Belk Bowl to get SEC for six years

Charlotte's Belk Bowl is entering a six-year agreement with the SEC which will begin with the 2014 season.

The bowl at Bank of America Stadium will now feature a regular matchup of SEC vs. ACC teams.

For the past decade, the Belk Bowl has featured the ACC playing a team from the Big East, which has become the American Athletic Conference.

The Belk Bowl will be part of a six-bowl rotation (including the Outback, Gator, Music City, Texas and Liberty bowls) to determine where SEC teams will play in the postseason -- after potential berths in the new college football playoff and the Capital One Bowl are locked up.

"This is a big step for us with ratings and ticket demand," said Will Webb, the Belk Bowl's executive director. "This is where we want the Belk Bowl to be."  -- David Scott

ACC football: Bowl partnerships finalized for 2014-2019

The ACC finalized its bowl lineup for the upcoming seasons Wednesday by announcing five bowl partnerships.

Starting with the 2014 season and running until 2019, the ACC will send teams annually to the Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman in Annapolis, Md., the AdvoCare V100 Bowl in Shreveport, La., and a new bowl game in Detroit, Mich., hosted by the NFL's Detroit Lions. The Military bowl opponent will come from the American Athletic Conference and the Detroit bowl will feature an opponent from the Big 10 Conference.

Additionally, the ACC will send a team to the Beef 'O'Brady's Bowl in St. Petersburg, Fla., after the 2014 and 2016 seasons and will serve as the bowl's first conditional choice for the other four years if its primary partners can't fill the slot.

The ACC will also have a second conditional bowl with the Birmingham Bowl, if the league has an available team beyond the Beef 'O'Brady's Bowl choice. The ACC will be the first conditional choice of the Birmingham Bowl.

"It's very satisfying to finalize our future ACC bowl partnerships that collectively provide great flexibility, matchups and depth for our 15 member schools," said ACC Commissioner John Swofford. "We are pleased to continue our relationship with the Military and AdvoCare V100 Bowls while beginning new ones with the new bowl game in Detroit, hosted by the Detroit Lions; the Beef 'O'Brady's bowl game and Birmingham."

Here is a rundown of bowls the ACC has tie-ins with between 2014 and 2019:

Discover Orange Bowl, Miami, Fla.

Russell Athletic Bowl, Orlando, Fla.

Capital One Bowl, Orlando, Fla.

Hyundai Sun Bowl, El Paso, Texas

Belk Bowl, Charlotte, N.C.

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl, Nashville, Tenn.

Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl, Jacksonville, Fla.

New Era Pinstripe Bowl, New York City.

Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman, Annapolis, Md.

AdvoCare V100 Bowl, Shreveport, La.

Detroit Bowl, Detroit

Beef 'O'Brady's Bowl, St. Petersburg, Fla.

Birmingham Bowl, Birmingham, Ala.

UNC loses Shakeel Rashad, Sam Smiley and Dalton Stogner for season

CHAPEL HILL — One week into practice, North Carolina has already lost three players to season-ending injuries.

Tar Heels coach Larry Fedora said on Wednesday that sophomore bandit Shakeel Rashad, sophomore safety Sam Smiley and freshman receiver Dalton Stogner had all suffered season-ending injuries.

Rashad (knee) and Smiley (toe/foot) were competing for starting positions. Stogner (knee) is a walk-on who showed promise in the spring.

“Any time you lose one guy, it’s concerning,” Fedora said. “And to lose three – that’s why you’re constantly talking about depth. Building that depth and doing the things that it takes, depth-wise.”

Rashad, who enrolled in January 2012, played in 11 games last season and started at bandit – the hybrid defensive end and linebacker position – in the season finale against Maryland. He finished last season with 18 tackles – 3.5 for loss – and also had 1.5 sacks and an interception.

Smiley started at safety in five of the seven games he appeared in last season. A nagging toe and foot injury kept him out of the Tar Heels’ other five games. Stogner had a promising spring and was listed on the preseason depth chart as the backup to Quinshad Davis at one of UNC’s three starting receiving positions.

- Andrew Carter

UNC LB Travis Hughes faces court date for misdemeanor paraphernalia charge

North Carolina junior linebacker Travis Hughes faces a Sept. 24 court date in Durham County on a charge of misdemeanor drug paraphernalia possession.

A clerk of court said Hughes was charged in January.

Hughes, who had 38 tackles last season, entered the preseason atop the depth chart at strong-side linebacker.
--Andrew Carter

Miami QB Nico Pierre commits to Duke

Even when Duke was in the midst of back-to-back 3-9 seasons, head coach David Cutcliffe had his reputation of developing successful NFL quarterbacks.

Now, with the Blue Devils reaching new levels of success, he is getting the recruits to match the pedigree.

