2011 Atlantic Coast Conference football season

2011 ACC football season
2011 ACC football season
League	NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
Sport	Football
Duration	September 1, 2011 – January 4, 2012
Number of teams	12
Regular season
Season MVP	David Wilson
Atlantic champions	Clemson Tigers
Coastal champions	Virginia Tech Hokies
ACC Championship Game
Champions	Clemson Tigers
ACC seasons
	← 2010 2012 →

2011 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Atlantic Division
No. 22 Clemson x$	6	–	2	10	–	4
Wake Forest	5	–	3	6	–	7
No. 23 Florida State	5	–	3	9	–	4
NC State	4	–	4	8	–	5
Boston College	3	–	5	4	–	8
Maryland	1	–	7	2	–	10
Coastal Division
No. 21 Virginia Tech x%	7	–	1	11	–	3
Virginia	5	–	3	8	–	5
Georgia Tech	5	–	3	8	–	5
Miami (FL)	3	–	5	6	–	6
North Carolina	3	–	5	7	–	6
Duke	1	–	7	3	–	9
Championship: Clemson 38, Virginia Tech 10
$ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 2011 ACC football season is an NCAA football season that will be played from September 1, 2011, to January 4, 2012. The Atlantic Coast Conference consists of 12 members in two divisions. The Atlantic division consists of Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, Maryland, North Carolina State and Wake Forest. The Coastal division consists of Duke, Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, Virginia, and Virginia Tech. The division champions will meet on December 3^[1] in the 2011 ACC Championship Game, located in Charlotte, North Carolina at Bank of America Stadium.

Preseason

Preseason Poll

The 2011 ACC Preseason Poll was announced at the ACC Football Kickoff meetings in Pinehurst, North Carolina on July 25. Virginia Tech was voted to win Coastal division while Florida State was voted to win the Atlantic division and the conference. Montel Harris of Boston College was voted the Preseason ACC Player of the Year.^[2]

Atlantic Division poll

Florida State – 420 (65 first place votes)
Clemson – 286 (4)
North Carolina State – 270
Boston College – 224 (2)
Maryland – 211
Wake Forest – 80

Coastal Division poll

Virginia Tech – 421 (66)
Miami – 328 (4)
North Carolina – 287
Georgia Tech – 226 (1)
Virginia – 132
Duke – 96

Predicted ACC Championship Game Winner

Florida State–50
Virginia Tech–18
Clemson–2
Boston College–1

Preseason ACC Player of the Year

Montel Harris, BC – 26
E. J. Manuel, FSU – 14
Luke Kuechly, BC – 12
David Wilson, Virginia Tech – 8
Danny O'Brien, Maryland – 4
Andre Ellington, CLEM – 3
Lamar Miller, MIA – 2
Sean Spence, MIA – 1
Brandon Jenkins, FSU – 1

Preseason All Conference Teams

Offense

Position	Player	School
Wide receiver	Conner Vernon	Duke
Wide receiver	Dwight Jones	North Carolina
Tight end	George Bryan	NC State
Tackle	Blake DeChristopher	Virginia Tech
Tackle	Andrew Datko	Florida State
Guard	Brandon Washington	Miami
Guard	Omoregie Uzzi	Georgia Tech
Center	Tyler Horn	Miami
Quarterback	EJ Manuel	Florida State
Running back	Montel Harris	Boston College
Running back	Andre Ellington	Clemson

Defense

Position	Player	School
Defensive end	Brandon Jenkins	Florida State
Defensive end	Quinton Coples	North Carolina
Defensive tackle	Tydreke Powell	North Carolina
Defensive tackle	Brandon Thompson	Clemson
Linebacker	Luke Kuechly	Boston College
	Sean Spence	Miami
	Kenny Tate	Maryland
Cornerback	Chase Minnifield	Virginia
Cornerback	Jayron Hosley	Virginia Tech
Safety	Ray-Ray Armstrong	Miami
Safety	Eddie Whitley	Virginia Tech

Specialist

Position	Player	School
Placekicker	Will Snyderwine	Duke
Punter	Dawson Zimmerman	Clemson
Specialist	Greg Reid	Florida State

