If the ACC wishes to become the power conference its basketball brethren is they will need to start winning bowl games at a clip better than last year’s 2-6 collective effort.  Despite last season’s down-year, the conference looks as deep as its been since Boston College, Miami, Florida and Virginia Tech bolted the Big East.

Here is the take on the ACC for 2008 from Marc Lawrence of Playbook.com. Returning starters are listed alongside each team’s name (returning QB’s designated with an *). Coming up next: the BIG EAST CONFERENCE.  Enjoy…

ACC

BOSTON COLLEGE – 6 / 7
Team Theme – JAGGED EDGE
Eight was the magic number for the Eagles last year.  Under first year coach Jeff Jagodzinski, BC opened the year with eight straight wins, only to finish 3-4.  One of the three wins in that 3-4 finish, though, was an eighth straight bowl victory, the longest current skein in the nation.  Their No. 2 ranking on October 2nd represented the highest spot awarded in the polls in Boston College annals since 1942.  The biggest task at hand this year will be replacing QB Matt Ryan, the 3rd pick in the NFL draft. Ryan was 25-7 as a starter, the Big East Player of the Year, and a Johnny Unitas award winner.  They also lose a pair of 4-year starting RB’s in Andre Caldwell and L.V. Whitworth.  With few edges, and some mighty big shoes to fill, it would be no surprise should J-God suffer through a sophomore slump in ’08. 
PLAY AGAINST: as favorite vs. NC State (10/4)

CLEMSON - *7 / 8
Team Theme – WEATHER RELATED
Weather forecasts in and around Clemson this fall will be filled with "Thunder and Lightning" prognostications as James Davis and C. J. Spiller return to form the nation's best RB tandem. But, it's the AIR that will cause the most excitement. QB Cullen Harper set 22 single season school marks while leading the ACC in passing efficiency (65%), while throwing 27 TD passes against only six interceptions.  And that’s not to mention a well-fortified Top 10 ranked defense that appears stronger than ever.  If it sounds like we’ve been down this path before with Tommy Bowden’s Tigers, it’s because we have.  It’s the M.O. that accompanies Bowden each year.  It’s also what you learn to expect when your team has been bowl-eligible all nine years under your command.  The forecast for 2008: hot and humid with partly cloudy skies.
PASS

DUKE - *7 / 10
Team Theme –THE CUT(CLIFF)ING EDGE
The Roof (Phil) collapsed in Durham and a new repairman has been brought in to fix the damage.  His name is David Cutcliffe and his resume as a handyman is extensive.  He mentored Super Bowl ring owners Peyton and Eli Manning at Tennessee and Ole Miss respectively. Amazingly, in his tenure as a head coach with the Rebels, he coached Ole Miss in five bowl games, all of which were wins and pointspread covers!  This year’s Blue Devils lose five starters from last year’s squad, the fewest in the ACC.  JR QB Thaddeus Lewis keys the offense while the defense returns 10 starters from a unit that ranked 24th in the nation in tackles for a loss last season.  A strong start is imperative considering they open with four straight home games. Look for them to nail down an early win or two.
PLAY ON: as a dog vs. Virginia (9/27)

FLORIDA STATE - *8 / 7
Team Theme – FISHING FOR JIMBO
If you’re an ostrich and have your head stuck in the sand refusing to believe FSU’s downfall this decade consider this:  When the Seminoles visited Virginia Tech last season it marked the first time since 1983 (282 games) that FSU was installed as an underdog in back-to-back regular season games. Enough said.  Another mediocre 7-6 season has the faithful whispering in Tallahassee these days.  How long before OC Jimbo Fisher takes the reins?  As long as Bobby Bowden is neck-and-neck with Joe Paterno for all-time wins as a head coach, that’s how long.  It’s hard to knock 31 consecutive winning seasons, 26 straight bowl games and 373 career wins.  Meanwhile, Drew Weatherford is back for his senior season.  His 7,411 career passing yards is 6th best among active QB’s, and his 3 INTs in 318 pass attempts was best in the nation last year. And the race is on.
PLAY ON: vs. Clemson (11/8) - *KEY if dog
 
GEORGIA TECH – 5 / 4
Team Theme – YOU DOESN’T HAS TO CALL ME JOHNSON
Seven straight seven-win seasons were not enough to save Chan Gailey's job in Atlanta. Neither were the seven straight bowl games in which his teams played. Perhaps it was the five straight-up defeats as a favorite last season that got him ousted. Whatever the case, Gailey is out and former Navy head coach Paul Johnson is in. Johnson brings a glossy 107-39 record as a head coach.  His team led the nation in rushing each of the last three years (the first team to ever do so).  In fact his squad had a better record the last five years than Florida, Tennessee and Wisconsin.  He’ll turn to SO RB Jonathon Dwyer to lead the ground brigade.  Dwyer backed up Tashard Choice (led SEC in rushing the last two years) while rushing for 9 TDs last year. The Techsters are ready to take the next step forward and Johnson’s their man.
 PLAY ON: vs. Virginia (10/25)
 
