3 things to know about the ACC, with Miami as a prohibitive favorite after last season's parity
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At least the ACC isn't going to have to sweat the College Football Playoff this year.
After sneaking into the field as the last team in thanks to a final rankings flip, Miami won three playoff games before losing by six points to Indiana in the national championship game.
This season, the Hurricanes are the clear and obvious favorites to win the conference. Here's what you need to know about the ACC before the 2026 college football season begins.
Preseason odds for all 17 ACC teams
As of Monday a.m.Via BetMGM
The ACC champion is getting in the playoff this year
Even if you're well aware of this by now, it's worth repeating: The ACC champion is not getting left out of the 12-team field.
In 2025, five-loss Duke beat Virginia in the ACC title game. Thanks to the College Football Playoff's rule that the top five conference champs made the field, the Blue Devils missed out on the postseason tournament because they were behind the Big 12 champion (Texas Tech), Big Ten champion (Indiana), SEC champion (Georgia), American champion (Tulane) and Sun Belt champion (James Madison) in the final playoff rankings.
This year, the four power conferences are guaranteed to have their champions in the field. And the ACC is going to try its best to make sure that its top two teams are in the title game anyway.
Duke got into the title game last season ahead of Miami via a five-way tie. This season, the ACC is transitioning to a nine-game schedule. But not every team in the league will be able to play nine games since the league has 17 teams. This year is a transition year with 12 teams playing nine games and five teams playing eight league games.
The unequal amount of games could lead to some awkward tiebreakers because of differing win percentages among teams. Head-to-head will remain as the top tiebreaker, with a "Team Success Ranking" being the next tiebreaker.
In an ideal world (for the playoff, anyway), a higher-ranked team in the CFP's rankings will win that tiebreaker.
Is the ACC in for another incredibly even season?
Virginia was the league's top regular-season team with a 7-1 ACC record. Duke and Miami were joined by SMU, Georgia Tech and Pitt at 6-2 while five more teams finished 4-4 in ACC play. Overall, 11 of the league's teams had a .500 or better record in conference play.
After getting to the national championship game in January and adding former Duke QB Darian Mensah, Miami is the clear favorite for the conference title with SMU and Louisville in the second tier. After that, there's a whole mass of teams in the third tier of contenders, from Clemson at 14-1 all the way to Georgia Tech and Florida State at 35-1.
Miami doesn't face either SMU or Louisville in the regular season and the Mustangs and Cardinals meet each other on Sept. 19. That's a game that could turn out to have a ton of importance.
Clemson is unranked in the AP poll to start the season for the first time since the 2011 season. That year, the Tigers improved by four wins to 10-4 and made the Orange Bowl. Is a similar rebound in store in 2026?
That would be massive for the fan base's confidence in Dabo Swinney's philosophy as he approaches two decades in charge. Clemson lost seven games from 2015 through 2020. The Tigers have lost 20 games over the past five seasons and have gone 4-4 in ACC play in two of the last three seasons.
Virginia Tech is also an intriguing sleeper candidate in James Franklin's first season in Blacksburg. The Hokies added a bunch of experience through the transfer portal, but also have road games at Clemson, SMU and Miami over the final half of the season. A better bet for the title could be their bitter rival Virginia. After winning the regular-season title outright, the Cavaliers don't have to play either Louisville or Miami in 2026.
Pressure at Florida State and North Carolina
Consternation could start early in Tallahassee, especially if Florida State can't repeat what it did against Alabama in Week 1 of the 2025 season. After opening against New Mexico State in Week Zero, the Seminoles host SMU on Labor Day and then visit Alabama in Week 3.
Barring an upset, that's a 1-2 start staring straight at Mike Norvell.
The FSU coach is entering his seventh season in Tallahassee after a 5-7 record in 2025 was good enough for him to keep his job following a 2-10 season in 2024. Did Florida State's finances coupled with Norvell's massive buyout play a role in him staying for 2026? Maybe. But three straight losing seasons after FSU's now infamous 13-1 season in 2023 does not feel like something that would allow Norvell to earn another year in 2027.
The Seminoles added former Stanford and Auburn QB Ashton Daniels along with former Texas RB Tre Wisner in the transfer portal. The offensive line may have four new starters from the portal too. There's a lot hinging on the remade offense.
In Chapel Hill, Bill Belichick's first season was a disaster. And that's not even mentioning all of the off-field headlines. The Tar Heels won just two conference games after all the optimism about Belichick's arrival came crashing down like a house of cards in a 48-14 home loss to TCU.
The Tar Heels open against the Horned Frogs again in 2026, but this time the game is in Dublin on Saturday. The schedule doesn't get much easier after that, either. North Carolina has Clemson, Notre Dame, Pitt, Duke, Miami, Louisville and Virginia all on the schedule. The Tar Heels need to win at least one of those games to have a chance at a bowl game.
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