From SBNation: If Miami has a QB, the 2017 Canes will win their first ACC division title
Mark Richt has everything he needs to reach the ACC Championship. Well, maybe.

Quote:Miami returns a lot of fun pieces.

Ahmmon Richards was maybe the best No. 2 receiver in the country as a freshman, combining a 61 percent catch rate with a nearly 20-yard average per catch. He’s the No. 1 now.

Explosive running back Mark Walton rushed for 1,100 yards as a sophomore.

Five offensive linemen have combined for 86 career starts.

The front seven from one of the nation’s most havoc-heavy defenses is almost completely intact.

Most of the pieces of a top-15 special teams unit return.

To be sure, there are questions. For one, we don’t know if the Canes have a quarterback. That’s reasonably important. And the quest for answers at QB and cornerback could determine whether we’re talking about a top-10 or top-40 team.
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Looking at recent seasons, though, team quality only matters so much. How the Hurricanes respond to what will probably be another FSU loss — FSU is projected third in the country, and the game is in Tallahassee — might matter above all else.

Could this be "the year" for the Canes?

I think this is their best shot to win the Coastal in a long time, and they're clearly the most experienced team regardless of quarterback play.

Their non-conference schedule is weak (Bethune-Cookman, at Arkansas State, Toledo), so the biggest roadblock in the regular season is Week 3 at FSU. But the rest of the toughest opponents on their schedule will be at home - they play GT, VT, and ND all at Hard Rock. I think UNC and Pitt will take big steps back after having to rebuild most of their offensive cores, and I don't think Syracuse has the depth yet necessary to compete every week in the ACC. Bill Connelly is right... If they can avoid the FSU hangover that has plagued them in the past, there's a shot they could be 11-1 with maybe a rematch against FSU in the cards for the ACC Championship.

While I don't think this is "the year", I do think it will be a good one. I expect 10-2 regular season assuming they have an average QB. They should get to the ACC championship game and the third bowl slot behind FSU and Clemson. It will be a good year but not great in historical significance to the Canes.

2001.

Seriously, I think this is VTs year.

Well knowing how the coastal has been the past few years....

I'll say it's somebody nobody is talking about right now.
FLossY Out...

(07-24-2017 11:58 AM)Wolfman Wrote:  2001.

Seriously, I think this is VTs year.

I also think that it's going to come down to VT or Miami.

VT's situation is very similar to Miami's actually, given that we lost key contributors on offense but return most of a very productive defense.

The one thing that makes me think Miami has the advantage is that they have a proven running game to fall back on while their new QB settles in. With VT, we're replacing a QB, 2 of the top 3 receivers (which included the school's all-time leading receiver in Isaiah Ford, plus 6'6" target Bucky Hodges), plus have a gaping leadership hole with the graduation of FB/Swiss army knife Sam Rogers.

So it's really a wash when it comes down to it, but I think Miami has more pieces in place around a quarterback to give them the edge (even if my Hokie bias is pulling me towards VT).

Looking at the 'Canes conference schedule:

@ FSU -- L
@ Duke -- Toss up (Duke has the better QB)
Georgia Tech - W (a bye week to prepare.)
Syracuse -- W
@ UNC -- toss-up (best QB wins)
Virginia Tech -- toss-up (best QB wins)
Virginia -- W
@ Pitt -- toss-up (best QB wins)

And really, I may be doing Syracuse a disservice because that Dungy kid is probably the best (or second best) QB in either division.

To summarize, I don't think it's Miami's year -- that's not to say they wouldn't win the division in a 4-way tie for first, though..

(07-24-2017 12:41 PM)ecuacc4ever Wrote:  Looking at the 'Canes conference schedule:

@ FSU -- L
@ Duke -- Toss up (Duke has the better QB)
Georgia Tech - W (a bye week to prepare.)
Syracuse -- W
@ UNC -- toss-up (best QB wins)
Virginia Tech -- toss-up (best QB wins)
Virginia -- W
@ Pitt -- toss-up (best QB wins)

And really, I may be doing Syracuse a disservice because that Dungy kid is probably the best (or second best) QB in either division.

To summarize, I don't think it's Miami's year -- that's not to say they wouldn't win the division in a 4-way tie for first, though..

PLUS, the Canes get the Hokies in Miami (and the Jackets too, for that matter).

(07-24-2017 12:41 PM)ecuacc4ever Wrote:  Looking at the 'Canes conference schedule:

@ FSU -- L
@ Duke -- Toss up (Duke has the better QB)
Georgia Tech - W (a bye week to prepare.)
Syracuse -- W
@ UNC -- toss-up (best QB wins)
Virginia Tech -- toss-up (best QB wins)
Virginia -- W
@ Pitt -- toss-up (best QB wins)

And really, I may be doing Syracuse a disservice because that Dungy kid is probably the best (or second best) QB in either division.

To summarize, I don't think it's Miami's year -- that's not to say they wouldn't win the division in a 4-way tie for first, though..

This is giving Duke & Pitt's defenses far too much respect, and not enough to Miami's.

Going by Bill Connelly's S&P+ statistics, Duke had the 48th ranked defense in the country while Pitt had the 62nd ranked defense. Miami, on the other hand, returns most of the core of the 13th ranked defense.

Also, UNC is replacing practically every significant contributor on offense, and asking a guy in Brandon Harris to carry a unit without any true indicators that he's capable of doing so from his time at LSU.

(07-24-2017 12:41 PM)ecuacc4ever Wrote:  Looking at the 'Canes conference schedule:

@ FSU -- L
@ Duke -- Toss up (Duke has the better QB)
Georgia Tech - W (a bye week to prepare.)
Syracuse -- W
@ UNC -- toss-up (best QB wins)
Virginia Tech -- toss-up (best QB wins)
Virginia -- W
@ Pitt -- toss-up (best QB wins)

And really, I may be doing Syracuse a disservice because that Dungy kid is probably the best (or second best) QB in either division.

To summarize, I don't think it's Miami's year -- that's not to say they wouldn't win the division in a 4-way tie for first, though..

The Miami game is eight weeks into the season and Dungy is made of glass. It's a far safer bet to judge that game as if Mahoney or one of the two freshmen are starting.