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ACC Football Championships
by Chris Coleman, TechSideline.com

The ACC has a rich tradition of football that dates back to 1953. There have been many great teams that won the ACC Championship, and with the exception of Miami, every team that has played a full season of ACC play has won at least a share of the ACC Championship.

This week’s TSLMail will talk about the past accolades of each ACC school. Boston College is not included because they have not played in the ACC as of yet. Miami is also left out because they have yet to win an ACC Championship.

Every year we hear that Tommy Bowden’s job is on the line, and that all the rich Clemson alumni point back to Frank Howard and Danny Ford and expect the same results today. That’s going to be a tough road for Bowden, especially with Miami, Virginia Tech and BC now in the conference. Clemson has won a total of 13 ACC Championships, 12 of them outright.

Believe it or not, Duke used to be a pretty solid football program. And believe it or not, Steve Spurrier used to be the head coach in Durham. In fact it was Spurrier who led the Blue Devils to their last ACC Championship, which they shared with Virginia in 1989. When the ACC was first formed, Duke and Maryland were the dominant football programs in the conference. The schools shared the title in 1953 and 1955, with Duke winning it outright in 1954.

The ACC has never seen a team as dominant as Florida State as during the 1990s. While it appears that FSU’s power base is falling somewhat, that doesn’t change the fact that Florida State won the ACC Championship from 1992-2000, and again in 2002 and 2003. The Seminoles should be right back in the thick of things in 2005, now that the ACC has been split into two divisions.

Georgia Tech has two ACC Championships in their history. The first came in 1990 under Bobby Ross. Georgia Tech went on to win a share of the National Championship that season. They also won a share of the ACC in 1998 with Florida State when Joe Hamilton was quarterbacking the Yellow Jackets.

Like Duke, Maryland was a dominant football team when the ACC began play in 1953. After they won a share of the ACC Championship in 1955, they went almost 20 years before they won another. Jerry Claiborne (the same Jerry Claiborne that coached at VT) led Maryland to three ACC Championships from 1974-1976. Bobby Ross also won the ACC title three times from 1983-1985, and Ralph Friedgen won it in 2001.

Known more for their ability on the hardwood than on the gridiron, North Carolina has won the ACC five times, with four outright wins coming between 1971 and 1980. Three of those championships came with former Virginia Tech head coach and athletic director Bill Dooley at the helm. North Carolina came close to an ACC Championship in 1997, but fell to Florida State 20-3. UNC finished 11-1 that season.

NC State hasn’t won the ACC since 1979 when Bo Rein was serving as head coach. The Wolfpack also won the 1973 ACC Championship with Lou Holtz at the helm. Overall, NC State has won seven ACC Championships, five of them being outright championships.

Virginia has the dubious honor of being the only ACC school (Miami and Boston College excepted) to have never won the ACC Championship outright. They have shared the title twice, with Duke in 1989 and Florida State in 1995. Despite the many successful seasons that George Welsh had in Charlottesville, he never brought the Wahoos an outright ACC Championship.

The Hokies have played one season of ACC football and won one outright championship. They already have more outright championships than UVA and the same amount as Georgia Tech. Overall, the Hokies have some catching up to do, simply because they haven’t been in the conference for 50 years like most other teams. Many experts consider Virginia Tech to be the favorite to win the ACC again in 2005.

Wake Forest has only one conference championship to show for the 50+ seasons that they have played in the ACC. Coach Cal Stoll led the Demon Deacons to the ACC Championship in 1970. Despite the championship, Wake Forest only finished 6-5 overall that year and did not receive a bowl invitation.

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-- Will Stewart

2005 Preview: The Tailbacks and Fullbacks
by Chris Coleman, 8/4/05, 11:55 am
Unlike last year, running backs coach Billy Hite has a full stable of his “Stallions” heading in 2005. Running back was a big question mark for the Hokies at the start of the 2004 season. Cedric Humes broke a bone in his leg in spring practice and was not 100% at the start of the season. Mike Imoh was serving a three game suspension. Hite also had to replace the dependable Doug Easlick at fullback. This year, Hite doesn’t have such problems.
in Football

Early Recruiting Outlook
by Chris Horne, 8/3/05, 4:00 pm
It’s only one month until the recruiting season picks up once again, as September 1st is the first day college coaches can resume calling recruits and recruits can begin official visits. So, for the next month, recruits all across the country will not only be busy with preseason practice, but some will be narrowing their lists further and setting official visits.
in TSL Pass

ACC Preview/Prediction: Duke, Coastal Division #6
by Jeff Ouellet, 8/3/05, 10:25 am
While many (including me) like the job Ted Roof is doing with the Blue Devils, particularly on the recruiting trail, the fact is this team is the ACC’s least talented by a country mile. Having them finish anywhere higher than last place would be a shock.
in Football

Bryan Randall Rookie Diary #10: Training Camp Opens
by TechSideline.com, 8/2/05, 4:15 pm
Up until training camp started last week, we were just down here working out, running and lifting five days a week. That was pretty much mandatory for all the rookies. We did that up until July 15th. I was living at Lake Lanier Resort, which is probably about ten minutes from the facility at Flowery Branch. We’ve been working out at Flowery Branch.
in TSL Pass

2005 Preview: The Quarterbacks
by Chris Coleman, 8/2/05, 11:30 am
If you read college football previews on the Internet, as well as those on newsstands, they will tell you that one of Virginia Tech’s biggest question marks heading into 2005 is quarterback play. They say that if Marcus Vick is half the quarterback his older brother was in Blacksburg, the Hokies might be headed to the Promised Land. Well I’m here to tell you that Marcus is a bit more than that, and is indeed better than the great Michael in some aspects of his game.
in Football

ACC Preview/Prediction: Wake Forest, Atlantic Division #6
by Jeff Ouellet, 8/1/05, 4:30 pm
This was perhaps the nation’s most snake bitten team in 2004, with the Demon Deacons losing six of their seven conference games by a touchdown or less, including two in overtime. Jim Grobe has infused the Deacs with a mental and physical toughness and is looking to fix things over the long haul by redshirting almost all of his incoming freshmen.
in Football

Football Notes: Practice Starts Friday
by Chris Coleman, TechSideline.com, 8/1/05, 2:20 pm
Football practice for Virginia Tech will begin on Friday, August 5 at 3:15. The Hokies will begin preparation for the 2005 season, a season where many are predicting Tech to repeat as ACC Champions. The Hokies will start practice in helmets and shorts, and will not practice in full pads until Wednesday, August 10.
Also: Charges Against Flowers and Miller Dropped, Standouts of Freshman Testing, Lane Stadium Expansion Project Behind Schedule
in News and Notes

The Year of Our Discontent, Part 3
by Will Stewart, TechSideline.com, 8/1/05, 12:45 am
The Virginia Tech athletic program had been through some tough times in 1986, but things appeared to have stabilized and improved as the year came to a close. Bill Dooley's messy divorce from Virginia Tech, both as athletic director and football coach, was over, and the university had hired a new AD and new football coach.
in TSL Pass