Sporting News College Football Preview: ACC Predictions

Sporting News fluff piece; the staff at SN pose some random predictions for the upcoming ACC football season to "experts" and get them to either justify them or argue against them.

Here's one regarding State:

WE SAY: N.C. State will be in position to win the Atlantic Division until mid-November.

ESPN analyst ED CUNNINGHAM says: "I'm taking issue with the words until mid-November, which are probably used because of late road games against Florida State, Boston College and Virginia Tech. N.C. State will be in a position to win the Atlantic on November 28 at home against North Carolina. The Wolfpack were solid down the stretch in 2008 and have two good lines returning. They're good enough to compete with any ACC team if Russell Wilson can simply remain as turnover-resistant as he was in '08."

I get what Ed is saying here, but if State has to rely on Russell going 17:1 TDs/INTs again in order to compete for the ACC title, then I'd say they're in trouble. A 17:1 ratio is simply unheard of and I would wager nearly impossible to replicate. I'll "settle" for something in the 5:1 or 6:1 range. That would equate to about 24 TDs against five or six picks, a better ratio than Philip Rivers' best season (2003) when he tossed 34 TDs and seven picks.

I could live with 5:1, easy.