Clemson likely to be favored to win ACC

The ACC Football Kickoff is under way in Greensboro, Ga., and the media's preseason predictions will be released this afternoon. Look for Clemson to be favored to win not only the Atlantic Division, but the ACC championship.

The Tigers, who tied for second in the Atlantic last season, finished 9-4 overall after losing in overtime to Auburn in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Clemson returns seven starters on offense and seven on defense, plus punter Jimmy Maners and kicker Mark Buchholz.

Clemson hasn't won the ACC football championship since 1991, as senior quarterback Cullen Harper knows well.

"We heard it a lot last year and the year before," Harper told reporters yesterday. "It's time for Clemson to kind of step up and put ourselves back on the map as one of the top teams in the ACC."

Duke is optimistic about new coach

Since stunning Clemson 16-13 on Nov. 13, 2004, Duke has lost 25 consecutive ACC games. But the Blue Devils have a new coach in David Cutcliffe, and the mood in Durham, N.C., is uncharacteristically upbeat.

Cutcliffe, who went 44-29 in six-plus seasons as Ole Miss' coach, also had two successful stints as offensive coordinator at Tennessee.

"With his track record, you can't do anything but buy into [Cutcliffe's philosophy]," Vince Oghobaase said yesterday.

Oghobaase, a junior defensive tackle, is one of 19 returning starters for Duke, which went 1-11 last season.

Although gone, Long's shadow looms at U.Va.

Chris Long is gone to the NFL, but the All-America defensive end's influence is still felt on at Virginia.

"He came into practice every day like it was a job, and he approached the game of football as a job, and because of that everybody respected him," said senior linebacker Clint Sintim, one of the Cavaliers' captains this season. "They respected what he did on the field as well as off the field. So if I could just do my best to model my work ethic after what he did and approach the game with the same attitude, I should be fine."

Tech's Glennon seeks Mannings' advice

Virginia Tech senior quarterback Sean Glennon spent part of his offseason getting advice from two of the most qualified quarterbacks in all of football - at least judging by the past two Super Bowls.

For the second consecutive summer, Glennon was a counselor at the Manning Passing Academy at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, La. Glennon used the camp to get tips from the guys who run it, brothers Peyton and Eli Manning. Peyton won the Super Bowl in 2007 with the Indianapolis Colts. Eli won it this year with the New York Giants.

Glennon noticed that, physically, there's not much difference between college and NFL quarterbacks. So he asked Peyton, "What is the difference?" Knowledge of the game, timing, getting into the right system and learning the playbook, Peyton said.

Though Glennon doesn't expect any "hardcore changes" in his game based on his chat with Peyton, he said it was important for "realizing that it's a lot about decision making and being a cerebral guy more than just having a hose on your arm. I've always approached the game like that anyway, but it was nice to reinforce it."

Crawford returns to Cavaliers' fold

As expected, defensive end Kevin Crawford is back on U.Va.'s roster. Crawford, who like Sintim is a Gar-Field High graduate, sat out the 2007-08 school year for academic reasons. But he showed promise at times as a redshirt freshman in 2006, when he appeared in five games, one of which he started.

Back then, Sintim said, Crawford "wasn't really completely focused on what football was and how much he cared for it."

Asked if Crawford had to win back his teammates' respect, Sintim said, "Anytime you leave the team and you come back, I feel like you are somewhat on trial. And I feel like he still is somewhat on trial. It's not a done deal. But from what I've seen from Kevin for the majority right now, you can see that he's working hard, he has a new appreciation for the game, and he's out here doing what he needs to do to help this team win and make himself a better player." - Jeff White and Darryl Slater