ACC Coaching Boards - Week 4

A shake-up in the ACC board - Jim Grobe has come through at the top. He's getting credit for not only creating a dominant ACC team in Winston-Salem, but also the barriers he has for recruiting to a school like Wake, which is counter to the minimal respect Vandy's Bobby Johnson, Northwestern Mark Dantonio and Baylor's Art Briles receives for coaching under the same burdens. Of course, none of those guys have a conference championship.

1. Jim Grobe
Wake Forest
Grobe takes over the number one spot after his second straight win in Tallahassee. And, more so, it was a dominating win - well, maybe not as much as the 30-0 crushing they put on the Seminoles in '06, but the game was much worse than the 12-3 score indicated. In the 2006 championship season, Wake seemed to shift their way through the schedule, now they're a team that knows how to win, and the confidence Grobe has created is nothing short of amazing.

2. Frank Beamer
Virginia Tech
Beamer gets leap-frogged by Grobe, but moves ahead of Bowden. The loss to East Carolina still stings, especially with the Pirates losing to N.C. State, but Beamer needs to show that the Hokies are still a team to remain on the national radar - luckily he has that chance today against Nebraska.

3. Bobby Bowden
Florida State
Bobby has become a caricature of his former self. He's staying on just to try to wrestle the all-time win total away from JoePa (and frankly, that's the only reason, other than he may think he'll pull a Bear Bryant and wind up dead six months after retirement). But JoePa has already gotten a game-and-a-half up on Bobby, and the way the teams look, the distance will only grow. Bowden did amazing things in Tallahassee, but it's time; and after my rant, I'm going to start penalizing him more for this season.

4. Paul Johnson
Georgia Tech
Paul Johnson's running attack thrashed Mississippi State for 38 points. GT has a bye this weekend, and the only threat of another loss is Duke, at least before the showdown at Clemson. The Jackets aren't ready to start competing for the ACC, but getting off to a 5-1 heading into Clemson would be a great accomplishment in Johnson's first season. Interested to see what Tech can do once he has time to recruit.

5. Butch Davis
North Carolina
Davis heads down to Miami for his first return to his old team - unfortunately for him, they got rid of the Old Orange Bowl, so it wouldn't be a complete homecoming. More unfortunate is the Heels playing without their starting QB. A win today in Miami would justify moving Butch up.

6. Tom O'Brien
North Carolina State
O'Brien's ranking was previously based on his time at B.C., but the win over unbeaten giant killer East Carolina, by a team that looked to be spiraling downward, shows that Tom has earned this spot.

7 .Jeff Jagodzinski
Boston College
The Jag is still a wild card; there's not too much info to go off of, and the loss to Georgia Tech is a huge sour note as the 2-1 record is misleading, with wins over Kent State and Central Florida. Jag's Eagles play Rhode Island today, so there's more of a chance that Jag will get leaped than he moving up.

8. Ralph Friedgen
Maryland
What a win two weeks ago against Cal. The Terrapins looked to be the faster, more talented team, and Friedgen has to receive tons of credit for having his guys ready to play. He's going to need another effort like that if Maryland is going to have a chance today against Clemson.

9. Tommy Bowden
Clemson
Tommy finally gets the dunce hat off, and moved out from the corner. I think the blowout loss to Alabama easily justified Tommy being kept in the back of the back, and the win over NC State now looks good, even though the Tigers couldn't cover the spread. While initially Tommy's low ranking was a penalty, I'm beginning to wonder what Tommy has done during his time at Clemson to make him an elite (hell, even middle-of-the-pack) ACC Coach. A win today probably moves him over Maryland, but there needs to be a dominant feeling aobut the win.

10. David Cutcliff
Duke
Cutcliff has Duke off to a 2-1 start for the first time since 2003, but more so, they seem to be playing with some confidence. A win over Virginia today, which is expected as the Blue Devils are favorites, would justify Cutcliff being out-of-the-cellar of ACC coaches.

11. Randy Shannon
Miami
Shannon, in my mind, still hasn't done much of anything. He's got a big game today against Butch Davis. A win, which should happen given UNC playing their back-up quaterback, could only help to move him up. A loss at home? Yeah, he might just want to get used to No. 11.

12. Al Groh
Virginia
Wow, Groh's time at Virginia has lead to this? For some reason, I just think UVA should be able to compete. Apparently they won't under Groh.