The ACC's latest challengers to Florida State are NC State and Virginia, and unlike past challenges that have failed, eventually the Wolfpack and Cavaliers could succeed in the long run because they have shown this season the talent they have is premium, and it is young.

TCU The Surprise Of C-USA

With Louisville, Cincinnati and East Carolina slipping this season -- some more than others -- only TCU remains a viable threat to Southern Miss for the C-USA title. Never thought you'd read that sentence in October 2002, did you? Biggest surprise: TCU, hands down. The Horned Frogs weren't terribly good last year, but coming off a victory Saturday at Louisville, they are looking like princes this season. Biggest disappointment: After finishing second each of the past two seasons, Cincinnati has fallen to the middle of the C-USA pack despite returning eight starters on each side of the ball and a former Groza-winning kicker. This team should not be under .500 this late in the season, period. Midseason MVP: Tulane cornerback Lynaris Elpheage leads the league in interceptions (seven) and passes broken up (16), and also has forced two fumbles. Midseason Coach of the Year: TCU coach Gary Patterson has done more with less than anyone in the league. Bowl bound: Louisville, Southern Miss, TCU, Tulane. -- Gregg Doyel

Although Virginia and NC State have junior quarterbacks who won't be around much longer, beyond that the Cavaliers and Wolfpack are winning with youth.

Florida State has beaten Virginia this season, but the Seminoles' biggest ACC challenge could be Nov. 23 when they visit NC State -- which last season became the first league team to win in Tallahassee.

Last season might have been a fluke, with Maryland winning the ACC title despite being dismantled by the Seminoles then -- and again this year. If the Seminoles go down next month in Raleigh, this season could go down as the year Florida State lost its stranglehold on the ACC championship.

Biggest surprise: Virginia cannot be 6-2. It simply cannot happen. Not after the Cavs finished 5-7 last season and entered this season not only with true freshmen playing vital positions all over the field but with lackluster Matt Schaub behind center. Well, Schaub has developed into one of the top-rated quarterbacks in the country, the freshmen are really, really good -- and so is Virginia. No fluke, the Cavs ought to go to a decent bowl game, and they might just win.

Biggest disappointment: North Carolina might have overachieved last season by winning eight games, including the Peach Bowl, but the Tar Heels seem to be equally underachieving this season. None of the eight new starters on defense has emerged as a potential star -- not this season, not down the road, not ever -- and the offense has again failed to mount a rushing attack to complement one of the more accurate quarterbacks in the country, Darian Durant. Add in dreadful special teams -- the exception being strong-legged kicker Dan Orner -- and you've got a sub-.500 team that should have competed for a bowl game but probably won't get eligible. Especially now that Durant has been lost for the season with a broken thumb.

Midseason MVP: Where would NC State be without quarterback? Not in the Top 10 nationally, that's for darn sure. Rivers is the conference's only Heisman candidate, and he is the chief reason the Wolfpack is 8-0 and on the cusp of national championship consideration.

Midseason Coach of the Year: In the preseason NC State lost projected starters at tailback and defensive end to grades, and also lost a possible starting cornerback to a broken leg. Despite all of that, and with an offensive line starting two former defensive tackles, the Wolfpack has become the ACC's only team with a shot at the national championship, however long that shot may be. Credit a soft schedule, sure, but also credit coach Chuck Amato for recruiting the talent to dominate that schedule -- and perhaps the rest of the ACC this season.

Bowl bound: NC State, Florida State, Virginia, Maryland, Wake Forest, Clemson.

Around the ACC

Clemson
The Tigers have become the anti-Clemson -- great defense, no offense. With quarterback Willie Simmons struggling, the defense is the only reason Clemson has a shot at a bowl game after years in which quarterback Woodrow Dantzler's heroics were wasted by a lousy D.

Midseason MVP: Versatile Derrick Hamilton has given life to Clemson's offense and special teams, putting together three 200-yard game in all-purpose yardage. For the season he averages 174.7 all-purpose yards, leading the ACC and ranking ninth nationally.

What's next: If Simmons can play well enough to hold off backup Charlie Whitehurst, the Tigers probably will pick up the two victories they need to qualify for a bowl game. The most likely candidates are games with Duke and North Carolina, though neither is a sure thing.

