Sports Al Dente

At the start of the summer, Virginia coach Tony Elliott said he didn’t want the quarterback competition to become a major issue.

His players are on board with this, but the choice of quarterback is very important for Elliott, who is entering his third season with the Cavaliers. The team needs to perform well to regain their standing in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Elliott has a record of 6-16 in his first two seasons at Virginia, with a 3-12 record in ACC games. This year, the team was picked to finish 16th out of 17 in the conference.

The key to moving forward is choosing the right quarterback.

Tony Muskett, who started last year, is the experienced option. He transferred from Monmouth, where he started games for three seasons.

The other choice is sophomore Anthony Colandrea, who impressed with his athleticism while starting six games last season when Muskett was injured.

Elliott mentioned in late July that he’s not rushing to name a starter.

“I think what’s been awesome to see, in this day and age, is two young men embrace the competition, and understand that competition is going to make each one of them better,” the coach said.

On August 12, he hoped that the upcoming padded practices would help make the decision clearer.

The chosen quarterback will face a tough early schedule. After a game against Richmond, Virginia will play at Wake Forest and then host Maryland. They also have a challenging game at Coastal Carolina.

“Our first opponent is ourselves,” Muskett said. “UVA’s first task of victory is UVA.”

Despite the doubts from others, Elliott said he’s not trying to change opinions before the season starts. He believes that proving themselves on the field is the best approach.

“Every year when you look at it they get it wrong,” the coach said about preseason predictions. “There are always teams picked to finish high that don’t finish high. There are always teams that are picked to finish low that don’t finish low.

“We’ve got 25 practices and 12 Saturdays, and all the days in between, to do something about it.”

Louisville finally made it to the ACC championship game in its 10th season, which was a big achievement and a bit ironic since they reached it with first-year coach Jeff Brohm, who is a native of the area.

The next challenge is building on this success, which might be tougher in the expanded Atlantic Coast Conference.

Louisville’s first task is to stop a three-game losing streak that ended last season. After starting 10-1 and earning a spot in the championship game against Florida State, the Cardinals faced tough losses to Kentucky, the Seminoles, and USC in the Holiday Bowl. These losses showed that the team needs to improve to compete for a spot in the now-expanded College Football Playoff.

Brohm says that part of the improvement needs to come from the coaching staff.

“There are things we could have done better,” he said. “To be competitive against the best teams, which we faced late in the season, you’ve got to be sharp in every aspect.”

The Cardinals start the season just outside the AP Top 25 and have a solid roster, returning 12 starters (seven on defense) and 27 lettermen for Brohm’s second season. They also added 27 transfers, including 13 on offense.

Louisville will likely depend on a strong defense that ranked 21st in FBS (317.1 yards allowed per game) and ninth against the run (99.8). Defensive lineman Ashton Gillotte (11 sacks) and defensive back Quincy Riley (49 tackles, three interceptions) both return for their senior seasons.

“We want the expectations high,” Brohm added. “Outside, we really don’t care but internally, they are and we want to try to play at a high level and figure out a way to play better than we did last year and in as many aspects as we can. It needs to show up on the field, by our play and by the results.”

Mario Cristobal is not into wearing jewelry. He doesn’t have any on, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have plenty of shiny, sparkling things.

In Cristobal’s office at Miami, there are at least a dozen rings on display. These include rings from his time as a player for the Hurricanes, rings from when he was an assistant coach under Nick Saban at Alabama, and rings from his coaching days at Oregon.

He’s one of only nine current head coaches with multiple conference titles at what used to be called the Power Five level, having led Oregon to two Pac-12 championships before returning to Miami.

He won’t wear the next ring he earns, either. But he really wants it.

“It’s an unbelievable, addicting feeling that you crave every second while you work,” Cristobal said about those ring-worthy victories. “Not necessarily because of the actual hardware, because I don’t wear any. It’s because of the moments, the accomplishments, the goal setting, the benchmarks that just keep the program on a certain trajectory.”

Miami hasn’t had that kind of moment yet under Cristobal. As he starts his third year as the Hurricanes’ coach, he believes the program is getting closer.

The Hurricanes open the season ranked No. 19 in the AP Top 25, were picked third in the Atlantic Coast Conference’s preseason poll, have the league’s preseason player of the year in transfer quarterback Cam Ward, and have a roster that has been greatly improved by recruiting successes since Cristobal returned to his alma mater.

Now, it’s time to put everything together.

