This season I plan on talking about the Duke vs. North Carolina rival, in multiple sports, this will be the best matchup in the rivals football history this year... maybe.... And there is one reason why, besides the fact both teams have tough defenses.

Thaddeus Lewis:
I've called him a Heisman contender, now some say I was crazy, but this guy is good, real good, and can carry Duke, all he needs is to be given that fair chance.  Now the intent of this blog entry is to not only bring attention to the rival but to this man as well, what he can do is what the Duke faith will be this year, and the greatness of the rival.

T.J. Yates:
Like Lewis, Yates is going to be carrying his team, with a better overall offense than Duke, Yates stats may be lower than Lewis, but don't get me wrong, they probably are playing at the same level.

As I said:

The key to the rival is on whose quarterback performes better, and quite frankly, Yates has been pretty quite over there at UNC.

Here it is, pre-season ACC football rankings, from a Dukefan.  Not to add that its unbiased at that. To start off I will add that I personally fell Virginia Tech will win this conference.

Coastal:

1. Virginia Tech: Frank Beamer couldn't have prayed for a better offense. With Tyrod Taylor taking the snaps the Hokies have enough already to hold their own in the ACC, David Wilson, their top recruit, will be getting the handoffs, and the guy is very speedy, averaging over 12 yards a carry in high school. Not to mention the defense is no slouch either.
2.Georgia Tech: Another team with a great offense, Jonathan Dwyer, the Jackets leading rusher, returns for his senior season, with their top recruit being a QB the Yellow Jackets should be tough to defend. And the Jackets should get a lot of sacks as they have a great D-Line.
3.North Carolina: The Tar Heels return star QB T.J. Yates, they lose their top receiver but they signed a new one to get the receptions in Joshua Adams, who is a flat out stud. UNC looks to take some of their basketball success and add it to their football squad.
4.Duke: The Blue Devils have quarterback Thaddeus Lewis in the backfield, who can run, and pass. The Blue Devils struggled last year trying to find a RB in the backfield who could complete the puzzle. Well the puzzle has been complete as Duke has a transferred four star RB from Rutgers coming, Duke needs to win more conference games to have a chance at a bowl game.
5.Miami: The 'Canes did a great job recruiting, getting a great RB for the backfield. Although the line may be strong, and the defense may be tough, the Hurricanes don't have a good enough QB-WR combo to help them win the division.
6.Virginia: The Cavs sit in the bunker, they focused on the D in recruiting but their offense needs more spark. They threw 19 interceptions last year, and they have not quite answered the challenge of finding a running back either. Without a great backfield, Virginia finds themselves in the ACC Coastal bunker.

Atlantic:

1. Florida State: Florida State has always been tough, and I am glad to state the obvious there, although they'll be even tougher this year, last year their offense dominated, espicially their backfield, and that's still there, but their defense will dominate, possibly being the best in the conference, and adding four outstanding defensive recruits, the Seminoles will give them Hokies a run for the Oranges.
2. Boston College: There is a lot to say about the Golden Eagles, but I'll some it up for you in a nut shell, their defense and offense both return their fair share of starters, and they add running back Rolandan Finch, if you thought their weak spot was rushing TD's, think again, this guy ran into the endzone 30 times in his senior year.
3. Wake Forest: I personally feel that the position of the year is the quarterback, and Wake Forest may have the best one at that in Riley Skinner, this kid is good, and I may just tell you he is almost as good if not as good as Tim Tebow, and I am not exaggerating, when he's on, step out of the way, but the problem is their defense loses a handful of starters, so how tough will they be?
4. Clemson: Wow, what an idiot, having the Tigers at four!?  Yes, I'm for real, that is just showing the toughness of the ACC, its ture they have a good backfield, but they give me too many question marks, as in, how good can the QB ['s] do?  And is their defense tough enough to compete with the other studs?  Clemson will have a lot to prove this year.
5. Maryland: Losing Hayward-Ben is huge for the offense but with a good recruiting class they can boune back, they needed a QB, they got one.  Leading their incoming class is QB Danny O'Brien, who threw a TD-INT ratio of 16-6 in his last year of high school, much like the Tigers they have too much to prove to be ranked higher.
6. North Carolina State: The Wolfpack will find themselves in the Atlantic bunker, yet again.  That's right, another year of being dead last, how disappointing!  No, they are in my mind one of the toughest divisions, and they still have a lot to brag about, returning starters, a tough O-Line, and a good recruiting class, they just don't have the coaching staff and all the players to complete the puzzle.

So there goes it my Preseason standings.