Sorting out the Coastal Division

No real surprise that media covering this week's ACC Football Kickoff picked Virginia Tech to win the Coastal Division.

With so many legitimate options -- four, to be exact -- most of the scribblers took the easy way out and chose the team that has been the surest bet over the past six seasons in the ACC.

Here's how the voting ended up:

1. Hokies (62 first-place votes)
2. Canes (20)
3. Jackets (11)
4. Heels (5)
5. Devils
6. Horrible Hoos

A little surprised there was that big a gap between first and second. But again, most of us sportswriter types are wusses when it comes to making unconventional predictions. Virginia Tech has won the conference three times (including 2004, before the two-division split) while advancing to the title game three times (two wins, one loss). So again, not a total shock to see them get 63 percent of the first-place votes.

A tad surprised Georgia Tech was third and only drew 11 first-place votes. Huge question marks on defense and at receiver. But Paul Johnson returns Joshua Nesbitt, he gets Al Groh, and he really likes his offensive line. Look out.

Honestly, I won't even begin to argue any combination of those top four teams. It's going to be a tremendously entertaining story to follow, and I think it helps make this season one of the ACC's most compelling in recent memory.

Having trouble sorting out what you think is going to happen in the Coastal? Here's a look at the differences in schedule:

VIRGINIA TECH

at Boston College
at N.C. State
Wake Forest
Duke
OPEN
Georgia Tech (Thurs.)
at North Carolina
at Miami
Virginia

New Atlantic opponent: Wake Forest replaces Maryland

MIAMI

OPEN
At Clemson
Florida State
at Duke
North Carolina
at Virginia
Maryland
at Georgia Tech
Virginia Tech

New Atlantic opponent: Maryland replaces Wake Forest

GEORGIA TECH

at North Carolina
N.C. State
at Wake Forest
Virginia
at Clemson
OPEN
at Virginia Tech (Thurs.)
Miami
Duke

New Atlantic opponent: N.C. State replaces Florida State

NORTH CAROLINA

OPEN
Georgia Tech
Clemson
at Virginia
at Miami
at Florida State
Virginia Tech
N.C. State

New Atlantic opponent: Clemson replaces Boston College

How would you rate these schedules in terms of difficulty?

Miami's and North Carolina's would appear to be the hardest, given that both have to face Florida State and Clemson.

But then, Georgia Tech's toughest games are on the road.

And Virginia Tech's late-season gauntlet of Georgia Tech, at North Carolina, at Miami is brutal.

Moving on to a few links...

William Christopher talks about Marcus Gilchrist replacing C.J. Spiller.

"I'll tell you what: Nobody's happier for C.J. Spiller to be gone than Marcus Gilchrist, because he's hopefully going to be our answer in the return game," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said Monday during the ACC Football Kickoff at Grandover Resort. "He's going to get an opportunity to return punts and kicks. He's excited about that, and he's worked hard. He's done it a little bit in his career, and he's had some success. But he's always been stuck backing up C.J. and Jacoby (Ford) for three years."

The boys at The ACC Sports Journal were on the scene in Greensboro, and Jim Young produced this collection of notables.

In light of Nigel Carr's, uh, transgressions, Mike Bianchi says Jimbo Fisher can set a tone of discipline in Tallahassee.

Now Jimbo Fisher is officially ready to take over Bobby Bowden's program.

He has, after all, endured his first major arrest as the head coach of the Florida State Seminoles.

Only a couple dozen more and he will be able to compete with Urban Meyer's Gators.

Welcome to the big-time, Jimbo.

And later:

These days, it seems, the only program that doesn't get players arrested is Miami. In fact, if Jimbo wants to model his program after someone, he should look at UM coach Randy Shannon, who hasn't had a player arrested in three years.

Why? Mainly because Shannon has developed some hard, fast rules that he doesn't bend on. No guns. No DUIs. No violence against women. All of those crimes are automatic dismissals.

"It's not that hard," Shannon says. "It's just common sense. Do you want anybody on your team carrying a gun? Do you want anybody on your team touching your daughter? Do you want anybody on your team driving drunk?"

Here's a story on the pressure Ralph Friedgen faces this season as he tries to keep his job.

Great line from Terps receiver Torrey Smith in Greensboro, when asked whether he'd be surprised if Maryland were an underdog against Navy in its opener.

"No," he said. "Why would they favor a team that went 2-10 last year?"

But the quote of the event goes to Christian Ponder, who did a double-take when he saw Miami's Allen Bailey walking down the hall.

``Yeah, I saw him,'' Ponder, the Florida State quarterback, said of University of Miami defensive end Allen Bailey, who sacked him once in the 2009 opener. ``I didn't realize how big he was. He's like the friggin' Jolly Green Giant.''


LW

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