^[3]

Coaches

During the offseason, two ACC schools, Maryland and Miami, hired new head coaches. Maryland bought out the last year of 10 year coach, Ralph Friedgen's contract.^[4] They hired Randy Edsall who had been the head coach at UConn for 12 years. Miami fired their head coach of 4 years, Randy Shannon, at the conclusion of the Hurricanes' regular season.^[5] They in turn hired coach Al Golden, who was the 5 year head coach of Temple. In an unexpected turn of events, on July 27, 2011, UNC chancellor Holden Thorp announced that UNC's board of trustees decided to dismiss Butch Davis as the head coach of the football team.^[6] The announcement came a week before the start of fall training camp. The firing was cited as being due to the investigations by the NCAA into academic fraud, impermissible benefits, and talking to agents in the 2010 season. The next day on the 28th, Everett Withers, the defensive coordinator of the past 3 years, was named as the interim head coach.^[7]

NOTE: Stats shown are before the beginning of the season

Team	Head coach	Years at school	Overall record	Record at school	ACC record
Boston College	Frank Spaziani	4	16–11	16–11	9–7
Clemson	Dabo Swinney	4	19–15	19–15	13–8
Duke	David Cutcliffe	4	56–53	12–24	5–19
Florida State	Jimbo Fisher	2	10–4	10–4	6–2
Georgia Tech	Paul Johnson	4	133–52	25–15	16–8
Maryland	Randy Edsall	1	74–70	0–0	0–0
Miami	Al Golden	1	27–34	0–0	0–0
North Carolina	Everett Withers	1	0-0	0-0	0-0
NC State	Tom O'Brien	5	100–70	25–25	14–18
Virginia	Mike London	2	28–13	4–8	1–7
Virginia Tech	Frank Beamer	25	240–118–4	198–95–2	46–10
Wake Forest	Jim Grobe	10	100–96–1	67–63	34–51

ACC vs. BCS opponents

The Atlantic Coast Conference had a losing season vs. BCS opponents in 2011 with a record of 8 wins and 13 losses. In rivalry games vs. BCS opponents the ACC went 1-4 with the only win coming from the Florida State Seminoles over the Florida Gators. The ACC also had three teams play Notre Dame in 2011 and recorded a 0-3 record against the Fighting Irish.

NOTE:. Games with a * next to the home team represent a neutral site game

Date	Visitor	Home	Significance	Winning Team
September 1	Wake Forest	Syracuse		Syracuse
September 3	Northwestern	Boston College		Northwestern
September 10	Rutgers	North Carolina		North Carolina
	Stanford	Duke		Stanford
	Virginia	Indiana		Virginia
September 17	Oklahoma	Florida State		Oklahoma
	Ohio State	Miami		Miami
	West Virginia	Maryland	Maryland–West Virginia football rivalry	West Virginia
	Auburn	Clemson	Auburn–Clemson football rivalry	Clemson
	Kansas	Georgia Tech		Georgia Tech
September 22	NC State	Cincinnati		Cincinnati
September 24	Kansas State	Miami		Kansas State
October 8	Louisville	North Carolina		North Carolina
November 5	Notre Dame	Wake Forest		Notre Dame
November 12	Maryland	Notre Dame		Notre Dame
November 19	Miami	South Florida		Miami
November 19	Boston College	Notre Dame	Holy War	Notre Dame
November 26	Florida State	Florida	Florida–Florida State football rivalry	Florida State
	Georgia	Georgia Tech	Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate	Georgia
	Clemson	South Carolina	Battle of the Palmetto State	South Carolina
	Vanderbilt	Wake Forest		Vanderbilt

Rankings

**Legend**
		Improvement in ranking
		Drop in ranking
		Not ranked previous week
RV		Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll

