If the ACC's preseason poll is to be believed, the Eagles are not in for a big season.
The members of the media assembled at this year's Atlantic Coast Conference Football Kickoff have voted the Eagles to finish third in the Atlantic Division, with only four ballots actually putting them first. Which makes it no surprise that only two ballots had the Eagles winning the conference championship.
Full results of the poll after the jump.
(First-place votes in parenthesis; total points displayed to the right.)
Atlantic Division
1. Florida State (78) 565
2. Clemson (16) 479
3. Boston College (4) 389
4. NC State 283
5. Wake Forest 203
6. Maryland 139Coastal Division
1. Virginia Tech (62) 532
2. Miami (20) 444
3. Georgia Tech (11) 408
4. North Carolina (5) 379
5. Duke 169
6. Virginia 126ACC Championship Votes
1. Virginia Tech 50
2. Florida State 26
3. Miami 10
4. Georgia Tech 8
T5. Boston College 2
T5. North Carolina 2
The Eagles aren't expected to factor into the Player of the Year competition either, with their most likely candidate--linebacker Mark Herzlich--garnering only two votes, putting him in a tie for eighth place.
ACC Player of the Year
1. Christian Ponder, Florida State 45
2. Ryan Williams, Virginia Tech 16
3. Tyrod Taylor, Virginia Tech 11
T4. Russell Wilson, NC State 6
T4. Robert Quinn, North Carolina 6
6. Joshua Nesbitt, Georgia Tech 4
7. Kyle Parker, Clemson 3
T8. Mark Herzlich, Boston College 2
T8. Jacory Harris, Miami 2
T10. Montel Harris, Boston College 1
T10. Darren Evans, Virginia Tech 1
T10. Bruce Carter, North Carolina 1
BC Interruption will have more reaction and analysis, but for now they offer this:
It's July, so that means that Florida State, coming off a 7-6 season, is once again the media darling of the Atlantic Division. Boston College finished third behind Florida State and Clemson, though the Eagles did pick up 2 votes to win the conference (tied for 5th with North Carolina).