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ACC Football Preview 2019: A Saturday Blitz Podcast

By John Mitchell

WINSTON SALEM, NC - OCTOBER 06: Head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers waits to go onto the field ahead of quarterback Trevor Lawrence #16 before their game at BB&T Field on October 6, 2018 in Winston Salem, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
WINSTON SALEM, NC - OCTOBER 06: Head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers waits to go onto the field ahead of quarterback Trevor Lawrence #16 before their game at BB&T Field on October 6, 2018 in Winston Salem, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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ACC football has been Clemson and the rest in recent years. Can anyone challenge the Tigers in 2019? The Saturday Blitz Podcast crew weighs in.

The rest of the ACC Football teams have been living vicariously through Clemson in recent years, with Dabo Swinney’s Tigers carrying the water for what has been a mediocre conference below them.

It was a foregone conclusion all of last season that Clemson would emerge as the ACC champion. After running roughshod over their conference schedule, Clemson did more of the same in the College Football Playoff, dominating both Notre Dame and Alabama to capture its second national championship in the last three years.

Entering the 2019 season, it once again looks like a foregone conclusion that it will be the Tigers atop the ACC standings when the dust settles. With wunderkind quarterback Trevor Lawrence back alongside a bevy of talented offensive weapons, Clemson shouldn’t suffer much of a letdown this season even despite losing some key cogs on the defensive side of the ball.

The ACC remains Clemson and everyone else, but is there a team that has a shot at seriously threatening its autonomy in the league? That’s the big question John and Zach tackle in this edition of the Saturday Blitz Podcast.

Clemson’s biggest threat might reside in its own division, with Dino Babers looking to elevate Syracuse to the next level after a 10-win campaign in 2018. The Orange have been the biggest hurdle for the Tigers to jump the last couple of years, with ‘Cuse pulling a major upset in the Carrier Dome in 2017, and then pushing Clemson to the absolute brink last season in Death Valley.

Willie Taggart will hope to get Florida State back to contention in the conference in 2019, though reaching a bowl game is likely a more realistic goal than contention in the ACC.

On the other side, the Coastal will look to regain some respectability after producing one of the weakest division champions in college football last season in Pittsburgh, which finished the season with a .500 record.

Can Manny Diaz bring The U back once again in 2019? Will Justin Fuente and Virginia Tech bounce back after a down season in 2018? Can Bronco Mendenhall and Virginia take the next step and snatch the divisional crown?

While Clemson is the clear favorite, there’s still plenty of interesting storylines and subplots littering the ACC in 2019. Listen in to see who John and Zach think has the best chance of dethroning Clemson, along with predictions for both divisions, and offensive and defensive player of the year.

Next. Top 30 skill position players for 2019. dark

The Saturday Blitz Podcast is part of the FanSided Radio Network at Spreaker. The show goes live every Wednesday morning. You can reach John Mitchell at @jlmitchell93 and Zach Bigalke at @zbigalke on Twitter.

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