		Pre	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Final
Boston College	AP
	C
	BCS	Not released
Clemson	AP		RV		21	13	8	8	8	6	11	9	7	18	21	14	22
	C	RV	RV	RV	22	15	8	8	8	6	12	10	8	17	21	14	22
	BCS	Not released							7	5	11	9	7	17	20	15
Duke	AP
	C						RV
	BCS	Not released
Florida State	AP	6	5	5	11	23	23				RV	RV	23		25	25	23
	C	5	4	5	14	24	22				RV	RV	22	RV	24	25	23
	BCS	Not released											25
Georgia Tech	AP		RV	RV	25	21	13	12	20	RV	22	20	RV	25	RV	RV
	C	RV	RV	RV	24	21	13	12	19	RV	23	19	23	21	RV	RV
	BCS	Not released							22		23	21		23
Maryland	AP	RV	RV	RV	RV
	C		RV	RV
	BCS	Not released
Miami	AP	RV			RV					RV
	C	RV			RV					RV		RV
	BCS	Not released
North Carolina	AP				RV			RV
	C	RV	RV	RV	25	RV	RV	RV	RV		RV
	BCS	Not released
NC State	AP	RV	RV
	C	RV
	BCS	Not released
Virginia	AP											RV	RV	24	RV	RV	RV
	C								RV			RV	RV	25	RV	RV	RV
	BCS	Not released
Virginia Tech	AP	13	11	13	13	11	21	19	16	15	12	10	9	6	5	17	21
	C	13	11	12	11	10	17	17	14	15	11	9	7	4	3	11	17
	BCS	Not released							12	12	12	10	8	5	5	11
Wake Forest	AP							RV	RV
	C							RV		RV
	BCS	Not released

Bowl Games

Bowl Game	Date	Stadium	City	Television	Matchup/Result	Attendance	Payout (US$) per team
BCS
Allstate Sugar Bowl	January 3, 2012	Mercedes-Benz Superdome	New Orleans	ESPN	Michigan 23, Virginia Tech 20	64,512	$17,000,000
Discover Orange Bowl	January 4, 2012	Sun Life Stadium	Miami Gardens, Florida	ESPN	West Virginia 70, Clemson 33	67,563	$17,000,000
Non-BCS
Advocare V100 Independence Bowl	December 26, 2011	Independence Stadium	Shreveport, Louisiana	ESPN2	Missouri 41, North Carolina 24	41,728	$1,100,000
Belk Bowl	December 27, 2011	Bank of America Stadium	Charlotte, North Carolina	ESPN	NC State 31, Louisville 24	58,427	$1,000,000
Champs Sports Bowl	December 29, 2011	Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium	Orlando, Florida	ESPN	Florida State 18, Notre Dame 14	68,305	$2,125,000
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl	December 30, 2011	LP Field	Nashville, Tennessee	ESPN	Mississippi State 23, Wake Forest 17	55,208	$1,700,000
Hyundai Sun Bowl	December 31, 2011	Sun Bowl Stadium	El Paso, Texas	CBS	Utah 30, Georgia Tech 27	48,123	$1,900,000
Chick-fil-A Bowl	December 31, 2011	Georgia Dome	Atlanta	ESPN	Auburn 43, Virginia 24	72,919	$3,350,000

Postseason

All-conference teams

First Team

Offense

Position	Player	School
Wide receiver	Sammy Watkins	Clemson
Wide receiver	Chris Givens	Wake Forest
Tight end	Dwayne Allen	Clemson
Tackle	Blake DeChristopher	Virginia Tech
Tackle	Zebrie Sanders	Florida State
Guard	Austin Pasztor	Virginia
Guard	Omoregie Uzzi	Georgia Tech
Center	Dalton Freeman	Clemson
Quarterback	Tajh Boyd	Clemson
Running back	David Wilson	Virginia Tech
Running back	Giovani Bernard	North Carolina
Placekicker	Dustin Hopkins	Florida State
Specialist	T. J. Graham	NC State

Defense

Position	Player	School
Defensive end	Andre Branch	Clemson
Defensive end	Quinton Coples	North Carolina
Defensive tackle	Joe Vellano	Maryland
Defensive tackle	Matthew Conrath	Virginia
Linebacker	Luke Kuechly	Boston College
	Sean Spence	Miami
	Zach Brown	North Carolina
Cornerback	David Amerson	NC State
Cornerback	Chase Minnifield	Virginia
Safety	Matt Daniels	Duke
Safety	Josh Bush	Wake Forest
Punter	Shawn Powell	Florida State

