College football 2021: Most underrated, overrated teams by P5 conference
By John Scimeca
ACC
Most overrated: North Carolina Tar Heels
People are desperately looking around for another ACC team that can challenge the powerful Clemson Tigers, who have dominated the conference for the last five years running. No one in the league will stop the Tigers this season, and it certainly won’t be UNC.
The Tar Heels return talent from last year’s squad, including a Heisman hopeful in quarterback Sam Howell. North Carolina, though, must replace several game-changing playmakers after four of its offensive skill position players heard their names in the 2021 NFL Draft. Replacing guys like running back Javonte Williams (drafted No. 35 overall by the Denver Broncos) won’t come easy for head coach Mack Brown.
Even with Howell and the offense humming in 2020, the Tar Heels managed to slip up against conference foes like Florida State and Virginia. I’m hesitant to put this squad as a top-10 team in the nation in 2021.
Most underrated: Virginia Tech Hokies
While there’s comfort in the stability in a football program that has only had two head coaches since 1987, there’s a lot of pressure on Justin Fuente as he enters his sixth season. While in the shadow of the legendary Frank Beamer, Fuente led the Hokies to their second losing season in three years, a tough pill to swallow for a fanbase that hadn’t witnessed a sub-.500 mark before that since 1992.
The Hokies were picked to finish neck-and-neck with Pittsburgh for third place in the ACC Coastal division, although it’s hard to take a media poll seriously in which several voters picked Georgia Tech, Virginia, or NC State to win the conference outright instead of the prohibitive favorite Clemson.
Virginia Tech has skill position players to replace, but the team’s ground attack led the ACC last year and was among the top teams nationally at 240 rushing yards per game.