The National Enquirer once employed a psychic named Jean Dixon, who made a name for herself during the 1970s and ‘80s with her predictions about celebrities and world events.

She got most of them wrong. 

But on those rare occasions that she got a prediction right, the supermarket tabloid went to great lengths to celebrate her success.

In keeping with that tradition, I submit to you a look back at my Crystal Ball Predictions for the 2022 ACC football season, celebrating the few I actually hit while owning the many I missed.

In some cases, missed badly.

Today’s rewind deals with the Atlantic Division (click on the team’s name to link to the original Crystal Ball Story). On Monday, we’ll shift our attention to the Coastal.

And please resist the urge to call me Jean.

Boston College

Crystal Ball prediction: 6-6 (3-5)

Actual record: 3-9 (2-6)

Nailed it: In my preseason assessment of the Eagles’ chances of becoming a sleeper Atlantic contender,  I wrote that it could happen. But only if quarterback Phil Jurkovec “stays healthy, the young offensive line grows up in a hurry and the defense figures out how to stop the run.”

As a postscript, I added that “the odds are against it.”

Were they ever. 

BC struck out on all 3 variables.

Jurkovec suffered a season-ending knee injury during a loss to UConn during the 8th game. His effectiveness before that was limited by an offensive line that lost All-ACC tackle Christian Montgomery in preseason camp and never came together. And on defense, the Eagles ranked next-to-last in the ACC in run defense, allowing 25 rushing touchdowns and an average of 167 yards per game on the ground.

I came within a game of hitting the Eagles’ ACC record, with a loss to Duke, whose emergence into the surprise team of the ACC nobody saw coming, being the difference. I did, however, nail the 4-game midseason losing streak that ended their hopes for a winning season and 1st bowl trip since 2019.

Big whiff: The schedule set BC up to get off to a fast start, which I predicted. Instead of soaring out of the gate, the Eagles ended up stumbling. 

They lost by a point to Rutgers in their opener, allowing the go-ahead touchdown with just less than 4 minutes remaining before getting manhandled by a Virginia Tech team that won only 3 games. They also got beat by UConn, another game I picked them to win.

Notable: Wide receiver Zay Flowers was among the few bright spots in an otherwise dark season for BC’s offense. The star senior caught 2 touchdown passes in the season finale against Syracuse to break Kelvin Martin’s career school record of 29. He also became only the 4th player in school history to surpass 1,000 receiving yards in a season while earning 1st team All-ACC and 3rd-team All-American honors.

Quotable: “One thing that will help Hafley do a better job is the return of a healthy Jurkovec. The former Notre Dame transfer completed 61% of his passes while throwing for 2,558 yards and 17 touchdowns with only 5 interceptions 2 seasons ago.

“Without him for a majority of last year, the Eagles finished dead last in the ACC in total offense. A return to form would make a huge difference in the numbers BC puts onto the stat sheet, though with a schedule that leaves little margin for error, even that might not be enough to break that 6-7 win rut.”

Clemson

Crystal Ball prediction: 11-1 (8-0)

Actual record: 10-2 (8-0)

Nailed it: Picking the Tigers to go unbeaten in the ACC and winning another league championship wasn’t exactly going out on a long limb. But I did hit on several details surrounding their journey back to the top of the conference.

For starters, I predicted that star freshman Cade Klubnik eventually would supplant DJ Uiagalelei as Clemson’s QB1. OK, so it happened later than sooner. In the final game, to be exact. Still, it happened. After Klubnick’s MVP performance against North Carolina in the ACC Championship Game, combined with his subsequent elevation as the starter for the upcoming Orange Bowl game against Tennessee, the embattled DJU entered the NCAA transfer portal.

I also got it right in warning that the secondary could be the Achilles heel of Clemson’s otherwise elite defense. The Tigers’ inability to cover receivers 1-on-1 was exposed early by Wake Forest, which torched Clemson for 337 yards and 6 touchdowns. But it took until the final regular-season game, against rival South Carolina, for someone to make Clemson pay for the weakness with a loss.

On the positive side, I correctly predicted the emergence of Will Shipley as an elite running back. After showing flashes of brilliance while battling injuries last season, the sophomore blossomed in 2022 by rushing for 1,110 yards and 15 touchdowns while averaging nearly 6 yards per carry.

Big whiff: The Tigers made me look bad by falling short of the College Football Playoff again. My other big preseason whiff was the reason they didn’t get in.