Second Team

Offense

Position	Player	School
Wide receiver	Dwight Jones	North Carolina
Wide receiver	Conner Vernon	Duke
Tight end	George Bryan	NC State
Tackle	Oday Aboushi	Virginia
Tackle	James Hurst	North Carolina
Guard	Jaymes Brooks	Virginia Tech
	Jonathan Cooper	North Carolina
	Joe Looney	Wake Forest
Center	Tyler Horn	Miami
Quarterback	Logan Thomas	Virginia Tech
Running back	Lamar Miller	Miami
Running back	Andre Ellington	Clemson
Placekicker	Chandler Catanzaro	Clemson
Specialist	Sammy Watkins	Clemson

Defense

Position	Player	School
Defensive end	Brandon Jenkins	Florida State
Defensive end	James Gayle	Virginia Tech
Defensive tackle	Brandon Thompson	Clemson
Defensive tackle	Nikita Whitlock	Wake Forest
Linebacker	Terrell Manning	NC State
	Julian Burnett	Georgia Tech
	Steve Greer	Virginia
Cornerback	Jayron Hosley	Virginia Tech
Cornerback	Kyle Fuller	Virginia Tech
Safety	Eddie Whitley	Virginia Tech
Safety	Lamarcus Joyner	Florida State
Punter	Alex King	Duke

^[8]

ACC Individual Awards

ACC Player of the Year^[9]

RB David Wilson- Virginia Tech

Offensive Player of the Year^[9]

RB David Wilson- Virginia Tech

Defensive Player of the Year^[10]

LB Luke Kuechly- Boston College

Rookie of the Year^[11]

WR Sammy Watkins- Clemson

Offensive Rookie of the Year^[11]

WR Sammy Watkins- Clemson

Defensive Rookie of the Year^[12]

CB Merrill Noel- Wake Forest

Coach of the Year^[13]

Mike London- Virginia

Brian Piccolo Award^[14]

RB Giovani Bernard- North Carolina

Jim Tatum Award^[15]

WR Danny Coale- Virginia Tech

National Awards

Butkus Award^[16]

LB Luke Kuechly- Boston College

John Mackey Award^[17]

TE Dwayne Allen- Clemson

Lombardi Award^[18]

LB Luke Kuechly- Boston College

Jack Tatum Award^[19]

CB David Amerson- NC State

References

^ "2011 ACC Football Schedule". CBS Interactive. 2011. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
^ "ACC Football Kickoff #ACCfbk Media Tabs Florida State as 2011 Favorite". CBS Interactive. 2011. Archived from the original on September 7, 2011. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
^ "2011 Preseason ACC Football Team Announced". CBS Interactive. 2011. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved August 2, 2011.
^ Prisbel, Eric; Yanda, Steve (December 18, 2010). "Ralph Friedgen out as Maryland football coach". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
^ Miami fires coach Randy Shannon, ESPN, November 27, 2010
^ UNC Athletic Comm. (2011). "UNC Announces Coaching Change". insidecarolina.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
^ "Everett Withers Named Carolina's Interim Head Football Coach". tarheelblue.com. 2011. Archived from the original on April 8, 2012. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
^ "Virginia Tech and Clemson Dominate All-ACC Football Teams". theacc.com. 2011. Archived from the original on 9 December 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
^ ^a ^b "Hokies' Wilson Voted ACC Player of the Year". theacc.com. 2011. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
^ "Eagles' Kuechly Named ACC's Top Defender". theacc.com. 2011. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
^ ^a ^b "Tigers' Watkins Tabbed as ACC's Top Rookie". theacc.com. 2011. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
^ "Deacons' Noel Voted ACC's Best Rookie on Defense". theacc.com. 2011. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
^ "Virginia's London Named ACC Coach of the Year". theacc.com. 2011. Archived from the original on September 14, 2012. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
^ "UNC's Giovani Bernard Named 2011 ACC Brian Piccolo Award". theacc.com. 2011. Archived from the original on September 19, 2012. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
^ "Virginia Tech's Danny Coale Honored with ACC's Jim Tatum Award". theacc.com. 2011. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
^ "Luke Kuechly of Boston College University Wins 27th Annual Collegiate Butkus Award". thebutkusaward.com. 2011. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
^ "Fayetteville native Dwayne Allen wins Mackey Award as nation's top tight end". fayobserver.com. 2011. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
^ "Luke Kuechly wins Lombardi Award". bceagles.com. 2011. Retrieved December 9, 2011.
^ "Amerson Wins 2011 Jack Tatum Award". gopack.com. 2011. Retrieved December 9, 2011.

