There’s no more Coastal craziness in the ACC, as divisions are no more. While the Atlantic mostly held to form with Clemson and Florida State combining for 13 appearances in 14 years, every school in the Coastal reached at least one ACC final and none more than Georgia Tech’s three. With the change in format, there’s now a real chance the two best teams in the ACC finally meet in Charlotte.
But before we get there, we’ve got some questions to answer.
Can Florida State Win the Close Ones?
After four one-score losses in 2021, Mike Norvell thought he’d answered this question with a season-opening one-point win over LSU last season. But then the Seminoles lost by two at N.C. State and by six to Clemson, knocking them out of the Atlantic Division race. Florida State has 17 starters back and has to prove that it knows how to win the tight games if it’s going to knock Clemson off its perch. The Seminoles have spent the past three years learning to win; now they need to put those lessons in practice.
Was Clemson’s Problem Scheme, Quarterback or Both?
Even though Clemson won the ACC last year, it wasn’t up to its standards. The Tigers weren’t competitive at Notre Dame, lost to South Carolina for the first time in nine years and barely scratched Tennessee in the Orange Bowl. That sent quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei to Oregon State and offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter to new employment, and now Cade Klubnik and Garrett Riley get to figure things out.
Klubnik earned ACC title game MVP honors, but he struggled in the Orange Bowl. The Tigers aren’t getting back to the Trevor Lawrence days, but they’ve got to get more from the offense to hold off Florida State. That starts with consistency from Klubnik.
Can N.C. State Stay Healthy?
The injury bug bit the Wolfpack hard last season, turning a 5-1 start into ashes when virtually every quarterback State sent under center got hurt. Brennan Armstrong moves into the job and reunites with his former offensive coordinator at Virginia in Robert Anae. That proved a combination that lit up ACC scoreboards in 2021, and State’s defense is much better than Virginia’s ever was.
The schedule is also highly favorable, as the Wolfpack don’t play Florida State and get Clemson and North Carolina at home. If Armstrong can thrive and stay on the field, State could be a dark horse to reach Charlotte.
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