Matt Toepfer
pigskinpress.com

I need to blow the rust off my keyboard with an off field issue up in Oregon. Oregon coach Chip Kelly has lined out a plan to possibly reinstate LaGarrette Blount. Now I’m all for second chances and I feel like Boise State’s Byron Hout is almost as big of a goat in the incident, but what LaGarrette did was more than just between him and Hout. He had to be restrained from going in the stands after fans, and this wasn’t his first suspension. Part of his reinstatement plan requires him to not miss any classes, could be tough cause missing class is one reason he was suspended in the past.  Stay tuned, with Oregon playing well I’m not sure why they would want him back, he also attacked a couple team mates that night in Boise as well…Houston we have a problem. 2009’s Cinderella ran into a BCS road block Saturday by getting rolled in El Paso by UTEP 58-41. Don’t hang your heads too low Cougs, you still have a shot at a special season.

Oklahoma can stop the presses on BCS Title game tickets. The Sooners were handed their second loss of the season by the Miami Hurricanes Saturday night 21-20. I give kudos to the Sooners for playing a tough non-conference schedule, but they were favorites in both their losses. Look on the bright side Sooner fans, your disapointment didn’t have to wait till the end of like year like usual; you got it out of the way in week 5.

My Vondruke of the Week goes to UNC. The Tar Heels handed Virginia their first win of the season, the same Virginia team that lost to William and Mary in week 1. That could be the Cavs only win of 2009.

The Florida State Seminoles are stinging. They found themselves down by 18 at one point against Boston College this week. They came within a touchdown but couldn’t make it back all the way. The natives are getting restless in Tallahassee, the local paper is calling for Bobby Bowden to resign after his worst start (2-3,0-2) since his first season at FSU 33 years ago.

Virginia Tech dodged a bullet against Duke Saturday winning 34-26. Seems like the Hokies play down to their opponents level all the time. Sooner or later that will bite them in the gizzard.

CJ Spiller became the ACC career all purpose yardage leader Saturday on his 92 yard kickoff return for a touchdown. It wasn’t enough for the Tigers who went down to Maryland 24-21.

Georgia Tech held off Mississippi State 42-31 behind Josh Nesbitt’s 266 yards passing.

Wake Forest got by NC State 30-24.

Games to watch this week in the ACC: Georgia Tech at FSU, Maryland at Wake Forest and Boston College at Virginia Tech

Rick Figurin
pigskinpress.com

Boston College-Frank Spaziani
After last year’s unrealistic expectation that Jeff Jagodzinski should not talk with the New York Jets about their head coaching position, the Eagles find themselves without one of the games best up-and-coming coaches. That being said, Spaziani is a guy who has a tad-bit of head coaching experience with BC (2-0) and has the mettle to keep BC in postseason play. Good hire, but only time will tell.
Stock: Neutral

Clemson-Dabo Swinney
Swinney stepped into a difficult position at Clemson last year and was able to salvage a bowl-eligible season for the Tigers. If 2009 is another seven win affair, Tiger's fans will start to question Swinney’s experience. Don’t expect that to happen; Swinney has great pull with boosters and kids and should start the ship in the right direction.
Stock: Rising

Duke-David Cutcliffe
Winning four games in year one is not too shabby all things considered. Cutcliffe knows how to win (see Ole Miss resume) and will be the guy to lead Duke back to bowl eligibility. Three conference wins, increased attendance, and nearly as many wins as Ted Roof amassed in 4+ seasons will buy Cutcliffe some time. Cutcliffe is a proven winner, and Duke may be soon.
Stock: Rising

Florida State-Bobby Bowden
Bowden is a winner, but in a somewhat weakened ACC is that enough? FSU fans seem to be putting their sentimentalities before their logic as they continue to hail Bowden and patiently wait for Jimbo Fisher’s inevitable coronation. In the meantime, the quality of recruits has slipped, the win totals are down, and the once powerhouse-type aura has vanished. As it has been the last few years, Bowden is on the downside of a great career.
Stock: Plummeting

