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Rex Brown

Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden walks the sideline during the Chick-fil-A Bowl on Dec. 31, 2007 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Ga.

CLEMSON — Tommy Bowden’s perception of Clemson’s through-the-roof expectations in the ACC is no different than any other year.

“To be honest, you feel that way every year,” the Clemson football coach said in a recent interview. “This year is no different in that regard. Every year that you coach, especially the last three, you think you have a chance to be a factor in the conference and this year is no different in that.”

But this year will be the first year Bowden’s Tigers will be considered the class of the conference when the media who cover the ACC get together next month to vote the preseason favorite at the ACC’s Annual Football Kickoff.

“We have never been favored to win the conference and I think this maybe is the first time we have been favored to win our division,” Bowden said. “I don’t know if we have been favored to win the conference, but I do know most of the media is favoring us to win our division.”

The Tigers are a consensus top 10 in every preseason magazine that has hit the newsstands since late May. In fact, ESPN.com just ranked them No. 6 in their updated preseason Top 25 poll.

In all those publications, Clemson is also the hands-on favorite to win its first ACC Championship since 1991. Ironically, that’s the last time Clemson was the media’s favorite to win the ACC.

There’s good reason for Clemson to top the charts. It returns 14 starters, including all of its skill talent from last year’s 9-4 team, which finished No. 21 in the final Associated Press Top 25. But there are also some question marks on this team that have critics skeptical if Bowden can finally carry a Clemson squad to a championship and a BCS bowl.

For a second straight year, the offensive line must replace multiple players, including four starters off a line that was average at best in 2007.

“Four out of your five starters on the offensive line are new, so do you have a great comfort zone? No,” Bowden said. “Then two of them could be freshmen, maybe three will be freshmen. Why would that make you think you will win the conference when you have that many?

“You got good running backs and a quarterback, but that (the offensive line) is pretty instrumental on being productive on offense.”

The Tigers ranked among the worst in the country last year in sacks allowed with 35 and rushed for just 29.7 yards per game against the good rushing defenses of Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and Boston College. The good news is this year’s line perhaps has more physical talent than last year’s, and some say this group could ultimately be better than the 2006 line, which helped Clemson lead the ACC in rushing.

“If this would have been that year tied with Cullen (Harper) and the skill, then yeah I would feel a lot better
 There’s going to be some problems early, but they’re good players and eventually they’re going to be good, but I don’t have that great sense of comfort that we are going to win the conference with four new starters on the offensive line,” Bowden said.

On defense, the Tigers will be filling all three linebacker spots thanks to the dismissal of middle linebacker Cortney Vincent last month.

But there are things Bowden likes about this team that gives him some confidence heading into fall camp.

“By December we can have as many as 25 guys that have graduated, which means we have a lot of guys doing good things,” Bowden said. “If you do things good off the field and in academics that means you are probably going to be pretty consistent and reliable on the field. That’s a carry over. I feel good about that.

“Yes, I like the quarterback, the offensive skill, the returners – kick return and punt return – (Jimmy) Manners had a productive year, (Mark) Buchholz I think will be improved and the defense has a chance to be pretty good. I like all of that other than the concerns we have at linebacker and the offensive line.

“I definitely like all of those characteristics of the team we have coming back with their work habits and the quality of the people.”