Duke
The Blue Devils are the youngest team in the ACC, and probably have fewer seniors (one) than any Division I-A team in the country. Still, Duke has shown improvement this season in athletic ability, speed, discipline and defense. Add it up, and you've got a program that remains the worst in the ACC -- but one that is closing the gap between itself and the middle of the pack.

Midseason MVP: Tailback Alex Wade has been Duke's best weapon on offense, averaging close to 100 yards per game, and defense -- where his time-consuming rushing efforts have allowed the Blue Devils to win time of possession by more than four minutes per game.

What's next: The Blue Devils aren't going to a bowl this season, but they could mess up the bowl hopes of a number of ACC teams, including Maryland, Georgia Tech and Clemson. Afterward, athletics director Joe Alleva will have to decide whether to bring back Carl Franks for a fifth season. Alleva has said he didn't expect a bowl bid this season, but he wanted to see improvement from Duke, signs that Franks has the team headed in the right direction. Those signs are fairly clear.

Florida State
The Seminoles were supposed to be one of the best teams in the country, what with all their returning firepower on offense, but quarterback Chris Rix hasn't had that unit clicking as well as expected -- and FSU's problems on defense also returned from last season. This is a team with seemingly too much speed and talent on defense to give up the plays it gives up, and a team with too much Greg Jones at tailback and too sturdy of an offensive line not to be manhandling opponents at the point of attack. Maybe the Seminoles learned that lesson in the loss to Miami, a game Jones and the offensive line almost pulled out.

Midseason MVP: Jones, a junior who was a part-time starter last season, has developed almost too quickly -- to the point where he might enter the NFL draft after this season. With Rix struggling to stay on the same page with the rest of the offense, Jones has been a constant. He leads the ACC in rushing at 117.4 yards per game.

What's next: The schedule coming in is brutal, starting with a home game against No. 6 Notre Dame, followed by trips to Wake Forest and Georgia Tech, a home date with North Carolina, a trip to No. 12 NC State and a home date with Florida. Before last season, coach Bobby Bowden said he'd want to return after a hard season to see if he can get it turned around. And if he couldn't, he said, that would be the time to get out. This offseason, he might face such a decision.

Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech very nearly beat out North Carolina for "Biggest Disappointment," avoiding that tag solely on the basis of its 21-13 victory at UNC on Sept. 28. Otherwise, this season has been a bummer for first-year coach Chan Gailey, whose efforts were undercut by season-ending injuries to his best players on offense (tailback Tony Hollings, knee) and defense (end Greg Gathers, kidney). Still, there's enough talent on both sides of the ball, not to mention special teams, for Georgia Tech to have been an easy bowl team. But getting there won't be easy.

Midseason MVP: The Jackets have been able to run regardless of the tailback, whether it was converted safety Hollings -- who led the country at nearly 150 yards per game before suffering a knee injury -- or true freshman Ajenavi Eziemefe, who gained 136 yards in his first career start. For that, a pat on the back (and team MVP) goes to sophomore tackle Nat Dorsey, possibly the best lineman in the league.

What's next: Two wins separate Georgia Tech and bowl eligibility, but the remaining schedule doesn't have two easy wins on it. The Jackets ought to dispose of Duke in Atlanta, but after that, their next most-winnable game looks to be a home date with Virginia -- not an easy game, considering how good Virginia has played (and how badly the Jackets have been of late).

Maryland
Even with reigning ACC offensive player of the year Bruce Perry out (knee injury), reigning defensive player of the year E.J. Henderson slowed (back injury) and a small, slow West Virginia transfer at quarterback (Scott McBrien), the Terps have been one of the better teams in the ACC this season. Tremendous play from special teams has helped, as has the season-long improvement of McBrien and tailback Chris Downs, a former walk-on who torched Georgia Tech for 212 yards last Thursday.

Midseason MVP: Get a load of this pick. Hint: It's not linebacker E.J. Henderson, the reigning ACC defensive player of the year. The Terps have won this season more with defense than offense, but their most dominant defender might be sophomore defensive tackle Randy Starks, who leads all ACC interior linemen in sacks and tackles. He's the disruptive force up front that has allowed Henderson to do his thing to the tune of 12.5 tackles per game.

