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Last year, the Syracuse Orange entered ACC play with low expectations. They were picked to finish sixth out of seven teams in the ACC Atlantic Division. They ended up finishing third behind Florida State and Clemson.
This year, the ACC media folks learned their lesson and have picked the Orange to finish fourth in the division behind FSU, Clemson and newcomer Louisville.
Atlantic Division
(First place votes in parenthesis)
1. Florida State (109) - 670
2. Clemson (3) - 660
3. Louisville - 564
4. Syracuse - 368
5. NC State - 326
6. Boston College - 301
7. Wake Forest - 136
Coastal Division
(First place votes in parenthesis)
1. Miami (26) - 614
2. Duke (33) - 597
3. Virginia Tech (23) - 571
4. North Carolina (27) - 570
5. Georgia Tech (1) - 322
6. Pitt (2) -319
7. Virginia -142
A fair assessment, I'd say. FSU, Clemson and Louisville enter the season as the three teams to beat in the division. The Orange shouldn't drop off much, if at all, from last season, and they should be ahead of both NC State and Boston College, whom they beat last year. And then there's Wake Forest. Everyone point and laugh at Wake Forest.
The Coastal Division, meanwhile, appears to be a free-for-all. Duke has the advantage of an insanely easy schedule but Miami, VT and UNC should all be improved enough to challenge the Blue Devils for the right to lose to FSU in the Championship game.
As always, it's good to remember how fleeting these predictions usually are. The media pick for the ACC Championship last year? Clemson vs. Miami. Oops.
No surprise, Jamies Winston is the ACC Preseason Player of the Year.
