We’ve been putting out ACC team grades at several points in the season. Final grades will be given out after the post-season. Some schools – looking at you FSU, UNC, and Louisville your grade is complete.
Clemson : A+
13-0 ACC Champs, and headed to the playoffs. How can Clemson have anything less than a A+? Things are so good in Clemson that a 21 point win over their arch rival South Carolina got some fans restless.
Syracuse : A
Dino Babers coached his Syracuse team to a surprising 9-3 regular season. I would have liked to have seen the Orange play better against Notre Dame, but other than that there wasn’t much to find wrong about this regular season. The bowl game with West Virginia is going to be fun.
NC State : B+
NC State’s schedule was soft, but 9-3 is 9-3, and when the majority of the ACC couldn’t break 7 wins then you have to respect what the Wolfpack did this season. Oh if they could beat Texas A&M in their bowl, they would earn an A for the year.
Virginia : B
Virginia dropped their final 2 games in OT including a bitterly disappointing loss to Virginia Tech. When you look at the season as a whole though Virginia still overachieved. Brono Mendenall has things pointing in the right direction.
Pittsburgh : B
Pittsburgh clinched the Coastal Division, then kind of just packed it in against Miami. Losing to Clemson is more understandable, but they went 6-2 in the ACC to win the Division. There’s bonus points there.
Boston College : B-
Anyone else think Steve Addazio let a chance to have a really good season slip away? BC lost their final 3 games, including an ugly loss to Florida State. If they lose their bowl game, they’ll end up somewhere in the C range, and you’d have to consider the season a huge disappointment.
Georgia Tech : B-
Did you think at 1-3, Georgia Tech would finish the regular season 7-5? Most people didn’t, and they arguably were playing the best football in the Coastal Division at the end of the year. A blowout to Georgia to end the year can be forgiven. The Jackets will try to have a 8+ win season for the 3rd time in the last 5 years if they win their bowl game.
Duke : C+
Duke finished the regular season going in the wrong direction with 35-6 loss to Clemson, and then a shocking 59-7 loss to Wake Forest. Sure the regular season saw wins over Baylor and Northwestern, but Duke lost 4 of their final 6 games and went 3-5 in the ACC.
Wake Forest : C+
Wake Forest finished with wins in 2 of their final 3 game against NC State and then a blowout of Duke. That got the Deacs bowl eligible. There were some rough moments in the regular season, but this team is better than how they started, and that gives them a C+.
Virginia Tech : C
Virginia Tech was so close to getting a D, then to their credit they salvaged the regular season by beating Virginia (again), and then beating Marshall to get bowl eligible. It’s been a tough year, but there’s some momentum heading into bowl season.
Miami : C
Miami finished the regular season with some momentum, by thumping Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh. They ended the regular season 7-5 which was still a big let down given pre-season expectations. If they get to 8 wins, I could move them to C to a C+ maybe B-.
Florida State : D-
Florida State played a semi-inspired game against Boston College to avoid an F on the season. They showed a few glimpses of being a decent team at times this year, but for the most part it was forgettable season for 1st year head coach Willie Taggart.
North Carolina : D-
North Carolina went 2-9 this year, and 1-7 in the conference. I don’t give them an F, because I never felt the Heels quit. They fought, but they just kept finding ways to lose games. Larry Fedora couldn’t survive and UNC moved on to Mack Brown as head coach.
Louisville: F
To say Louisville was a trainwreck this season is be nice to trainwrecks. If I could give the Cardinal’s lower than a F I would. That’s why Bobby Petrino is history. The hire of Scott Satterfield is a huge step in the right direction, but we don’t base these grades on hires.