While I gave their Palmetto Bowl rival South Carolina credit for improvement under 2nd-year coach Shane Beamer, there was no reason to believe the Gamecocks had improved enough to break their 7-game losing streak in the series. Especially at Death Valley, where Clemson had won an ACC-record 40 straight before losing a 31-30 stunner that eliminated it from playoff contention.

Notable: Clemson’s 39-10 victory in the ACC title game gave the Tigers their 7th conference crown in the past 8 years. It is the first program in an active Power 5 conference to win 7 titles within an 8-year span since Alabama won the SEC 8 times in 9 seasons between 1971 and ’79. Clemson has 21 ACC titles, including 20 outright, the most in conference history and has won at least 1 postseason game in each of the past 12 seasons, the longest active streak in the nation.

Quotable: “This is clearly not a typically dominant Clemson team, at least on offense, and the question of how quickly and smoothly the 2 rookie coordinators adjust to their new roles is a big 1. But there is so much talent on the defensive side of the ball that the Tigers should be able to get by even if its offense is only so-so. And it projects to be better than just that with a healthy Shipley ready to blossom in the running game and a safety net in Klubnik if Uiagalelei struggles again.

“… The Tigers are a hungry team after what happened to them last season and it’s going to take more than just 10 wins for them to be satisfied. They’re motivated to restore order and bring the ACC championship trophy back where they believe it belongs.”

Florida State

Crystal Ball prediction: 7-5 (4-4)

Actual record: 9-3 (5-3)

Nailed it: The Seminoles made me look like I know what I’m doing. I missed their ACC by just a single victory in a performance that got coach Mike Norvell off the proverbial hot seat.

But there was more than that.

I predicted Jordan Travis would benefit from being the unquestioned QB1 after spending last season looking over his shoulder while sharing time with McKenzie Milton. Travis completed 63% of his passes for 22 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions while rushing for 367 yards and 7 more scores while establishing himself as an early 2023 Heisman Trophy contender.

I also nailed Jared Verse’s arrival as the next Jermaine Johnson. No, the Albany transfer didn’t become the 2nd straight FSU newcomer to win ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors. He came close, though, by finishing in a tie with Pittsburgh’s Calijah Kancey – who actually did win the award – with 7.5 sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss.

And then there was the prediction that depth and experience would transform the offensive line from a liability to a strength. Sure enough, the big guys up front came through, allowing the Seminoles’ stable of backs to lead the ACC in rushing while accounting for more than 200 yards on the ground 7 times this season.

Big whiff: While I correctly predicted the Seminoles would show improvement and get Norvell off the hot seat, I underestimated just how much progress they’d make.

It started with an upset of LSU in the opener, a game in which they spoiled Brian Kelly’s debut with the Tigers. In New Orleans, no less. The biggest whiff, however, came after FSU recovered from that 3-game losing streak. Yep, I predicted a loss to Miami. You could feel the breeze from that swing-and-miss all the way from Coral Gables to Tallahassee.

The Seminoles didn’t just beat the Hurricanes. They put a Category 5 beatdown on them. Their 45-3 dismantling of their in-state rival was the largest road win in the series for either team and FSU’s most-lopsided win anywhere since a 47-0 victory during 1997.

Notable: The Seminoles went 2-0 against SEC opponents. Their wins against LSU and Florida are 2 of the SEC’s 7 nonconference losses this season. They’re the 1st team to score 2 wins against SEC teams in a season since Clemson beat Texas A&M and South Carolina during 2019. 

FSU’s 5-game winning streak to end the regular season is its longest since ending 2016 with 5 straight wins. It also helped improve Norvell’s record during the month of November with the Seminoles to an impressive 20-5.

Quotable: “The climb up from rock bottom is a long one and it doesn’t happen overnight. So while the improvement the Seminoles made following their disastrous 0-4 start last year was encouraging, it was merely a baby step on the road back to relevance. The next step is equally small by FSU standards. But it’s just as important. Like learning to walk before you run.

“It’s taken 2 full recruiting cycles for Norvell and his staff to recover and begin the task of replenishing the program’s talent pool, But thanks to some hustle and creative use of the transfer portal, they appear to have gotten the ship steered back in the right direction.”

Louisville

Crystal Ball prediction: 6-6 (4-4)

Actual record: 7-5 (4-4)

Nailed it: The Cardinals struck me as a break-even team when the season began and that’s what they turned out to be. Sure, the manner in which they got there was just a little different than expected. But 4-4 in the league still is .500 and 7-5 overall is just 1 game above it.

