Florida State Seminoles, Virginia Tech Hokies Lead ACC’s Top Championship Contenders

July 19th, 2011- By Bryan Cross

Entering the 2011 College Football Season, the Atlantic Coast Conference will look to put their mark on the national landscape with teams trying to crack into that elite status.

One team in particular had that luster for a period of two decades, dominating not only the ACC, but around the country as well.

The Florida State Seminoles.

But the last several seasons hasn’t been kind to the Seminoles. However, head coach Jimbo Fisher began to turn that around last season by leading the Seminoles to a division title and a berth in the ACC Championship game. While Florida State would lose the ACC title game to Virginia Tech, they went on to defeat South Carolina in the Chik Fila Bowl, getting them 10 wins on the season.

Combining the performance last season, with dominating recruiting classes the last several years, and the Seminoles are on many radars as a definite ACC title contender, and even a national title contender.

That, is at least according to the BCS Championship Futures Odds at Bodog Sportsbook, which have set the Seminoles as the third overall favorite to win the title. The Seminoles have been set at 10/1 on online sportsbooks, behind only the Oklahoma Sooners and the Alabama Crimson Tide.

But from there, the ACC is not expected to be very competitive as far as the national scene is concerned.

Following Florida State, the next ACC member down the line of BCS Championship favorites is Virginia Tech, at 35/1. The Hokies are well down the line, but are still predicted to play a factor. The defending ACC Champions throttled Florida State in the championship game, and are the favorite to win their division.

The Miami Hurricanes follow behind Virginia Tech, and while only a few teams separate them in the list of odds, the betting lines are quite different. The Hurricanes come in with odds at 60/1 to win the BCS Championship. Miami finished with a disappointing 7-6 record last season, and will hope to improve upon it this year under the direction of new head coach Al Golden, formerly of Temple.

Key ACC Games Among Top Betting Contenders

Oct. 8th- Virginia Tech vs Miami
Nov. 12 – Florida State vs Miami
Dec. 3rd- ACC Championship Game (From Charlotte)