Conference membership and realignment has become a mainstay off-field talking point of college athletics, and the ACC enters the 2024 season as both the beneficiary and potential victim of such matters. The effective dissolution of the Pac-12 has resulted in two West Coast additions — Cal and Stanford — that turn the Atlantic Coast Conference into something of an “All Coasts Conference.” Additionally, SMU has made a long-awaited jump back into college football’s premier circle.
Simultaneously, the ACC is fighting a high-profile legal battle with Florida State and Clemson over its so-called “iron-clad” grant of rights, leaving the future membership of those two legacy institutions up in the air.
On the field, the expansion to 17 teams leaves plenty of room for surprises thanks to imbalanced schedules and a handful of contenders, five of which received multiple first-place votes in the conference’s preseason media poll. While the Seminoles are picked to win the conference again following a dream 2023 season, voters believe Clemson, Miami, NC State and even Virginia Tech have the personnel capable of making a title run.
Here at CBS Sports, our group of experts have shown little consensus on the direction the ACC standings will take this fall. Three different teams have received the designation of “champion,” while an even greater number have been deemed “overrated” or “underrated” — oftentimes with some crossover.
Let’s have a look as our CBS Sports college football experts have provided their picks and predictions for the ACC ahead of the 2024 season.
Most overrated team
Clemson: The Tigers made the drop from underwhelming to legitimately mediocre one season ago, ultimately losing three games to unranked opponents and finishing 4-4 in conference play for the first time since 2010. The Tigers are still one of the most talented teams in the league, but how much production can Clemson lose and still maintain? The defense typically replaces well, but the Tigers lost five starters to the NFL Draft and safety Andrew Mukuba to the transfer portal. The offense was a mess last year and will have to move forward without RB Will Shipley and WR Beaux Collins. If this team didn’t don the orange and purple, no one would confuse them for an ACC title contender. — Shehan Jeyarajah (Dennis Dodd, Jerry Palm)
Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets went 7-6 last season but finished with wins in four of their last six, including a close loss to Georgia and a bowl win over UCF, and I think that late momentum has caused people to be a bit too optimistic about their chances. Yes, the Georgia game was tight, but the Bulldogs may have been more focused on the SEC Championship Game. Also, QB Haynes King turns the ball over far too often for me to have too much faith in them. Over Tech’s six losses, four were by double-digits. Oh, and if not for a Mario Cristobal clock management masterpiece, this team finishes 5-7 and the sentiments are much different heading into 2024. — Tom Fornelli
Louisville: An offense that already relied heavily on the transfer portal took a huge blow when wideout Caullin Lacy went down with a collarbone injury during preseason camp. QB Tyler Shough lacks proven playmakers at his disposal, and he has yet to prove he can provide consistent play when healthy. — Richard Johnson (Chip Patterson)
Duke: The Blue Devils landed at No. 11 in the league’s preseason media poll, which is too generous for a rebooting program with an unfavorable schedule. The Blue Devils must play seven of the ACC’s top nine teams from the preseason media poll and get just one of the bottom eight. Manny Diaz is a good hire, but there are too many roster questions to expect the Blue Devils to produce a bowl bid against this slate in his first year. — David Cobb
Miami: Don’t read this and automatically assume it means Miami will be a bad team. Miami has enough talent to be a good team. Transfer Cam Ward is an underrated quarterback who, at his best, boasts Heisman Trophy upside. There are plenty of impact players around him in a loaded offense. The defense boasts experience and a front seven that should give other teams problems. But until Miami actually goes out and proves that it can return to its former glory, I have a hard time projecting anything besides a decent season — especially with Mario Cristobal’s track record of coaching blunders and underperforming. — Will Backus
Most underrated team
SMU: Call me crazy, but I don’t think SMU’s jump to the ACC is going to be much of one. Sonny Dykes and Rhett Lashlee have carefully built this program up to Power Four level. The Mustangs get Florida State at home. Their toughest road game is at Louisville a week later. No Clemson. Everybody has seemed to have dismissed that Lashlee has kept this thing cooking after Dykes’ departure. Last year’s 11-3 team that won the American was arguably SMU’s best since the 1980s.
