2011 ACC Football Power Rankings

The 2011 football season is about to kick off.

An offseason of trash-talk and jawing among fans no longer matters as all disputes are about to be settled on the field.

With the heart of ACC play still over a month away, there will be plenty of time for teams to improve themselves and get into position to have a great run through league play.

However, here is how the teams stand today in relation to each other.

12. Wake Forest

Wake Forest averaged 143.8 passing yards per game last year.

Combine that with a defense that ranked 110th in the FBS by giving up 35.8 points per game, and the Demon Deacons weren't even close last year to being a solid team.

Josh Harris could be a star, but you can't win games running the ball if your defense is giving up over 30 points a game.

Wake Forest and Duke were solidly in the basement of the ACC in total defense and scoring defense, and Wake Forest does not have Duke's aerial attack and should, once again, be the worst team in the ACC.

11. Duke

Everyone raved about Sean Renfree's stellar performance against Navy's defense.

Coach David Cutcliffe entered last year talking about how much more talented his team had become through improved recruiting.

Nobody seems to be mentioning that Duke went 3-9, lost to Wake Forest, and had their only ACC win by the narrowest of margins against a UVA team whose second-best win was either Richmond or Eastern Michigan.

Yes, Duke is better off than they were three or four years ago.

It would have been impossible to be worse.

Duke might win four or five games this year, but their defense is simply too undersized to improve upon their ACC-worst rushing statistics from 2010.

It is going to be another long year or two in Durham.

10. Virginia

Virginia has enough talent to emerge as a middle of the road ACC team this season.

With the most returning starters in the ACC and a talented recruiting class, the second year of the Mike London regime should be better than the first and could very well end in Virginia reaching its first bowl game since 2007.

The big question mark is at quarterback, though.

Unheralded sophomore Michael Rocco will be under center this fall for the Cavaliers, and if he can't get the ball into the hands of all the Cavaliers' playmakers, Virginia will struggle to remain the ACC's third best offense yardage-wise.

Throw in the fact that the Cavaliers had the second worst rushing defense in the ACC and return essentially the same defense from last year, and Virginia has too many question marks at this point to move up the power rankings.

9. N.C. State

N.C. State really only had one great year with Russell Wilson, and now he's gone.

Mustafa Greene might be out until October and that could hurt their performance.

Nate Irving and Owen Spencer are gone. They have capable replacements, but it's hard to make up for such lost talent without a few bumps.

When healthy, N.C. State should definitely play like a bowl-worthy team, but, with Mike Glennon under center, there are too many unknowns at this point to rank an unestablished program higher than this.

If Tom O'Brien can bring this team an Atlantic Division championship, he would garner serious ACC Coach of the Year consideration.

8. Georgia Tech

If Tevin Washington is the quarterback of the future, this team is a year away from being a serious ACC title contender.

The defense should make big strides under second-year defensive coordinator Al Groh, and Paul Johnson's option offense should never be underestimated. With the right trigger-man it can be downright lethal.

However, this team is very young and inexperienced.

Underclassmen are as common a sight in the starting lineup as upperclassmen are, and there still could be some road bumps stemming from the switch to a 3-4 defense.

If Groh has crafted a master defense and Washington is the real deal, then watch out. This team could contend.

7. Maryland

Maryland could be ranked higher on this list, but the coaching turnover might hold them back.

Only two years removed from a 2-10 season, Maryland has plenty of talent but is unproven.

Old offensive coordinator James Franklin is gone, and now Randy Edsall will have to figure out how to utilize Danny O'Brien and all the offensive talent he has.

The defense, led by Kenny Tate, should be very solid. However, if the new offense struggles, a solid defense won't be enough to land them near the top of the division.

6. Boston College

Last year was another one of those years.

I was thinking Boston College would finish near the bottom of the conference, and yet again they pulled out a seven-win season with a 4-4 conference record.

None of those wins were particularly impressive (their best one might have been their 16-10 conquest of 6-7 Clemson).

They suffered some bad losses and might not blow anyone out of the water this year (perhaps not even Massachusetts).

But they played Florida State, Maryland and Nevada real close.

They also return a great running back group led by Montel Harris and a truly elite defense.

And they are one of the most consistent programs in the ACC.

Somehow, just like every year, the Eagles are going to piece together a solid season.

5. Miami

The only reasons Miami isn't ranked higher right now are the regime change this past year and the suspensions of eight Hurricanes.

If Miami puts up an impressive showing against Maryland on Labor Day, both those concerns could go right out the window.

Only three Miami players have been suspended for more than one game, and, if the Hurricanes have gelled under Golden, they have the talent to be as good as anyone in the ACC.

The theme of the year in the conference is uncertainty at the quarterback position, and that is Miami's third biggest concern right now.

Jacory Harris and Stephen Morris have perhaps the best playmakers in the ACC to work with, and if one of them seizes control with solid play, this Hurricanes squad could move up the rankings.

4. Clemson

Prediction: Tajh Boyd is going to quickly become an All-Conference performer at quarterback.

Largely because of this, Clemson is finally going to break away from its mediocrity and become the top ACC team it should already have been for the last several seasons.

Dabo Swinney needs this season to go well if he wants to enter next year feeling good about his job security.

Since the Tigers are one of the most well-rounded and complete teams in the ACC, it will.

3. North Carolina

Sanctions might really hurt the UNC football program down the road.

They aren't going to affect this year, however.

Everett Withers is going to pull a Dabo Swinney and hold the Tar Heels on a steady course despite being a surprise head coach for this year.

The Tar Heels, like Clemson, are another program that has underachieved in the past but should finally break out this year.

Despite losing quite a few NFL draft picks, UNC is still one of the most talented teams out there and should reload rather quickly this year.

If Bryn Renner is as good a quarterback as expected, the Tar Heels represent the top threat to unseat Virginia Tech as Coastal Division champions.

2. Virginia Tech

The ACC is quickly going to find out that David Wilson is even better than Ryan Williams and Darren Evans.

The offensive line should be much better than it was during the first half of the 2010 season.

The receiving corps might be the most proven in the ACC.

Logan Thomas and the defense are the big question marks on this team.

If Bud Foster hasn't suffered a severe head injury that made him forget how to coach, that last question mark should turn into one big exclamation point for the Hokies.

While the teams lower on this list are going to be striving for a conference title if everything goes right, the Hokies have the potential to shoot for something even better.

1. Florida State

There really isn't much that needs to be said here.

Tyrod Taylor may be the only reason the Seminoles are not the defending ACC Champions.

With the clear-cut best player in the ACC from last season out of their way, the Seminoles may dominate the conference just as much as Taylor and the Hokies did last year.