ACC Football: What we learned, top games and more in 2020 review

Clemson has separated from the conference:

Clemson’s superiority is something we knew, but the conference-only schedule made it even more glaring. The Tigers played two one-score games this season; one against Boston College and the other against Notre Dame. The Tigers have put the most distance between themselves, and the rest of the ACC is recruiting. Clemson’s first top-ten recruiting class was in 2018. Clemson’s last four cycles ranked 7th (2018), 10th (2019), 3rd (2020) and 4th (2021).

During the same stretch, Miami has finished second twice, and their best finish was 11th. Though it is a respectable ranking, it proves the Tigers are recruiting on a different level. Notre Dame playing a full ACC schedule and being the second-best team in the conference shows how far the conference has to go as well.

Florida State has a long way to go:

It seems like the Seminoles winning the last BCS National title and playing in the first National Semifinal was twenty years ago. Jimbo Fisher came in like a lion and left with a flicker, leaving the program a fiscal and academic mess. Mistakes and apathy mired willie Taggart’s short tenure in Tallahassee. First-year head coach Mike Norvell had his share of struggles this season.

Next season might not look much better, but Norvell will have many of his players on the field next year after coaching a senior-heavy squad, especially defensively. Norvell and his staff have a long way to fix an offensive line that has been average since Jameis Winston was the quarterback. Most important, Norvell needs his quarterback. Jordan Travis, Tate Rodemaker and Chuba Purdy all return.

The Seminoles also need to retake their claim to Florida and improve on their recruiting. The Seminoles are ranked 36th in the 2021 cycle. McKenzie Milton transfers from Central Florida to offer some veteran competition at quarterback.

FSU has been busy in the transfer portal this cycle signing eight players from the portal. In addition to Milton, Norvell and the FSU staff signed Andrew Parchment from Kansas and D.J. Williams from Auburn; both should yield immediate dividends for the ‘Noles.

Jeff Hafley is the real deal:

When Boston College played this season, most times, the Eagles were undermanned. With few exceptions, BC had inferior players. However, the Eagles were prepared and played with the confidence they could win. There were some ugly games, but the Eagles played hard for sixty minutes every game.

The Eagles played Notre Dame hard and lost by just two scores against Clemson losing by one score. The only game that got away from BC this season was the Virginia Tech game.

If the Eagles continue trending in this direction, the essential strategy Boston College will have to come up with is how to keep Jeff Hafley in Chestnut Hill.