Tag: Virginia Tech football

ACC Football Teams Ranked by Returning Production for 2024

A look at each ACC team’s returning production for the upcoming 2024 season.

Forecasting which teams will rise to greatness in college football in any given season can prove challenging. However, a key indicator often lies in the roster’s returning players.

From seasoned fifth-year senior linebackers to up-and-coming junior quarterbacks, the presence of experienced athletes opting to continue with their respective programs can significantly bolster a team’s competitive advantage. This continuity becomes particularly crucial as other teams contend with talent depletion due to NFL draft selections, transfers, or eligibility regulations.

ESPN recently released a list of all 134 FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) teams, with each ACC team naturally being listed. Here is a look at each ACC team’s returning production on offense, defense, and total.

Updated 4/7

Virginia Tech HC Brent Pry: ‘I tell recruits and families all the time that this place was Clemson before Clemson was Clemson’

Was Virginia Tech Clemson before Clemson was? Tech head coach Brent Pry believes so.

Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry recently spoke with college football analyst Josh Pate and had some interesting things to say about Clemson.

During the Late Kick with Josh Pate interview, Pry uses Clemson as a comparative piece when discussing the Hokies program and their history in college football. It’s an interesting recruiting pitch and one that Pry delved deeper into during the interview.

“I tell recruits and families all the time that this place was Clemson before Clemson was Clemson. Truly,” said Pry. “And in the same breath, seven conference championships in about 15 years. Seven conference championships in 15 years. Who does that sound like? Ohio State, Alabama – like, who’s winning those kind of league championships that frequently, and that was Virginia Tech.

“And then the second piece of it is, I was here for a Sugar Bowl championship, I was here for an Orange Bowl, I was here for two conference championships. So were several members of my staff. We know what it looks like to win championships here. I would never have left Penn State and James Franklin if I didn’t believe we could do it here, if alignment wasn’t here, if administration and the powers to be didn’t recognize what I recognized about things we needed to do to get this program headed back in the right direction.”

I get the sentiment here and what Pry is trying to deliver… it’s just a weird recruiting pitch in my eyes. It’s basically like saying, “We were Clemson, but now we aren’t.” Again, I understand the point; it’s just not the message I personally would send as a recruiter.

Pry, now in his third season as head coach of Virginia Tech, brings a 10-14 overall record into the 2024 season. Prior to leading the Hokies, he spent eight seasons as defensive coordinator/linebackers coach at Penn State. Pry’s connection with Virginia Tech runs deep, having served as a defensive graduate assistant for the Hokies from 1995-97 under head coach Frank Beamer and defensive coordinator Bud Foster.

Virginia Tech, since joining the ACC in 2004, boasts four conference football titles, the most recent being in 2010. On the other hand, Clemson, led by Dabo Swinney, has dominated the ACC with eight championships since 2011. Swinney, with an impressive 6-0 record against Virginia Tech, will lead the Tigers against Pry’s Hokies on Saturday, Nov. 9, marking their first meeting.

A look at Clemson football’s complete 2024 schedule

Here is a look at Clemson football’s entire 2024 schedule.

After a long wait, we finally have a complete look at the Clemson football team’s 2024 schedule.

While we have known who the Tigers will be facing for some time, we now have the date and week for each game. Times are yet to be determined, as many factors go into the time choices for each game. Even so, we know what week each game will take place, so Clemson fans can now plan accordingly.

With the release of the schedule, we put together a week-by-week schedule of our own for you to see who Clemson will face each week and where it will be. Take a look at Clemson’s complete 2024 schedule below.

Updated 3/31

Every ACC football team’s ESPN preseason SP+ ranking

The ACC has some strong teams heading into the 2024 season, according to ESPN’s SP+.

The 2024 college football season is months away, but we all know that football remains on the mind throughout the offseason. 

Early rankings have been released all over the place, with ESPN’s Bill Connelly recently releasing the preseason ESPN SP+ rankings ($$$) for the 2024 season. These SP+ rankings consider multiple key factors regarding a football team, including returning production, recent recruiting, and recent history. A strong model; here is a bit more of what Connelly had to say about the rankings. 

“It’s a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency. It is a predictive measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football, not a résumé ranking. Along those same lines, these projections aren’t intended to be a guess at what the AP Top 25 will look like at the end of the season. These are simply early offseason power rankings based on the information we have been able to gather to date.”

Straightforward and to the point, these are power rankings based on what we know right now. So, how do Clemson and the rest of the ACC stack up in the first SP+ rankings for 2024? Check it out below.

Updated 2/16

Every ACC Football Team’s 2024 Recruiting Class Ranking After National Signing Day

Here is a look at every ACC team’s final 2024 recruiting class ranking.

Dabo Swinney and the Clemson coaching staff showcased their recruiting prowess in the 2024 class, adding considerable talent to their roster. However, the burning question remains: how does Clemson’s recruiting effort compare to other ACC powerhouses following National Signing Day?

Today, we delve into the post-National Signing Day landscape, dissecting each ACC football team’s 2024 recruiting team ranking according to 247Sports. While Clemson remains a formidable force in ACC recruiting circles, they find themselves not at the summit for this particular recruiting cycle. Another program is poised for a significant resurgence, and the 2024 class appears to be the catalyst for their potential return to past glory.

