In the earlier post we went through the ACC SF Power Ratings. Here we will breakdown the Atlantic Division teams strengths and weaknesses.
Florida State (4.93)
Weakness: FSU is a team with few weaknesses. The main weakness is the lack of experience at the Quarterback position, as they will be starting either a Redshirt Freshman, or a Redshirt sophomore with no playing experience (at all). One perceived weakness is lack of experience on the Defensive Line. First, it’s not as inexperienced on the interior as many think. Sure they lost both starters, but they have 3 guys who have played quite extensively. On the outside they are inexperienced however they do have 2 starters with playing experience (one making 3 starts last year and the other was a rotational player 2 years ago).
Strength FSU ranks as the best overall Offense (5.28) and the best overall Defense (4.95) in the ACC. They rank #1 in every Defensive category and are top 3 in every Offensive category. There are no positions where FSU lacks in talent and on paper has no weaknesses. They are the only ELITE talent in the ACC.
Clemson (4.15)
Weakness: Clemson’s main weakness is their rushing attack and their Offensive Line. Their OL is just average at 3.78, combined with the RB just a 3.73. It’s not that it’s bad, it’s just not great. They are also slightly above average in the defensive backfield.
Strength: Clemson has a very strong offense overall at 4.13, and a surprising 4.16 on defense. They return their entire front 7 on defense, from a group that has talent. They have the 2nd highest rated Pass attacking in the ACC (After FSU) and it is the strength of this team.
Boston College (3.93)
Weakness: Boston College is a surprise here as they were the worst team in the ACC last year. There is a talent gap between the top 2 in the Atlantic and Boston College however. Boston College does not have the strongest defense (3.75). The weakest unit being their Defensive Backfield (3.6). They do not have a ton of experience on the Defensive side of the ball, despite being the 4th most experienced team in the ACC.
Strength: Boston College has a surprisingly strong Offense. The biggest strength is on the Offensive Line which comes in at 4.36 (tied for FSU for third in the ACC). They also have the 3rd rated Rushing attack in the ACC. Their Offense as a total is a pretty strong 4.11, mostly due to experience. They have 4 starters on Offense that have multiple years of starting experience. They will only be breaking in 2 new starters (at TE and one OL). Other than that their Offense returns intact.
Maryland (3.77)
Weakness: Maryland has a surprising amount of talent, however their talent lacks experience (8th in ACC). They have the third worst OL in the ACC as well as 4th rated Rushing attack. Perhaps the most surprising is that they have one of the Conference’s lowest rated Defense’s (3.63), despite having a good Defense last year and having 9 of 11 starters with starting experience. It’s probably a testament to their Defensive coaching.
Strength: Maryland’s strength despite not having a lot of experience is on the Offense (4.12). Particularly their Passing attack (4.28). Getting back their QB (last year they had such a catastrophe that they had a freshman LB playing QB) and a strong group of WR (4.63) that is third behind Clemson and FSU in the Conference, should go a long way in changing Maryland’s fortunes this year.
Wake Forest (3.67)
Weakness: Wake Forest overall has a lack of talent compared with the rest of the ACC. They are particularly weak on both lines, as well as run offense and defense. With the weakest being the Run Defense. Talent wise they are probably more deficient on defense than on offense.
Strength: Despite their Offense being less than their Defense overall, their best Strength is their Pass Offense. On Defense their strongest aspect is the Pass Defense.
North Carolina State (3.6)
Weakness: NC State comes in third to last in the ACC in experience. They have some good talent, but it is young and does not have a lot of talent. Future looks good. North Carolina State’s biggest weakness is their entire defense as they ranked last in the ACC in overall defense (3.3). They rate last in Pass defense and 2nd to last in Run defense. With their Defensive Line being 3rd to last.
Strength: The strongest thing with NC State will be their Pass offense, despite losing a 2 year starter at QB, they return a 2 year starter at QB (from Colorado State). So they have experience and talent in their passing attack.
Syracuse (3.36)
Weakness: Syracuse ranks last in experience and last in talent. Not a good combination. Offensively they rate much lower than any other ACC team. The weakest however is their Offensive Line and their Run Offense. Those are the only units in the entire ACC that rate below a 3.0. However their Defensive Line also rates very low and is .3 below anyone else in the ACC.
Strength: Syracuse does not have any strengths compared with the rest of the ACC. However their Pass Offense and Pass Defense are comparatively on par with some of the ACC and higher than their Run Defense and Offense ratings.
As you can see there are stark contrasts in the ACC Atlantic with 2 of the top Teams in the ACC and then the lowest 4 ACC teams (MD, WF, NCSU, and Syracuse). Stay tuned for the ACC Coastal Division later this week as well as the SEC ratings.
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