What's next: The Terps need just one victory to qualify for a bowl game, and they're going to get a lot more than one. They should beat Duke and North Carolina, and then possibly win two of their last three games: at Clemson, at Virginia, home against Wake Forest. Do that, and the Terps will go into the postseason with eight or nine wins, and a second straight awesome season for coach Ralph Friedgen.

North Carolina
North Carolina can't tackle, can't run and can't punt. It also can't stop kickoff returns, or make a successful return of either a kick or a punt. All in all, the Tar Heels are quarterback Darian Durant and kicker Dan Orner away from being 0-7. And Durant suffered a season-ending thumb injury Saturday.

Midseason MVP: Durant has been one of the few things right about the Tar Heels this season. Before the injury, he was on pace to set almost every single-season passing record in the school book, including completions, attempts, yards and touchdowns. Imagine what he'd do if he had a rushing threat behind him.

What's next: It probably will take more than the Tar Heels have to get this team into a second consecutive bowl game for coach John Bunting, who knew they would struggle on defense. North Carolina's best chances at victories this season are in games at Wake Forest and Duke, although they could knock off either Clemson or Maryland in Chapel Hill. Winning three of those four might be asking too much, unless Durant's backup, C.J. Stephens, is a magic man.

NC State
After everything that could go wrong did in the preseason -- attrition from injury and academics -- everything has gone right since for the Wolfpack, off to their best start in team history, tied with the 1967 team. Quarterback Philip Rivers has been among national leaders in passing efficiency, freshman T.A. McLendon has developed into the rushing threat the school hasn't had since Tremayne Stephens, and the defense has shown some of the best speed and depth in the ACC.

Midseason MVP: Rivers makes this team go with great plays on the field and unsung leadership off it.

What's next: NC State has a chance to run the table and finish 13-0, which still might not be good enough for a spot in the national championship game thanks to their strength of schedule. Then again, it might be good enough, depending on what happens elsewhere. Regardless, the Wolfpack might be favored in every game it plays from here on out, including Florida State's Nov. 23 visit to Raleigh in NC State's season finale.

Virginia
This wasn't supposed to happen until next season, or maybe even the next, when coach Al Groh would have been able to string together two or three great recruiting classes in a row. Instead, many of those young freshman thought to have bright futures have had a bright present, and the result is a bowl game down the line for Virginia.

Midseason MVP: Junior Matt Schaub, who split time last season with Bryson Spinner and was benched for the start of the second game this season, has become one of the better quarterbacks in the country. Improbably, he seems to be in a battle with NC State's Philip Rivers for All-ACC.

What's next: with a 13-game schedule, the Cavs still are one victory away from earning a bowl bid. It's conceivable Virginia could lose its last five games: at Georgia Tech, at No. 18 Penn State, home against No. 12 N.C. State and Maryland, and at No. 3 Virginia Tech. Says here, though, Virginia should beat Georgia Tech, while the Maryland game ought to be a doozy.

Wake Forest
The Deacons continue to overachieve under coach Jim Grobe, with wins against East Carolina, Purdue and Georgia Tech -- the last two on the road. The Deacons qualified for a bowl game last season but didn't get an invitation. That shouldn't happen this season, if the Deacons can ride their tremendous rushing attack to two more victories.

Midseason MVP: Until recently, Fabian Davis was among the ACC's top 10 in rushing, receiving, punt returns and kick returns. He remains among the league leaders in three of those four categories, slipping only out of the rushing column -- probably because he only gets about four carries per game from his receiver slot. In the ACC, no one but Clemson's Derrick Hamilton has had as much of an impact on so many facets of the game.

What's next: The Deacons need two more victories to qualify for a bowl game. The most likely victims are North Carolina and Navy, both at home. After the bowls are done, the Deacons could be looking for a new coach. Some major Division I program might make Grobe an offer he can't refuse.

Around Conference USA

Army
When you lose to Holy Cross and get blown away by Rutgers, you're just not any good. Army is just not any good.