Coach Scott Satterfield’s future with the program is a similar story. It was predicted that this season would go a long way toward determining his job status with the Cardinals and as it turned out, it did. While he won enough games to avoid getting fired, his lack of a contract extension convinced him that leaving for Cincinnati was a better career move than spending another season on the hot seat at Louisville.

Big whiff: As previously mentioned, the Cardinals didn’t exactly follow the GPS on the journey to their predicted finish. I had them beating Syracuse and Boston College and they lost both. Conversely, I had them losing to Central Florida, Pittsburgh and NC State and they won all 3.

I also was wrong about Satterfield needing to beat Kentucky to save his job. Louisville’s loss was its 3rd straight to its rival. But somehow the coach survived, at least until he decided to show himself the door.

And then there’s the prediction about the Cardinals only going as far as quarterback Malik Cunningham would take them. Cunningham was a big factor. But Louisville also won 3 games when the senior quarterback was sidelined by injury, including Saturday’s victory against Satterfield’s new team – Cincinnati – in the Fenway Bowl.

Notable: After forcing only 1 takeaway through 2 games, Louisville produced 27 (14 interceptions, 13 fumble recoveries) over the next 10. It picked up 3 or more turnovers in a game 6 times, including a season-best 8 against Wake Forest on Oct. 29. 

The Cardinals finished the regular season ranked 3rd nationally in takeaways. They were even better in the sack department. They recorded 7 against Cincinnati in the Fenway Bowl, giving them 50 on the season to move past ACC rival Pittsburgh as the Football Bowl Subdivision leaders. 

Quotable: “The Cardinals weren’t that far off from mounting a legitimate challenge in the ACC Atlantic last season. A bad bounce here or a second put back onto the clock there was likely the difference between Satterfield getting a contract extension and having to fight to keep his job.

“Because of the balance in the Atlantic Division below league favorite Clemson, the Cardinals will once again find themselves in games that could go either way virtually every week of the conference season. The return of star quarterback Cunningham, an influx of transfer talent, key staff changes and the memory of some painful late losses should better equip them to handle those situations. If they don’t become better finishers, it’s their coach that could end up being finished.”

NC State

Crystal Ball prediction: 10-2 (7-1)

Actual record: 8-4 (4-4)

Nailed it: This wasn’t tough. The Wolfpack’s history made it almost a certainty that it would somehow find a way to fall short of lofty expectations. And the fact that it was scheduled to play its defining game at Death Valley, a venue at which Clemson hadn’t lost since 2016, it was predictable where the disappointment would take hold.

Another no-brainer was the fact that State would have a hard time replacing 1st-round NFL draft pick Icky Ekwonu at left tackle. It did. Although senior center Grant Gibson and graduate tackle Chandler Zavala both earned 1st team All-ACC, the Wolfpack struggled to both protect the quarterback and run the football while ranking 9th in the conference in scoring and 11th in total yardage.

Big whiff: I admit it. I drank the Wolfpack red Kool-Aid and believed it actually was possible for State to finally end its 43-year drought and bring home an ACC championship. In my defense, I wasn’t alone in that prediction. At the same time, who possibly could have predicted all the wild twists and turns the roller-coaster ride of a 2022 season had in store for Dave Doeren’s team? There was never a dull moment between all the injuries, the quarterback drama, the resilience and the bounce-back victories.

State did stay on brand by losing a game it had no business losing. But it wasn’t the game I predicted it to happen. I had the Wolfpack losing its regular-season finale against rival North Carolina. Instead that turned out to be among the team’s biggest triumphs. Or as 4th-string quarterback Ben Finley put it, “a big-ole Band-aid on the season.”

Another whiff was the prediction that Jordan Houston would be an effective replacement for the departed running back duo of Zonovan Knight and Ricky Person Jr. Houston finished with 530 yards but didn’t score a touchdown as the primary ball-carrier in a ground attack that finished 12th out of 14 ACC teams in rushing at just 121 yards per game.

Notable: NC State fancies itself as Quarterback U for the number of passers it has sent into the NFL during recent years. The Wolfpack added another unique chapter to that legacy this year by winning games with 4 quarterbacks. It’s the first time in program history that has happened.

Devin Leary got the 1st 4 victories before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury early in the 2nd half against Florida State in the season’s 6th game. He was replaced by graduate transfer Jack Chambers, who led the team from behind to beat the Seminoles. Freshman MJ Morris then engineered a comeback win against Virginia Tech after replacing Chambers before beating Wake Forest in a starting role. Finley then finished the job by emerging from the scout team to beat rival North Carolina in the regular-season finale.

