ACC Conference college football predictions courtesy of The Prez, A professional college football handicapper featured on Touthouse.com. If you are betting on college football this season, be sure to check out The Prez, Expert Football Betting Picks.

The Atlantic Coast Conference was supposed to be the next super-conference when Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College joined the league, but the ACC has taken a beating in the BCS bowls.

The ACC has lost eight straight BCS bowl games since Florida State won the 1999 national title by beating then-Big East member Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl. Since the BCS was formed in 1998, the ACC is 1-9 in BCS bowls, the worst record among the six power conferences.

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The ACC expanded in 2004 to improve its football image, and in terms of NFL draft picks that has worked. And Virginia Tech has upheld its part of the bargain, reaching two BCS games in the past four seasons. However, Miami made the BCS four times as a Big East member but only once in the ACC, with the Hurricanes beating conference foe Florida State in the 2004 Orange Bowl.

Will that change this year? That largely depends on the Hurricanes and Seminoles finding the magic that has departed each program.

Bobby Bowden’s ’Noles finished 7-6 last season and only fourth in the Atlantic Division, which has been a trend in Tallahassee. Yet that was still better than their rivals in Coral Gables, who missed a bowl in Randy Shannon’s first year as head coach, finishing 5-7 and second-to-last in the Coastal Division.

But FSU once again landed an excellent recruiting class, and Miami got its top recruiting class in years, ranked No. 1 by some experts. The two schools seem a bit on divergent paths, however, with Shannon injecting enthusiasm into the Hurricanes and the Seminoles seemingly swimming in place under Bowden. In fact, 2008 could be Bowden’s last on the sideline, with coach-in-waiting Jimbo Fisher standing right next to him.

ACC Conference favorites
A Bowden could be in the national title race this season, but it won’t be Bobby. It’s Tommy Bowden’s Clemson Tigers who appear to be the class of the ACC. The Tigers should be a preseason top 10 in the nation with arguably the best pair of running backs in the country in James Davis (who decided not to go pro after all) and C.J. Spiller.

Davis has led the Tigers in rushing for three straight years and needs 837 yards to break Raymond Priester’s career school rushing record of 3,966 yards. He also is tied for the second most touchdowns — 36 rushing and two receiving — in school history and needs 13 this season to break Travis Zachary’s school record of 50. Spiller is no slouch, leading Clemson with 1,723 all-purpose yards and averaging 5.3 yards per carry last year.

If defenses try to load up and stop the run, QB Cullen Harper (2,991 yards passing, 27 TDs last year) and WR Aaron Kelly (88 catches, 11 TDs) can beat them through the air.

This is Bowden’s 10th season at Clemson, and it’s time for this often-underachieving team to put up or shut up.

While Clemson should win the Atlantic Division, Virginia Tech is the favorite to again win the Coastal. Under Frank Beamer, the Hokies have four straight seasons of at least 10 wins, and they have won two of the past four ACC Championships.

The new isn’t all good for the Hokies, as a defense that was the strength of the team last year lost seven starters. And projected starting running back Branden Ore, the fifth-leading rusher in school history, was booted off the team. Oh, and the top four receivers from last year are gone.

The two leading candidates to replace Ore are coming off severe injuries. Jahre Cheeseman, who broke his left fibula in mid-April, and Kenny Lewis Jr., who was No. 1 on the depth chart until he tore the labrum in his left shoulder, will both be back in time for preseason practice, however. Lewis ran for 205 yards on 57 carries last year behind Ore.

The QB situation remains in flux between Tyrod Taylor and Sean Glennon, who both had their moments (good and bad) last year. Beamer originally was contemplating redshirting Taylor, a Michael Vick-type multiple-threat quarterback. Glennon is the pocket passer type and had a 137.6 efficiency rating last year, hitting 143-of-235 passes for 1,796 yards, 12 scores and five interceptions. Taylor was 72-of-134 for 927 yards, five touchdowns and three picks, but he was second on the team with 429 yards rushing.

During the spring it didn’t appear much was resolved, as the duo shared snaps. Taylor was injured and missed several practices, but it appears Beamer will go with the platoon again this year.

Despite so many questions, the Hokies appear to be the class of their division – which either speaks to Beamer’s coaching or the quality of the competition.

Darkhorses
Florida State only has to leave the Sunshine State three times all season. And the Seminoles essentially return their entire starting backfield and their top two receivers. Yet senior QB Drew Weatherford has been very uneven in his 33 starts and is still fighting for his job, including against top freshman E.J. Manuel.

The ’Noles do have two good receivers in Greg Carr and all-purpose threat Preston Parker (their best player), who will be suspended for the first two games of the season (both against cupcakes). In fact, FSU will be dealing with several suspensions as fallout from last year’s academic scandal in the first few games, but they are all winnable.

Fifteen starters return, and the defense should be very good. If Weatherford, or whoever is the quarterback, can be just good, this team should improve.

FSU’s rival, Miami, definitely appears on the upswing, but the Hurricanes are very young. Whether they can challenge in the Coastal Division likely will depend on how fast redshirt freshman QB Robert Marve, the expected winner of the QB competition, will grow up.

But the ’Canes have a good two good running backs in Javarris James and Graig Cooper, a very solid offensive line and arguably the best young group of defensive players in the country. Could Miami surprise this season? Yes. But watch out in 2009.

Wake Forest has been the surprise team of the conference in the past few years, so it’s hard to believe the Demon Deacons will do so this year. But they do have QB Riley Skinner, who has been the starter in 18 of the 20 games Wake Forest has won over the last two seasons. He led the country in completion percentage last year.

Wake also has a star running back in the making in ACC Rookie of the Year Josh Adams, who rushed for 953 yards (third best in the ACC) and 11 touchdowns, while catching 34 passes for 123 more yards and another score.

Add in nine returning starters on defense, and it’s easy to see Jim Grobe working another minor miracle in Winston-Salem.

There’s a chance
Boston College overachieved last year, but that was mainly due to Matt Ryan, the most celebrated Eagles’ QB since Doug Flutie. Expect a step back this year as Chris Crane takes over under center. BC still will be competitive, however.

Butch Davis’ recruiting magic should finally start to show dividends at North Carolina. The Heels return 19 starters from a team that had six losses by a touchdown or less in 2007.

ACC Conference predictions (with odds to win ACC title)

Atlantic Division
1. Clemson (+250): Easily the most talented team in the conference.
2. Florida State (+450): Young, inexperienced offensive line could be FSU’s downfall.
3. Wake Forest (+600): Losing star WR Kenny Moore will hurt. And how much longer before a bigger school lures coach Jim Grobe?
4. Boston College (+2500): Paging Matt Ryan. Paging Matt Ryan. Only 10 starters return.
5. Maryland (+1400): Ralph Friedgen was a magician early on at Maryland, but now there are doubters.
6. North Carolina State (+5000): Maybe Tom O’Brien should have stayed at Boston College.

Coastal Division
1. Virginia Tech (+250): This team is young — and will be awesome in 2009. If the Hokies can learn during an early weak schedule, they could loom large in the National Championship picture.
2. Miami (+350): Another team that looks to make a giant leap in 2009. Many freshmen will play this year.
3. North Carolina (+800): T.J. Yates is one of the better QBs in the ACC. Ever heard of him?
4. Georgia Tech (+1200): Paul Johnson has some work to do cleaning up after Chan Gailey.
5. Duke (+10000): Thaddeus Lewis might be the best QB in the whole conference. Ever heard of him?
6. Virginia (+5000): Cavs were a bit of a fluke last season – they were only 19 points from being 3-10, and they lost a lot from that team.