Outside of Virginia Tech, the Atlantic Division has all the best teams in the ACC. With the conference so heavily leaning in this direction, it is going to make the race to the ACC Championship Game a tight one.

There is a pretty clear distinction between the top 3 teams in the Atlantic Division and the bottom 3 teams. Clemson, Wake Forest, and Boston College are the top 3 and are all comparable. FSU, NC State, and Maryland are the bottom 3 and are all pretty much the same .500 team.

Here are the predictions.

Clemson (5-3, 9-4): I suppose I will buy into the hype, even though Clemson NEVER lives up to it, and say Clemson will win the Atlantic. It will be close, and I would not be surprised if Wake or BC actually do win this side of the ACC. Clemson has loads of talent and playmakers and should take care of business.

Wake Forest (5-3, 9-4): Wake Forest is for real. They are beginning the season ranked for the first time in their history. They have a good QB in Riley Skinner, a star in the making at RB in Josh Adams, a good all-around football team, and a coach who knows how to get the most out of his guys.

Boston College (6-2, 11-3): Everyone seems to be down on the Eagles because of some of the guys they lost after last year. They will not be as good as they were in 2007, but this is still a good football team. Chris Crane is a 5^th year senior and the wide receivers are all talented and experienced. They have a good coach and a solid defense. They will be fine and will push Wake and Clemson for the Atlantic title.

Florida State (4-4, 7-6): This is where the drop off occurs. I am picking FSU ahead of the last 2 teams based only on their reputation and the fact that they still have some top quality talent. They will have a lot of suspension time during the beginning of the season, but they can overcome that to finish with about the same record as last year. They haven’t fallen as hard as Miami, but it will be a while before they dominate this conference again.

N.C. State (3-5, 5-7): N.C. State had a ton of injuries last year and was dealing with a new coach and a new system all together. If they can avoid the injury bug, they can be a pretty good football team. They will certainly be no push over for the big boys in the league and could easily finish ahead of FSU. The first game against South Carolina will tell a lot about this team.

Maryland (3-5, 6-7): Again, Maryland is not a bad team and could finish 4^th in this side of the division. They have some young talent, they have a good coach, and they could upset a couple of teams. Not a pushover, but they will not challenge for the top of the ACC.

So it appears that I have Clemson and Virginia Tech in the ACC championship game. Virginia Tech is the young team with lots of unproven talent, while Clemson has the big names that have already proven themselves. It should make for a great ACC Championship Game.

I am going with the Hokies to win this one for two reasons. The first reason being, I just can’t pick Clemson until they show me they can actually win. I am tired of all the preseason hype, and then they finish with 7 to 9 wins. The second reason being, I think the Hokies actually have more talent and a deeper team. Outside of the big names, Clemson is a bit lacking and they don’t have the 2^nd and 3^rd guys coming off the bench the way the Hokies do. By that point in the season, those young Hokie players will no longer be first year guys and will be flying all over the field.