 18 tackles for loss and 10 sacks last season. Basham is very quick in pursuit of the ball carrier and can react quickly. If he can become a bit more accurate when making his initial reads, Basham will be an elite edge rusher this season. Having JaCorey Johns return as the starter at the other defensive end spot will also help Basham out as there can be a solid player to capitalize when Basham gets most of the attention of opposing offensive linemen. Ryan Smenda and Ja’Cquez Williams were the top two finishers on the team in tackles and will both be back at linebacker. Traveon Redd also saw time last season and looks to settle into the starting spot at rover. At safety, Trey Rucker and Coby Davis both return after starting in spots last season.

What to be Concerned About

Wake Forest’s offense took a hit as they lost quarterback Jamie Newman. Newman took a leap in 2019, throwing for 2,868 yards and 26 touchdowns while running for another 574 yards and six touchdowns. What has to be a bit of a blow to their program is that Newman elected to graduate transfer to Georgia. Losing a quarterback because he wants to go to a better school to maximize his pro potential has to be bad press for Wake Forest’s program. While I think Sam Hartman should be solid as the starter, his ceiling is definitely below Newman’s. Cade Carney is also gone at running back after leading the team in rushing yards last season. In the receiving corps, Wake Forest loses three of their four leading receivers from last season. Kendall Hinton had a strong season at receiver in 2019 after making the switch from quarterback. Hinton really stepped it up after Surratt went down and I think losing him will definitely cut down on the depth at the position. Scotty Washington also graduates after starting last season. Jack Freudenthal is also gone at tight end. The Demon Deacons also lose three starters on the offensive line from last season, including tackle Justin Herron and guard Nate Gilliam who were both third team all-ACC. At linebacker, the Demon Deacons lose Justin Strnad. Strnad was third on the team in tackles despite playing in just seven games. Strnad has an ability to make plays from sideline to sideline and will be a tough guy to replace on defense. Wake forest also has to replace both starters at cornerback from 2019. Essang Bassey was a solid shutdown corner and Amari Henderson picked off four passes, and both of them had at least 10 pass deflections. Wake Forest also has a pretty tricky non-conference schedule. The Demon Deacons have to play Notre Dame, and also have to play one of the top G5 programs in the country in Appalachian State, who beat North and South Carolina in 2019 and will be chomping at the bit to get a shot to face off against a P5 team in their area. Both of those games will be in Winston-Salem, but they will still not be easy.

Goals for 2020

Wake Forest had a fairly good season in 2019, but I think the ending of it left a sour taste in many fans mouths. Still, eight wins is not anything for this program to turn their nose at and I think head coach Dave Clawson definitely helped his reputation. The Demon Deacons lose a lot of contributors from last season’s team but are far from a bare cupboard. Wake Forest should work to maintain their status as the second best FBS team in the Carolinas (behind Clemson) this season and I think that is definitely doable.

To be notified when I post, follow my Instagram @inpassionedsportsnerd. Up next, I will release a similar article about the Big 10. I will also be trying to do more articles about the draft this offseason.

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