From perennial ACC contenders to emerging teams within the conference, let’s examine the 2024 recruiting team ranking for each ACC program, shedding light on the evolving dynamics within the conference.

–Updated 2/13

ACC Football 2024 Team Recruiting Rankings After Early Signing Day

Here is a full look at how the ACC stands in team recruiting rankings after early signing day.

Early signing day was, as it should be for every college football program nationwide, a very busy day.

High school players across the country signed their national letters of intent and secured the next step in their football careers as they prepare to join their new teams. The ACC had some good success on early signing day, with multiple ACC programs landing in the top 25 of class team rankings following the day. 

So, how does the ACC stack up against each other? That’s what we’re going to take a look at today. Here is a look at every ACC team’s 2024 team recruiting ranking according to 247Sports following early signing day.

Updated 12/25

Commanders Kendall Fuller criticized for his choice of cleats

Kendall Fuller’s cleats, not his play, drew criticism.

Washington Commanders cornerback Kendall Fuller is being criticized.

Yes, the Commanders lost again Sunday for the fourth consecutive game, this time to Miami 45-15. Washington has now lost six of its last seven games.

The former Virginia Tech cornerback is not being criticized for his play on the field. Fuller, a third-round draft selection by Washington in the 2016 NFL draft, is being criticized for his choice during the NFL’s “My Cause My Cleats” campaign.

Fuller, in Sunday’s game against Miami, was wearing cleats like many NFL players, to support a cause dear to them. The cause he chose to support is the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Hundreds of NFL players each season choose to wear cleats that broadcast a cause that is important to that individual player.

The assigned day allows players to have some liberty with their shoes, exhibiting something important to them personally.

For Fuller, it is no exception. He has found the Fellowship of Christian Athletes to be a helpful organization, and he wanted to voice his support for the group.

Fuller is being accused of “supporting an Anti-LGBTQ group.”  The accusation is being made by Outsports, which is part of SB Nation.

The Fellowship of Christian Athletes was founded in 1954 in Norman, Oklahoma.

Its stated mission is “to lead every coach and athlete into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and His church.”

Its stated values are: “Integrity, Serving, Teamwork, and Excellence.” And it’s stated vision is “to see the world transformed by Jesus Christ through the influence of coaches and athletes.”

Fuller wanted to show his support for a cause dear to him, like any other NFL player. The great thing about this country is that in the United States of America, those with strongly differing religious beliefs are not to be prohibited from the free exercise of those beliefs.

Fuller has played in all 13 of Washington’s games this season, intercepting two passes. In his eight NFL seasons, Fuller has intercepted 16 passes, including two he returned for touchdowns during the 2022 season.

Virginia’s sprinklers hilariously turned on while Virginia Tech was trying to take a postgame team photo

A little water didn’t stop the Hokies from celebrating bowl eligibility and Brent Pry’s first win in the Commonwealth Cup.

There wasn’t much to be happy about on Saturday if you’re a fan of the Virginia Cavaliers. The women’s basketball team lost to an LSU squad without Angel Reese, and the football team got blown out on its home turf by rival Virginia Tech, 55-17.

For the Hokies, the win was extra sweet. Not only was it second-year head coach Brent Pry’s first victory against Virginia for the Commonwealth Cup, but the result raised Virginia Tech’s record to 6-6, making the squad bowl-eligible for the first time in Pry’s tenure.

To mark the historic achievement, Virginia Tech retook the field after the game was over to take a team picture.

Except – perhaps due to randomness, ironic timeliness, or a Virginia employee with a sense of humor – the sprinklers at Scott Stadium suddenly turned on.

The Hokies still had fun with it though, embracing the water erupting from the field.

Otto the Orange danced the pain away to Mr. Brightside as Syracuse got pummeled by Virginia Tech

You keep dancing, Otto. You keep dancing.

Syracuse football was not having a good time on Thursday night as the team got thrashed by Virginia Tech on the road in the first half, 30-3.

Syracuse mascot Otto the Orange had to have been as devastated as all the other Orange fans who couldn’t have seen this brutal first-half pummeling coming from a 3-4 Virginia Tech team.

Well, Otto the Orange didn’t let the abysmal first-half Syracuse performance keep him from dancing his pain away on the sideline as The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside” played loudly over the speakers at Lane Stadium.

Like, look at Otto go. He’s clearly suffering greatly as his favorite football team gets blasted by Hokies, but he’s not going to let that keep him from dancing his heart out to the official Millennial anthem.

Hey, Otto the Orange, you keep dancing. Maybe Syracuse would mount an incredible comeback in the second half, or maybe he’d just have to keep dancing the night away as the Orange fell to 4-4.

Syracuse might’ve not walked away from the night as winners, but Otto stayed undefeated. He’s Mr. BrightOrange.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN.

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College football’s top performers in the ACC during Week 5

With the Seminoles and Tar Heels on bye and GameDay in Durham, which ACC players stepped up to the plate to establish themselves?

With Florida State off for the weekend, several teams in the ACC had the chance to prove themselves.

However, while they may not have all failed, none of them really succeeded. Undefeated Syracuse laid an egg at home against Clemson. Duke couldn’t stop Notre Dame and Sam Hartman from converting on a fourth and 16.  Louisville stayed undefeated but even they looked unintimidating in a narrow 13-10 victory over NC State.

Despite a quiet week in the conference, some of the ACC’s best players offered standout performances. Here are this week’s best.