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Preseason Rankings Favor the Hokies in the ACC
by Chris Coleman, TechSideline.com

Get ready for a season of big expectations. Virginia Tech will be predicted by nearly everyone in the preseason to win the ACC and head to a BCS game in early January. In fact, the voting probably won't be all that close if you judge by the preseason rankings that have already been released.

Here is a list of six preseason rankings, and the average rankings of the 25 teams included.

The SI (Sports Illustrated) rankings were done by Stewart Mandel, while Mark Schlabach did the ESPN rankings.

Only two ACC teams made the list: Virginia Tech and Florida State. The Hokies were included in the top 25 in all six rankings, with their lowest ranking coming in at #12. Florida State is a very distant second place. The Seminoles are ranked in just three of the six rankings listed in the table above.

Every other BCS conference has more teams in the table above than the ACC. The SEC leads the way with seven, while Big Ten and Big 12 each have four. The Big East and Pac-10 have three teams apiece. The ACC has just two, and one of those teams barely snuck its way in.

Beside Virginia Tech, and Florida State to a certain extent, the ACC isn't getting much preseason love. Only four other ACC teams were included in any of the rankings above. Here is a list of those schools, and where they rank.

Despite winning the ACC and making it to the Orange Bowl last season, Wake Forest only made the Top 25 in two of the six rankings. Although the Demon Deacons do return a lot of major players from last year's team, particularly on offense, it will be tough for them to repeat their feat of 2006. They are very much in the mix for a solid ACC bowl game, but another ACC Championship isn't likely.

Boston College nearly won the Atlantic Division last season, and they return a lot of starters this year. However, there are question marks surrounding the Eagles, as usual. They have a new head coach in Jeff Jagodzinski, and their offensive coordinator is former ECU head coach Steve Logan. Considering their 10 wins a year ago, and their 16 returning starters, BC probably should be in the preseason top 25. The coaching changes are apparently scaring some poll-makers away from BC.

Georgia Tech is ranked 14th by Athlon and not ranked at all by any of the other five services. They were good a year ago, and this year they return seven starters on offense and eight on defense. However, they did lose Calvin Johnson to the NFL Draft, and many believe they will suffer a dropoff because of his loss. They do return the top offensive line in the ACC, the conference's leading rusher in Tashard Choice, and Reggie Ball is no longer the quarterback (yes, that's probably an improvement).

The Yellow Jackets are tough to get a read on this year. If quarterback Taylor Bennett outperforms the Reggie Ball of 2006, which shouldn't be difficult, Georgia Tech could be hard to handle.

Miami has a new coach in 2007, with former defensive coordinator Randy Shannon replacing fired head coach Larry Coker. The Hurricanes will be talented as usual, but their success will depend on the improvement of quarterback Kyle Wright (or Kirby Freeman) and the offensive line. Sound familiar? Miami's defense will be excellent, headlined by defensive end Calais Campbell.

Although the Hokies aren't being hailed as national championship contenders by many people, it's clear they are the favorite to win the ACC by most analysts. The ACC is holding their Football Kickoff media operation starting this weekend, and the ACC media will make their choices soon, as well. We'll see if the Hokies can live up to the hype and overcome their tough schedule. Check out TSL next week, when we begin our 2007 football previews.

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