Will Miami take the next step with Randy Shannon entering his fourth year as coach?: Shannon has rebuilt Miami the past three years by recruiting the familiar five-star talent to South Beach. Is this the year Miami reclaims their spot as one of the best college football teams in the nation? Looking at the roster, Miami is probably another year away. Quarterback Jacory Harris will be protected by an inexperienced offensive line and the Hurricanes have to find a starting running back. The defense will be experienced so the team will probably win 9-10 games but lose to Virginia Tech and Ohio State. I don't like them to play in the national championship game like Desmond Howard.
Can Georgia Tech Repeat as ACC champions?: Joshua Nesbitt and Anthony Allen both return to the offense, but the Yellow Jackets lost both running back Jonathon Dwyer and receiver Demaryius Thomas. The Yellow Jackets also have to replace the majority of their offensive line. Georgia Tech also has to replace their defensive line and adjust to Al Groh's new 3-4 scheme on defense. Too much new adjustments for the Yellow Jackets to overcome this season to repeat as champions.
Is there a conference more up for grabs than the ACC?: While there will always be surprises, you have a pretty good idea who should win their conference. The ACC is a complete crap-shoot. As Kris pointed out, the Coastal division had four teams fighting for the division title while the Atlantic division is a two team race. Virginia Tech is the favorite right now to win the ACC, but they've been prone to blow early season non-conference games. UNC has their own issues with the NCAA. We have no idea who will actually get to play in Atlanta next Saturday. Miami and Florida State are a year away. Georgia Tech has to replace their top running back and receiver and adjust to a new defensive scheme. The ACC has five good teams, but none of them are great. I guess for now, I'll pick Virginia Tech to represent the ACC in a BCS game.
Who has the bigger shoes to fill, John Brantley at Florida or Garrett Gilbert at Texas?: Both quarterbacks are replacing legends. Brantley though has bigger shoes to fill. Tim Tebow created a cult-like following at Florida and everything Brantley does, good or bad, will be scrutinize because Tebow wouldn't have done that. Brantley will also be inexperienced because the only playing time he saw in his first two years at Florida were in blowouts. Gilbert played at the highest level already in college football. Gilbert played in the national championship after Colt McCoy got hurt. Gilbert actually improved as the game went on and that was against the nations best defense. Gilbert will definitely have the easier transition than Brantley.
Which new coach has the greater chance to lead their team to a bowl game?: When a school changes their coach, they are either rebuilding or under NCAA violations. There are a few vacancy's where the talent is there the team just needed new leadership. Florida State and Notre Dame are those schools this year. Both teams have talent to compete in a BCS bowl game but both teams desperately needed new leadership. Jimbo Fisher (Florida State) and Brian Kelly (Notre Dame) breathe new life into their programs. While both schools are a year away from national title contention, they should both be really good teams this season.
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