2008 ACC Football Preseason Predictions: Hokies Picked to Win Coastal; Clemson Picked to Win ACC

The 2008 ACC Football Kickoff is currently underway at the Ritz Carlton Lodge at
Reynolds Plantation on Lake Oconee, and this afternoon the media released their
picks for the upcoming football season. Virginia Tech was the overwhelming pick
to win the Coastal Division, while Clemson was picked to win the Atlantic
Division and the ACC Championship.

Virginia Tech received 58 of the 65 possible first place votes in the Coastal
Division, giving them a total of 383 points. North Carolina was picked second in
the division, with four first place votes. Following the Tar Heels were Miami,
Georgia Tech and Virginia, in that order, and each received one first place
vote. Duke rounded out the voting in the Coastal Division.

In the Atlantic Division, Clemson received 59 first place votes and a total
of 383 points. Wake Forest was picked second, with five first place votes.
Florida State , with one first place vote, finished third. Boston College,
Maryland and NC State rounded out the voting in the Atlantic Division.

The table below shows the voting recap.

Clemson and Virginia Tech are picked to meet in the ACC Championship Game, which
will be held in Tampa, FL on December 6 at 1pm. The Tigers were picked by 51
members of the media to win the ACC Championship Game. This is the first time
the media have picked Clemson to win the Atlantic or the ACC since expansion in
2004. This is the first season Florida State has not been tabbed to win the
Atlantic since divisional play began in 2005.

These projections are in line with most other preseason publications.
Virginia Tech’s season kicks off with East Carolina at noon on August 30 in
Charlotte, NC.