Daily briefing: On the ACC’s (disappointing) quarterbacks, South Carolina and the ‘Academic Heisman’

Ivan Maisel’s “Daily Briefing” for On3:

For the most part, ACC QBs have struggled

Beware Preseason Predictions (cont.): The ACC is calling itself “The Conference of Quarterbacks” this season, but as Week Nine approaches, that slogan is a better promotion than it is a description. Three quarterbacks in the league – Sam Hartman of Wake Forest, Garrett Shrader of Syracuse and Drake Maye of North Carolina – have met or surpassed expectations. And they are the only quarterbacks in the league ranked in the top 40 in the nation in passing efficiency. The rest of the touted ACC quarterbacks have struggled with playing as well as advertised. Devin Leary of NC State got hurt. DJ Uiagalelei of Clemson, Tyler Van Dyke of Miami, Phil Jurkovec of Boston College, Kedon Slovis of Pitt and Brennan Armstrong of Virginia have struggled because of new coaches, inexperience around them or their own mistakes.

Shane Beamer enjoying success with Gamecocks

My colleague Jesse Simonton pointed out this week that No. 25 South Carolina – think about that for a second – has won four consecutive games under second-year coach Shane Beamer. How big of a deal is a team winning four in a row? Well, Beamer’s predecessor, Will Muschamp, didn’t do it in five seasons with the Gamecocks. In fact, South Carolina hadn’t won four in a row since the Steve Spurrier-coached 2013 team went 11-2 and finished fourth in the nation. Mack Brown has yet to have a team do it in three seasons at Chapel Hill. And this is the first season Chip Kelly has won four in a row in his five seasons at UCLA. Brown is in the College Football Hall of Fame, and Kelly will be a prime candidate if he continues at his current pace (70-33, .680). In other words, don’t take four consecutive wins for granted.

Take a bow, Campbell Trophy finalists

Iowa linebacker Jack Campbell, Kansas State quarterback Adrian Martinez and Stanford offensive tackle Walter Rouse are among the more recognizable names among the 15 finalists for the Campbell Trophy announced Wednesday. But the cool thing about the “Academic Heisman” is the less recognizable players honored, like Mississippi State wide receiver Austin Williams, who has a 4.0 GPA in business administration, or University of Chicago running back Nicholas D’Ambrose, who not only has a 3.69 GPA in neuroscience but just surpassed the 3,000-yard mark in his career, or UTSA center Ahofitu Maka, with a 3.78 GPA in cybersecurity. Each of the 15 Campbell finalists receives an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship from the National Football Foundation. The winner, announced December 6 at the NFF Awards Dinner in Las Vegas, will be awarded a $25,000 postgraduate scholarship.