ACC teams have eyes set on accomplishing individual goals

While all 14 Atlantic Coast Conference teams are technically fighting for the same prize, it’s apparent that each is set on different goals.

Newcomers Pittsburgh and Syracuse will look to make an impression on their new conference foes, while Maryland is trying to remain relevant in its swan song.

Florida State and Clemson have national-title aspirations and the talent to make it happen. Along with battling each other, both schools go on the road in the final game of the season to take on their in-state SEC rivals. Miami, Virginia Tech and North Carolina are positioned in the league’s second tier, but any cracks in Clemson or Florida State could allow either of them to earn the league’s Bowl Championship Series bid in the final year of the BCS system.

It will be an intriguing year in the ACC with new coaches, new teams and old rivalries. Come 2014, Louisville will be on its way and so will a college football playoff.

Here’s my pre-season ACC Breakdown:

Clemson

Senior quarterback Tajh Boyd will lead the Tigers into 2013 as the favorite to win the Atlantic Coast Conference.  After throwing for 36 touchdowns and just under 3,900 yards in 2012, Boyd is also a Heisman front-runner. Boyd still throws to junior wide receiver Sammy Watkins, who had 57 receptions for 708 yards in 2012 despite missing three games.

Miami

After serving a self-imposed bowl ban in 2012, the Hurricanes appear to finally be back on track in 2013. With 19 starters returning, Head Coach Al Golden’s team is tied for the most returning starters in the nation. Last season’s ACC Rookie of the Year, Duke Johnson, will look to follow up his 947 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. The Hurricanes have their whole offensive line back, so expectations will be high in Coral Gables, Fla., for Johnson.

Florida State

The Seminoles saw 12 starters leave the program after 2012, and those players weren’t slouches — 11 of them were taken in the 2013 NFL Draft. Despite all of the talent lost, Florida State has a wealth of talent ready to play after signing a top-10 recruiting class each of the past four years. Redshirt freshman Jameis Winston assumes the quarterback position in 2013 and has all the talent to guide the Seminoles.

North Carolina

Larry Fedora has quickly righted the ship in Chapel Hill after being forced to sit out of a bowl game last year. The Tar Heels’ senior quarterback, Bryn Renner, is probably the best player you’ve never heard of. He threw for just shy of 3,400 yards in 2012 with 28 touchdowns and only seven interceptions.

Virginia Tech

Other than Boyd, the Hokies bring the most experienced quarterback into the season in senior Logan Thomas, who regressed last season by throwing one less touchdown and six more interceptions in 2012 than he did in 2011. Frank Beamer will need Thomas to lead an offense that only returns four starters — the lowest in the ACC.

Georgia Tech

The Yellow Jackets, a triple-option team, have a talented offensive line returning, and they didn’t struggle to run the ball last year — Georgia Tech finished fourth nationally last year with 311.2 yards per game on the ground. Defensive end Jeremiah Attaochu and safety Jemea Thomas will lead the way for a Yellow Jackets defense that struggled in 2012.

Pittsburgh

We’ll know much more about the Panthers after week one. Just hanging with Florida State could say a lot about Paul Chryst’s team. For now, Pitt has a talented defense led by all-everything defensive tackle Aaron Donald and an underrated secondary. If the Panthers can find a way to score some points, they could be a dark-horse candidate in the Coastal Division.

Wake Forest

The Demon Deacons have 16 starters returning — eight on offense and eight on defense. Quarterback Tanner Price had a disappointing 2012 throwing for over 700 yards less, eight less touchdowns and one more interception than he did in 2011.  He’ll be surrounded by underrated skill players, including running back Josh Harris and Michael Campanaro, who should help Price and the Demon Deacons get back on track.

North Carolina State

Some predictions have the Wolf Pack as a top-half ACC team, but I just don’t see it. North Carolina State returns only 11 starters — second worst, with only FSU trailing. With a new quarterback, head coach and three new offensive linemen, I don’t see the Wolf Pack moving the ball. But if the new offensive line can play well, running back Shadrach Thornton could pick up where he left off in 2012, when he rushed for 694 yards.

Syracuse

The other newcomer to the ACC will be breaking in a new coach in Scott Shafer, the former defensive coordinator for the Orange. After getting his alma mater to trend upwards, former Head Coach Doug Marrone left Syracuse for the NFL’s Buffalo Bills. Shafer will attempt to keep that trend going up, but it’ll be tough offensively, as the Orange lost their quarterback and top-two wide receivers.

Maryland

Don’t expect the Terrapins to make much noise in their final season in the ACC. Maryland went through an unheard rash of quarterback injuries in 2012, but I don’t see a healthy C.J. Brown being enough to lead the Terrapins much higher than a fourth-place finish in the Atlantic Division at best. No matter the quarterback, wide receiver Stefon Diggs will be an exciting player to watch in his sophomore campaign.

Virginia

It’ll be a fresh start in Charlottesville as head coach Mike London has brought in a new coordinator for each side of the ball. Offensively, both quarterbacks who saw time in 2012 decided to transfer. The Cavaliers also have one of the toughest starts to the season, as they host Brigham Young and Oregon in the first two weeks.

Boston College

New coach Steve Addazio is looking at a pretty bare cupboard in Boston. He’ll attempt to turn a decent quarterback in senior Chase Rettig into one of the ACC’s best, but Rettig will need help from his skill positions. Expect the Eagles to struggle in Addazio’s first season.

Duke

After going 6-6 and earning a bowl game for the first time in 17 years, the Blue Devils probably won’t follow up on that success too much. With quarterback Sean Renfree and his top-two wide receivers long gone, Duke fans should already start looking forward to basketball.