ACC college football program rankings start with Clemson, Florida State
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
Football might not be the first sport that comes to mind when the ACC is mentioned. But while the conference is perhaps more closely identified with basketball, most league members can point to some level of gridiron success over their lengthy histories. Florida State and Clemson combined for three national titles in the 2010s. Miami had major success before joining the league and made the College Football Playoff championship game last season.
Some have enjoyed more than others, of course, which is where we come in with this exercise. Any effort to rank programs will be somewhat arbitrary, depending upon which factors a particular pundit chooses to emphasize. As such, this list will almost certainly spark disagreement. But fans love debates almost as much as they like watching the games themselves.
So with all that out of the way, here’s our attempt to rank the football programs of the ACC from 1 through 17.
1. Clemson
To paraphrase a mantra from another league, football just means more at Clemson among the ACC’s founders. The Tigers’ return to national prominence in the 2010s with two national titles under Dabo Swinney is just a small part of the program’s rich legacy that includes 24 conference titles and nearly 800 wins.
2. Florida State
FSU does not have the century-plus history of other schools in the region, having a football program that only dates to 1954. But legendary coach Bobby Bowden built the program into a household name, and the Seminoles’ invitation to join the ACC in 1992 proved mutually beneficial to both institution and conference, elevating the league’s profile in the sport while keeping FSU competitive in the national conversation.
PROGRAM RANKINGS: Big Ten | SEC
3. Miami
Curiously, conference membership hasn’t been quite as much of a boon for the Hurricanes, whose championships predate their ACC tenure. That might be about to change given the program’s recent resurgence, and there’s no disputing Miami is a nationally known brand, though that is in part due to its reputation for circumventing the rules on and off the field.
4. Georgia Tech
When your roster of past coaches includes none other than John W. Heisman himself, you are assuredly entitled to claim a piece of the sport’s origin story. The Yellow Jackets have enjoyed plenty of other moments as well, like a share of a national championship in 1990, and Brent Key has the program back on a positive trajectory with three consecutive bowl appearances.
5. Pittsburgh
Pitt might not leap to mind immediately on a who’s who list of collegiate powers, but the Panthers have amassed over 700 wins and own three conference titles including a recent ACC crown. The school also boasts its share of hall-of-fame alumni like Tony Dorsett, Dan Marino and Larry Fitzgerald.
6. Virginia Tech
The Hokies became New Year’s Day bowl regulars around the turn of the century under long-time coach Frank Beamer. Prior to the Big East/ACC era the program was fairly nondescript, and it remains to be seen if it has staying power in the sport’s modern incarnation, though the James Franklin hire signals the school intends to try.
7. Louisville
The Cardinals didn’t start playing football until 1962, but they achieved something many of their fellow ACC squads haven’t when Lamar Jackson brought the school a Heisman in 2016. Part of four conferences this century, four different coaches won at least 10 games in that span. In all three years under current head man Jeff Brohm they’ve won at least nine games.
8. SMU
The Mustangs have clearly been the most successful of the league’s recent additions. There’s a wild west vibe to the school’s football narrative, with marquee names like Doak Walker and Eric Dickerson weighed against the infamy of the NCAA death penalty. The program has made it all the way back to the national level in the 40 years since, making the College Football Playoff in 2024.
9. Syracuse
The Orange have struggled for continuity since joining the ACC in 2013, but still have two 10-win seasons since their arrival. The program’s alumni list features some of the greatest ever to play the game. Ernie Davis is the school’s lone Heisman recipient, but Jim Brown, Art Monk and Marvin Harrison also donned the Orange.
10. Stanford
Though the Cardinal have only won five conference games in their two seasons as geographic outliers in the ACC, it’s worth remembering that the long-time Pac-12 anchor was in the Rose Bowl little more than a decade ago and won more than its share of football games over the years. Again there’s just one Heisman in the case courtesy of Jim Plunkett in 1970, but the likes of John Elway and Andrew Luck also threw passes for Stanford.
11. North Carolina State
The Wolfpack can usually be counted on to win somewhere between seven and nine games in a season with the occasional clunker of a campaign here and there, rarely bad but never quite elite. They do have 18 bowl wins to their credit, tops among the so-called Big Four in the state.
12. Boston College
Like other fellow travelers from the former Big East, the Eagles have found it difficult to find footing in their new conference. Of course, BC will always have that magical 1984 season with Doug Flutie’s indelible Heisman moment. And they’ve had other significant moments, including beating No. 1 Notre Dame in 1993.
13. North Carolina
The Tar Heels’ latest experiment to become relevant in football is off to a shaky start entering Bill Belichick’s second season. There’s tremendous advantages for this program that makes it one of the biggest underachievers in the league For much of its lengthy history the program has been middling as evidenced by one double-digit win season this century, and its 15-24 bowl record is also less than stellar.
14. Wake Forest
With the smallest enrollment in the conference, the Demon Deacons have had to punch above their weight since the formation of the ACC. But thanks to a lot of futility over the years, their fans are very appreciative of the team’s 12-6 bowl record as well as that 2006 conference title.
15. Virginia
There’ve been a few good moments for the Cavaliers, like the prime-time stunner that gave Florida State its first ACC loss in 1995 and last season’s unexpected appearance in the league title game. Overall though, UVa has just a .414 winning percentage in league play since its 1954 founding and won the conference championship just two times.
16. California
The Golden Bears made somewhat more progress than their Bay Area rivals in their second go-around in their new league. Their glory years in the sport were for the most part over a century ago, although a few alumni can still be found on NFL rosters – notably Aaron Rodgers and Jared Goff.
17. Duke
Somebody has to be No. 17 on the list, and it might seem odd at first glance to see the defending conference champion in that spot. Indeed, the Blue Devils’ apparent commitment to changing their football fortunes could move them up in future rankings, but their all-time .371 league win percentage keeps them here for now.
COACHES RANKINGS: Top 25 | Big Ten | SEC | ACC | Big 12
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ACC college football program rankings start with Clemson, Florida State
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos