Toss the maps away. ACC football returns in just a few weeks. What have you done for me lately? The low level irony is that the most geographically confusing conference, starts season play in Ireland. The Atlantic, Pacific, Irish coast conference baby! Rolls right off your tongue doesn’t it?
California, Stanford, and SMU join the 2024 mix for what should be a long, wild ride. Literally, like the 2,684 miles that lie between the respective stadiums of conference mates, Stanford and Boston College.
Florida State gets the ball rolling against conference foe Georgia Tech on August 24. Please leave the whining about last year in Dublin will you? One of the conference newcomers also debuts the new logo on their jerseys as SMU heads to Reno, to take on Nevada later that day.
The ACC was smart enough not to include a number in their conference name. Now this 17 team super conference has a guaranteed CFP bid for the conference champion due to the playoff expansion. So there won’t be any whining at season’s end of who “deserves to be there” or not. Since 2011, that has been Florida State or Clemson with the one exception– being Pitt. That will be the only time the Panthers get mentioned here. It should be a long year for Narduzzi and company.
This year, there’s a fun, new rivalry wrinkle this year for ‘Noles/Tigers, with DJ Uiagalelei rocking the Garnet and Gold in Tallahassee. October 5 will be one to watch as DJ battles his former school.
It’s the challengers behind that need to close the gap. Miami as always looks promising on paper. With portal newbies, Cam Ward at QB and Damien Martinez in the backfield, maybe. The problem with college and pro football in Miami? Paper tigers don’t win titles. Can the Canes finally break through? We’ll get a good early look at them in the most ill-timed game of the year. A 3:30pm eastern kick off in Gainesville, against Florida…in August!
NC State is on that second tier. But, should they be? The schedule is very user friendly. The Pack gets Tennessee and Clemson in September. After that, there aren’t a lot of seemingly tough ones for Dave Doeren’s crew who added transfer QB Grayson McCall to steer the ship.
The smoke in Blacksburg is real. At least I think so. The Hokies closed strong last season winning five of their last seven. The experience of this group is why I see them as a legit darkhorse in the new ACC. Virginia Tech returns the 4th most production at the FBS level (84%). Even more impressive is the Hokies return over 91% of their offensive production from last year per ESPN’s Bill Connelly. Brent Pry has kept consistency in the most inconsistent world of all, College Football.
Louisville has QB concerns. North Carolina lost Drake Maye and will have a new offensive coordinator; Geoff Collins calling plays in Chapel Hill. I expect an adjustment period there.
Now if you just woke up from a dirt nap, yes Cal Berkeley is in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Can they compete? Time will tell, but if they do, it will be on the legs of sensational running back Jaydn Ott. Ott averaged almost 120 all purpose yards per game for the Bears last year, which ranks 4th amongst returning players. In the backfield or returning kicks, Ott will be one of the more exciting players in the conference.
New coaches for Duke (Manny Diaz) and Syracuse (Fran Brown), I think will prove to be great hires in the long run, but the talent is not there for year one success. Yes, I know Kyle McCord transferred to Syracuse. No, I still don’t care.
Final newcomer is? SMU, sorry Stanford, you don’t factor in. The Mustangs are getting a lot of hype, and Rhett Lashlee has done a good job there. Line play in this conference especially is a big concern for me in Dallas.
I’d give you the conference preseason rankings, but I feel like we don’t need to have this conversation every year. Rankings that come out August 12, like this year’s first edition don’t matter.
What matters this year? Can this ACC grab a few playoff spots instead of just one? Will Dabo’s allergic reactions to the transfer portal finally put his seat in flames?
Geography be damned, it’s about time to find out.
