The ACC wasn't a national player this season, with no Florida State or Maryland to linger around the Top 10 once NC State faded after a 9-0 start. So by that measure, this was a down year for the ACC. Everyone says so.

	Matt Schaub and Virginia were the surprise story of the ACC.

Well, you know what? Forget everyone. Some people can't see the forest through the trees, which is too bad, because the forest looks like this: Seven of the ACC's nine teams qualified for the postseason, and this was a season when almost anyone (see 3-9 North Carolina putting a scare into 8-5 Virginia) could beat almost anyone (see 2-10 Duke missing a long field goal to allow 10-3 NC State to escape).

It was as unpredictable a year as the ACC has had since Florida State joined in 1991, and if the ACC didn't really deserve to put any of its teams into a BCS bowl, so what? For the first time in a long time, the ACC was a league where its No. 6 team (Georgia Tech or Clemson, in this case) could compete with the No. 6 team in almost any league in the country.

So, in terms of depth, the ACC has almost never been better. In terms of parity, the ACC definitely hasn't been better since becoming a nine-team league. And in terms of postseason-eligibility, the ACC has never, ever been better. Has the ACC ever had more than seven teams finish .500 or better? Heck, no.

But Florida State wasn't 11-1 this season, so blast away, critics. Down year for the league. Woe is ACC football.

We say bah to all of your narrow-minded humbug.

MVP: Virginia quarterback Matt Schaub was benched for the Cavaliers' second game, then roared back -- and dragged his team with him. Schaub had one of the better statistical seasons in ACC quarterback history (2,751 passing yards, 27 touchdowns, 69.7 completion percentage) to lead Virginia to second place in the conference and earn this award over Maryland linebacker E.J. Henderson and NC State linebacker Dantonio Burnette.

Coach of the Year: Hate to be redundant, but a Cavalier has to win this, too. Virginia coach Al Groh was every bit as good this season as Maryland's Ralph Friedgen was a year ago, leading the Cavaliers -- who were picked to finish eighth in the league -- to a 6-2 conference mark, with victories against NC State and Maryland. Just as important, Groh seems to have Virginia on track to be good every year, much as Friedgen has done with the Terps.

Newcomer of the Year: NC State freshman tailback T.A. McLendon edges Maryland quarterback Scott McBrien, a transfer from West Virginia. McLendon ran for 1,083 yards and 16 touchdowns, both league bests. He also caught 338 yards in passes, and did all of it while spending the first few games as the second-team back, missing one game with an injury, and playing the second half of the season with a cast on his right hand.

Biggest Surprise: Virginia, Virginia, three times Virginia. The Cavaliers shouldn't have been this good, not with all those freshmen in key roles (tailback, both interior lines, linebacker) and that ordinary quarterback (Schaub). The freshmen produced like veterans, and Schaub was extraordinary, and nobody saw any of it coming.

Biggest Disappointment: Florida State could blame last season's disappointment on inexperience. With almost everyone returning, what's the Seminoles excuse this season? Sure, FSU won the league title, but the Seminoles were out of the national title picture early, and almost out of the Top 25 late, and by FSU definitions that is a disappointment of epic proportions.

Clemson
It took Clemson eight games, but the Tigers might have found Woodrow Dantzler's heir -- and it's not longtime backup (and fan favorite) Willie Simmons. Charlie Whitehurst looks to be the long-term answer at quarterback, and that -- along with an unexpected Tangerine Bowl berth -- was the best news to come from a lackluster season that saw Clemson finally come up with a defense to match its offense. . . only to have its offense disappoint.

MVP: The cornerback tandem of Justin Miller and Brian Mance combined for 13 interceptions, giving the Tigers' defense the teeth it needed to set free its linemen and linebackers on blitzes and other assaults. Clemson's defense was the best it has been in years, and its stellar play at cornerback was a huge reason.

Biggest disappointment: After all that clamoring from fans for Willie Simmons at quarterback, this is what he produces? Simmons is a first-class kid and a college graduate in just three years, but he had more interceptions (seven) than touchdowns (six) and was replaced by Charlie Whitehurst in the final third of the season.

Did you know: Clemson has been to four straight bowl games.

Duke
After two winless seasons the Blue Devils broke through on opening day against East Carolina and added a second victory against Navy. While the 2-10 finish wasn't enough to get many Duke fans excited for the present, it was enough to convince athletics director Joe Alleva that coach Carl Franks might be the team's future. After the season-ending loss to North Carolina, Alleva announced Franks would return for his fifth season.

MVP: Defensive lineman Shawn Johnson led the ACC in sacks with 12. Johnson was the most obvious example of a guy who got better under the watch of new defensive coordinator Ted Roof, the former Georgia Tech assistant.

Biggest disappointment: Tailback Chris Douglas battled injuries in the early going, then saw backup Alex Wade make a run at 1,000 yards. While Douglas was productive, finishing with 640 rushing yards, his excellent sophomore season (841 rushing yards, a league-best 168.1 all-purpose yards per game) hinted at a better junior year.

Did you know: Duke has lost an ACC-record 25 straight conference games.

Florida State
The Seminoles returned their top two quarterbacks, their top two running backs, most of their top receivers and their entire offensive line, plus eight defensive starters and both kicking specialists, so -- no -- another four-loss season (entering the bowl) wasn't expected. Along the way, Florida State missed beating No. 1 Miami by a botched field goal and saw Adrian McPherson beat out Chris Rix at quarterback, then get kicked off the team for his alleged role in the cashing of a stolen check. A strange season all the way around.

MVP: Tailback Greg Jones was the best thing going for the Seminoles until he suffered a season-ending injury nine games into a year he would finish with 938 rushing yards.

