ACC Power Rankings: Preseason

ACC Power Rankings: Preseason

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

ACC Power Rankings: Preseason
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA – NOVEMBER 15, 2025: A view of the ACC logo on an end zone pylon during the first half between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Pittsburgh Panthers at Acrisure Stadium on November 15, 2025 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Chris Bernacchi/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images

Over this weekend and the next, the 2026 college football season will get going with an avalanche of games. Our own North Carolina Tar Heels will be part of the very beginning of that, as they’ll face TCU in Ireland this Saturday.

Over the past couple weeks, we’ve been going through this year’s UNC team and previewing them, but now let’s take a look at them in the context of the rest of the ACC. Before things get going this week and next, here are our preseason ACC Power Rankings.

1. Miami

After just eking into the College Football Playoff field, the Hurricanes went all the way to the championship game and gave Indiana their biggest test. On paper, they remain the ACC’s most likely hope for another deep run in 2026.

First Game: 9/4 at Stanford

2. SMU

After making the playoff in the 2024 season, the Mustangs took a slight step back in 2025, although they still won nine games. They should be among the teams in the ACC title race again this year.

First Game: 9/7 at Florida State

3. Louisville

They have yet to take home a conference title and have made one ACC Championship Game, but Jeff Brohm has put up nine or more wins in every season at Louisville, and I would expect the Cardinals to be in the mix again.

First Game: 9/6 vs. Ole Miss

4. Clemson

I have no idea what it would take for the Tigers to actually fire Dabo Swinney, considering all the success he’s had there, but I would suggest to him that Clemson not have yet another underperforming year in 2026.

First Game: 9/5 at LSU

5. Virginia

Had the Cavaliers not blown it against Duke in the conference title game, Tony Elliott and UVA would’ve been in the College Football Playoff last year, and Miami likely would’ve missed out. I don’t think they would’ve gone on a similar run to the Hurricanes, but who knows.

First Game: Saturday vs. NC State

6. Georgia Tech

Haynes King was an extremely fun player to watch and the Yellow Jackets will need to replace him, but I tend to trust Brent Key to put together a solid squad.

First Game: 9/3 vs. Colorado

7. Virginia Tech

The Hokies are one of the more interesting teams to look out for in 2026, having made the splashy James Franklin hire.

First Game: 9/5 vs. VMI

8. Duke

They may be the reigning conference champions, but it’s a little hard to know what to expect from Duke this season. They somewhat infamously lost quarterback Darian Mensah to Miami this offseason, and it took them a whole bunch of tiebreakers to get into the ACC Championship Game to begin with.

First Game: 9/5 vs. Tulane

9. NC State

No matter what happens for the Wolfpack this season, they’ll probably end up winning some stupid game against UNC at the end of the season.

First Game: Saturday at Virginia

10. Pitt

At the very least, the Panthers have some amusing vibes going into the new season.

First Game: 9/5 vs. Miami (OH)

11. Wake Forest

Coach Jake Dickert’s first season in Winston-Salem went quite well, so we’ll see if they can build on that this year.

First Game: 9/3 vs. Akron

12. Florida State

Speaking of teams and coaches I would suggest have a good 2026, hello Seminoles and Mike Norvell.

First Game: Saturday vs. New Mexico State

13. Cal

While the Golden Bears may be breaking in a new coach in Tosh Lupoi, they do return quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who is a very intriguing talent.

First Game: 9/5 vs. UCLA

14. Syracuse

The Orange were of the few teams UNC beat last year, albeit in a game where they were down quite a bit at the quarterback position. I would think Fran Brown would have a better team this year, but I’m not going to guess that much better.

First Game: 9/5 vs. New Hampshire

15. North Carolina

I tend to mention it a lot, but I’m not feeling particularly optimistic about the Tar Heels in 2026.

First Game: Saturday vs. TCU

16. Boston College

The Eagles were one of just two teams that UNC ended up finishing ahead of last year, and things aren’t expected to be much better for them this year.

First Game: 9/5 at Cincinnati

17. Stanford

The Cardinal hired one of their former quarterbacks in Tavita Pritchard as their new coach, so that’s at least a fun little homecoming story for them. I can’t say I expect much from his team in year one, though.

First Game: Saturday vs. Hawaii

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos