I somewhat despise the ACC.
Not because I particularly dislike any specific institution in the conference — although SMU has been known to grind my gears from time to time — but because the entire league goes against so much of what made college football great for so many years. Its greatest crime is lying directly to our faces. The “Atlantic Coast Conference” possesses schools in Berkeley, California, and Dallas, Texas, and Notre Dame gets to hang around for basically everything except football because apparently geography and full conference membership are both optional concepts now.
The ACC isn’t solely responsible for destroying regionality, obviously. The SEC shook things up by taking Texas and Oklahoma, while the Big Ten essentially delivered the death knell to the Pac-12 by grabbing USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington. The ACC was reacting to a sport that had already gone mad, but that doesn’t make the stench any less stinky. Then last season it managed to produce a conference championship game where 7-5 Duke won the whole dang thing while Miami sat at home because the tiebreakers were so messed up that practically nobody understood what was happening.
Again, an abomination.
Unfortunately for my hopes of spending the next couple thousand words explaining a thrilling championship race, the actual football might be considerably less complicated. Miami is the best team in the ACC by a mile, and I genuinely think I’d pick the Hurricanes to reach the SEC Championship Game if somebody accidentally moved them into that conference tomorrow. Louisville could challenge. SMU could challenge. Clemson is still lurking around because it’s Clemson. But if Miami plays anything close to its best football, I have a difficult time seeing anyone in this league beating it.
Miami Is in a League of Its Own
Mario Cristobal deserves significantly more credit than he gets for what he’s built in Coral Gables. The clock-management jokes were deserved and some of the losses along the way were downright ridiculous, but anybody who still doubts whether Cristobal can build a football team must’ve been in a coma during December and January. Miami reached the national championship game last season, has won double-digit games in consecutive years and now might have somehow upgraded at quarterback by replacing Carson Beck with Darian Mensah.
There’s also Malachi Toney, who caught 109 passes as a freshman and already looks like one of the most terrifying offensive players in America. Mensah is walking into a situation where he shouldn’t have to become Superman every Saturday, and that’s probably the scariest part about this entire operation. Miami has recruited at an elite level under Cristobal, has proven it can win at the highest level and now gets one of the best quarterbacks in the country to control the joysticks on the whole thing. The defense lost some spectacular talent, so I don’t expect the Hurricanes to simply stroll onto the field and beat everybody by 30, but the talent advantage over most of this conference is difficult to ignore.
This is also still Miami, which means an inexplicable loss to an unranked team is always sitting somewhere in the background like the shark in Jaws. You know it’s probably coming. You just don’t know exactly when it’s going to appear. That’s really the biggest thing keeping me from treating the ACC race like a foregone conclusion, because Miami is kind of like a toddler with an expensive vase; it just knows how to ruin a good thing.
There’s Got to Be Somebody Else, Right?
Louisville is probably where I’d start. Jeff Brohm has quietly won 28 games in three seasons at his alma mater, and the Cardinals won nine games last season despite three of their four losses coming when star running back Isaac Brown was injured. Ohio State transfer Lincoln Kienholz takes over at quarterback, and although he has barely played meaningful college football, he was reportedly close to edging out Julian Sayin last year. We all know how that went, though.
The schedule also looks like somebody at the ACC office personally apologized to Louisville for something. The Cardinals don’t play Miami, Clemson or Virginia, and SMU comes to town Sept. 19. Beat the Mustangs and suddenly Louisville has a remarkably clean path toward Charlotte.
SMU has a similar argument and more certainty at quarterback with Kevin Jennings returning for his third season as the starter. Jennings threw for 3,641 yards and 26 touchdowns last year, but he also tossed 13 interceptions, and that inconsistency basically sums up my feelings about the Mustangs. They beat Clemson, Louisville and Miami last season, then lost at Cal with a spot in the ACC Championship Game essentially sitting on the table. Rhett Lashlee is a really good coach and another Playoff run is absolutely possible. I’m just not ready to trust SMU with anything of significant emotional value.
There’s also Clemson, I guess.
Dabo Swinney is one of the best coaches of his generation, but last year’s 7-6 campaign not only came after I picked Clemson to win the national title, it was also the Tigers’ worst season since 2010. The fact that it happened with — checks notes — NINE players who were eventually selected in the NFL Draft makes the whole thing considerably more concerning. Christopher Vizzina will most likely finally get his opportunity under center and Clemson sill recruits well enough that a resurgence wouldn’t be particularly all that shocking.
