By Will Vandervort.

Wake Forest kicks off the ACC season tonight at Louisiana Monroe

It’s understandable that everyone is talking about Texas A&M’s visit to No. 9 South Carolina to kick off the 2014 college football season tonight in Columbia, S.C., but football season in the Atlantic Coast Conference also begins tonight as Wake Forest visits Louisiana Monroe at 7 p.m. on ESPNU.

To top it off, it not only kicks off the ACC season, but it is the first-game in the Dave Clawson era, who replaced longtime head coach Jim Grobe, who retired from coaching last December. Clawson says he is looking forward to seeing how much his team has improved since taking over.

“I think we’re a much improved football team since the spring,” he said. “I believe we’re in much better shape. We’re stronger. I think the kids have a better understanding of our offensive, defensive and special teams systems.

“But, again, you can feel that way, but you find out for real once you start playing the game.”

The Demon Deacons, who are coming off a 4-8 season in Grobe’ last year, will have a lot of new faces on the sideline tonight beside Clawson’s. They will start a true freshman at quarterback in John Wolford as well as new starters at several different positions.

In all, Clawson expects as many as nine true freshmen will play tonight against the War Hawks.

“Some of them are playing because I do think they’re ready. Others are playing because we don’t have anybody else. We’re very thin,” Clawson said. “We don’t have a lot of depth right now. So some guys are going to get opportunities probably before they’re ready. But the hope is once they get two, three, four, seven, eight, nine games under their belt, they’ll be much better players for it. And they’re talented players.

“But, again, that was part of the attraction of coming here. They knew they’d have a chance of early playing time. We want to redshirt people, we really do. That’s something we’d like to do. We don’t have the luxury of doing that this year. We’re very thin in a lot of spots. In a lot of cases if the freshman isn’t starting, they’re the next person in the game at their position. You’re not going to get through a 12-game season without having some injuries. You need to have some depth, help your special teams, do those things.”

And that means having to start a true freshman at quarterback, but Clawson insists that Wolford is different.

“A lot of times when you deal with younger players, there’s a little bit more of an emotional rollercoaster with them,” the Deacons’ new head coach said. “When John crosses that line to step on the practice field, he’s all football. He’s focused. There are not a lot of reps where you’re shaking your head saying, What is he thinking about? For the most part, the ball is going where you anticipate the ball to go. When a play breaks down, he makes very good decisions of when to push it, when to throw it away.

“Again, this will be his first game. To keep things even more interesting, a true freshman snapping to him. He is certainly as ready as any true freshman I’ve been around.”

Welcome to the ACC Louisville. Miami will travel to Louisville on Labor Day Night to concluded the college football weekend and also welcome the Cardinals to the ACC with their first conference game.

The Hurricanes and Louisville will play at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

“I’ve always enjoyed opening with a game that had a lot at stake,” said Bobby Petrino, who will be starting his second stint as Louisville’s head coach. “When I was here before, we used to open with Kentucky every year. I think it really helps you in the off-season. I think it helps you with your motivation in your early morning workouts, everything you do throughout the summer. So I like that.

“This is a great opener for us, to be able to play on a Monday night, national TV. So our players are excited about it. I think it’s a great opportunity for us to go out and play well.”

Other notes of interest… Florida State, Clemson and Virginia will have a chance to prove if the ACC’s rise in its national reputation was a fluke last season or a sign that football will rival its basketball brothers and be a major player in college football for years to come.

The top-ranked Seminoles will play the Big 12’s Oklahoma State in Dallas, Texas on Saturday night, while No. 16 Clemson travels to Athens, Ga. earlier in the day to kick off the season at No. 12 Georgia of the SEC.

Virginia, who was 2-10 last year, will host No. 7 UCLA–the preseason favorite to win the Pac-12–at noon on Saturday. The Bruins will be led by quarterback and Heisman candidate Brett Hundley.

“He’s a very dynamic player, and he’s a guy that touches the ball 100 percent of the time,” Virginia head coach Mike London said. “You can try to simulate, you can try to get guys to be him in practice, you can try all types of things and watch film, but when you actually play a player of his caliber, you just have to be very alert and aware of your rush lanes, coverages, just so many things you have to pay attention to because he is such a dynamic player.”