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From the stats crazy enough to be true department ...
Maryland will depart the ACC having never received a first-place vote in the Atlantic Division (since 2005) in the media's preseason poll.
— Patrick Stevens (@D1scourse) July 22, 2013
With the release of the 2013 ACC Football preseason media poll, we now have nine years of preseason media polls since the division split. I wanted to take a closer look at the last nine years of media polls to see which programs have been media darlings (Florida State and Virginia Tech) and those which, well, haven't (Maryland and Duke).
Here's the last nine years of polls according to predicted finish:
In all but two seasons (2013 and 2008), Florida State has been picked first in the ACC's Atlantic Division. Clemson was picked first in those years. The Seminoles are predictably way out in front of everyone else in the media's preseason polls.
N.C. State and Boston College finish tied for third in the division. BC's predicted finishes have gone from middle of the pack to bottom of the barrel over the years, while N.C. State has held relatively steady at third in the division in the years after 2006.
Wake Forest averages 4.56, placing the Deacons fifth in the Atlantic. And there's Maryland, bringing up the rear in the Atlantic Division with a 5.11 average.
The Coastal Division has been a little more open in terms of the media's preseason vote, though it's the Hokies that have played foil to the Seminoles in the Coastal Division. The Hokies have been picked to finish first in seven of the nine Coastal Division preseason polls, with the exception of 2006 (2nd) and 2013 (2nd). Miami was picked to finish first in both of those years.
Miami is in second in the Coastal with an average place of 2.56, followed by Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Virginia and Duke.
The cumulative number of votes breaks the Boston College-N.C. State tie in the Atlantic, with the Wolfpack edging the Eagles 2,535 to 2,394. Note that totaling the number of votes places more weight on recent polls as the number of media members voting in the poll has increased substantially over the years.
In the Coastal, the cumulative number of votes follows the average predicted order of finish: 1) Virginia Tech 2) Miami 3) Georgia Tech 4) North Carolina 5) Virginia 6) Duke. ACC Coastal Division equilibrium?
Finally, we get to the first place votes, where Maryland (and Duke) are the only two programs in the conference to have never received a first place vote since division play began.
Here, Boston College has fared a bit better than N.C. State having picked up 58 first-place votes over the years (compared to N.C. State's 17). As to be expected, Florida State and Virginia Tech are far out ahead of everyone else, followed by Clemson and Miami, respectively. But BC is right behind those top four, followed by Georgia Tech (45), North Carolina (33), Wake Forest (25), N.C. State (17) and Virginia (2).
Expectations are rock-bottom for the Eagles this year, but that hasn't always been the case. BC has actually fared quite well in the preseason media poll in recent history, even picking up more than a few first-place votes along the way.