ACC Coastal Predictions: Can the Miami Hurricanes Steal the Crown in 2022?
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Given the departures of Kenny Pickett and Jordan Addison this offseason, it isn't a sure thing to say that Pittsburgh is the favorite to repeat as Coastal Division champions in the ACC.
With teams like Miami and North Carolina looking to make a run for the crown of the division, just how high and how low can these Coastal teams go? By breaking down rosters, schedules and other factors, we can get a glimpse of just what these teams are capable of.
Miami Hurricanes
Ceiling: 10-2
Floor: 8-4
The Miami Hurricanes head into this season with some of the most promise they have seen in decades as Mario Cristobal took over as the head coach this offseason and has brought with him an elite staff to elevate this group. Cristobal walks into a program featuring one of the premier quarterbacks in the country in Tyler Van Dyke, who captured ACC Rookie of the Year honors in 2021 after stepping in for D’Eriq King due to injury. Van Dyke went on to throw 25 touchdowns in ten games and has put himself into the conversation to be a first-round draft selection in 2023.
This roster also features promising talent on the defensive side, as second-year players James Williams and Leonard Taylor appear ready to grow upon promising freshman seasons.
Looking at the Hurricanes' schedule, their two toughest opponents will be on the road against Texas A&M and Clemson. Despite expectations being through the roof with a new coaching staff, fans should be ecstatic if they can walk away with a 10-2 season. However, this team could also see just minor improvement from the prior season if they are unable to get consistent production from their wide receiver room. Overall, the talent on this roster is through the roof but Cristobal might need some time to adjust before the Canes are title contenders.
Pittsburgh Panthers
Ceiling: 10-2
Floor: 7-5
Despite their departures this offseason, this Panthers team still has a competitive roster that makes them third in odds to win the ACC. The Panthers return all of their offensive line starters and their running back group from last season. At quarterback, Pitt hopes to keep their high-level quarterback play by adding USC’s Kedon Slovis via the transfer portal. In terms of his weapons, Slovis will still have wide receiver Jared Wayne and tight end Gavin Bartholomew, who were both starters on last year's offense. However, with a new offensive guru in Frank Cignetti Jr. taking control as the offensive coordinator, the ceiling on this offense is sky high.
Taking a look at the defensive side of the ball, the Panthers return their top two pass rushers from last season in Habakkuk Baldonado and Calijah Kancey. In the transfer portal, they added a starting linebacker in former four-star Shayne Simon from Notre Dame who will look to break out in a starting role. While this team was dependent on elite offensive production last season, this veteran defense could prove to be a strong unit.
Looking at the schedule, Pitt will start off the season with home stands against West Virginia and Tennessee. Despite Pitt being favored against the Mountaineers, this game is no game to write off as they added former five-star QB J.T. Daniels via the transfer portal. Tennessee will definitely be a tough game, as the Volunteers will likely head into Pittsburgh as favorites. With everything considered, this team could either replicate last season’s numbers or be a mediocre team.
North Carolina Tar Heels
Ceiling: 9-3
Floor: 6-6
North Carolina will now transition into a new era as longtime starter Sam Howell has moved on to the NFL. A true dual-threat quarterback, Howell accounted for 800+ yards on the ground and 11 TDs in addition to 3,000 yards in the air. Production that is definitely hard to replace, but Tar Heel fans will now look towards blue-chip recruit Drake Maye to take over under center. A pure pocket passer who has all the tools to succeed at the next level, he will inherit Josh Downs as his top target in the slot. Downs excelled in 2021 with 101 receptions, 1,335 yards and 8 TDs en route to an All-ACC second-team selection. In terms of the other offensive pieces, they will likely hand off the lead-back role to former walk-on British Brooks who averaged 9.5 YPC last season. They also return their top two tight ends and their top outside receiver in Antoine Green. If Maye plays up to his status, this should remain a Top 30 offensive unit.
As much as this offense is a great unit, this defense is in the bottom half of the country. The Tar Heels lost their top edge rusher Tomon Fox to the NFL this offseason, who put up nine sacks this past year. UNC does return two of their top defenders with safety Cam’Ron Kelly and lineman Myles Murphy (not to be mistaken with the Clemson player of the same name). In terms of transfers, they will look to elevate Ohio State transfer Lejond Cavazos, who will look to lead that cornerback group. So as much as this unit might not be as bad as last season, they don’t seem like they’ll be a top ACC unit.
Regarding UNC’s schedule, the Tar Heels will have a tough ACC slate facing NC State, Wake Forest and Miami. Out of conference, they will go up against Notre Dame and Appalachian State. It’s likely that North Carolina will be heavily reliant on this offense to carry the load, but they’ll face some tough defenses that’ll keep them at bay.
Virginia Tech Hokies
Ceiling: 8-4
Floor: 6-6
While a team like North Carolina is heavily reliant on their offense, the Hokies pride themselves on their stout defense. Despite losing some of their All-ACC talents, they will bring back their top two linebackers in Alan Tisdale and Dax Hollifield to command the defense. In addition to that, they will also return four players from their starting secondary, which should only help this team climb up the team defensive rankings. Despite a great linebacking duo and returning starters in the secondary, this team has a bottom-level pass rush as they lack any type of edge rusher. Given that push rush is one of the most vital parts of a defense, this unit might crumble if they can’t get any pressure.
