College Football is in full swing and the ACC already is not going quite as people expected. With the conclusion of week one, it is still too early to tell exactly how the Atlantic Coastal Conference will go down; however with the sudden fall off of Florida State and the ACC debuts of Cal, SMU and Stanford, this season is bound to provide some surprises. Here is a preview how the ACC can shake up by the end of the year.

1. Miami 

Miami had the most impressive start to the season among ACC teams as the Hurricanes flooded the swamp in Gainesville, securing an emphatic 41-17 win. Washington State transfer, Cam Ward, excelled in his Miami debut throwing for 385 yards and scoring three touchdowns. If he keeps this type up this type of play, Miami seems they would certainly be the team to beat in the conference. 

2. Clemson

While Clemson did not get off to the best start of the season, losing in a blowout to Georgia, they should still finish near the top of the conference standings. They already got their toughest contest out of the way. Even if Clemson is not what they were in the early 2020s, they still have the talent and coaching to carry them to the ACC Championship and potentially win.

3. Louisville 

After an impressive 10-win debut season and an ACC Championship appearance for Jeff Braum, the Louisville Cardinals have the schedule to have another successful campaign. The key for them is the health of Texas Tech transfer quarterback, Tyler Shough. He has shown flashes of potential but his ability to stay on the field has been a concern. Shough comes to a Louisville team that retained a lot of their talent from a season ago can become a problem in the ACC.

4. NC State

NC State is coming off a victory over WCU that was too close for comfort. They were trailing well into the third quarter and for a moment, it looked like the Catamounts might pull off the upset. However, the way NC State pulled away in the fourth quarter does not have me too worried about them long term. They have been one of the most consistentl defenses in the ACC for a few years and Coastal Carolina transfer, Grayson McCall, should only get better as the season progresses. I am not too down on the Wolfpack after one underwhelming game.

5. SMU 

Probably the boldest take of the list is SMU finishing as the fifth best team in the ACC for the 2024 season. While making the step up from the American to the ACC is no easy feat, the Mustangs seem to have all the tools to have success in year one. It won’t clear how SMU will fair until they reach conference play, but their offense seems to have picked up right where they left off in 2023 when they averaged 38.7 points per game.

6. North Carolina 

Replacing Drake Maye will certainly be a challenge for the Tar Heels and we will probably see a few faces taking snaps for UNC throughout the season.Max Johnson, Jacolby Criswell and Connor Harell are all names that could permanently take over the job. However, North Carolina still has one of the nation’s premier running backs, a great wide receiving core and one of the easier schedules in the ACC.

7. Georgia Tech

The Yellow Jackets opened up the college football season in week zero with an upset victory over the Florida State Seminoles in Dublin, Ireland. While Georgia Tech is certainly looking like an improving team, they have a lot of difficult matchups lined up ahead. Their non-conference opponents include Georgia and Notre Dame. While they avoid Clemson, Louisville and NC State are bound to be tough games for Georgia Tech. Even their more favorable matches against teams like Syracuse, Virginia Tech and North Carolina are all road games and will prove to be a difficult environment to win.

8. California 

The Golden Bears have not finished a season with a record over .500 since 2019, but this might be the year where that drought ends. While Justin Wilcox is a defensive-minded head coach, he has the pieces on the offensive pieces to really get going on that side of the ball. Jaydn Ott is one of the best running backs in the nation and transfers Mikey Matthews and Tobias Merriweather will help improve the receiving corps.

9.  Florida State

What is going on in Tallahassee? Regression was bound to happen to a Seminole squad with only eight returning starters, but no one thought they would be this bad. The daunting part about this for FSU fans is the road does not get any easier from here. The Seminoles are tasked with taking on Notre Dame, Clemson and Miami. While they can still turn things around, their difficult schedule will most likely hinder their record.

10. Virginia Tech

After their loss against Vanderbilt, the Hokies are certainly a team that I am not as high on as before the season. I feel like a scenario where Virginia Tech starts the year 1-3 entering conference play is possible as I can see Old Dominion pulling off an upset and Rutgers beating them as well. They are  slated to play Clemson and Miami but also match up against some of the bottom feeders of the conference such as Stanford, Duke  and Virginia

11. Boston College

Boston College is off to a great start under new head coach Bill O’Brien as they pulled off the win on the road against Florida State. Priority number one for this Eagles team is improving the defense and under new defensive coordinator Tim Lewis, the Eagles are off to a strong start. If they perform the way they did against the Seminoles consistently, they should have no issue making a bowl game this year. The main concern is, can we expect consistency from Boston College?

12. Syracuse

The Orange were active on the transfer portal in the offseason, headlined by the acquisition of former Buckeye signal caller, Kyle McCord. Syracuse was one of the worst passing teams in the ACC and McCord will contribute to this team immediately. However, getting McCord the protection he needs to make plays might be the biggest obstacle for the new season.

13. Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh is looking to rebound from a disastrous 2023 season where they only won threegames. This resulted in a completely revamped offense for the Panthers for 2024, hiring Cade Bell as the Offensive Coordinator to improve a team that averaged only 20.2 points a game a season ago.

14. Wake Forest

Wake Forest has some tremendous weapons, the issue might be getting those weapons the ball. They do not have a clear starting quarterback and the offensive line leaves a lot to be desired as the big men up front allowed 49 sacks in 2023. Defensively, Wake Forest’s front seven should cause them no problems, but the secondary may raise concerns as they were ranked last in the ACC in pass efficiency defense.

15. Duke 

Duke certainly seems to be the team that will have the biggest fall off in 2024. Manny Diaz will be along the sidelines with Mike Elko leaving for Texas A&M. They also lost a ton of defensive talent that helped the Blue Devils obtain the fewest points allowed in the ACC a season ago. It was not all negative for Duke this offseason as Texas transfer quarterback Maalik Murphy could provide a spark for the offense. 

16. Stanford

Stanford is going to get better, it is just a slow and grueling process. This won’t be the year for the Cardinals, but they are taking steps in the right direction. Stanford was a young team last year and were incredibly inconsistent. With some more experience heading into head coach Troy Taylor’s second year, it is not impossible for this team to sneak into a bowl game.

17. Virginia

The Cavaliers will go as far as their defense will take them this year. They had one of the worst defenses in the ACC a season ago and will have to improve if they want to finish any better than their disappointing 2023. They also lost their best player on the offensive side of the ball in Malik Washington, but were able to replace him in the transfer portal. While I don’t think Virginia is necessarily any worse than teams like Stanford or Duke, their schedule may give them more problems, leading them to the worst record in the ACC.