A preseason look at the projected league standings.

2024 will see Cal, SMU, and Stanford, 17 total teams, competing for a chance to play for the ACC title in Charlotte. Ireland will host the first college football game of the 2024 season between Georgia Tech and Florida State. FSU or Clemson have raised the title trophy in 12 of the last 13 seasons, but could Louisville, Virginia Tech, Miami, NC State, SMU  or Georgia Tech buck the trend this season? 

1. Clemson: The Tigers lost three of their four games last season by one possession, finishing with a 9-4 record to snap a streak of 12 straight seasons with double-digit wins. The defense will be elite and the offense will be much improved. Coach Swinney hired TCU’s Garrett Riley as coordinator and handed the full-time reins to five-star sophomore Cade Klubnik. For Clemson to win the conference and return to the CFB Playoff, jumpstarting the offense is the top offseason priority. 

2. Florida State: Following a perfect run through the ACC and getting snubbed from the CFB Playoff last season, head coach Mike Norvell had to replace 10 NFL draft picks.The ‘Noles bring back only eight starters and will be looking to mesh another top-rated class of transfers to keep this program at the top of the ACC. Former Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei is among the talented additions from the transfer portal and the Seminoles should win double-digit games for the third year in a row if everything goes as planned.

3. Louisville: The Cardinals won 10 games and played for the ACC title in their debut season under Jeff Brohm. Another run at the conference title is within reach for ’24, as Brohm’s team has a favorable slate and enough returning talent to push the teams at the top. A year after bringing in 25 transfers, he brought in 28 more.  The offense could feature as many as seven transfers in the starting lineup and the defense, which was decent but regressed a bit from 2022, welcomes 14 transfers to go with seven returning starters.

4. Virginia Tech: With wins in five out of the last seven games in 2023, Virginia Tech finished the season trending in the right direction. The Hokies avoid Florida State and host Clemson (Nov. 9), opening the door for an opportunity as a dark horse in the league. The offense returns 11 starters while the defense has eight starters coming back. With such a bulk of talented players on both sides of the ball, including quarterback Kyron Drones the ACC is within reach for the Hokies.

5. NC State: With a manageable schedule and a talented haul via the transfer portal, this could be the year for the Wolfpack. The expectations are high in Raleigh. If Coastal Carolina transfer QB Grayson McCall can stay healthy, N.C. State just might be able to live up to those expectations. 

6. Miami: Mario Cristobal  proceeded to go 12-13 in the last two seasons.The hyped-up Hurricanes won another offseason by adding Washington State quarterback Cam Ward and Oregon State running back Damein Martinez. The only reason to think this offense won’t be fantastic is the recent track record of the head coach.

7. Georgia Tech: Led by QB Haynes King, the Yellow Jackets offense will be among the ACC’s best. Defense could still hold them back, but Coach Key brought in nine transfers and, perhaps more importantly, a new defensive coordinator in Tyler Santucci. The schedule, which includes 11 teams that played in a bowl game last season, is brutal. 

8. SMU: The best bet among the newcomers, the jump from the American to the ACC is a big one, but SMU is well equipped to handle this move in ’24. SMU has a tough start out of the gate with Florida State (Sept. 28) before a trip to Louisville (Oct. 5), but this program has plenty of offensive and defensive talent. Coach Rhett Lashlee’s squad returns 14 starters. In fact  SMU’s starting 22 will be capable of winning lots of ACC games right out of the gate, but we’ll see if Lashlee’s depth-building efforts are enough for an entire ACC Schedule.

9. North Carolina: The Tar Heels are 17-10 over the last two years but late-season slides in November prevented coach Mack Brown’s team from top-25 finishes. The post-Drake Maye era should feature a lot of running back Omarion Hampton. The defense is experienced (seven returning starters), but this unit has struggled mightily in recent years and remains a question mark. New coordinator Geoff Collins is likely to be more aggressive than predecessor and needs to find better ways to stop the run after the Tar Heels ranked 11th in the ACC last year.

10. California: Running back Jaydn Ott has established himself as one of the top rushers in the nation, but the Bears face Florida State (Sept. 21), Miami (Oct. 5) and N.C. State (Oct. 19) in three of their first four ACC games. Adapting to the ACC and the extra travel will be a tough challenge for California, but coach Justin Wilcox’s team has the pieces in place to push for its first winning season since ’19.

11. Syracuse: Former Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord and first-year head coach Fran Brown, an elite recruiter and assistant at Georgia, will try to get the Orange on track.  Also, the schedule provides an opportunity for a fast start. The Orange miss Florida State, Clemson, SMU, and Louisville in league play this fall.

12. Pitt: Last year’s 3-9 record was Pitt’s first losing mark since 2017. Coach Pat Narduzzi isn’t on the hot seat but another losing record would turn up the pressure going into ’25. Western Carolina’s Kade Bell will be tasked with turning around a struggling offense, but the Panthers lost seven of their nine games last season by double digits. 

13. Boston College: Bill O’Brien has an impressive resume filled with college and NFL experience, so it’ll be interesting to see how he helps quarterback Thomas Castellanos improve this season. For O’Brien to get Boston College back into a bowl in ’24, improving the defense is priority No. 1.

14. Wake Forest: Last year’s 4-8 record marked the first losing season for Wake Forest since ’15. Odds favor a rebound by coach Dave Clawson’s program, but there are major concerns on both sides of the ball. Wake returns double-digit starters and should be able to bounce back with a bowl appearance. 

15. Duke: Manny Diaz is back in charge of an ACC program after spending the last two seasons directing one of the nation’s top defenses at Penn State. Prior to that stint, Diaz went 21-15 as the head coach at Miami from 2019-21. Manny Diaz should have enough pieces to keep the Blue Devils’ defense on track, but the offensive line will be among the question marks for Duke. The schedule includes a brutal seven-game stretch against some of the top teams in the league. 

16. Virginia: Virginia’s win total (three) last year was the same as it was in 2022, but coach Tony Elliott’s squad showed signs of progress. The Cavaliers lost five games by one score and defeated two bowl teams (North Carolina and Duke). The Cavaliers will have their best roster yet under Tony Elliot, but one of the toughest schedules in the nation will make it tough to see that improvement yield victories. 

17. Stanford: Entering year number two under Troy Taylor, Stanford is coming off a year in which it had one of the worst offenses and defenses in the nation. The Cardinal rank No. 17 among ACC teams projections, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if coach Troy Taylor’s team exceeds this prediction. After a major roster overhaul last year and some growing pains in 2023, Stanford looks poised to take a step forward in ’24.