On the offensive side of the ball, this unit will look toward recent Temple wide receiver transfer Jadan Blue to be the spark to bring this offense to a respectable level. Blue is a talented receiver who put up 1,067 yards and six touchdowns in 2019 during his breakout season. Upon that, he was placed on the Biletnikoff watch list in 2020 but poor quarterback play in 2020 and 2021 have set him back. Now with a transfer to Virginia Tech, Blue will partner up with Marshall quarterback transfer Grant Wells. The projected starter in Blacksburg, Wells finished 2021 at No. 15 in the nation in passing yards and hopes to bring in some juice to an offense that hasn’t had a good air attack since 2016. For the run game, the Hokies will look at Malachi Thomas to step into the starting role in his sophomore season.
Looking at the schedule, Virginia Tech will face three of their toughest ACC games on the road at Pitt, UNC and NC State. In terms of big home matchups they’ll have Miami and West Virginia come to town. All five of these games will be tough matchups for the Hokies where they may be underdogs in all of them. With a lot up in the air with this team and new head coach Brent Pry from Penn State, this team could be pushing eight wins at best or barely squeaking into a bowl game. If Wells can take a step up in his third season behind center, this Hokies team will be one to watch in the ACC.
Virginia Cavaliers
Ceiling: 7-5
Floor: 5-7
Unlike the other ACC team in Virginia, the Cavaliers are heavily reliant on their high-powered aerial attack. This offense however just got a boost, with the addition of longtime Clemson coordinator Tony Elliot as head coach. Elliot takes over an offense that finished number two in the NCAA in passing yards per game and number three in offensive yards per game. The main part of this success came from Brennan Armstrong, who enters his redshirt senior season after throwing for the fourth most yards in the country last season. Armstrong also brings back his three top offensive weapons, including Dontayvion Wicks who broke out with 1,203 yards and nine touchdowns last season. Elliot will take on the challenge of revitalizing this run game, who’s top back went for a mere 324 yards this past season.
As much as this Cavaliers team wows on offense, this defense allowed some of the most yards in the country last season, finishing at the bottom of the NCAA. Virginia had one lone defensive player receive an All-ACC nod in tackle machine Nick Jackson who returns to the Cavaliers for his senior season. In terms of notable additions to the team, the Cavaliers added Miami (Ohio) transfer Kam Butler on the edge. Butler put up eight sacks in his senior season at Miami and will surely add to a unit whose pass rush was non-existent last season. With an upperclassmen defense, Elliot will need to capitalize on their experience to try and keep Virginia from playing too many shootouts.
In regards to the Cavaliers' schedule, they will face their hardest matchups at home in Charlottesville. Going up against Louisville, Miami, UNC, Pitt and Coastal Carolina at home will be the games the Cavaliers will need to utilize their home turf advantage to the fullest. A successful run for Virginia here might just be winning one of these games, still giving them enough games to be bowl eligible. Virginia may start off 5-0 though, as their first five games should be ones they are favored in. Nonetheless, Virginia fans should be excited with the Elliot era in Charlottesville.
Duke Blue Devils
Ceiling: 3-9
Floor: 2-10
Duke is known for being one of the best academic schools in the country. They also have one of the premier blue blood programs in college basketball. However, they are not a football school. Daniel Jones is the last relevant player to walk through there, and Duke appears to be on track to finish at the bottom of the ACC yet again. Taking a look at the offense, the Blue Devils will be without their top back Mataeo Durant as he heads to the pros. With that, Duke’s best returning offensive player is Jalon Cahoun, who caught 56 passes for 713 yards last season. Outside of that, the offense doesn’t have much else to give. Duke will trout out a new starter in Riley Leonard for the 2022 season, as he will hope to bring back respectable quarterback play to Durham.
The defense doesn’t need much of an introduction. Duke finished last season with the most yards allowed in all of FBS. To this unit, Duke added just one transfer to this unit in Iowa State transfer Datrone Young. However, he isn’t the caliber of player that’s going to change this unit around. Ideally, new head coach Mike Elko, a former defensive coordinator, should be able to make Duke's defense more respectable, but for now you can expect another bottom finish in defensive rankings.
Looking at the schedule, Duke at least has some winnable games on the docket. They’ll face Temple, Northwestern, Kansas and North Carolina A&T all to open the season. Outside of that, the other games seem out of reach for this Duke team. They might win three of those first four games, or split them. Overall, this Duke team needs to see some drastic changes if they want to become even a tough out in games.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Ceiling: 2-10
Floor: 1-11
Hard to see any improvement from a roster that just lost their best offensive player and didn’t really fill the void. With Jahmyr Gibbs transferring to the Crimson Tide, Georgia Tech loses a player that accounted for 1,211 yards from scrimmage and six touchdowns in 2021. Now, Georgia Tech will put out a roster that may compete for one of the worst amongst Power 5 schools. Under center for the Yellow Jackets is the once four-star prospect Jeff Sims, who despite being a dual-threat quarterback has seen regression in his rushing attempts across his two seasons in Atlanta. Georgia Tech’s best returning weapon from last season is senior wide receiver Malachi Carter, who had 489 yards last season. With only additions on the offensive line in terms of key transfers, don’t expect this offense to improve much at all.
In terms of the returning players on this Georgia Tech defense, the only one to note is Charlie Thomas, who put up 10 TFLs and 70 tackles en route to an All-ACC honorable mention selection. Furthermore, this defense brings nothing else really of note, as they’ll bring back a worse core than their bottom-ranked unit from last year.
Looking at the schedule, the Yellow Jackets have a tough one as they’ll face Ole Miss, Clemson and Georgia, all of which finished with double-digit wins last season. The only game on their schedule that should be a win is Western Carolina, which is an FCS program. Otherwise, they truly have one of the toughest ACC schedules but will get a matchup against Duke in October as they duel it out for last place in the Coastal division.
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