Georgia Tech-Paul Johnson
Everyone knew Johnson was a great coach, but running the option in Atlanta? Well, it worked and GT was a big surprise in 2008. Johnson is loaded with talent again in 2009 and has made the ACC all that more interesting with his unorthodox style of offense. The former Navy front-man has already inked two ESPN Top 150 recruits, as of this writing, for 2010. Johnson has put GT back in the mix in an ACC conference that needs a boost.
Stock: Sizzling

Maryland-Ralph Friedgen
Friedgen has had a good run with the Terps, but while wins have dwindled since the 2001-2003 seasons, expectations have not. Maryland’s recruiting classes are not as heralded as they once were and Friedgen seems to have run his course in College Park. If the Terps’ want to gain relevancy again, it’s probably time to part ways with the likeable, but now inconsistent, Friedgen.
Stock: Dropping

Randy Shannon-Miami
Shannon is doing something that many thought was impossible-bringing respect back to the Hurricanes program. Arrests are down, discipline is up and so are wins since Shannon took over two seasons ago. The ‘Canes are young, talented, and poised for a big 2009. Shannon’s ability to make the hard decisions and land big name recruits is quickly leading Miami back to the promised land.
Stock: Rising

North Carolina-Butch Davis
Davis did a spectacular job leading the Tar Heels to an 8-4 record in 2008. With a lot of young talent returning, Tar Heels fans are starting to look at UNC as more than a basketball Mecca. The former Cleveland Browns front man is racking up big time recruits and wins. UNC fans should look for that trend to continue.
Stock: Sizzling

N.C. State-Tom O’Brien
O’Brien did some nice things last season, but the momentum just isn’t there yet for the Wolfpack. Recruiting has been decent, but not really up to ACC standards. If The Wolfpack continue sitting around the six win mark, O’Brien’s tenure could be short; after all, with the exception of his final season, Chuck Amato was essentially doing that very thing when he was canned.
Stock: Stagnant

Virginia-Al Groh
It’s surprising that Groh is still at Virginia. Much Like Friedgen, Groh has done some good things at his respective school; the issue is that the tank is now officially empty. Groh’s recruiting classes look more like that of a high end C-USA team than an ACC school. Over the years, Virginia has turned out some great NFL prospects but with a depleted talent base, 2010 will be the year to make a change in Virginia.
Stock: Plummeting

Virginia Tech-Frank Beamer
Whether or not you like VT, you have to admire Frank Beamer’s record on the field. Aside from a couple of players over the years with character issues, the Hokies are proven winners year in and year out. In 2006, it looked like Beamer may be losing control of his team near the end of the season but that proved to be a fluke as the Hokies have been strong the last two seasons. No need for worry in Blacksburg.
Stock: Solid

Wake Forest-Jim Grobe
Grobe is the same position as many lower tier ACC schools in the sense that the big-name recruits just aren’t there. The difference is that Grobe gets more mileage out of them than anyone in the conference. Wake’s wins have tapered slightly the past two seasons, and this year will be a real indicator as to what direction the program is headed. Regardless, Grobe has done a fine job with the Demon Deacons, and should continue to keep them bowl eligible.
Stock: Solid

Matt Toepfer
pigskinpress.com

A-Atlantic Division. Boasting two, 9 game winners (Boston College, Florida State) and two, 8 game winners (Maryland, Wake Forest) in 2008 should make 2009 another competitive year in this division.

B-Bobby Bowden. As long as he’s alive (and possibly posthumously) Bowden will occupy the letter B on this list.

C-CJ Spiller. The Clemson senior no longer has to share carries with James Davis, so expect him to finally eclipse the 1,000 yard rushing mark and add to his 436 yards receiving from 2008.

D-Dabo Swinney. After going 4-3 when he took over mid-season for the fired Tommy Bowden, the interim tag was removed from Swinney’s title.

