College Football Pre-Season Power Rankings: ACC
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Is the ACC the best conference in college football?
That’s open for debate, but there is no denying the league looks extremely deep heading into 2017. The league not only features the Clemson Tigers, who currently hold the National Championship, but a host of other competitors look poised to make a run at Dabo Swinney’s squad. Here are my pre-season power rankings for all 14 teams in the ACC. I am not separating them by the Coastal and Atlantic divisions. It’s just all of the teams in one group.
Let’s kick off.
Virginia and Wake Forest
14. Virginia
They can’t be much worse than the 2-10 record they stumbled to last season, but will it be better? Maybe marginal improvement, but nothing substantial enough to get them out of the basement of the conference.
13. Wake Forest
Things looked good for a lot of last year, but a tumultuous end of the season leaves everything in jeopardy. I don’t know what to expect of this team, but I doubt it will be pretty.
Duke and Boston College
12. Duke
David Cutcliffe is a good coach. It’s a shame he’s stuck at a school with little to no talent this season. It’s going to be a tough year in Durham.
11. Boston College
The narrative for the Eagles has been the same for years. A ferocious defense coupled with an offense that can’t score points at all. They scored 17 points or less in six out of 12 regular season games last year. The defense should win them a few games though.
Syracuse and Pittsburgh
10. Syracuse
Not that this team is great, but they are returning 20 out of 22 starters, and all 11 on defense. This continuity should give them a shot at cracking six wins, and therefore being bowl-eligible.
9. Pittsburgh
This is a very similar team to Virginia Tech in my opinion, but with heavier damages. Quarterback Nathan Peterman was drafted in the fifth round by the Buffalo Bills, running back James Conner went down the road to Heinz Field to represent the Steelers, two starting offensive lineman were drafted, and also a linebacker. There is just too much NFL talent to replace for this team to make serious leaps this year.
North Carolina and North Carolina State
8. North Carolina
It’ll be the third quarterback in three seasons in Chapel Hill, as the 2016 starting man Mitch Trubisky was drafted second overall by the Chicago Bears last April. Last season the new quarterback was too much to overcome for them to get back to the ACC Championship Game, and I foresee similar results this time around.
7. North Carolina State
I like the Wolfpack a lot as a dark horse team this year. They lost six games last year, four of which by one touchdown or less. The Atlantic division is always tough, but 17 returning starters from a team that didn’t miss by much last year could make for an exciting season in Raleigh.
Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech
6. Virginia Tech
I’m not sure where the points are going to come from. Between losing two offensive lineman, quarterback Jerod Evans, and standout receiver Bucky Hodges to the Minnesota Vikings, it’s going to be an uphill climb. The defense is there, but can Justin Fuente’s team muster enough on the scoreboard to win 10 games again?
5. Georgia Tech
Here’s a team that overachieved last season by going 9-4 and is returning eight out of 11 starters on both sides of the ball. The only thing that might sting their hopes is having to replace QB Justin Thomas. Pun intended.
This team is strong though, and the defense could be one of the best they’ve had under head coach Paul Johnson. Their game in Atlanta vs. Tennessee in week one at the new Falcons stadium will be crucial to set the tone for 2017.
Miami and Louisville
4. Miami
It’s very hard to evaluate a team that is good in every position except quarterback. Now that Brad Kaaya is in the NFL with the Detroit Lions, everything is up in the air at the key position.
If the Hurricanes are at least competent enough at QB to manage games, there’s no reason to think they can’t win the ACC Coastal for the first time.
3. Louisville
If we have first half Louisville from last year, this team is borderline unstoppable. If it’s second half Louisville, they’ll be in the middle of the pack. It all depends on reigning Heisman winner Lamar Jackson replicating his form. The week three game vs. Clemson will go a long way to determining the rest of their season.
Florida State and Clemson
2. Florida State
This team looks solid, but I have too many question marks to make them #1 in the ACC. Quarterback Deondre Francois is poised to make a second season leap, but who is he throwing the ball to? FSU’s four leading receivers last year are no longer there, and neither is standout running back Dalvin Cook. If they can figure out where to throw the ball, a strong defense should make this team a contender.
1. Clemson
There will be obvious growing pains with a new quarterback replacing the legendary Deshaun Watson. Regardless of who is under center though, Dabo Swinney’s team is always competitive, and should be tough to knock off in their National Championship defense.