Associated Press

Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer and the Hokies have been picked by ACC sports writers to win the Coastal Division, but fall to Clemson in the ACC Championship game Dec. 6 in Tampa, Fla.

GREENSBORO, Ga. -- If voting members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association know what they're talking about, Virginia Tech and Clemson fans can go ahead and order their tickets for the Dec. 6 league championship game in Tampa, Fla.

Defending champion Tech received 58 first-place votes to win the Coastal Division and Clemson garnered 59 first-place votes to capture the Atlantic Division. Both teams received 383 voting points in balloting among the 65 ACSMA voters who participated.

Hokies fans can only hope the voters are wrong from that point. Clemson was a top-heavy pick to win the ACC title game, collecting 51 votes.

Tech, which doesn't face Clemson in the regular season, was followed in the Coastal by North Carolina, which has high hopes in coach Butch Davis' third season, Miami, Georgia Tech, Virginia and Duke. UNC received four first-place votes, with Miami, Georgia Tech and UVa landing one first-place vote each.

Frank Beamer lost 12 starters off last season's 10-3 club. Plus, the Hokies will play at UNC, Miami, Florida State, Boston College, in addition to trips to Nebraska and to Charlotte, N.C., where they will face East Carolina in their Aug. 30 season opener.

"I don't know when we've had as demanding a schedule as we've got this year," Beamer said only minutes after the poll results were distributed at Monday's 2008 ACC Football Kickoff at Reynolds Plantation. "It's been a long, long time from the standpoint of where we've played people and where they stand in the conference.

"I was really surprised because we were picked [by the margin] we were on our side. I think we had eight players drafted [by the NFL] and five more signed as free agents. I'm surprised because we have some work to do, got some coaching to do."

UNC, 4-8 last season, is expected to be much improved this fall.

"It's a compliment and it will give us something to shoot for," Davis said. When asked if the Tar Heels are that good or whether voters may have been swayed by his reputation, he said: "I hope they voted for our team. They're not going to let me play in any one of these."

UVa's one first-place vote shocked many on the premises.

"Bet all you guys are laughing at him," Cavaliers coach Al Groh said in reaction.

Clemson, which returns a league-high 16 starters off last season's 9-4 club, was picked to win the league for the first time since 1991, the last year it won the ACC crown. Wake Forest (five first votes) was second, followed by Florida State (one first).

"I think a lot of it will be how the players respond to it," Clemson coach Tommy Bowden said. "I think it will definitely elevate the competition's level of play ... Alabama [Aug. 30 season opener in Atlanta], the conference opponents, everybody likes to take a shot at the top guy."