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Power 5 Questions: Is Trevor Lawrence the best player in the country?

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The ACC brought home its third national championship in six years last season after Dabo Swinney and Co. thumped Alabama in the national championship.

The conference didn't win its first college football title of the millennium until 2013, when Florida State completed one of the most dominant seasons in history. Now, Clemson has won two championships in the last three seasons and could make it three in the last four.

Here are five questions regarding the ACC in 2019, as theScore continues its examination of the major college football conferences:

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Is Trevor Lawrence the best player in the country?

Depending on who you ask, the answer is yes.

The top player in the 2018 recruiting class, Lawrence's skill set and potential were well-known before he arrived at Clemson from Cartersville, Ga.

Still, Lawrence exceeded expectations for a true freshman. He completed more than 65 percent of his passes and tossed 30 touchdowns after taking over for Kelly Bryant, sparking conversations about whether he would've been the top pick in April's NFL draft.

The Tigers signal-caller became the second true freshman to start and win a national championship at quarterback, joining Oklahoma's Jamelle Holieway. Lawrence won't even turn 20 until October.

Can he win the Heisman next? He begins his campaign in the ACC Network's premiere game against Georgia Tech on Thursday, Aug. 29. He'll be tested by matchups against Texas A&M and Syracuse in September.

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Whose turn is it to win the Coastal?

The most unpredictable division in major college football came through once again last year.

Not one of the 148 media members who participated in the 2018 ACC preseason media poll picked Pittsburgh to win the Coastal Division. Sure enough, Pat Narduzzi's Panthers found a way, going 6-2 in the conference to claim the division at 7-7 overall.

There are seven teams in the Coastal. The last six division titles have been won by six different schools.

Year Coastal champion Overall record
2018 Pittsburgh 7-7
2017 Miami 10-3
2016 Virginia Tech 10-4
2015 North Carolina 11-3
2014 Georgia Tech 11-3
2013 Duke 10-4

The only one missing a trophy? Virginia, the team picked to win the division in 2019.

The Cavaliers, who were briefly ranked last season for the first time since 2011, deserve the preseason recognition. Quarterback Bryce Perkins might be one of the better, lesser-known quarterbacks in the country. He threw for 2,680 yards and ran for 923 in 2018.

Expect chaos, though, in a division with three new coaches - North Carolina's Mack Brown, Georgia Tech's Geoff Collins, and Miami's Manny Diaz.

In fact, Diaz's Hurricanes might be the team most capable of competing with Virginia for the division.

Diaz knows his players, having previously served as Miami's defensive coordinator.

The Hurricane's quarterback situation is uncertain, with Ohio State transfer Tate Martell their most well-known option. But Miami should be stout on defense. The team will boast one of the top linebacking corps in the nation, led by Shaquille Quarterman and Michael Pinckney.

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Will Florida State return to relevance?

Willie Taggart couldn't have scripted a worse start to his FSU tenure.

Florida State had more turnovers (five) than points (three) in last season's Labor Day loss to Virginia Tech. The Seminoles followed it up by flirting with a loss to Samford, an FCS program.

They then scored seven points in a blowout loss to Syracuse the following week.

Ultimately, the nation's longest bowl streak - 36 seasons - came to an end when FSU lost 41-14 to Florida in the final week of the regular season.

How historic was the Seminoles' 5-7 season? The last time they lost seven-plus games, they fired Darrell Mudra and installed Bobby Bowden as their head coach.

Longest active bowl streaks, FBS programs

School Years
Virginia Tech 26
Georgia 22
Oklahoma 20
LSU 19
Boise State 17
Wisconsin 17
Clemson 14
Oklahoma State 13
Stanford 10
Texas A&M 10

On paper, the Seminoles should be better in 2019. The offensive line can only improve after allowing 36 sacks in 12 games. Sophomore James Blackman and Wisconsin transfer Alex Hornibrook are vying to be the quarterback. Either will benefit from junior running back Cam Akers' presence.

The Seminoles return eight starters on defense, led by tackle Marvin Wilson.

Year 2 for Taggart begins with one of the more fascinating opening weekend matchups - a date with Boise State in Jacksonville, Fla.

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Can Syracuse plug-and-play to success?

Syracuse has given Clemson more trouble than any other team over the last two seasons.

The Orange held a 23-13 fourth-quarter lead over the eventual national champs last season before suffering a 27-23 defeat.

Syracuse went on to win 10 games for the first time in 17 years. Its only losses in ACC play came to Clemson and Pittsburgh by a combined 11 points.

But the Orange enter 2019 at a pivotal juncture.

Dino Babers' program must now prove that it can succeed as it transitions from Eric Dungey, the program's all-time leading passer.

Dungey finished his collegiate career with 9,340 passing yards, including 2,868 in 2018.

Now, highly touted sophomore Tommy DeVito takes the reins of Babers' high-octane offense.

Offenses under Dino Babers (FBS level)

Year School Points per game (national ranking) Record
2018 Syracuse 40.2 (11th) 10-3
2017 Syracuse 27.4 (75th) 4-8
2016 Syracuse 25.7 (90th) 4-8
2015 Bowling Green 42.2 (6th) 10-3
2014 Bowling Green 30 (59th) 8-6

DeVito had 87 pass attempts last year. If Babers can plug-and-play him into a system that averaged 40 points per game last season, the Orange should have no problem making consecutive bowl games.

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Does Mack still have it?

Six years have passed since Mack Brown coached his final game at Texas. Fourteen years have passed since he and Vince Young guided the Longhorns to a national title. Has the game passed him? We'll find out in 2019.

The 67-year-old is back at North Carolina, the program he led from 1988-97. He's one of only five active FBS head coaches with a national championship on his resume.

Brown takes over a Tar Heels program in need of an energy boost. North Carolina went 5-18 over the last two seasons and fired Larry Fedora.

To his credit, the longtime coach has already succeeded in increasing excitement in Chapel Hill.

Brown should have a running game he can rely on in his first year. The Tar Heels have a strong offensive line with three returning starters and a trio of running backs - Javonte Williams, Antonio Williams, and Michael Carter - who combined for more than 1,300 yards in 2018.

Their production will be essential, especially if UNC turns to four-star true freshman Sam Howell as its quarterback.

More in this series:

  • Five questions for the SEC
  • Five questions for the Big Ten (July 31)
  • Five questions for the Big 12 (Aug. 1)
  • Five questions for the Pac-12 (Aug. 2)

Mark Cooper is theScore's NCAA writer. You can find him on Twitter @mark_cooperjr.

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