The Tigers open at LSU. Win that and I’ll reconsider everything. Until then, I’ll remain doubtful.
I Just Like Y’all Because of the Vibes
Virginia Tech might be my favorite non-Miami storyline because James Franklin’s attempt to resucitate the Hokies is just a wonderful yarn I can’t wait to watch unfurl. Penn State fired a coach who won 104 games and reached the College Football Playoff semifinal, and Virginia Tech responded by handing him the keys to a program that hasn’t felt important since, well, a long time ago. Ethan Grunkemeyer followed Franklin from Penn State after showing some promise in the past, and while I don’t necessarily believe the Hokies are ready to win the ACC immediately, the idea of meaningful November football returning to Lane Stadium makes the hair on the back of neck stand up.
Georgia Tech gives me similarly good vibes because Brent Key looks like the sort of coach who should be standing on the sideline in a hard hat while somebody pours concrete behind him. The Yellow Jackets started 8-0 last season before collapsing down the stretch, and replacing Haynes King with Alberto Mendoza — younger brother of Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza — will change the offense considerably. Key’s team should remain physical and annoying enough to ruin somebody’s Saturday at any given moment.
Meanwhile, Virginia is coming off an 11-win year that practically nobody saw coming, and Pitt remains the reliably weird operation it has become under Pat Narduzzi. Both could matter, or they could be absolute dumpster fires. Either way, neither makes me nearly as excited or interests me as much as Cal.
Oh, Cal.
I could talk about Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele for hours. He threw for 3,454 yards as a freshman while playing in an offense that asked him to do an absurd amount of work, and the fact that he stayed in Berkeley rather than taking whatever enormous pile of money somebody surely would’ve offered him makes me like him even more. Tosh Lupoi being the coach that has control of the ship makes me even more intrigued, as he’s surrounded Sagapolutele with more experience. Cal might not win the ACC, but I’ve irrationally convinced myself that JKS will win the Heisman.
Everything Else Is Weird
Mike Norvell went 13-0 at Florida State three seasons ago. Man, that feels like an eternity ago.
I feel like that needs to be stated because what has happened since makes absolutely no sense. The Seminoles are 7-17 over the last two seasons, an Norvell is somehow still standing largely because firing him would require the university to empty the coffers to such an exhubiant degree that keeping him is the only option.
Can FSU compete in 2026? Well, the program brought in 23 transfers, with quarterback Ashton Daniels being at the forefront. Duce Robinson is an absolute monster at receiver, so there should be enough talent for the Seminoles to recover — at least slightly. But Norvell needs to win some dang football games. If Florida State tumbles early, the vibes in Tallahassee — which are already underwater — could reach Chernobyl levels before Halloween.
North Carolina might somehow be even more combustible than the operation in the Florida panhandle. Why? Well, Bill Belichick, of course!
Yes, he’s still here.
Year 1 ended 4-8 with multiple embarrassing results stymying any of the positive offseason momentum the hire of Belichick generated. The toxic fumes have continued into 2026. Bobby Petrino is the offensive coordinator, a character in his own right. General manager Mike Lombari is on admistrative leave. (Don’t ask.) And Billy Edwards Jr. is the quarterback and is also a million years old.
The Tar Heels open against TCU in Ireland, and I genuinely believe that if they lose that game in poor fashion then the reality television cameras need to be on the tarmac when UNC arrives back stateside. This is must-watch television right now — imagine if the vibes are absolutely in the toilet after an overseas trip?
Everybody Else… Is Boring
NC State avoids Miami, Clemson and SMU and returns CJ Bailey, giving Dave Doeren another opportunity to finally reach the ACC Championship Game after 13 seasons in Raleigh. Wake Forest quietly won nine games last season, Syracuse has some hope if Steve Angeli returns healthy from his Achilles injury and Duke gets to defend the most improbable conference championship imaginable without Mensah, who is now playing for the team the Blue Devils helped keep out of the title game.
Stanford is attempting yet another reboot while Andrew Luck oversees the football operation. Boston College went 2-10 and lost several of its best players to the portal.
I wish these teams the best.
So, Who Wins the ACC?
Miami.
There. It’s been decided.
That was easy.