Biggest disappointment: The snap was imperfect, the hold was imperfect, and Xavier Beitia's last-season kick definitely was imperfect as the Seminoles just missed ending No. 1 Miami's winning streak and hopes of a national title on Oct. 12.

Did you know: The Seminoles have lost as many games in the past two seasons (eight) as in the previous six seasons combined.

Georgia Tech
The Jackets managed not only to become bowl eligible, but to pull off victories against Virginia and NC State after losing their best player on offense (tailback Tony Hollings) and defense (end Greg Gathers) to injuries. The season-ending disaster against Georgia notwithstanding, the Jackets had an encouraging first year under coach Chan Gailey, who held it all together despite the devastating injuries to Hollings and Gathers. On the down side, quarterback A.J. Suggs -- last in the ACC in pass efficiency -- didn't exactly wrap his fingers around the starting job. Backup QB Damarius Bilbo could make the spring interesting.

MVP: Offensive tackle Nat Dorsey was as big a reason as any that the Jackets got 100 rushing yards, or right at it, in a single game from four different running backs. Dorsey will be in the NFL in a year or two.

Biggest disappointment: Hollings' knee injury cut short one of the more remarkable stories around the country. The former backup safety asked to be moved to tailback, then was leading the country in rushing after four games before going down.

Did you know: Kicker Luke Manget holds the ACC record for consecutive extra points at 155.

Maryland
The Terps proved last season was no fluke, and that coach Ralph Friedgen has the ability not just to pull of a one-year wonder, but to elevate this once-lowly program into the ACC's upper level. Even with new starters at quarterback and tailback, the Maryland offense began to hum in midseason as the Terps made another run at an ACC title. With Scott McBrien returning at quarterback and Bruce Perry back at tailback, look for the Terps to make another run next season, too.

MVP: Despite offseason back surgery that set him behind in preseason conditioning and workouts, linebacker E.J. Henderson had another All-America season and repeated as ACC Defensive Player of the Year.

Biggest disappointment: Maryland would have earned a share of the league title and the ACC's BCS bowl bid had it defeated Virginia on Nov. 23, but the Terps were wiped out 48-13, a loss Friedgen couldn't explain even a week later.

Did you know: Maryland has five 10-win seasons since 1953 -- and two have come in Friedgen's first two seasons.

North Carolina
Before the season coach John Bunting said 2002 would be among the greatest professional challenges of his football career. No kidding. The Tar Heels were awful on defense and, after quarterback Darian Durant went down with a broken thumb, they had an offense to match. The result was a season that saw the Tar Heels suffer historic loss after historic loss -- worst loss to Wake Forest, worst ACC loss at home, etc.

MVP: With Durant, North Carolina won at Syracuse, Duke and Arizona State. Without him, North Carolina won. . .nowhere. The team was 0-4 when Durant was out, 3-5 when he played.

Biggest disappointment: We've got to narrow it down to one? The UNC defense was among the worst in college football, and among the worst in ACC history. The Tar Heels allowed 452 yards and 35 points per game.

Did you know: The Tar Heels suffered nine losses for just the third time in the last half-century.

NC State
Before the season, NC State would have gladly taken a 10-3 mark and a spot in the Gator Bowl. After starting the year 9-0, though, those accomplishments feel a bit hollow considering the Wolfpack was once in contention for a BCS berth and a spot in either the Orange Bowl or, possibly, the Fiesta Bowl. Still, NC State had never won 10 games before this season, and while the schedule included two Division I-AA teams and Navy, no Wolfpack fan with an Internet connection seems inclined to throw the 2002 season back.

MVP: Defense won games for the Wolfpack this season, and linebacker Dantonio Burnette was the best player on the defense -- and, with the exception of Maryland's E.J. Henderson, the best player in the league. Burnette was a double-figure tackle machine who played hurt and excelled on goalline stands.

Biggest disappointment: The Wolfpack's three losses were by a touchdown or less. They were pretty darned close to 13-0.

Did you know: Quarterback Philip Rivers is on pace to break every major ACC record for quarterbacks.

Virginia
Virginia started more freshmen than any team in the ACC, and won more league games than any team other than Florida State. Those two facts should never be in the same sentence, but that's how good the freshmen are at Virginia -- and how good Groh, Schaub and Co. did in melding the young talent with the veterans. The Cavaliers showed some major heart in bouncing back from an 0-2 start to win their next six games and have a bowl bid wrapped up by mid-October.

MVP: Matt Schaub threw 27 touchdowns to just seven interceptions, and a team is going to win a lot of games every year when its quarterback does that.

Biggest disappointment: Even with the No. 2 record in the league and victories against Maryland and NC State, Virginia was passed over -- in favor of Maryland, NC State and Clemson -- for the Peach, Gator and Tangerine bowls.

Did you know: Five of Al Groh's 13 victories in two seasons at Virginia have been against ranked teams.

Wake Forest
The Deacons posted their second consecutive non-losing season under coach Jim Grobe, who might be coaching himself right out of Winston-Salem. Baylor already came calling for Grobe, who said no thanks, and Alabama was said to have been considering him. Why not? Grobe has taken the talent at hand and made Wake Forest the kind of team Florida State coach Bobby Bowden says "nobody wants to play." The Deacons won another six games this season despite spotty kicking and the unavailability in the early going of returning 1,000-yard rusher Tarence Williams.

MVP: Defensive end Calvin Pace was a dominant player, recording eight sacks among his 19 tackles for loss. He also had 72 tackles, a ridiculously high number for an end.

Biggest disappointment: The Deacons' season always had a what-if feel after special-team bumbles led to a season-opening, 42-41 loss at Northern Illinois.

Did you know: Until Grobe arrived, the Deacons had posted back-to-back six-win seasons just twice since 1953.

Gregg Doyel covers college football for The Charlotte Observer and can be reached at gdoyel@charlotteobserver.com.