State of conference amidst seismic realignment shift should be huge focus of ACC Kickoff

The arrival of ACC Kickoff always means that the college football season is almost here.

The annual media event is set for July 20 and 21 and always gets a bit chaotic with all 14 ACC head coaches, three players from each team and a mob of media members converging in Charlotte to preview the upcoming season.

This year's event should be even more chaotic than usual, however, with the looming threat of conference realignment and a pair of super conferences emerging in the SEC and the Big 10.

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Before the Democrat provides in-person coverage from Charlotte this week, here are some ACC and FSU storylines to monitor over the next few days.

1. Realignment reaction

ACC commissioner Jim Phillips will begin the event Wednesday morning with his annual address, his second as the leader of the conference.

This is normally a chance to address all the conference and its members have accomplished, which should still happen. But this year's address and ensuing Q&A could take on a much more foreboding tone because of the looming veil of uncertainty about the future of the ACC.

The grant-of-rights agreement signed by all 14 ACC teams in 2016, which locks all conference members' media rights up through 2036 is, in reality, the main thing holding the ACC together at this juncture.

When news broke on June 30 that USC and UCLA were leaving the Pac-12 to join the Big Ten, it showed exactly how quickly the college football landscape is evolving.

Were it not for the GOR, quite a few ACC schools, including FSU and Clemson, may similarly desire the opportunity to join either the SEC or the Big Ten. This is especially true because of what is expected to become a $50-plus million per-school discrepancy in television revenue over the next few years.

This will be the first time since that news broke that Phillips will have to address the state of the conference. Does he address realignment in his opening statement or wait until he is asked about it? How much does he share as to what the ACC's place and options are at this uncertain moment in time?

In the big picture, this looms much larger than anything that an ACC coach or player will say at this week's event.

2. Spotlight is on Jordan Travis

FSU was one of two schools, along with Virginia, that took multiple quarterbacks to last year's ACC Kickoff.

Both Jordan Travis and McKenzie Milton were among the Seminoles' three players at last year's event before they participated in a preseason position battle that went all the way to the team's opening game against Notre Dame.

This year, though, no team is taking multiple quarterbacks to ACC Kickoff. After emerging as the Seminoles' best option at quarterback for the second straight season in 2021, Travis is unquestionably FSU's starter entering his fourth season in Tallahassee.

He took a notable step forward as a passer last season, completing almost 8% more of his passes and throwing for nearly 500 more yards and nine more touchdowns (15) with the same number of interceptions (6).

At last year's Kickoff, Milton and his incredible recovery from an injury that nearly took his right leg was a far bigger focus than Travis. Now, he'll have to handle the spotlight that comes with being the starter at FSU.

FSU's other player representatives, defensive tackle Fabien Lovett and safety Jammie Robinson, will have questions to answer of their own. Most notably, how does the Seminoles' defense improve once again in 2022 after losing ACC Defensive Player of the Year Jermaine Johnson?

3. Where is FSU picked to finish in the ACC?

Another part of ACC Kickoff is the media members in attendance picking the preseason All-ACC team as well as projecting the order of finishes for both the Atlantic and Coastal divisions.

With the ACC shifting to a 3-5-5 scheduling model in 2023, this will actually mark the final season of divisions for the conference.

FSU's historical standing as an ACC football power has no doubt helped the Seminoles when it comes to projected order of finish despite the fact that they have not finished above .500 in conference play since 2016.

In four of the last five years, FSU has been picked to finish higher than it did. It was picked to finish fourth in the Atlantic last year and finished fifth, picked to finish seventh overall in the division-less ACC in 2020 and finished 13th, was picked third in the Atlantic in 2019 and finished in a three-way tie for third.

In 2018, FSU was picked to finish second in the Atlantic and actually finished in sixth. Most egregious of all, FSU was picked to win the ACC in 2017 and wound up landing in sixth place in the Atlantic.

Does that benefit of the doubt continue for FSU in what should again be a top-heavy Atlantic division? Or does the Seminoles' recent track record finally catch up and influence the voters?

In the bigger ACC picture, Clemson saw its streak of six consecutive ACC Championships snapped last year when Pitt beat Wake Forest in the conference championship game.

Do the Tigers extend their streak of being the conference's preseason favorite to five years, or are they similarly dethroned in this regard? NC State and Miami could be seen as trendy picks to win the conference over a Clemson team that appears as vulnerable as it has been in some time.

Reach Curt Weiler at cweiler@tallahassee.com or follow him on Twitter @CurtMWeiler.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU, ACC storylines to keep an eye on at ACC Kickoff event