The Clemson Tigers will win the 2012 ACC Football Championship

The Clemson Tigers really have the most explosive offense in the ACC. With David Wilson gone from Virginia Tech, I do think the Clemson Tigers have the upper hand this year. Let's take a look at the schedule (caps denote home games at Death Valley) : Week 1- vs. Auburn (at Georgia Dome, Chick-Fil-A College Kickoff) Week 2- vs BALL STATE Week 3- vs. FURMAN Week 4- at Florida State Week 5- at Boston College Week 6- vs. GEORGIA TECH Week 7- OPEN Week 8- vs. VIRGINIA TECH Week 9- at Wake Forest (Thursday Night Game) Week 10- at Duke Week 11- vs. MARYLAND Week 12- vs. NC STATE Week 13- vs. SOUTH CAROLINA So taking a look at their schedule, the major non-conference game, Auburn, shouldn't be overly difficult for Clemson. If you remember, Clemson racked up over 600 yards against Auburn last year, and Auburn will not have the offense to keep up with Clemson, as both offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn and RB Michael Dyer have left and are both now at Arkansas St. This game really has no meaning with regards to the ACC, but will be a good barometer for the Tigers and where they will stand for the rest of the season. The two next non conference games will not pose any threat. Ball State is a mediocre MAC team, and Furman is an FCS school. The game following, however, will be a war. Clemson-Florida State will always be a good game, and you being a Miami student, you know how tough it is to beat the 'Noles at Doak-Campbell. That will really boil down to Clemson's new defense under Coach Venables, and whether or not they can stop EJ Manuel. The Tigers' offense last year torched the 'Noles, and the FSU defense couldn't cover Watkins to save their lives. That is the only true game I can see the Tigers possibly dropping, just because of the intimidating atmosphere in Tallahassee. Boston College is on a slump, especially with iron man Luke Kuechly leaving early for the NFL, and Clemson should not have an issue dispatching the Eagles. The home game against Georgia Tech should be a good one, but I do think that Clemson will win because Death Valley is one of the hardest places to play at, especially when playing a rival like GT. If it's a night game, GT will have trouble stopping Clemson. The game against Virginia Tech will be another win for the Tigers. If you look at last year's performances against the Hokies, Virginia Tech could never get their offense rolling and could not stop the Tiger's offense. Look at it this way, if Virginia Tech got smoked both in Blacksburg AND at a neutral site in Charlotte, just imagine what will happen when they come to Death Valley. Logan Thomas struggled with turnovers both times last year against Clemson, and the Tigers neutralized David Wilson. Wilson is now gone, and the Hokies will have a major hole in their offense without him. The Thursday night game vs. Wake Forest in Winston-Salem could pose some difficulty for the Tigers, as they have been known to lay eggs in away games like last year vs. GT and NCSU. I still do not think that Wake has the offensive firepower to stay with the Tigers on this one though. The next week is Duke, I really don't need to say much more than that. Finally, the home stretch. Maryland and NC State at home, both teams that I think will struggle to keep up with the Tigers. I'm really relying on the home field advantage this season, as last year the Tigers finished a perfect 7-0 at home. Sammy Watkins pretty much pulled a King Leonidas-300 Spartans effort against the Terps and won the game for them in College Park. The new defense will not allow Maryland to gain so many yards from a mobile quarterback like they did last year. NC State has always struggled to beat Clemson at Death Valley, and this year will be no different. Finally, even though this game is of no consequence to the ACC, Clemson faces South Carolina at home. This game will be a war. It will all depend on how Lattimore plays after his ACL injury and how Venables prepares the Tigers for South Carolina's offense. I feel that he will be better prepared for the Gamecocks and the Tigers' offense will not sputter in front of a home crowd like they did in Columbia last year. The ACC Championship game is in Charlotte for the next 2 years, which is a great draw for the Championship. The Tiger faithful sold out their allotted tickets and packed their half of Bank of America Stadium last year. I can see them beating Georgia Tech, Miami, or possibly Virginia (if they have another explosive season) in the ACC Championship. Now that I have gone through each game on their schedule, I feel like between the returning starters from their offense, such as Boyd, Watkins, Ellington, and Hopkins; the new and better defensive scheme under Venables, and their relatively decent schedule, the Tigers are poised to win another ACC Championship and not totally embarrass themselves in a BCS bowl game this year. Given if the Tigers can play the way they did against Auburn, Florida St., North Carolina, and Virginia Tech, they will be tough to stop. When their offense is clicking and firing on all cylinders, the weapons that Boyd has at his disposal will be a nightmare for ACC secondaries. It is up to Boyd to be comfortable in the pocket and not collapse under pressure. The only real loss on offense was Dwayne Allen, but I do think that the Tigers will do just fine without him. If you ever watched the Tigers last year in those games, you know that they are a formidable force to be reckoned with.