ACC Football Roundtable

Usually, UNC, Duke and Clemson are pretty big rivals. However, for one roundtable, the three schools came together today to talk their teams and ACC Football in general.

Today, we have Andrew Boardwine of rubbingtherock.com, Chris Brown of balldurham.com, and John Bauman of keepingitheel.com coming together to answer four questions about the ACC Football season so far. The questions are listed below along with the responses from each of the three participants.

1. What is the record of your team, and have you been impressed or disappointed by their play so far?

John Bauman: North Carolina is 3-1 so far this season. The team has beaten NC A&T, Illinois and Delaware while falling to South Carolina. I would say I have been impressed with the play of the team so far, especially with the defense. The defense is much better than last season, thanks in large part to the stabilizing presence of Gene Chizik on that side of the ball. The offense has had impressive drives but still has yet to play their best football.

Andrew Boardwine: Clemson 3-0. Overall, it has been kind of a wash. Many national pundits would say the Tigers have been unimpressive so far, but they are extremely young playing a total of 28 freshmen to start the season. The defense has been better than expected and the offense has looked subpar. Really, we will know this Saturday just how good the Tigers are.

Chris Brown: Duke is 3-1 so far this season and 1-0 in the ACC. Many were expecting the defense to be good this year but I don’t know if anyone thought they would be this good, especially after losing several key players for the season to injuries (LB Kelby Brown and CB Bryon Fields). For the last two games the offense has been pretty disappointing after starting off great in the first two games of the season. First-year starter QB Thomas Sirk has come back down to earth again.

2. What has been the most disappointing and most impressive team in the ACC so far?

JB: I think the most disappointing team this year has been Georgia Tech. This was supposed to be there year after a strong finish to last season. They were the heavy favorite to win the Coastal and a dark horse candidate in the minds of some for a spot in the College Football Playoff. Instead, they are on a two game losing streak with a tough game at home against UNC coming up this weekend.

As for the most impressive team, I’m kind of cheating here but I will go Notre Dame. The Irish are 4-0 and have a big game coming up against Clemson this weekend. Yes, they barely survived against Virginia, who looks to be the laughing stock of the Coastal Division again, but the Irish defense looks fast and fearless. I think the most impressive team in the league has been ND.

AB: Easily the most disappointing team has been Louisville. The Cardinals finally picked up a win last Saturday, but lost three straight to start the season. This was a team that was supposed to contend with Clemson and FSU for the Atlantic Division Championship, but so far hasn’t looked impressive. The most impressive team, in my opinion, has been N.C. State. Even though the Wolfpack hasn’t played anybody, they’ve looked the part in their first month of the season and may have a chance to be ranked before too long this season.

CB: I think the most disappointing team in the ACC so far has been Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets were picked as the clear preseason favorite to repeat as ACC Coastal Division champions and were even being thrown around in the college football playoff picture. I’ve been really impressed with NC State. Even though they haven’t played any major teams they have completely dominated games they should have won and are the only 4-0 team in the ACC.

3. So far this season, who do you think is in the lead for the ACC Player of the Year award?

JB: Clemson is 3-0 and Deshaun Watson hasn’t really been challenged yet, but still I like him as the favorite so far to win ACC Player of the Year. This could change, however, depending on how he plays this weekend vs. the Irish.

AB: I have two: Jalen Ramsey of Florida State and Deshaun Watson of Clemson. I think both of these players have looked good to this point and have a chance to be the ACC Player of the Year.

CB: I don’t think preseason ACC Player of the Year pick Deshaun Watson has done anything to lose his spot so I’ll stick with him.

4. Preview this weekend’s game for your team. What is your score prediction for the game?

JB: North Carolina faces off against Georgia Tech this weekend in Atlanta. Carolina’s defense is looking better, but the run defense is still struggling — the Heels gave up far too many yards to Delaware last weekend. Georgia Tech is spinning its wheels a bit after two losses in a row against two great defense in Notre Dame’s and Duke’s. Look for Justin Thomas and the Georgia Tech offense to play much better and get back on track this weekend against the Tar Heel D.

The question then becomes can UNC outscore GT at home. Carolina did last year, just barely outlasting Tech. I think Carolina wins a shootout again. UNC 48, GT 42

AB: Clemson will face off against Notre Dame in front of the entire nation in College Football’s Game of the Week. The Fighting Irish have a really strong offensive line, but will have a first-time road starter at quarterback. Clemson has had 15 days to prepare for the game and get the kinks out from the Louisville game. Clemson 28, Notre Dame 24

CB: The Blue Devils will be playing an impressive Boston College team who is also 3-1 and had a tough showing against Florida State, but the Duke defense has been playing great lately and the Eagles just lost their leading rusher Jon Hilliman to a broken foot. I predict Duke gets the Homecoming Weekend win 27-14.

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