Coastal Division – Syndication Server

Analysts predict ACC title game matchup, one doesn’t pick Tigers to make it

During The ACC Huddle: Season Preview show on ACC Network recently, a few ACCN analysts gave their predictions for which teams will represent the Atlantic and Coastal Divisions in the ACC Championship Game this season. Former Clemson and All-ACC …

During The ACC Huddle: Season Preview show on ACC Network recently, a few ACCN analysts gave their predictions for which teams will represent the Atlantic and Coastal Divisions in the ACC Championship Game this season.

Former Clemson and All-ACC offensive lineman Eric Mac Lain picked Clemson and Pittsburgh as the ACC Championship Game matchup, with the Tigers winning the conference crown, while former Miami and Georgia head coach Mark Richt picked Clemson and Miami to play in the conference title game.

Former Florida State quarterback EJ Manuel did not pick Clemson to make it to the conference title game, however. Instead, he went with NC State to win the Atlantic and play Pittsburgh.

Here’s what Mac Lain, Manuel and Richt had to say regarding their ACC Championship Game matchup predictions and who will win the Atlantic and Coastal Divisions in 2022:

Mac Lain: “I think it’s return of the king. I think Clemson’s back. So, I think they’re going to be representing the Atlantic. I think they win it, but I think Pittsburgh’s going to make it tough. I think Pittsburgh is going to be representing back-to-back divisional champions, the last-ever Coastal. So, I’ve got Clemson and Pitt. I’ve got Clemson winning it.”

Manuel: “Yeah, I’m going Pitt from the Coastal. I think no matter which quarterback they decide to have (Kedon Slovis has since been named Pitt’s starting QB), that defense is going to be stout. They’re going to have enough playmakers around there, a three-headed monster at running back. The Atlantic side, I’m going NC State. I think (quarterback) Devin Leary’s going to do it. I think he’s going to have an excellent season. That defense is also primed and ready to go, too.”

Richt: “Two coaches I love – Narduzzi (Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi) and Doeren (NC State’s Dave Doeren). I’m doing this to help motivate their teams. I’m picking Clemson and Miami. I’m just giving them something to get mad about. They always want a chip on their shoulder, they want to be hunting instead of being the hunted. So here’s your fodder, coaches. Use it the way you want, baby.”

The 2022 ACC Championship Game will kick off at 8 p.m. on ABC on Saturday, Dec. 3, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

Congratulations! You did it! You graduated! Now is the time to preserve your diploma in a custom frame. Here at Clemson Variety & Frame, we build all our frames in-house – from the frame to the mats and etchings to the installation – to guarantee the quality. You worked hard for your degree. Trust us to show your diploma in the best light possible.

Packer gives his picks for Atlantic, Coastal Division winners, ACC champion

During ACC Network’s new daily studio show, ACC PM, Mark Packer gave his conference predictions for the upcoming season. Packer is picking Clemson and Miami to win the Atlantic and Coastal Divisions, respectively, and he’s going with the Tigers to …

During ACC Network’s new daily studio show, ACC PM, Mark Packer gave his conference predictions for the upcoming season.

Packer is picking Clemson and Miami to win the Atlantic and Coastal Divisions, respectively, and he’s going with the Tigers to win the conference title.

Packer provided an explanation for predicting Clemson to claim the Atlantic crown, pointing to the Tigers’ early season matchup against defending Atlantic champion Wake Forest on Sept. 24 in Winston-Salem, and the status of Demon Deacons quarterback Sam Hartman, who is out indefinitely with what the school described as a “non-football related medical condition.”

Packer also talked about what he thinks is likely the biggest game in the ACC this season — Clemson’s matchup against NC State on Oct. 1 at Death Valley, where the Tigers ride a 34-game winning streak entering the 2022 campaign and where the Wolfpack haven’t won since 2002.

In the contest against NC State, Clemson will be looking to avenge its 27-21, double-overtime loss in Raleigh last September.

“I’m going to pick Clemson for two reasons — number one, they catch Wake Forest early, and I don’t know about Sam Hartman,” Packer said. “Even with Sam Hartman on the field, that’s still going to be an uphill climb. It’s what, 13 straight, I think, Clemson’s beaten Wake. So, Hartman early, even if he hasn’t played, to see that defensive line, good luck.

“And NC State, I think this is Dave Doeren’s best team, and if there’s going to be a time for NC State, it’s now. But man, you’ve got to win at Clemson, and I’ve got to see that to believe it. They are just so good at home. 34 straight at home… But I’ve got to see it to believe it, and I think NC State beating them last year is great for the Wolfpack’s psyche. But even though they dominated that game, it still was an overtime game, and Clemson at home, coming off last year, ‘hey, we remember that’ — I’ll take Clemson at home. NC State-Clemson, everybody’s circled it, October the 1st, saying, ‘Man, that’s the biggest game in the ACC.’ I think it probably is.”