Miami Coral Reef quarterback Nico Pierre, ranked a 4-star recruit by ESPN, chose Duke last week on an unofficial visit. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound dual-threat quarterback is arguably Duke’s top recruit of the Cutcliffe era (with Parade all-American and Elite 11 QB Sean Renfree as his main competition). Pierre’s other suitors included Nebraska, Wisconsin, Mississippi State and Wake Forest.

“When I went up there, I felt good,” Pierre said. “I felt like I was at home. The program just felt right, too.”

Pierre felt so strongly about his decision that he and his high school coach, Chevas Clements, scrapped their plan to visit Wake Forest and instead headed home to Miami.

Pierre, who has attended college camps around the country, decided to visit the Blue Devils first because they were on top of his list. The coaches kept in constant contact with him and made him feel like he was already part of the team, he said. And when he arrived on campus and confirmed his feelings about the school, he made his commitment.

“Over 95 percent of all black athletes graduate,” Clements said. “Things like that catch your eye.

“The school, Duke University, kind of speaks for itself,” Clements added. “But then with the coaching staff and their reputation of developing quarterbacks, that was a big thing. Because if he goes there and is able to play and develop under Coach Cutcliffe for four years, he’ll most likely have a opportunity to play on Sundays.”

Kurt Roper, Duke’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, has visited Pierre in Miami. But both Pierre and Clements cited associate head coach Scottie Montgomery, who rejoined the Blue Devils in February after three years with the Pittsburgh Steelers, as the recruiter that sealed the deal (South Florida is one of Montgomery’s main recruiting territories).

“Picking up some of these Miami and South Florida guys, Duke is on the rise,” Clements said. “This is where the speed is at, this is where all the major programs come to get talent. Duke had a presence this recruiting season because of Scottie Montgomery. He does a great job.”

Duke now must keep Pierre committed until he can sign a national letter of intent in February, a task far easier said than done in college football. But if Pierre is drawn to Cutcliffe’s quarterback legacy—both of his Duke starters, Thad Lewis and Sean Renfree, are in the NFL, as well as his most famous protégées, Peyton and Eli Manning—the Blue Devils could be hard to beat.

Pierre is the 12th commit in a class expected to only have around 15 players. Here is a rundown of the others, complete with highlight videos (stars are taken from Rivals.com rankings):

• Tinashe Bere, LB, Cincinnati (Ohio) Sycamore

• Zavier Carmichael, OLB, Mobile (Ala.) St. Paul's Episcopal

• Christian Harris, OT, Suwanee (Ga.) Collins Hill

• Jonathan Lloyd, QB/ATH, Graham (N.C.) Southern Almanace

• Trip McNeill, OT, Mocksville (N.C.) Davie County

• Nico Pierre, QB, Miami Coral Reef

• Alonzo Saxton, CB, Columbus (Ohio) Bishop Hartley

• Kameron Schroeder, OT, Elk Grove (Calif.) Cosumnes Oaks

**Zach Harmon, C, Toldeo (Ohio) Central Catholic

**Jake Sanders, OG, Carrollton (Ga.)

**Taariq Shabazz, DE, Kennesaw Mountain (Ga.)

**Chris Taylor, WR, Pompano Beach (Fla.) North Broward Prep

For all the latest Duke news, like Duke NOW on Facebook and follow me on Twitter.

- Laura Keeley

Davidson's Reese Williams named All-Pioneer Football League

The preseason accolades continue for Davidson tight end Reese Williams, as he was named to the preseason All-Pioneer Football League team, the league office announced Wednesday

Williams (Abilene, Texas/Abilene Cooper) had a breakout season last year and earned first-team all-conference honors. He hauled in a career-best 51 receptions for 522 yards to rank second on the team in both categories and 11th and 13th, respectively, in the PFL. His top performance came in an overtime win at Valparaiso, in which he caught 10 passes for 131 yards to earn the College Football Performance Awards National Tight End of the Week award.

Returning players who were selected to the league’s 2012 All-PFL teams were automatically selected to the 2013 preseason team in order of voting. Thirteen preseason selections were first-team selections last season.

Williams has also been recognized by Phil Steele’s and CollegeSportsMadness.com this preseason.

Video: No fear for UNC's Larry Fedora, Tar Heels

At ACC Kickoff, UNC head coach Larry Fedora said he is not afraid of South Carolina star Jadeveon Clowney. Senior quarterback Bryn Renner and senior defensive end Kareem Martin also represented the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Video: N.C. State's Dave Doeren embraces recruiting challenges

N.C. State head coach Dave Doeran spoke about the Wolfpack's chances to win an ACC championship plus recruiting within North Carolina. Cornerback Dontae Johnson talked about the talent level in Raleigh.

UNC football: Ranking 2013 schedule in order of difficulty

CHAPEL HILL -- And welcome to football season.

