Virginia Tech's ACC Preview looks pretty bleak. Stewart Mandel picked them to finish near the bottom with an overall record of 5 and 7. I like (and miss) being considered the underdog, but this is a little scary. They face top ranked USC for the opener and a lot of people are expecting a blowout.

Still, I'm keeping my hopes up. I cheered for them when they were 2-8-1 just as hard as I did when they were 11-0. I'll love them no matter what, and I think a lot of people are underestimating them this year. We'll have to wait and see.

Love him or hate him, Mandel had a great line about Miami's chances in the ACC: "How do the 'Canes stack up in their new conference? Well, they've beaten the defending champ five straight times."