As for the second-biggest game in the conference this season?

Packer believes it’s defending ACC champion Pittsburgh’s road tilt at Miami on Nov. 26, the final week of the regular season — the game he believes will decide who represents the Coastal in the ACC Championship Game.

“I’m going to tell you what the second-biggest game in the league is — it’s Pitt and Miami, and it’s the last game of the regular season,” Packer said. “I think those are the two best teams in the Coastal Division. I do. No disrespect to Virginia Tech or North Carolina or Georgia Tech or Duke. To me, those are the two best teams.

“And I know Miami has to go to Clemson the week before, which could be a preview (of the ACC Championship Game). In my opinion, it will be. But man, Pittsburgh and Miami, the last weekend in November, just sounds about right for me, for the Coastal. And I do think Clemson and NC State, in my opinion, are the two best teams in the Atlantic.”

Come out to support Clemson softball at Dear Old Clemson’s second event which is set for August 27 at the Madren Conference Center. Clemson returns one of the top teams in the nation and adds some new talent to the mix. If you sign up for certain club levels you get free access to all Dear Old Clemson events or purchase your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.

Swinney ‘indifferent’ on ACC scheduling format even if he has soft spot for divisions

Dabo Swinney believes arguments can be made both ways when it comes to how ACC teams piece together their conference schedules, which is why Clemson’s coach said he’s “kind of indifferent” on whatever format the league decides to use in the future. …

“It’s not really one of my battles or one of the things I’m really passionate about,” Swinney told The Clemson Insider this week. “I’ll get on board with whatever they think is best for the league.”

But Swinney admitted he has his reasons for liking the Atlantic and Coastal divisions that have split the ACC’s football teams down the middle since 2005, which may not be the case much longer.

The ACC is among numerous FBS conferences that could soon make divisions a thing of the past. A 3-5-5 format in which teams have three permanent conference opponents with five of the remaining 10 teams rotating on the schedule every other year was discussed among athletic directors during the league’s spring meetings earlier this month.

The NCAA recently paved the way for leagues to abolish divisions by relaxing restrictions on who’s eligible to play in championship games, leaving it up to conferences to determine how their title-game participants are decided. It opens the door for the two teams with the highest conference winning percentage to play for a championship rather than division winners.

The Pac-12 became the first conference to officially scrap divisions just minutes after the NCAA’s decision. The Mountain West followed soon thereafter.

On one hand, Swinney sees some benefits in the ACC going to a 3-5-5 model in the future, a format that would reportedly go into effect for the 2023 season at the earliest. For one, Swinney said all of Clemson’s future signees would be ensured of playing every other team in the league during their collegiate careers, which isn’t the case under the division format where only one new cross-divisional opponent rotates on a team’s schedule each year.

Swinney said it also creates the potential for more balanced scheduling within the conference, though he opined that could get complicated with some teams wanting to preserve rivalries games as well as the potential addition of Notre Dame as a permanent football member at some point down the road.

“That particular scenario makes sense if we do it. I think it’s more fair,” Swinney said of the 3-5-5 model. “Because what you don’t want is one league and then TV controls what the schedule is. Because I know what’s going to happen for Clemson, and that ain’t good. We’re going to play at night every week. As long as there’s some equity in how the schedule is done, I think it’s fine.”

On the other hand, Swinney has a soft spot for divisions given the transformation Clemson has made into the ACC’s gold standard during his tenure. The Tigers’ Atlantic Division title during Swinney’s first full season at the helm in 2009 clinched their first-ever trip to the conference championship game, setting the program on a course to winning seven ACC titles in 10 years, including six straight from 2015-20. Two of those seasons (2016, 2018) ended with Clemson claiming its most recent national championships.

“I just think there’s some identity there, and I do think it kind of gives you some steps you can take along the way,” Swinney said. “I know for us, in ‘09 when we won that division, it was a big deal. We got to Tampa and we didn’t win the league, but that was a big deal. That was something we could go and sell in recruiting.”

Swinney said it’s not just his own program for which divisions have sentimental value.

“I know (Pittsburgh coach) Pat (Narduzzi) was talking about that at the (spring) meetings,” Swinney said. “When they won the Coastal in ‘18, they didn’t win the league, but that was a big deal for them. So there are arguments both ways.

“Regardless if it’s two divisions or one league, we’ve got to take care of our business and try to win this league. But I think there’s pros and cons to both.”