SMU has a billionaire sugar daddy who organized the move to the ACC. With access to better players, the Ponies should compete with the ACC’s elite. Fourteen starters return to a program that finished in the top 11 in scoring offense and defense. Watch Miami transfer tailback Brashard Smith, who caught 69 passes in three years with the ‘Canes. Last year, he scored rushing, receiving and special teams touchdowns. — Dodd (Palm)
Pitt: This is more about faith in what coach Pat Narduzzi has done over the long haul at Pitt. Yes, last season was awful — the Panthers went 3-9 and 2-6 in the ACC — but it was the first time the Panthers finished with a losing record since going 5-7 in 2017. Maybe last season was the start of a horrific downturn, or maybe it was an outlier. I suspect the latter. — Fornelli
Cal: The Bears were seemingly left for dead last season before winning (and covering) in three straight games to finish the regular season at 6-6. Now, coach Justin Wilcox has all six of his all-conference selections from a year ago, most notably star running back Jaydn Ott, and loads of added experience from a 23-player transfer class that ranked No. 4 in the ACC, per 247Sports. SMU may be catching all the buzz as the newcomer most likely to be a threat in Year 1, but Cal could be a dream killer for a couple of ACC title contenders. — Patterson
NC State: The Wolfpack have been painfully close to ACC contention nearly every season under coach Dave Doeren, but this might be his best team yet. Offensively, quarterback Grayson McCall teams with underrated running back Jordan Waters for a new dynamic. However, the receiver combo of Kevin Concepcion and Noah Rogers might be the most undervalued part of the roster, especially if the defense can maintain its typical excellence. A trip to the ACC Championship Game is well within reach for Doeren’s squad — along with that elusive 10th victory. — Jeyarajah
Miami: The Hurricanes are going to have the best offense in the ACC this season, which will carry them as their aggressive defensive identity congeals around new parts up front over the course of the year. This year’s schedule also looks wide open, building up to a massive October featuring games against Louisville and Florida State. — Johnson
Stanford: Second-year coach Troy Taylor went through a true Year 0 type of experience last season as the program rebooted with a 3-9 record following 12 years under David Shaw. Most key contributors return, and they now have familiarity with the scheme. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Ashton Daniels brings breakout potential to the table after cutting his teeth against a series of difficult opponents in 2023. Look for this offense to put up some big numbers and surprise a couple of teams. — Cobb
Georgia Tech: Four of Brent Key’s 11 career wins, including in his time as interim coach, have come against teams ranked inside the AP Top 25. The Yellow Jackets gave top-ranked Georgia a run for its money late in the season last year and went on to win their first bowl game since 2016. They had one of the ACC’s most efficient scoring offenses in 2023 and return an overwhelming amount of production on that side of the ball. The defense was a letdown in a majority of the losses, so Key went out and hired defensive coordinator Tyler Santucci, who engineered the ACC’s top scoring defense at Duke last season. Not saying that the Jackets are going to win the conference, but don’t be surprised if they beat some teams that they shouldn’t. — Backus
Bold predictions
- Dennis Dodd: In February, ESPN will exercise its option not to extend the ACC contract beyond 2027. Florida State — having played the long game — will have its out and be able to put itself on the market. FSU will do so at a much reduced rate to get out of the grant of rights since it will only have three years to run. Don’t ask me where FSU goes, but if it is as free agent beginning in 2028, there will be Power Four interest. Basically, the next round of major realignment begins less than a month after the 2025 championship game. Buckle up.
- Tom Fornelli: The ACC will shock the world by getting three teams into the 12-team playoff, but nobody else in the league will finish ranked in the top 20.
- Chip Patterson: There will be a four-way tie for first place with Florida State, Clemson, NC State and Virginia Tech all finishing with a 7-1 conference record. Unfortunately for the dark horse picks of the bunch, the tiebreaker scenario would favor the teams at the top of the odds board to start: FSU and Clemson.
- Shehan Jeyarajah: Both Florida State and Clemson will get locked out of the ACC Championship Game. Instead, programs like Miami, NC State, SMU and Louisville will finally break through and give the ACC a third unique team in the College Football Playoff since the format started in 2014. The reign of the titans is over, which will only add more agitation in the FSU and Clemson board rooms.
- Richard Johnson: Noah Rogers ends up being the best receiver in the league. The Ohio State transfer may have been buried on the depth chart at Ohio State, but he’s transferred home to Raleigh and his connection with Grayson McCall will create an explosive dimension for the ‘Pack.
- David Cobb: The U is back. Miami finally has the talent and coaching continuity needed to win its first conference title since 2003. Transfer quarterback Cam Ward (Washington State) and transfer running back Damien Martinez (Oregon State) are stars, and the defense also looks feisty with the likes of Rueben Bain and Francisco Mauigoa in the front seven. If not now, when?
- Jerry Palm: While I am picking the Seminoles to win the league again, they will do so with multiple losses. They will be just outside the top 10 and the lowest rated of the major conference champions
- Will Backus: The ACC will be the only Power Four conference that doesn’t send at least two teams to the College Football Playoff. Sorry, but if a 14-0 Florida State can’t make the cut over a one-loss team from another conference, I have a hard time seeing the committee put anyone besides the automatic qualifier in the field. Plus, someone has to make room for Notre Dame.
ACC predicted order of finish
ACC champion
Clemson: The Tigers threw a lot of young players into the fire last season, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that they started a little slow and finished strong with a 5-0 run to close out the year. Now, those young Tigers are prepped to be stars in 2024, and Cade Klubnik should be improved in Year 2 with Garrett Riley and the additional leadership of Tajh Boyd on the coaching staff as assistant quarterbacks coach. This was a program that won 10-plus games for 12 straight season, and now many are selling stock because of a 9-4 showing last year. But with better injury luck and more experience at key positions, I’m expecting a return to the top for the Tigers. — Patterson (Fornelli, Backus)
Florida State: No team enters the 2024 college football season with a bigger chip on its shoulder than Florida State. The Seminoles were left out of the College Football Playoff in 2023 despite being undefeated. They probably won’t finish undefeated this season, but thanks to the expanded playoff, that won’t be necessary. Florida State will have the well-traveled DJ Uiagalelei at quarterback after he transferred back to the ACC from Oregon State. The ‘Noles defense should be stout as usual, and they have a reasonably favorable conference schedule. The game at SMU could be the one that determines whether FSU can get to the ACC title game. When it does, I expect them to beat Miami in their second matchup, this time on a neutral field. — Palm (Dodd)
Miami: With Florida State rebuilding and Clemson in disarray, why not Miami? The Hurricanes have no holes on offense after adding quarterback Cameron Ward, running back Damien Martinez and receiver Samuel Brown next to a strong offensive line. The defense was a top-25 unit last season and could take another step under aggressive defensive coordinator Lance Guidry. On paper, this is one of the best teams in the country. Even better, Miami has only one preseason ranked team on its schedule. Embrace the U! — Jeyarajah (Johnson, Cobb)
