Coastal Division features plenty of traffic in and out this season

There have been plenty of rumblings this month about the ACC doing away with divisions and reorganizing its football schedule. That won’t be the case in 2022, in what could be the final season for the Coastal Division and its inherent chaos.

As always, the Coastal had plenty of surprises, upsets and chaos in 2021 and the offseason was no different. The division saw four coaches exit, including at least one that was a total surprise, with four interesting hires taking their places. Plenty of star players have left the Coastal, including five of the quarterbacks that started the season for their respective teams. With all of that change, the 2022 Coastal sets up to be another topsy-turvy group, with several teams that could realistically head to Charlotte for the ACC title game.

Today, we’ll take an early look at the Coastal Division, what’s the same, what has changed, and how the division might play out this fall.

The Blue Devils went winless in ACC play last year, leading to a coaching change in Durham. Out goes David Cutcliffe who had a rough go of it last season but certainly elevated the Duke program from where it was when he took over. In comes Mike Elko, who served as Texas A&M’s defensive coordinator for the last four seasons. Moving from College Station to the Triangle may seem like an odd fit at first but prior to A&M, Elko’s resume lines up better with Duke’s values. He served as the DC at Wake Forest and Notre Dame before coaching the Aggies, and has FCS experience (Richmond, among others) as well.

Perhaps the most impressive thing we’ve seen from Elko so far is the staff he put together. He hired Kevin Johns, who was previously the OC at Memphis, to run his offense. Elko also snagged Associate Head Coach Lyle Hemphill from Wake Forest and added experienced recruiters in Trooper Taylor (RBs) and former Hokie coach Zohn Burden (WRs).

It seems that Duke is going to invest in Elko and give him some runway to get Duke football back on track. And it’s likely going to be a multi-year rebuild in Durham: The program has been backsliding in recent years after many solid campaigns under Cutcliffe, and the 0-8 ACC record in 2021 speaks to the current talent level of the program.

To make matters worse, Duke’s best player, running back Mateo Durant, is gone and quarterback Gunner Holmberg transferred to FIU as well. Duke does bring back a few notable performers on both sides of the ball, but anything other than a last-placed finish would be a pleasant surprise for the Blue Devils in 2021.

UVa has had its way with Duke in recent years, winning all seven contests dating back to the 2015 season. The Cavaliers, also with a new coach of their own, will look to keep their winning ways over Duke when they head to Durham on Saturday, October 1.

We opened by talking about one coach entering the Coastal Division and we move on to one that may be on the way out. The Geoff Collins Era hasn’t really gotten going and GT fans are growing impatient with the former Temple boss. In three years since taking over in Atlanta, Collins has led the Yellow Jackets to a 9-25 record, with a 7-18 mark in conference play. Not exactly inspiring confidence.

Georgia Tech should be a bit better in 2022. The Ramblin’ Wreck bring back starting quarterback Jeff Sims, who had some decent games last fall including one in Charlottesville where he threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns. Tech did lose its best player, running back Jahmyr Gibbs, to Alabama. But GT brings enough back and added a whopping 13 transfers in the offseason. The program has had enough continuity that any coaching staff should expect to make a leap with by year four.

But here’s the problem: The Jackets once again plays a murderer’s row of a schedule. Some of that is built into their annual schedule. Their Atlantic division crossover opponent is Clemson; not ideal. They also have the annual rivalry game against Georgia, which is now the reigning national champion. But inexplicably, GT has games with both Ole Miss and UCF, in addition to the game against UGa, mind you, on it non-conference slate.

As if an almost certain 1-3 mark in out-of-conference play wasn’t bad enough, the Jackets have road trips at ACC champion Pittsburgh, at FSU, at UNC and at Virginia Tech, all of which will be tough matchups. It’s not inconceivable then that Georgia Tech will improve but only enough to get to four or five wins, which probably won’t be enough to save Collins’ job.

Virginia makes its first trip to Atlanta since 2018 this fall, when the Hoos get the Jackets on a short week. UVa and Tech will meet at Bobby Dodd Stadium for a Thursday night matchup on October 20. Both teams will come in off of a bye week, so it won’t be a short week for either team.

Staying with the theme, the Hurricanes are also under new management but could be the division favorite heading into the fall. Miami parted ways with Manny Diaz in the offseason to hire then Oregon coach Mario Cristobal, who went 35-13 in Eugene. Cristobal is a Miami native who played for and began his coaching career with the Hurricanes, and is known as a tireless recruiter. We’ve heard many times that a new coach is going to bring The U back, but Cristobal is about as qualified as anyone the Hurricanes could have in charge of their program.

And the new head coach isn’t taking over a bad roster either. The key player returning is quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, who emerged for the Hurricanes in the second half of last season after starter D’Eriq King was sidelined with an injury. Van Dyke started the final eight games of the season and threw for 2,931 yards with 25 touchdowns and six interceptions. If he can take the leap many expect him to in 2022, Miami should be a good team with plenty of returning talent around its signal caller.

The U should go 3-1 in non-conference play with games against Bethune Cookman, Southern Miss, and MTSU at home, while a trip to Texas A&M will be a tough one. In conference play, the Hurricanes drew a road trip to Clemson for their Atlantic crossover game and finish the regular season in what could be a Coastal Division title game against Pitt.

If Miami can gel early, the Canes could be 3-0 in ACC play, with winnable games against UNC, VT and Duke, before they come to Charlottesville on October 29.