MARYLAND - 7 / 6
Team Theme – MISSION IMPROBABLE
Terps were the epitome of a squad on a mission last year when they rebounded from a pair of five-win seasons the previous two years to a bowl winning nine-win team.  They were also the first team to defeat both Florida State and Miami Florida in the same season since 1985. Incredibly, they accomplished the feat despite falling 70 YPG on offense and 10 YPG on defense while winning the stats in only TWO GAMES. The biggest loss is QB Sam Hollenbach, who tossed for more than 5,000 yards in his career. Two-year backup Jordan Steffy steps in.  Bottom line is we’ll be looking to fade the Fridge on the heels of the aforementioned inside-out winning season.
PLAY AGAINST: as favs vs. Florida International (9/8)
 
MIAMI FLORIDA – 4 / 6
Team Theme – UGLY BETTY
Now that was ugly.  In the most hyped moment in UM football history, the final game ever played at the Orange Bowl, the Hurricanes laid down and died in a disgraceful 44-0 loss to the Virginia Cavaliers.  It marked the worst home defeat since 1944 and was one of four SU losses as a favorite under first year coach Randy Shannon, the most ever in school history. Those ignominies conjure questions about whether Shannon is in over his head.  We do know the Canes scored the best recruiting class in the country last year (primarily players from Northwestern High School, Florida’s state champs) and they will tackle eight bowlers this year (of who, by the way, went 1-7 their bowl games).  With no quarterback on the roster that has ever taken a snap in a major college game, we can’t see this “Ugly Betty” getting any prettier this season.
PLAY ON: vs, Virginia (11/1) – KEY*

NORTH CAROLINA - *10 / 8
Team Theme – BOOT CAMP
The megabucks showered upon Butch Davis by UNC to lure him to Chapel Hill last year might pale in comparison to the daily tab being run up by this country in the war on Iraq.  But at least Davis is making a noticeable difference with his 18-and-19 year olds.  The Tar Heels were the 4th youngest team in the nation last year with 45 of 80 players being freshmen or sophomores.  To their credit, six of their eight losses were by 7 or less points. 18 returning starters, led by SO QB T. J. Yates, who passed for 2.655 yards last season (the 4th highest total by a freshman in ACC history), represent the most experience in the conference.  With eight battles on tap against foes that were in post-season combat last year, UNC may not win the war but at least it’ll come home alive.    
PLAY ON: vs. Virginia (10/18)

NORTH CAROLINA STATE - *5 / 4
Team Theme – MISSION POSSIBLE
When Tom O’Brien decided to make the journey south to Raleigh, NC last year he brought with him a list of goals and a veteran coaching staff to help achieve them.  None of the three - O’Brien, the goals or the staff - was well received following a 1-5 start when injuries hampered the team from the onset.  “We didn’t accomplish what we wanted to accomplish last year, but we have a head start this year.  The players now know our terminology and our schemes.  They understand what their jobs and responsibilities are,” said O’Brien. With former head coaches Mike Archer (DC) and Andy McCollom (LB) teaching the defensive schemes, and O’Brien calling the signals, the Wolfpack is in good hands and will look to build on last year’s 4-2 finish. After having an 8-year bowl skein snapped in 2007, this becomes O’Brien’s “mission year” and we’re certainly not going to step in front of his charges.     
PLAY ON: as a dog vs. Maryland (10/25)

VIRGINIA – 6 / 5
Team Theme – HOW DEEP THOU AREN’T
For a team that was a season ending win away from capturing an ACC Coastal Division title last year, the Cavaliers look to be in deep s**t in 2008.  A tumultuous off-season, coupled with a schedule that features eight bowlers from last year has coach Al Groh concerned. "We have a very challenging road in front us," says Groh. The Cavs were the surprise team in the ACC in 2007 when they won an NCAA record five games by two or fewer points.  Immediately after blowing a late lead to Texas Tech in the Gator Bowl, Virginia saw a half-a-dozen players declared ineligible for academic or legal troubles. After walking a fine line last year, Groh’s gang looks like they’re in it up to their eyeballs in 2008.   
PLAY AGAINST: as a favorite vs. Clemson (11/22)
 
VIRGINIA TECH - *7 / 4
Team Theme - POCKET ACES
For a team that lost every wide receiver who caught a pass last year, Virginia Tech seems unfazed.  It could be because the Hokie defense has allowed 258.7 YPG the last four years – tops in the nation.  Or maybe it’s the fact the coach Frank Beamer is 3rd among active coaches in victories (209) behind only Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno.  Four 10-win seasons in a row, and fifteen consecutive bowl games, instills that kind of confidence.   Beamer has said that instead of operating with last year’s two-headed QB’s (Sean Glennon and Tyrod Taylor), one of them will win the No.1 honor in fall camp. Somehow you get the feeling it really doesn’t matter because, when push comes to shove, the Hokies will be 10-game winners again in 2008.
PLAY ON: vs. Boston College (10/18)

WAKE FOREST - *6 / 9
Team Theme – A SUDDEN AWAKENING
If you aren’t  impressed with the job Jim Grobe has done with the Deacon Demons, you should be.  Since Grobe came aboard, Wake won its first ACC title since 1970, won a game in Florida for the first time since 1959, won 20 games the last two years for the first time in school history and swept its Tobacco Road rivalry for the first time ever victories over North Carolina, NC State and Duke each of the last two seasons.  In addition, Grobe took Wake bowling in back-to-back years for the first time ever last season. It doesn't look like the "Firsts" are going to stop anytime soon. Fifteen starters are back, including QB Riley Skinner who led the nation in passing percentage last year (72.4% completions). The beat goes on.  
PLAY ON: vs. Virginia (11/8)