ESPN ACC preseason power rankings: Can anyone catch Clemson?

RyanS12

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Had the D did it’s job and not blown leads vs UT, Miami and UVA, we were an 8-3 team at worst. If we win those games, with 9 starters back on O this year we’d be inthe top 5 of the acc power rankings and a fringe top 25 team, maybe ranked. I think everyone is making their predictions based off last season records and not looking into all the factors of last season.
I expect a pissed off coach and team this year with something to prove!
 
dressedcheeseside

dressedcheeseside

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RyanS12 said:
Had the D did it’s job and not blown leads vs UT, Miami and UVA, we were an 8-3 team at worst. If we win those games, with 9 starters back on O this year we’d be inthe top 5 of the acc power rankings and a fringe top 25 team, maybe ranked. I think everyone is making their predictions based off last season records and not looking into all the factors of last season.
I expect a pissed off coach and team this year with something to prove!
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Losing the entire secondary is probably factored in a bit I guess.
 
slugboy

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RyanS12 said:
Had the D did it’s job and not blown leads vs UT, Miami and UVA, we were an 8-3 team at worst. If we win those games, with 9 starters back on O this year we’d be inthe top 5 of the acc power rankings and a fringe top 25 team, maybe ranked. I think everyone is making their predictions based off last season records and not looking into all the factors of last season.
I expect a pissed off coach and team this year with something to prove!
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Offense and Special Teams probably blew as many as the defense. Outside of Harvin, special teams was one of the worst ranked in top end NCAA football last year.
Not saying the defense shouldn’t have been better, but there is plenty to improve on from last season. A 2016 offense and special teams would have won a lot more games, but that wasn’t what we had



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smathis30

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RyanS12 said:
True. I keep forgetting about AJ. I think the overall talent is better but the live game reps is an issue. I think they’ll make big plays but could give up a lot too. High risk high reward type stuff.
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I've never understood this argument. If talent is better now, why weren't they starting last year?
 

jayparr

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*****RAZOR THIN AND THE EDGE IS SHARP!! Everything from balls bouncing off our helmets, fumbles, penalties, and recruiting!
 

RyanS12

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slugboy said:
Offense and Special Teams probably blew as many as the defense. Outside of Harvin, special teams was one of the worst ranked in top end NCAA football last year.
Not saying the defense shouldn’t have been better, but there is plenty to improve on from last season. A 2016 offense and special teams would have won a lot more games, but that wasn’t what we had



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Maybe but from what I saw vs UT, Miami and UVA the O did enough to win.
 
RamblinWreck92

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RyanS12 said:
Maybe but from what I saw vs UT, Miami and UVA the O did enough to win.
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UT? Yes. Miami? No way. Without a fluky onside-kick-return TD, the final score isn't as close as it was. We should've scored more against the Cadavers too.
We were atrocious throwing the ball last year. We literally can't be worse than last year(since we were dead-last in Div I in passing) so the O has to be better this year. Miami is the one Upset Special we will pull off this year. They're not as good as advertised and we will expose that in a big home upset.
 
Jacketman1

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deeeznutz said:
I’m not that impressed by Miami. I thought we looked like the better team last year at their house, they seemed to get about every lucky break through all their wins, and now they’re replacing their star QB (bye Felicia!). If we’re relatively healthy in that game, we should win handily.
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The qb is back.
 

Skeptic

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Coloradojacket said:
They talk about the schedule, let's see.
USF lost their QB and running back and has never seen the GT option
Louisville lost their entire team
UNC is still a 4-8 team.
Miami was three plays away from being 7-5
UVA is a team without an offense
Va Tech has no returning starters on Defense and has a mediocre offense
Pitt has no offense
UGA lost 30 seniors and multiple Juniors off a team that is one season from being a 7 win team.

I like our chances this year.
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I like our chances with every team on the schedule, with less "like" for the Clemson and Georgia games. Others might reasonably be favored -- VT, Louisville and Miami maybe -- but they can be had. I am not that certain about Clemson, which has opened a huge gap against ACC teams except possibly, maybe, FSU, and Georgia, which keeps stacking up recruits and I suspect will be back in the NC round before either FSU or Miami. I don't like 'em, but there they are. It is hard to battle 60 minutes against teams with a huge talent advantage. To me the schedule 10 deep is winnable. We'll be favored in some, underdogs in others, but can win them all. The other two, however, are Clemson, and I want to believe but that is a loaded roster that is quality deep. That would be a huge upset and might require another injury loss such as DeShaun Watson a few years back. Georgia, a big favorite, but adrenaline can equalize some things, and they can be got. Up next: Alcorn State.
 
Adadu

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To be fair, I understand where this ranking is coming from entirely. So many question marks (Cooper vs Jahziel at center, tackles being able to block effectively as opposed to last year, new defense, TERRIBLE special teams outside of Harvin, loss of AJ who was our leading tackler, etc). I think a lot of people seem to forget that there's no guarantee that Woody's scheme will work well immediately, and that our secondary is almost entirely new/fairly inexperienced. On the other hand, we have some skilled players that can offset these issues but I think its worth tempering expectations and just hoping that we make a bowl game at this point based upon what we have seen the last few seasons and the already foreseeable potential problems.
 
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