by Fourth When the Tigers failed to reach 10 victories in the first of back-to-back four-loss seasons two years ago, it felt like a step backward for Clemson, who had won so much over the previous ten years.
The Tigers, however, are the current Atlantic Coast Conference winners and have just returned from a College Football Playoff trip. The Tigers are the clear preseason favorite to win the ACC again in part because of their experience from that run.
As they say, experience is not cheap, coach Dabo Swinney stated.
Prior to a nine-win season in 2023, Clemson won at least 10 games between 2011 and 2022, including two national crowns and eight ACC titles.Last year, the Tigers (10-4) defeated SMU to win the championship.
According to quarterback Cade Klubnik, the preseason ACC player of the year, “I think our mentality is, man, we’re keeping our head down, just kind of keeping it low.”
First-team offensive lineman Blake Miller and defensive linemen Peter Woods and T.J. Parker, who were ranked among the top three returners at their position nationally by Pro Football Focus, are among the four Associated Press All-ACC selections from the previous season that Clemson is bringing back.
On the preseason all-ACC team, Clemson finished with 11 of 27 spots overall. Only three were held by any other team.
If not Clemson, then who?
No. 10 Miami and No. 16 SMU are the other two ACC teams listed in the preseason AP Top 25.
Despite missing the ACC championship game after losing to Syracuse, the Hurricanes were the top-ranked team in the league for a large portion of the previous season. Carson Beckas, a transfer quarterback from Georgia and the replacement for Cam Ward, the first overall choice in the NFL draft, was brought in.
Rhett Lashlee, who guided SMU to an 8-0 record in its inaugural conference season, has guided the Mustangs to consecutive 11-win seasons. In addition to offensive lineman Logan Parr, safety Isaiah Nwokobia, and kicker Collin Rogers—all AP all-ACC selections—SMU brings back quarterback Kevin Jennings, who finished with 28 total touchdowns the previous season.
Seminoles response
Florida State went 2-10 last season after starting the previous season as the ACC champion and preseason favorite.Gus Malzahn, the former head coach of Auburn and UCF, was one of the two coordinators that coach Mike Norvell hired for the offense over the offseason.
“You should have the highest expectations when you come to Florida State because that’s what I have and what our program has,” Norvell said.
New faces
Three new coaches arrive: Frank Reich of Stanford, Jake Dickert of Wake Forest, and Bill Belichick of North Carolina.
After moving on from Mack Brown, the school is counting on the 73-year-old to raise football’s profile. Belichick guided the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl victories, but this is his first season as a college student.
After Dave Clawson abruptly resigned at the end of the season, Dickert left Washington State for Wake Forest.
Reich is an interim coach following Troy Taylor’s dismissal in the spring due to off-field issues. He joins Belichick and Boston College’s Bill O. Brienas as the ACC’s national-high three former NFL head coaches.
Irish factor
As part of its yearly scheduling agreement with the ACC, sixth-ranked Notre Dame will play six games against ACC opponents. The football independent is also a member of all other ACC sports. For the national runner-up from the previous season, those have CFP ramifications even though they don’t figure in the league rankings.
In addition to travels to Boston College (Nov. 1), Pittsburgh (Nov. 15), and Stanford (Nov. 29), the most significant is an opening-game trip to Miami (Aug. 31). Syracuse (November 22) and North Carolina State (October 11) are the Irish’s home games.
Heading west
In their second year of westward expansion, Boston College, Duke, FSU, UNC, Pittsburgh, and Virginia will travel across all four continental time zones in a league road trip this year.
The Cavaliers (November 1), Tar Heels (October 17), and Blue Devils (October 4) will all be in California. Stanford will host the Panthers on November 1, the Seminoles on October 18, and the Eagles on September 13.
Thus, the only ACC teams that have not yet visited California are Clemson and Georgia Tech. Next year, the Yellow Jackets will travel to Stanford, and the Tigers will travel to California.
Marquee matchups
The league is given measuring-stick matches right away.
Georgia Tech is visiting Colorado, TCU is visiting UNC, Alabama is visiting Florida State, and LSU is visiting Clemson in Week 1. Other games in Atlanta include Virginia Tech vs. South Carolina and Syracuse vs. Tennessee.
Important conference matchups include Clemson’s trips to Louisville (Nov. 14), hosting SMU (Oct. 18), and visiting Georgia Tech (Sept. 13). Miami visits SMU on November 1 and hosts Louisville on October 17, while SMU hosts Louisville on November 22.
Charlotte, North Carolina, will host the ACC championship game on December 6.
