ACC Football Week 1: What To Watch For

College football is back! The long months of waiting for football has ended. While the calendar still reads summer, the scoreboard points to fall. As the ACC rolled through an offseason of changes, the narrative emerged for this season. Can the conference — perceived to be on the cusp of having very strong contenders — prove the pundits right?

We start finding that out tonight and this weekend. Without further ado, a What To Watch For edition of Laces Out, ACC style.

Friday

Tennessee Volunteers vs. N.C. State Wolfpack (in Atlanta): Can Volunteers quarterback Tyler Bray win a game outside of the state of Tennessee? The match-up to watch is Bray against the talented N.C. State secondary, led by cornerback David Amerson and safety Earl Wolff. On the other side, look for Mike Glennon’s veteran offensive line — four of five starters back from 2011 — to give him time upfront. Despite the ACC’s poor showing in early season games against the SEC, the Wolfpack have the edge.

Saturday

Elon Phoenix vs. North Carolina Tar Heels: Welcome to the Larry Fedora era, Tar Heel fans! The Butch Davis themes of pro-style offense and attacking 4-3 defense are out. In are new Fedora’s philosophies — up-tempo offense and 4-3-5 defense. At Southern Mississippi, Fedora’s team averaged 74 offensive play per game last season — 17 more than UNC. Get ready for fast-paced, Oregon-like tempo in Chapel Hill.

William & Mary Tribe at Maryland Terrapins: Upset alert! The Tribe have stayed within two scores of their opponent in three of their last four games against the ACC. Considering the injuries at Maryland — seven projected defensive starters out, third string QB — this could be close. Stefon Diggs, the highly recruited athlete at Maryland, has a chance to make a difference on special teams. The Terps might need him to do just that to survive Week 1.

Richmond Spiders at Virginia Cavaliers: Mike London’s group is young and experienced, but don’t mistake that for a lack of talent. He’s expected to play up to 10 freshman on Saturday for a reason — talent. The Spiders are coming off of three straight wins to end 2011, including a victory over an ACC squad in Duke. This won’t be easy, though. Virginia’s offensive line should give their quarterbacks plenty of time to work.

Miami Hurricanes at Boston College Eagles: Both teams were picked to finish fifth in their respective divisions by the ACC media. Clearly, these aren’t your Jimmy Johnson and Doug Flutie era teams. Keep an eye on Miami quarterback Stephen Morris. If he develops and thrives, the Hurricanes can surprise.

Murray State Racers at Florida State Seminoles: The potential BCS bound Seminoles shouldn’t have trouble with the Racers. FSU is 17-0 all-time against teams from the FCS. If Murray State has a chance to keep things close early it will likely be due to their receiving corps and depth. Six receivers caught at least 22 pass last year for the Racers. Florida State can’t key on one guy this weekend. Expect E.J. Manuel to put up huge numbers for the home team.

Liberty Flames at Wake Forest Demon Deacons: Liberty is expected to play two quarterbacks, but it likely won’t matter against Jim Grobe’s outfit. The Wake Forest coach has had his team ready for FCS opponents in the past — the Demon Deacons have outscored their FCS opponents 212-42 in five contests. Turner Gill — the former sought after head coach prospect — is now on the Liberty sidelines.

Clemson Tigers vs. Auburn Tigers (in Atlanta): This one certainly won’t be confused with a FBS-FCS contest. Clemson is going to take their Top 25 ranking into this game as a favorite despite the ACC-SEC schism. Look no further than the suspension of Clemson playmaker Sammy Watkins as a talking point this weekend. If Clemson’s defense can’t fix their late season issues — 70 points allowed to West Virginia in the Orange Bowl — Auburn will look to get in a shootout against Watkins-less Clemson squad.

Florida International Golden Panthers at Duke Blue Devils: While Duke is expected to be better than a cellar dweller in the ACC this season, injuries have toned down early season expectations. Still, a win over FIU is expected. Don’t expect it to be easy though. The passing game should carry Duke, but FIU has the skills to make them one dimensional. The Golden Panthers were 10th in the nation last year against the run, while Duke was 110th on the ground offensively.

Monday

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Virginia Tech Hokies: The biggest and best ACC game of the weekend is saved for last. Buckle up for this Labor Day night game in Blacksburg. Virginia Tech has a chance to have the best defense in school history. If they can reach those heights, slowing down the Georgia Tech triple-option is paramount. After allowing 300+ yards on the ground to Paul Johnson’s offense in back-to-back contests, Virginia Tech held them to less than 250 in a victory last Nov. in Atlanta. On the other side of the ball, Al Groh’s defense can prove skeptics wrong by slowing down Logan Thomas.

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Joe Giglio is the ACC and Big East football writer for Rant Sports. You can follow him on Twitter or check out his Facebook page.