The Tar Heels were probably the biggest disappointment in the ACC last season, going just 3-5 in league play despite lofty preseason expectations. Carolina’s high hopes were dashed right out of the gate with a loss in Blacksburg to open the season. From there, the Heels would end up 2-3 in ACC play and would lose three of their last four games, with the lone win coming aagainst Wofford. That rough stretch to end the year also included a big blown lead late against rival NC State on Black Friday.

For the first time since Mack Brown returned to Chapel Hill, Carolina will have to change quarterbacks. Gone is Sam Howell, who had three successful years leading UNC’s offense. With Howell off to the NFL, the Heels now have a QB battle underway, with Drake Maye (the younger brother of former UNC basketball player Luke) and Jacolby Criswell battling for the job. Maye seemed like the heir apparent when he picked the Heels coming out of high school, but Criswell is a more experienced player overall who saw a bit more time last season. Whoever wins the job should have plenty of skill talent, which has been a cornerstone of UNC’s offenses in recent years. Wide receiver Josh Downs is one of the nation’s top returning pass catchers and one of the more electric players in the ACC. Ty Chandler’s production at running back will need to be replaced but the Heels have a few younger though talented backs in the pipeline.

The defense will be the big question mark for Carolina. The Tar Heels moved on from Jay Bateman in the offseason and brought Gene Chizik back to Chapel Hill to run the defense. The former Auburn coach was Carolina’s defensive coordinator for a time under Larry Fedora. Virginia fans will be keeping a keen eye on former Wahoo Noah Taylor, who figures to have a big role on a defense that desperately needs improvement in 2022.

Between the QB change and a challenging schedule, Carolina could be heading for another year around .500. The Heels have a tricky non-conference game at App State, draw Notre Dame again (though at home this time), and have ACC road trips to Miami, UVa (where Brown doesn’t win) and Wake Forest, with tough home games against Pitt, Virginia Tech, and NC State. The Tar Heels come to Charlottesville on Saturday, November 5.

The reigning Coastal champions are also the reigning ACC champions for the first time in a decade. Kenny Pickett led the Panthers to 11 wins and that ACC title, beating Wake Forest in rather convincingly in Charlotte. Pickett’s success led to him becoming the only quarterback taken in the first round of the NFL Draft last month. Not only is he gone but so too is Biletnikoff-winning receiver Jordan Addison, who left for USC (and likely big NIL money) this month amid a whirlwind of controversy. But expectations are still relatively high for the Panthers.

Pitt dipped into the transfer portal to find Pickett’s replacement, landing former USC quarterback Kedon Slovis. As a freshman, Slovis had an impressive campaign but hasn’t quite been able to get back to that level as he and his teammates dealt with COVID-19, injuries, and a coaching change. Still, he has the talent to be a solid quarterback for Pittsburgh and do enough to win games with a solid defense in tandem. Pitt did lose offensive coordinator Mark Whipple to Nebraska as well, but made a solid hire, replacing him with BC’s Frank Cignetti. While Addison is gone, there has been some offseason buzz around transfer WR Konata Mumpfield. The former Akron standout joined Pitt in January, following a 63-catch, eight-touchdown season for the Zips in 2021.

We’ll learn a lot about the Panthers right out of the gate this season. Pitt will host arch-rival West Virginia in the reawakening of the Backyard Brawl rivalry to open the season on a Thursday night. Then Pitt hosts a Tennessee team that the Panthers beat in Neyland Stadium last year, but a Vols team with high expectations this fall. They will also have a revenge game at Western Michigan, a team that beat them at Heinz Field last season, this time on the road in Kalamazoo. In ACC play, Pitt will have a chance to get off to a good start with home games against Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech, before finishing with four of its final six on the road, including the finale at Miami. The Panthers will come to Charlottesville for the first time since 2018, when they take on the Hoos at Scott Stadium on November 12.

And finally, we come to the Hokies. Like UVa, Tech changed coaches this offseason, mirroring 2015 when both teams had leadership changes simultaneously. Justin Fuente is out after a disappointing six-year run in Blacksburg, and he has been replaced by former Penn State defensive coordinator Brent Pry. Pry seems to have been embraced by the Blacksburg community and is looking to rebuild some of the bridges burned with alumni and former players during the Fuente era. So far, so good on that front it seems.

Tech meandered around the middle of the Coastal for most of the Fuente era and last year was no exception. An upset win (if you want to call it that) at UVa saved the Hokies season late, and earned them a bowl game that didn’t go well at all.

Now, Pry looks to install his culture and schemes while rebuilding a roster that isn’t totally devoid of talent but isn’t what Fuente inherited by any means. The first big question comes at QB, where new offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen will oversee a competition between a pair of transfers: Former Marshall QB Grant Wells seems to have the upper hand over former South Carolina Gamecock Jason Brown following spring ball. Brown was Ra’Shaun Henry’s QB at St. Francis (PA) before transferring to the SEC program, but seems to have work to do in this race.

On defense, Pry has a great reputation and will look to pick up the pieces with what the Hokies have on the roster. Chamarri Conner, Jermaine Waller, and Amare Barno are gone, but several veterans, like linebacker Dax Hollifield, remain. The big question on that side of the ball is if Pry can get the most of out some talented younger players that hadn’t quite emerged under the previous staff.

As for the schedule, Tech doesn’t seem to have a murderer’s row of opponents or a cake walk either.

Out of conference, VT opens the season at ODU, a program that has improved under Ricky Rahne but should be beatable. The Hokies have a home game against West Virginia, after losing in Morgantown last year, and also gets an early-season ACC test against a comparable Boston College team in the second week of the season. Georgia Tech, Miami and UVa visit Blacksburg in league play, and the Hokies drew NC State as their Atlantic opponent, and will also go to UNC, Pittsburgh and Duke.