ACC Coastal Division amongst the best in college football

By NEIL DWYER
College Contributor Network

We're about a month or so away from the official end of hurricane season, but I'd like to talk about something else affecting the coast: the ever-changing, dominant figure of ACC Coastal division football. I hope that transitioned well, if not, oh well, you'll live.

I tweeted out the other day that Frank Beamer must feel like he's made a deal with the devil. After stunning the Buckeye faithful in Columbus and starting the downward spiral of the traditional Big 10 powerhouses this year, nothing has gone right for the Hokies.

First, they lose to a now-ranked East Carolina Pirates juggernaut, which put a beat down on North Carolina on Saturday. Yeah, the same East Carolina that has always been the butt of college football jokes when your team loses to them.

Then, the Hokies played the battle of the Techs at home, which has always been a boring game unless you're a diehard because it's been a low-scoring, defensive, NFL-type game. On Saturday however, I was into the game from start to finish.

Michael Brewer, the Virginia Tech quarterback and heir to Logan Thomas's Blacksburg/Appalachian empire, is a nice little replacement -- he's averaging just under two touchdowns per game. Obviously, he has to shake off some of the rust, shown when he threw a late pick-six, but he showed he was mentally alert when he picked up Marshawn Williams's fumble and took it to the house.

The game ended when, in a 24-all tie, Brewer threw another pick, this time on a first-and-10 with two minutes left, and Georgia Tech let the clock run down, kick the chip shot and win it.

I liked that Georgia Tech veered out of their triple-option comfort zone a little and threw the ball when necessary, but also showed off the talents of wide receiver DeAndre Smelter. Try calling a game that the Jackets play like I did last season; it was very hard to tell who had the ball with three backs AND the quarterback all capable and willing to run with the rock.

Georgia Tech's off to a fast 4-0 start, its last action until Miami comes to Atlanta on Oct. 4.

I don't need to say too much about the Canes, which will be my alma mater in about three months. The team has a very talented offense and a very porous defense that let Ameer Abdullah run circles around them in Nebraska...this guy was more steps ahead of Mark D'Onofrio's playbook than Secretariat at the Belmont Stakes in '73.

Miami plays a Duke team eager to prove that the clock hasn't struck midnight in its Cinderella story. The Blue Devils return quarterback Anthony Boone and, just like GTech, are off to a 4-0 start; not that they've played league competition, but still.

If you need a game to look forward to in the ACC after Clemson choked in Tallahassee on Saturday night (the Tigers still haven't won in Doak Campbell Stadium since 1989), look no further than a possible battle of un-beatens in Duke and Georgia Tech on the birthday of yours truly, Oct. 11. This could be the battle for the Coastal's spot in the ACC Championship game in December.


Neil Dwyer is a senior at the University of Miami who loves the Yankees, Giants, 'Canes and screaming about all three. Follow him on Twitter: @neildwyer1993