“At our place we say how you do anything is how you do everything,” Cristobal said. “Whether it be the classroom, the community, how you are at home with your family, how you are in the community with people, how you are in a locker room, on the road, how you are when things are going well or when they’re not going so well and you face adversity. Greatness is being the absolute best you can be all the time. It’s a way of life.”

The rings prove he’s right. He turned around the programs at FIU and Oregon, and he believes he is doing the same at Miami.

“We have been working really hard to get to a point where our expectations for ourselves continue to grow,” Cristobal said. “We want those. We welcome those.”

Wake Forest’s approach had been successful in turning a small, private university into a strong Atlantic Coast Conference competitor, even earning top-10 national rankings.

Last year was different.

The Demon Deacons struggled, finishing with only four wins, coming in last place in the ACC, and ending a seven-year streak of bowl games. Wake Forest is bringing back six starters on both offense and defense as they try to return to the steady method that worked well during Dave Clawson’s time as head coach.

Clawson, starting his 11th season, mentioned that the staff adjusted their offseason and spring preparations for a team that is predicted to finish 15th in the expanded 17-team ACC.

“When things are going well, you don’t want to mess with it,” Clawson said. “And then you have a thump and you go 4-8, and it makes you examine everything.

And maybe it isn’t what you did, but sometimes I think just to (say), ‘This is not acceptable.’ As the head coach, you’ve got to change things up. For me to not change anything would say everything we did was correct.”

Clawson’s teams have often performed better than preseason expectations, including making it to the league title game in 2021 after being picked to finish fifth in the Atlantic Division. But last year was the biggest setback in what has been a steady improvement.

“When we all came in, this was a program that was going to bowl game after bowl game, winning season after winning season,” receiver Taylor Morin said. “Last year was an anomaly. It was definitely a little weird and we were humbled by that.”

North Carolina State keeps having successful seasons that hint at even greater achievements. Coach Dave Doeren is firmly established with a winning program but remains excited about what more could be possible.

The team has had four consecutive seasons with eight or nine wins, bringing the 24th-ranked Wolfpack close to its second 10-win season ever and first since 2002. If N.C. State can achieve this, it could mean Doeren’s squad might compete for the Atlantic Coast Conference title.

“What we did last year and the year before and the year before is good,” Doeren said. “Winning nine games is good. We don’t want to be good, we want to be the best at what we do. These guys understand that.”

Doeren is starting his 12th season after becoming the program’s all-time winningest coach last season. He’s been aiming for the program’s first ACC title since 1979, and this year’s team is predicted to finish fourth in the expanded 17-team league.

N.C. State returns about half of its offensive and defensive starters but has also brought in a veteran group through the transfer portal, including new starting quarterback Grayson McCall from Coastal Carolina.

The season comes during a period of great success for Wolfpack athletics: men’s basketball won its first ACC title since 1987 and reached its first Final Four since 1983, women’s basketball made its first Final Four appearance since 1998, and baseball returned to the College World Series.

Doeren’s team would love to add to this list of achievements.

“The buzz has been buzzing. Our fan base has been electric,” defensive end Davin Vann said. “I wouldn’t really call it pressure, but we’re enjoying the energy they’re bringing.”

Duke quickly improved under Mike Elko. Now, it’s up to Manny Diaz to build on that success.

The former Miami head coach and Penn State defensive coordinator has taken over at Duke, a program that struggled during the final years of David Cutcliffe’s long and successful run but then won 16 games in two seasons under Elko.

Elko left for Texas A&M as the Blue Devils were getting ready for their bowl game. Diaz, who started his second stint as a head coach in December, previously coached the Hurricanes until he was fired in 2021 after three seasons.

“We all learn,” Diaz said. “I’ve never been the same defensive coordinator twice in my career. You’re always taking the lessons from the last year, the last season, the career, and applying it and trying to be a better person. No different as a coach than what you would expect and demand from your players.”

Diaz had a 21-15 record at Miami, including a 16-9 record in Atlantic Coast Conference games, which was second only to Clemson (22) in league wins.

He takes over a roster that lost seven offensive starters and eight defensive starters from last season. This includes four Associated Press all-ACC players, as well as quarterback Riley Leonard, who transferred to Notre Dame, and running back Jordan Waters, who transferred to North Carolina State.

Duke turned to the transfer portal to bring in 17 graduate transfers, including eight for the offensive line. This year’s team is expected to finish 11th in the expanded 17-team ACC.

