ACC Football: How Good Are Miami, FSU, Duke, North Carolina and Pittsburgh?
Article photo of Miami's Nyjalik Kelly and North Carolina's Kaimon Rucker; photo credit to Brian Smith and Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports.
Before we get too far into the week, it was a good idea to take a few moments and bring up some points about Miami, Florida State, Duke, North Carolina and Pittsburgh. All five teams looked good during their first games.
Fools gold or the real deal?
For one, all five of these teams possess experienced signal callers in Tyler Van Dyke (Miami), Jordan Travis (FSU), Riley Leonard (Duke), Drake Maye (UNC), and Phil Jurkovec (Pittsburgh). That has probably helped each squad ease into their 2023 seasons.
All three of these teams also have something else that’s pivotal to success as well. Maybe even more important, and that’s the primary topic for this article.
Defensive lines that get after the opposing signal caller. Miami has continued to be a top-notch pass rushing team with 3 sacks last week versus Miami of Ohio, in addition to forcing several hurried throws. The Canes produced 37 sacks last season. With talented players like Jahfari Harvey and Rueben Bain, Jr. coming off the bench to spell Nyjalik Kelly and Akheem Mesidor, Miami has a chance to be even more lethal this season.
Florida State harassed LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels for much of that game, including holding the Tigers to zero points during the second half until garbage time. The Noles registered 4 sacks of Daniels. Last season, FSU created 40 sacks for the year. The Noles have shown a deep rotation across the front line, with future first round pick Jared Verse leading the charge.
With Duke's 28-7 upset of Clemson, senior defensive lineman R.J. Oben was in the backfield and causing issues for the Tigers. He sacked Cade Klubnik once, and was disruptive overall. Oben continued his trend from last season in which he had 4.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss.
Yes, even the Tar Heels, a team that ranked no. 120 in sacks last season, they are no. 1 in the nation this year. North Carolina sacked South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler 9 times! UNC had a grand total of 17 sacks for the entire 2022 season, by comparison. Kaimon Rucker already produced two sacks and the senior edge rusher looked tremendous against the Gamecocks.
Pittsburgh has long since been a team that gets after the quarterback. 48 sacks from last season was proof, and the Panthers had 4 sacks against Wofford to keep pace with what they did last season. Based on last season and his first game for the Panthers in 2023, watch out for senior Dayon Hayes. He got home once last week and that’s likely to be a recurring theme.
Beyond Clemson, the ACC has been topsy-turvy for quite some time. Now that the Tigers have fallen off (at least through the first week), perhaps there will be some new teams coming up and challenging for conference championships.
With experienced signal callers leading the way and defensive lines sacking the opposition’s quarterback, it’s certainly a possibility.
Getting there has always been easier with quality quarterback play and pass rushers. All five of UM, FSU, Duke, UNC and Pitt possess both of those traits.
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Fan Nation High school football recruiting analyst covering the state of Florida, as well as across the Southeastern United States and the state of Texas.