Last week, I covered how I thought North Carolina and N.C. State would do in the upcoming football season and now it's time to cover Duke, Wake Forest and East Carolina.

Starting out with the Duke Blue Devils, I think they're going to finish sixth in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They could catch Virginia for fifth, but given the level of talent at the top of the division, it's hard to see them placing any higher.

Duke will beat Richmond and Army to start its season 2-0, but a trip to Kansas Sept. 19 will give the Blue Devils their first loss of the season. A rebound game against North Carolina Central should allow Duke to take a 3-1 record into its ACC opener, an Oct. 3 home date with Virginia Tech.

Duke played the Hokies tough last year, only losing 14-3, and the Blue Devils may be even better this season than in 2008. However, I don't think that will translate into a win.

Duke then goes to N.C. State the next week for what should be another hard-fought battle. The Wolfpack are picked to finish near the top of the Atlantic Division and I think they'll beat the Blue Devils to make them 3-3 overall.

Following an off week, Duke has a pair of winnable games (versus Maryland, at Virginia) that would push them to 5-3 going into a road trip to North Carolina. This was a tight 28-20 game last year in UNC's favor and while I think Duke has a chance to upend the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, it won't happen this time.

The game at UNC is the run of a closing four-game stretch that sees Duke finish at home versus Georgia Tech, at Miami and at home against Wake Forest. A win in any of those games would make the Blue Devils bowl eligible, but I just don't see any of those games being wins.

So, even with four straight losses to finish the year, I think Duke finishes 5-7 overall to take another step forward after going 4-8 overall and winning one ACC game in 2008. If the Blue Devils can turn any of my predicted losses into wins, they just might go bowling for the first time since 1995.

Wake Forest will come in third in the ACC's Atlantic Division. I think the Demon Deacons can catch N.C. State for second place, but making it all the way to the top of the heap is probably too much to ask.

The Demon Deacons should get off to a hot start with home wins over Baylor, Stanford and Elon, along with a road victory at Boston College, to roll to a 4-0 mark before the calendar turns to October.

Wake Forest then hosts N.C. State Oct. 3 in a battle that will go a long ways towards deciding who finishes on top in the Atlantic Division. This is a game that could go either way, but I'm going to take the Wolfpack to win in Winston-Salem.

Following the N.C. State game, Wake has a run of four straight games they should win. It starts with a home date against Maryland, road contests at Clemson and Navy and another home game with Miami. I think the Demon Deacons can go 3-1 or 4-0 during this stretch, putting them at 8-1 or 7-2 with three games to go.

Wake Forest goes to Georgia Tech Nov. 7 in a game that will be critical for both teams' ACC title hopes. In this one, I think the Jackets have just a few too many veterans for the Demon Deacons to be able to get a win in Atlanta. The Demon Deacons then host Florida State Nov. 14 and while Wake has won the last three meetings between the two teams, I think the Seminoles gain a measure of revenge in Winston-Salem.

So, that makes Wake 8-3 or 7-4 with a trip to Duke to close out the regular season. A win there puts the Demon Deacons at 9-3 or 8-4, which should be good enough for a trip to the Champs Sports Bowl, Emerald Bowl, Meineke Car Care Bowl or the Humanitarian Bowl.

Last, but certainly not least, are the East Carolina Pirates. I think the Pirates will win Conference USA - beating Houston in the Conference USA title game - and head to the GMAC or Liberty Bowl.

ECU should start its schedule out with a home win against Football Championship Series member Appalachian State, but the Pirates would be wise not to take the Mountaineers lightly. Appalachian State is in the preseason top 5 in several FCS polls and could give ECU problems.

The Pirates then head to West Virginia for a rematch of a game that the Pirates won, 24-3, last year. A win here would give ECU a lot of momentum heading into its game at North Carolina, but I think the Mountaineers have too much offensive firepower for the Pirates to handle.

The North Carolina game in Chapel Hill is a game that I wouldn't be surprised to see either team win. A victory makes ECU 2-1 going into its Conference USA opener against Central Florida, while a loss makes the Pirates 1-2, albeit with losses to a pair of top-25 caliber teams.

East Carolina should win its next five straight C-USA games, beating UCF and Rice at home and taking road victories at Marshall, SMU and Memphis. A sweep of those games would make the Pirates 7-1 or 6-2 going into its next big non-conference matchup, a Nov. 5 home date with Virginia Tech.

It's rare that a non-conference game this big winds up this late on the schedule, but this should be a matchup of two top-25 teams. ECU does have this game in Greenville, but it's hard for me to pick against the Hokies, especially after suffering a stinging 27-22 loss last season.

So, with three games left in the regular season, ECU should be 7-2 or 6-3. A tough Conference USA test at Tulsa looms on Nov. 15, giving the Pirates a 10-day break after the Virginia Tech game. While Tulsa has won 29 games the last three seasons, the Golden Hurricane are on their third starting quarterback in the last three years and their defense needs work.

Add in the fact that ECU will have already faced West Virginia, North Carolina and Virginia Tech by now - making them the more battle-tested team - and I think the Pirates do enough to beat Tulsa.

After a win over UAB (yes, the game was only 17-13 in ECU's favor last year, but the Blazers were picked 11th out of 12 teams in Conference USA in the preseason), ECU should be 9-2 or 8-3 heading into its regular-season finale, a Nov. 28 home date with Southern Mississippi. This game will likely decide which team represents the Eastern Division in the C-USA title game.

Southern Miss is in the second season of its no-huddle offense and its defense is tough, but I think ECU's Pirates have a tough defense themselves and the experience gained from the battles earlier in the season will pay off against the Golden Eagles with a close win. A win in the finale puts ECU at 10-2 or 9-3 to finish out the regular season and would represent another step forward for coach Skip Holtz and his program.

So, there you have it. I think four of the five FBS Division I schools in North Carolina will have winning seasons and even though Duke will be under .500, the Blue Devils will make progress under coach David Cutcliffe.

Whether I'm wrong or I'm right with my predictions, one thing is for sure. It's going to be an exciting football season and I'm really looking forward to it.