It hasn't been much of an offseason. Between baseball, a trip to Omaha, furloughs and covering the missteps of a certain prominent North Carolina basketball player, my mental clock hasn't quite registered that football season is upon us. But this is a good thing. The blog is about to become a lot more active than it has been in recent weeks, so please make this a part of regular reading rotation.

I have a few things planned between now and when the Tar Heels begin the season on Aug. 29 at South Carolina. Look out in the coming weeks for a primer on each of UNC's opponents, for a countdown of the players that will be most influential to the Tar Heels' success this season and a position-by-position rundown of the team. For now, we'll start nice and easy: With a look at UNC's schedule.

And it is:

August
29 - at South Carolina

September
7 - vs. Middle Tennessee State
21 - at Georgia Tech
28 - vs. East Carolina

October
5 - at Virginia Tech
17 - vs. Miami
26 - vs. Boston College

November
2 - at N.C. State
9 - vs. Virginia
16 - at Pittsburgh
23 - vs. Old Dominion
30 - vs. Duke

First reaction: That's kind of strange, for a team to playing nearly half of its games in November. Second reaction: That's a difficult opening stretch, with UNC's three most difficult games among the first five - and, really, four most difficult games among the first six.

Here's how I'd rank the games, by most difficult to least:
-at South Carolina
-at Virginia Tech
-at Georgia Tech
-at N.C. State
-vs. Miami
-at Pitt
-vs. Middle Tennessee State
-vs. ECU
-vs. Virginia
-vs. Boston College
-vs. Duke
-vs. Old Dominion

Usually when you look at a schedule, several tiers emerge. There are the guaranteed victories. There are the "should wins." There are the toss-ups. The games in which a team will be a sure underdog. And those that seem nearly impossible to win.

But when I look at UNC's schedule, I see fewer of those tiers. I see six games that I'd give UNC at least an 80 percent chance or better of winning. Then I see three toss-ups. And in the rest, UNC will be the underdog - one of them a significant underdog.

Here's the percentage I give the Tar Heels of winning each game:
-at South Carolina: .15
-vs. Middle Tennessee State: .8
-at Georgia Tech: .4
-vs. East Carolina: .85
-at Virginia Tech: .35
-vs. Miami: .55
-vs. Boston College: .9
-at N.C. State: .6
-vs. Virginia: .85
-at Pittsburgh: .55
-vs. Old Dominion: .99
-vs. Duke: .9

Add all those percentages up and it comes to: 7.89.

Or, translated to a 12-game football season, about eight wins. 8-4 That sounds about right. I'm not quite ready to make my season predictions yet - those will come later, closer to the start of the season - but 8-4 is probably a pretty good baseline in terms of expectations for this team. With some mild luck, 9-3 isn't out of the question. With some very good fortune, a 10-win season could be in the realm.

I really only see one sure defeat - the season-opener at South Carolina. Beyond that, UNC should be starting the season with six wins: Middle Tennessee State, ECU, Boston College, Virginia, Old Dominion and Duke. Win two of the five games against Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Miami, N.C. State and Pitt, and that'd be eight wins total. Win three of those five, and 9-3 becomes realistic.

Of course, the Tar Heels would significantly raise expectations with a victory at in Columbia, S.C., near the end of August. The season is upon us, folks ...

- Andrew Carter

Laura Keeley's preseason ACC football ballot

An old-time tradition: predicting the end results of a season before any teams have taken the field. For football, it made sense to go through and attempt to predict the outcome of every conference game. After that task was done, I tallied the results, broke a few ties and filled out my ballot.

Before you make fun of my ballot, though, check out a few stories from Sunday: Andrew Carter on the overall state of the ACC, Luke DeCock on the new arrivals, Pittsburgh and Syracuse, and yours truly with notes from Duke, UNC and N.C. State (Kareem Morris's comments on South Carolina are worth checking out).

Now, in the spirit of transparency, here are my preseason ACC predictions.

Atlantic
Clemson
Florida State
Syracuse
N.C. State
Boston College
Maryland
Wake Forest

Coastal
Miami
Virginia Tech
Georgia Tech
North Carolina
Duke
Pittsburgh
Virginia

ACC Champion
Clemson

Preseason ACC Player of the Year
Tajh Boyd, Clemson

The main takeaway from this exercise: both divisions have two tiers of teams. In the Atlantic, there's Clemson and Florida State, a large gap and then five mediocre teams that could really win or lose any game against a fellow mediocre team.

In the Coastal, there are more contenders. Miami, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech and UNC all have a shot to win the division, in my estimation. Draw a line, and then there's Duke, Pittsburgh and Virginia to fight for fifth place.

I had both UNC and Georgia Tech finishing 5-3 in ACC play. Georgia Tech took third by virtue of a head-to-head tiebreaker. My other tiebreakers: Duke over Pittsburgh and Boston College over Maryland.

Feel free to disagree.

For all the latest Duke news, like Duke NOW on Facebook and follow me on Twitter.

-- Laura Keeley