“We’ve got an outstanding group of graduate transfers and instantly transformed our team from being very young, which in the past might have set you back for a few years,” Diaz said. “And we feel like now we’re poised to go again, and I think our players believe that as well.”

Mack Brown’s return to North Carolina brought stability to the program. His sixth season starts with a couple of challenges to achieving more.

The Tar Heels are moving forward after star quarterback Drake Maye left for the NFL, and Brown is determined to find a way to finish the season strong after two consecutive late-season declines.

“It’s a problem, it’s an issue,” Brown said. “And it’s the only thing that’s keeping us from being where we need to be.”

The Tar Heels were 9-1 in 2022 and had secured a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game before losing their last four games. Last year, the team started 6-0 and reached No. 10 in the AP Top 25, but then finished with a 2-5 record.

With Maye now gone as the No. 3 overall pick in the draft, Brown is focused on getting the Tar Heels to finish the season strongly.

“When we come out here and say the offense had a bad day in practice, that means you’re probably going to be an inconsistent team,” Brown said after the first preseason-camp practice. “And we’ve had too much of that around here.”

This year’s team is expected to finish eighth in the expanded 17-team ACC.

Brown is highlighting the depth of the team as the best of his second stint in Chapel Hill and is optimistic about growth under former Georgia Tech and Temple head coach Geoff Collins as defensive coordinator.

Maye is the highest-profile of 11 starters who have departed on both offense and defense, including linebacker Cedric Gray, who was one of the nation’s leading tacklers.

Expectations are rising in Syracuse, where Orange football is getting a fresh start under Fran Brown, who is already making a name for himself as one of the top recruiters in the country.

Hired in December to replace Dino Babers, the former Georgia defensive backs coach has convinced key players to stay and put together the program’s highest-rated recruiting class since rankings began. He also attracted several high-profile transfers, including former Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord and ex-Texas A&M defensive lineman Fadil Diggs.

“I want to make sure that Syracuse gets back to where they belong, where it was,” Brown said. “You’re going back to Jim Brown, Ernie Davis, Floyd Little, Larry Csonka, all those guys that played. I want to get back to those same eras.

You had (quarterback) Donavan McNabb, (receiver) Marvin Harrison, (defensive end) Dwight Freeney, (safety) Donovin Darius. All those guys are important to me.”

The Orange struggled under Babers, who couldn’t recreate the success he had during a 10-3 season in 2018. He was fired one game short of completing his eighth season, ending with a 41-55 record and 20-45 in conference play.

As a first-time head coach, Brown has several important players who could help the Orange exceed the modest expectations set by ACC media members, who predicted them to finish 12th out of 17 teams in the conference.

The offense has potential to be dynamic with McCord, a former five-star recruit who threw for 3,170 yards, 24 touchdowns, and just six interceptions for the Buckeyes in 2023. His unexpected decision to join Syracuse gave Brown and the program a significant boost.

Key returning players include running back LeQuint Allen, who had 1,064 rushing yards and nine touchdowns last season and was a second-team All-ACC pick. Another important returnee is All-ACC preseason tight end Oronde Gadsden II, who is coming back after a season-ending Lisfranc injury and is expected to be one of McCord’s top receiving targets.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney was confident about his team last fall after the Tigers won five straight games following some early problems.

It won’t take long to find out if Swinney’s confidence is justified. For now, Swinney likes how his team has prepared for a season where they hope to compete again for the Atlantic Coast Conference championship and the College Football Playoff.

Swinney said his players have shown good chemistry, leadership, and responsibility, understanding the mistakes that led to their 4-4 start and eliminated their title chances.

“All those things, they all check the boxes,” Swinney said. “Now, we got to get out on the field, got to put the work in, get better and find a way to win some games on the field.”

Clemson’s season will likely be shaped by its first few games.

The 14th-ranked Tigers start in Atlanta against No. 1 Georgia, the national champions in 2021 and 2022. Three weeks later, Clemson will host No. 24 North Carolina State, and two weeks after that, they will play at No. 10 Florida State.

Winning all these games would make Swinney look like a genius aiming for another national title.

Losing all of them would lead to more questions about Swinney’s leadership, similar to the situation last year when a call from “Tyler from Spartanburg” on Swinney’s radio show led to a strong defense of his program and might have inspired the team’s late-season comeback.

Swinney attributed the previous season’s issues to poor decisions and turnovers, which Clemson improved during their last five wins. The Tigers began to force mistakes rather than make them themselves, and Swinney hopes this trend continues early in the new season.