Quotable: “The players aren’t shying away from talk that this might finally be the year that State wins an ACC championship, something it hasn’t done since 1979. With 17 starters returning, including preseason ACC Player of the Year Devin Leary at quarterback and all but 1 member of a defense that allowed the 2nd-fewest points in the ACC last season, it’s a realistic possibility.

“In order to make it a reality, Doeren and his staff will have to find a replacement for top-6 NFL draft pick Icky Ekwonu at left tackle, restock their running back room and most important, find a way to avoid the annual misfortune – either random or self-inflicted – that always seems to find them and has spawned its own expletive-laced hashtag.”

Syracuse

Crystal Ball prediction: 4-8 (1-7)

Actual record: 7-5 (4-4)

Nailed it: Frankly, I didn’t get much right when it comes to predicting the Orange’s 2022 season. About my only success was projecting the positive impact offensive coordinator Robert Anae and quarterbacks coach Jason Beck would have on Garrett Shrader.

Shrader was a 56.2% passer with 1,445 yards and 9 touchdowns in 2021 before Anae and Beck arrived from ACC rival Virginia, where they helped Brennan Armstrong lead the league. After their arrival, his numbers improved to a much more efficient and productive 65% for 2,310 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Big Whiff: Where do I start? OK, how about at the start. That’s the start, as in the 1st game of the season, an emphatic win against Louisville that equaled the number of conference wins I predicted all season for the Orange. It matched its projected win total for the season by the 4th game. 

Despite a dire prediction about coach Dino Babers’ job security, Syracuse won its 1st 6 games to earn bowl eligibility and get him off the hot seat by the midway point in the season.

I at least came close to correctly forecasting that the Orange would go winless during November for the 5th time in Babers’ 7-season tenure. But in the end, Syracuse proved me wrong again by closing out the regular season by beating Boston College to snap a 5-game losing streak. 

Notable: When Syracuse rallied from an 11-point deficit to beat Boston College and snap a 5-game losing streak in the final game of the regular season, it marked the biggest comeback during Babers’ 7-season tenure. It also guaranteed the Orange of its first winning season since 2018 and its highest season win total since 2012.

Quotable: “Babers’ hopes for lowering the temperature rest on his ability to build off a 2021 season that saw 3 of the Orange’s 7 losses decided by a field goal or in overtime and by winning at least 6 games to earn bowl eligibility this season. The pieces are there to make a realistic run at accomplishing the goal.

“How much improvement is possible from a passing game that ranked dead last in the ACC? Who will step forward on an untested offensive line and receiving corps? Can the defense find a replacement for top pass rusher Cody Roscoe and his 8.5 sacks? And most importantly, will any of the above matter against a schedule brutal enough to give any coach nightmares? Let alone one whose job likely depends on his ability to get through it.”

Wake Forest

Crystal Ball prediction: 9-3 (5-3)

Actual record: 7-5 (3-5)

Nailed it: Predictions for the Deacons in 2022 season were a tricky proposition considering star quarterback Sam Hartman spent most of the preseason sidelined with what later was revealed to be a blood clot in his throwing shoulder. 

Still, there were a few that turned out OK.

One was that Hartman’s backup Mitch Griffis was a capable replacement. He proved it by throwing for 288 yards and 3 touchdowns with no interceptions in leading an opening-night win against VMI.  

I also correctly predicted Wake Forest’s win against Florida State and losses to Clemson, Louisville and NC State.

Big whiff: After getting off to a promising 6-1 start, Dave Clawson’s Deacons fell far short of my 9-win projection by losing 4 of their final 5 games. While their defense didn’t perform as well as I projected with the return of Brad Lambert as coordinator, Hartman and a turnover-prone offense turned out to be the biggest contributors to the late-season slump.

Notable: Despite missing the opener against VMI, Hartman managed to tie North Carolina’s Drake Maye for the ACC lead with 35 touchdown passes, including a career-high 6 against Clemson. 

His career total of 107 scoring passes is tied with Clemson’s Tajh Boyd for the most in ACC history leading into the Deacons’ Gasparilla Bowl date against Missouri. Combined with his career rushing touchdowns, Hartman’s total of 124 ranks 2nd all-time in the ACC to Boyd’s 133.

Quotable: “There’s a lot to like about this Deacons team. There’s a talented, deep receiving corps, a pair of proven running backs and a veteran line on offense. A defense, energized by a new coordinator, that features proven playmakers in end Rondell Bothroyd, linebacker Ryan Smenda and safety Nick Anderson among its 7 returning starters. And plenty of leadership to go around, regardless of the position.”