Parity in the ACC Coastal Division

After the first four weeks of the season the ACC’s Coastal Division is a wide open race. Now that conference play is about to get fully under way there are five teams that are in position to make a run at Coastal Division crown. Right now, there doesn’t seem to be an elite team in this division and all six Coastal teams records show that.

There are three teams that are currently 3-1: Miami, Virginia Tech and Duke (that’s right I said Duke). The remaining schools: Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Virginia all have 2-2 records. The only team in this division that is totally out of the race is North Carolina.

North Carolina is the only team that doesn’t have a chance to win the division. The Tar Heels are serving a bowl ban this season, thus they can’t win the division. UNC is simply playing for pride this year.

Georgia Tech came into the season as one of the favorites in the Coastal, but after losses to Virginia Tech and Miami they are behind the 8-ball. In order for Georgia Tech to win the division, both the Hurricanes and Hokies would have to lose three games in conference. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that isn’t going to happen.

Virginia hasn’t looked good the last three weeks. They barely beat Penn State, were blown out by Georgia Tech, and lost to TCU in embarrassing fashion. The Cavaliers didn’t look good early last season but were able to turn it around and were in contention until the last week of the season (Virginia Tech then shut them out to win the Coastal).

Of the six teams in the division, Duke is the only one that hasn’t played a conference game. I think that Duke has a shot at winning six games and finally going to a bowl game, but I seriously doubt that the Blue Devils will stay in the division race for very long.

Miami is an interesting prospect in this division. The Hurricanes defense has struggled early this season. Their blowout loss to Kansas State sent the message that this was the Miami that ACC fans are used to. They look good on paper but will struggle on the field. However, they may have changed the narrative with their come behind win over Georgia Tech last week. When Miami and Virginia Tech play later this year, it could be for the division.

Virginia Tech has had its struggles early this season, particularly on offense. The loss to Pittsburgh showed the Hokies biggest weakness; the running game. If the Hokies can’t run the football then they will have issues all season long. The good news for Tech fans is that the Hokies appeared to turn the running game around against Bowling Green last weekend. Virginia Tech should still be considered the favorite to win the Coastal.

The Coastal Division is full of parity. Conference play is about to truly begin and this race should be tight until the end. It will be fun to watch.