[schedule-1] "2011 ACC Football Schedule". CBS Interactive. 2011. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved July 26, 2011.

[preseason_poll-2] "ACC Football Kickoff #ACCfbk Media Tabs Florida State as 2011 Favorite". CBS Interactive. 2011. Archived from the original on September 7, 2011. Retrieved July 26, 2011.

[3] "2011 Preseason ACC Football Team Announced". CBS Interactive. 2011. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved August 2, 2011.

[4] Prisbel, Eric; Yanda, Steve (December 18, 2010). "Ralph Friedgen out as Maryland football coach". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 18, 2010.

[Shannon_fired-5] Miami fires coach Randy Shannon, ESPN, November 27, 2010

[firing-6] UNC Athletic Comm. (2011). "UNC Announces Coaching Change". insidecarolina.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2011.

[7] "Everett Withers Named Carolina's Interim Head Football Coach". tarheelblue.com. 2011. Archived from the original on April 8, 2012. Retrieved August 3, 2011.

[8] "Virginia Tech and Clemson Dominate All-ACC Football Teams". theacc.com. 2011. Archived from the original on 9 December 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2011.

[Wilson-9] "Hokies' Wilson Voted ACC Player of the Year". theacc.com. 2011. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2011.

[10] "Eagles' Kuechly Named ACC's Top Defender". theacc.com. 2011. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2011.

[Watkins-11] "Tigers' Watkins Tabbed as ACC's Top Rookie". theacc.com. 2011. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved November 30, 2011.

[12] "Deacons' Noel Voted ACC's Best Rookie on Defense". theacc.com. 2011. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved November 30, 2011.

[13] "Virginia's London Named ACC Coach of the Year". theacc.com. 2011. Archived from the original on September 14, 2012. Retrieved November 30, 2011.

[14] "UNC's Giovani Bernard Named 2011 ACC Brian Piccolo Award". theacc.com. 2011. Archived from the original on September 19, 2012. Retrieved December 3, 2011.

[15] "Virginia Tech's Danny Coale Honored with ACC's Jim Tatum Award". theacc.com. 2011. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved December 3, 2011.

[16] "Luke Kuechly of Boston College University Wins 27th Annual Collegiate Butkus Award". thebutkusaward.com. 2011. Retrieved December 5, 2011.

[17] "Fayetteville native Dwayne Allen wins Mackey Award as nation's top tight end". fayobserver.com. 2011. Retrieved December 10, 2011.

[18] "Luke Kuechly wins Lombardi Award". bceagles.com. 2011. Retrieved December 9, 2011.

[19] "Amerson Wins 2011 Jack Tatum Award". gopack.com. 2011. Retrieved December 9, 2011.

[1]

v t e Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) football
Current teams	Boston College Eagles California Golden Bears Clemson Tigers Duke Blue Devils Florida State Seminoles Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Louisville Cardinals Miami Hurricanes NC State Wolfpack North Carolina Tar Heels Pittsburgh Panthers SMU Mustangs Stanford Cardinal Syracuse Orange Virginia Cavaliers Virginia Tech Hokies Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Championships and awards	Conference champions All-time standings ACC Championship Game ACC football honors
Seasons	1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

v t e 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season
Conference seasons	ACC Big 12 Big East Big Ten Conference USA Mid-American Mountain West Pac-12 SEC Sun Belt WAC
Inter-conference	Bowl games Rankings
All-Americans	2011 College Football All-America Team