Get a load of why Kuechly is not in the running for DPOY according to the resident zoo creature:
"C.J. Spiller has garnered most of the attention this year, and so have Josh Nesbitt, Jonathan Dwyer and Ryan Williams. The ACC has featured several outstanding defenses, though, this season. North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Clemson and Boston College are all ranked among the top 25 teams nationally in scoring defense. I know a lot of people get stuck on the "total defense" category, but the one that wins football games is scoring defense.
It's easy to name an all-conference candidate on each of those rosters -- UNC defensive end Robert Quinn, Virginia Tech cornerback Rashad Carmichael, Clemson safety DeAndre McDaniel and BC linebacker Luke Kuechly.
It's possible, though, that the ACC's best defensive player doesn't play for one of the conference's best defenses.
Georgia Tech is fifth in the ACC in scoring defense and ninth in total defense. The best thing the Yellow Jackets have going for them on that side of the ball is defensive end Derrick Morgan. Some will argue he's better than TCU defensive end Jerry Hughes, and I agree.
Morgan's 12.5 sacks rank him fifth nationally. He sacked Wake Forest quarterback Riley Skinner twice on the Demon Deacons’ final possession of regulation. He has had to overcome double team and even triple-team coverage this year. He is just the seventh player in Tech history to record 10 or more sacks in one season. He's also 12th in the country with 17 tackles for loss.
McDaniel and Quinn should be Morgan's toughest competition when it comes to the ACC's Defensive Player of the Year voting. Both have had outstanding seasons, as has Kuechly, but he should be challenging Williams for the Rookie of the Year award. McDaniel has had a better season than Carmichael. Morgan has better numbers than Quinn, and he's got significantly less help around him.
That narrows it down to Morgan and McDaniel.
Tough choice, very tough choice.
Sounds like a decision for the ACC championship game to make."