Midseason MVP: William White leads the league in all-purpose yardage. Yes, most of them come on kickoff returns because Army gives up so many points. And your point is?

What's next: Losses to Houston, UAB, Air Force, Tulane and Memphis, then the Navy game with the season -- and possibly coach Todd Berry's future -- on the line.

Cincinnati
Overview: The Bearcats have bombed this season, unable to win a number of close games.

Midseason MVP: Defensive end Antwan Peek is among league leaders in sacks, tackles for loss and forced fumbles.

What's next: Cincinnati has the talent to qualify for a bowl, but with games at Louisville and Hawaii, the Bearcats probably would have to win the other four: Memphis, Houston, UAB and East Carolina.

East Carolina
The Pirates always have a great quarterback, and Paul Troth might be great one day. But the inexperienced sophomore has struggled this season, and the defense has been as bad as ever.

Midseason MVP: Art Brown has been the next-best thing to graduates rushing leader Leonard Henry, averaging 116.2 yards per game.

What's next: After one of the worst seasons in recent ECU history grinds to a halt, the future of coach Steve Logan will be debated.

Houston
No longer lousy, the Cougars (winless in 2001) have won two games and shown promise with the new players recruited by coach Dana Dimel.

Midseason MVP: Joffrey Reynolds (119.9 yards per game) has been consistent every week, taking the pressure off the Cougars' changing quarterbacks.

What's next: Houston could double its current victory total with games remaining against Army and ECU. Surely Dimel isn't in danger.

Louisville
The Cardinals have beaten Florida State and lost to TCU. This season is one of the books.

Midseason MVP: Quarterback Dave Ragone is still the best thing about Louisville football.

What's next: Louisville still ought to go to a bowl game, but unless they beat Southern Miss on Nov. 14, it won't be the one they want. Bright side: This might be the first offseason in a few years without schools chasing coach John L. Smith.

Memphis
After almost qualifying for a bowl last season, Memphis has been a disappointment this year -- especially in defeat to region rivals Mississippi, Mississippi State and Southern Miss.

Midseason MVP: Freshman tailback DeAngelo Williams has been every bit as good as advertised, averaging 74.3 yards per game -- and 7.7 yards per carry.

What's next: It needs to win four of the next five games to qualify for the postseason, but that won't happen with games against the likes of Cincinnati, South Florida and TCU.

Southern Miss
The Eagles are bearing down on the league title thanks to an awesome defense and an offense that has struggled to pass but has thrived to run with Derrick Nix.

Midseason MVP: Tailback Derrick Nix has returned as good as ever from the kidney ailment that cost him most of the past two seasons. He averages 117.3 yards per game.

What's next: Three of the final five games are on the road, but Louisville comes to town Nov. 14 in what remains the only must-see league game of the season.

TCU
Overview: The Horned Frogs have been simply stunning to date, losing only by one touchdown in the opener to Cincinnati.

Midseason MVP: Kicker Nick Browne has been ridiculous, making his first 25 extra points and 16 of 18 field goals.

What's next: The schedule gets tougher down the stretch, even if three of the four games are at home. Unfair or not, some will wonder if TCU was a fluke in a weak league if it doesn't win at home Oct. 30 against Southern Miss.

Tulane
The Green Wave have a nice mix on offense and defense, and have turned in a fine season -- although the losses to Memphis and ECU are puzzling.

Midseason MVP: Running back Mewelde Moore remains one of the most underrated players in the country. He's going to have close to 1,000 yards rushing and 50 catches.

What's next: Tulane has at least two victories left, with games against Army and Navy, and then they'll head to a bowl game with a season to be proud of.

UAB
The Blazers are tough to figure -- getting crushed by Tulane and Louisiana-Lafayette, almost beating Pittsburgh, throttling Memphis and Houston. They remain a C-USA wild card.

Midseason MVP: UAB has done one thing right: kick. Nick Hayes hasn't missed an extra point (17 tries) or field goal (nine), while punter Ross Stewart averages 42.7 yards per punt.

What's next: UAB needs to win three of its final five games for bowl eligibility, but that looks tough with games against Southern Miss, Louisville and Cincinnati -- the last two on the road.

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