Dabo!

I'm joining some other ACC blogs in making preseason predictions so we can see where we differ from the mainstream outlets, if we differ at all.  And man, making preseason predictions this time of year is difficult.  You spend two months reading the general consensus and no matter how much sense it makes, it becomes lame.  There's an urge to go crazy just for the sake of crazy.  The in-your-face cutting edginess of the internet practically demands it.

It was about the point where I was pondering a Miami/Boston College championship game (but not really; okay maybe for a half second) that I had to take a step back.  It occurred to me that I was going about it the same way I would an NCAA tournament bracket in March, pondering the selections least likely to be chosen by others--like this would earn me points or mad crack ho dollars. 

Ultimately, though, my picks ended up pretty routine--with one exception.

Coastal
1.) Virginia Tech
2.) Georgia Tech
3.) Miami
4.) UNC
5.) UVA
6.) Duke

Atlantic
1.) Clemson
2.) FSU
3.) NC State
4.) Boston College
5.) Wake Forest
6.) Maryland

Champ: Clemson

Clemson is enigmatic but also so very enticing.  C.J. Spiller ... Jacoby Ford ... Da'Quan Bowers ... Willy Korn's face-melting brilliance.  I have the same lingering concerns everyone else does about the leadership; it is admittedly difficult to envision a change in personality when the new was a part of the old. Then there's the lack of head coaching experience.  Those things are unsettling, sure.  But I don't trust any of the other teams in the division to deliver, either.  Behind a defense that was outstanding and figures to stay that way in 2009, the Tigers had the second-best yards/play differential in the league last season.  On paper, they're right there.  Unfortunately, they do still have to play the games.