E-Emani Lee-Odai. The next hyphenated last named WR for Maryland. The previous? Darrius Heyward-Bey.

F-Frank Spaziani. Boston College’s 3rd head coach in the last 4 years. Here's wishing him less drama than the last one.

G-Georgia Tech. Can the Yellow Jackets provide an encore from 2008’s conference leading rusher, Jonathan Dwyer, and conference coach of the year Paul Johnson?  My bet is it takes more than 1 year for the rest of the ACC's defensive coordinators to solve Johnson’s offense.

H-Heads I Win, Tails You Lose. Song from the album Detonator by the band RATT, of which Maryland QB Chris Turner’s father is a former member.

I-Indiana. Virginia will play the Hoosiers for the first time ever on October 10th.

J-Josh Nesbitt. The GaTech JR QB was recruited before Paul Johnson brought in his triple option attack. Although mis-cast, Nesbitt averaged 136.5 yards of total offense per game in 2008.
                                                       
K-Kick Returners. NC State’s TJ Graham and Maryland’s Torrey Smith each turned in 1,000+ yards in kick returns in 2008. They both return in 2009 to attempt becoming the 1st players in ACC history to go back-to-back with 1,000 yards in kick returns.

L-Losses. In the last 9 years, Duke has 90 of them. That’s an average of 10 per year for you Math Magicians out there.

M-Matt Bosher. The Jr. Miami Punter/Kicker returns from 2008 after averaging 40.2 yards per punt and hitting 90% of his field goal attempts.

N-November 28. Don’t expect to know who will be playing in the ACC Championship game before this date. It’s gonna be another exciting year in the ACC.

O-Orange Bowl. Unless the ACC champion gets in to the BCS Title Game, the Orange Bowl is where the conference champion will find itself.

P-Pride. After sending 10 teams to bowl games in 2008, as a whole, the ACC is wearing lots of pride coming in to 2009.

Q-Quan Sturdivant. The 6’2” 230lb JR from UNC lead the team in tackles last year with 122, he also had two INTs.

R-Road Upsets. Here’s a couple to watch for: Clemson at Miami, Boston College at Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest at Georgia Tech. Those games will keep the division races interesting.

S-SEC. Virginia Tech will have the opportunity to avenge last year’s beat down that Alabama gave Clemson in week 1.For those that don’t remember, as the Tigers left the field at halftime, the crowd was chanting S-E-C, S-E-C! The Hokies play the Tide in Atlanta on September 5.

T-Tyrod Taylor. After losing their opener to East Carolina, Frank Beamer pulled the red shirt from the young QB. The Hokies went on to win the conference. Taylor needs to cut his INTs. When it’s all said and done, Taylor will probably win another conference title or two, and possibly bring home the Sears trophy as well.

U-Under the Radar. Two years ago it was Wake Forest and Boston College; last year was UNC and BC. This year I give you just 1...NC State.

V-Virginia’s coaching search. So it’s not under way yet, and Al Groh manages to somehow stay alive every time I cook him, but 9 years into it…you heard it here first!

W-William & Mary. The Tribe opens up at Virginia, they hung tough last year against NC State, and Groh’s first step towards unemployment begins with this loss.

X-X-Factor. Miami had a two headed monster at QB last season with the highly touted Robert Marve sharing snaps with the highly touted Jacory Harris. Marve rarely hid his frustration when he had to give way to the younger Harris. At the end of the season Marve asked for, and was granted, a release from his scholarship, paving the way for Harris to take the reigns and display his X-Factor.

Y-Yannick Reyering. I hate to pick on players, but the Virginia kicker only hit 55% of his field goals last year, and poor kicking leads to at least 1 loss per year. Al Groh better hope that doesn’t come against William & Mary in week 1 or he might not be on the sidelines for week 2.

Z-Zebrie Sanders. The 6’5” 288lb right tackle from FSU is an NFL scout’s dream. He’s also just a sophomore.