Dr. Saturday & the ACC.....

Matt Hinton, aka Doc Saturday, spent last week taking a look at the ACC. As always, the good Doctor offered many keen insights. Some highlights:

• a look at the proliferation of offense in the conference. I'm still stunned the 2009 Big 12 championship game, that 12-10 offensive thriller, crushed our incredibly exciting ACC Championship game versus Clemson in the TV ratings. Certainly a study in contrasts. I guess my bias just can't be overcome...
• Can UNC's offense torpedo their potentially dominating defense? Why the answer is of course, yes. An emphatic yes. Butch Davis will be doing us all a favor by playing senior TJ Yates over Bryn Renner. But it's offensive coordinator John Shoop who's calling the plays. Shoop about as risk averse as, as, as......well Chan Gailey & Pat Nix in their heyday at Tech. Expect a lot of draw plays on 3rd & 12.....
• Bryan Stynespring & the Hokie offense are tired of playing second fiddle? The pieces are in place for the Hokie offense. Now it's play calling & execution. After Stynespring & the aforementioned Shoop, the rest of the conference's play callers look like a bunch of swashbuckling daring-do's a la Mike Leach. A lot rests on Tyrod Taylor this year; if I'm an opposing defensive coordinator I load the box to stop Williams & Evans & make Taylor beat me, something he's capable of doing on a good day. But Stynespring calling the plays may hinder the VPISU offense......
• There's plenty of potential down in Miami. Now it's time for performance. Will the Canes live up to the hype? For the most part, yes. But I question if they're mentally focused & tough enough to avoid the costly slip-ups that have plagued them in the past. A win at Ohio State would be HUGE for the conference as a whole. Plenty of folks drinking the orange South Florida Kool-Aid.....
• A fair look at the Jackets. Hedging one's bet seems to be the favored modus operandi of those evaluating the Jackets; tough to tell how we do after losing a lot of talent but no one wants to count us out. Hinton has always had a healthy respect for our offense & we appreciate him for that. Three of our toughest four conference games on the road, including the Thursday night affair in Blacksburg, is indeed a tough task.
• Hinton picks the Hokies in a photo finish and frankly, that's as good a pick as any. That being said, if our defense improves as Hinton suggests we'll certainly be in the thick of it. The ACC Coastal may be the toughest division in FBS football.....