In a blink of an eye, the 2013 college football season has ended. Here's a report card for all seven ACC Atlantic Division teams.
Boston College-There were a lot of questions going in to the season. A new coach, a new scheme, and how effective it would be in year one of the Steve Addazio regime were among them. This season easily exceeded Eagles fans expectations. Andre Williams went from solid running back to Heisman Trophy candidate, leading the nation in rushing. Thanks to Williams, the Eagles won six more games this year than last year. Grade: B
Clemson-You can look at this one of two ways: the Tigers won 10 games and won a BCS bowl, or you can point to the two losses and looking bad in their two biggest games of the regular season. I'll look at the positive here, especially because of the Orange Bowl win, beating Ohio State, which has not been done much lately. Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins were a lethal combo for the Tigers this season, which had a lot to do with their 11 win season. Grade: B
Florida State-This is an easy one to grade. We went from wondering how Jameis Winston would handle playing with such a talented team as a freshman to wondering if this was one of the greatest teams in the BCS era. The Seminoles ran the table, finishing 14-0, and winning their first national championship since 2000. Winston won the Heisman as well, throwing for over 4000 yards and 40 touchdowns. Grade: A+
Maryland-Once again, the injury bug bit the Terps in their final season in the ACC. Over the course of the season, the Terps lost their starting quarterback and their starting wide receivers to injuries. When C.J. Brown was healthy, he was one of the more difficult quarterbacks in the ACC to defend. Brown threw for 13 touchdowns and rushed for 12 more. Given the circumstances surrounding the team, Randy Edsall did a pretty good coaching job with this team. Grade: B-
NC State-September was good for the Wolfpack. They finished the month 3-1, losing to Clemson by 12 in a pretty competitive game. But the rest of the season was abysmal. The Wolfpack lost their final eight games, losing by double digits in seven of the eight during that streak. Outside of Shadrach Thornton, the offense was not very good. The defense was not good either, finishing 82nd against the run. Grade: D
Syracuse-Year number one in the ACC would be classified as a moderate success. The Orange made a bowl, and won it. They weren't a very talented team, but they were able to win games with defense and their running game. Jerome Smith ran the ball well, averaging 4.6 yards per carry, and rushed for 12 touchdowns. The Orange finished 40th in total defense. Grade: C+
Wake Forest-An era ended in Winston Salem. After a 4-8 season, Jim Grobe resigned after 13 seasons,and five bowl appearances, including one ACC title. After Michael Campanaro went out with an injury, the Wake Forest offense was not able to get anything going. The defense was pretty solid, but could not overcome the lack of offense. Grade: D
