The season is right around the corner with the first games coming this week so it's only right we do a preseason power ranking of the ACC conference, which could crash the party for those big wig SEC, Big 12 and Big Ten guys who all think they deserve two teams in the playoffs. The top two schools likely won't surprise anyone, but you'll have to read the entire list to see where everyone else lands.
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1. Clemson - The Tigers are the clear-cut favorites to win the conference after losing 45-40 in the National Championship Game to Alabama and finishing the regular season undefeated. Deshaun Watson is a Heisman contender and coach Dabo Swinney should have these boys running on all cylinders at the right time in the season. The defense has some concerns as many of its more productive members went pro or graduated, but Brent Venables is a defense whisperer so expect this unit to be dominant again.
2. Florida State - This couldn't be any other team considering the defensive weapons the Seminoles have this year and the return of that running back fellow by the name of Dalvin Cook. If Watson wasn't in the conference he would probably be the favorite win the conference Player of the Year award. Regardless of who plays quarterback in the first few weeks of the season, the Noles should be fine with sure-handed receivers like Travis Rudolph, Ermon Lane and Jesus "Bobo" Wilson.
3. Louisville - Quarterback Lamar Jackson was incredible in the spring game and showed his potential throughout last season. They return a good amount of players on both sides of the ball and while no one is quite sure what makes them so good, everyone is convinced that their only losses on the season will be to FSU and Clemson.
4. North Carolina - The Tar Heels were in the conference championship game last year and gave the Tigers a run for their money with a close score of 45-37. The Tar Heels lose quarterback Marquise Williams and have a much tougher schedule with the first game on the schedule coming against Georgia in the Georgia Dome. If they can get by the Bulldogs then this season should be a good one for them.
5. Pittsburgh - The Panthers have a senior quarterback in Nathan Peterman who graduate transferred from Tennessee and can run an offense. They will also have running back James Conner back from his knee injury and cancer treatment as well as Qadree Ollison who was named the Offensive Rookie of the Year last season in the ACC. The Panthers, Tar Heels and Hurricanes are all equally likely to win the Coastal Division at this point in time.
6. Miami - The Hurricanes were going to be higher on this list until they lost two key defensive starters in defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad and strong-side linebacker Jermaine Grace. The two were kicked off the team for a serious violation of NCAA rules. However, the offense should still be good with quarterback Brad Kaaya and under the leadership of veteran SEC head coach Mark Richt.
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7. Virginia Tech - The Hokies will be playing under a new head coach for the first time in almost three decades when Justin Fuente takes the field with his team. The former Memphis head coach should make the offense better if not more watchable at the very least and defensive coordinator Bud Foster has his work cut out for him. Last year's team allowed about 26 points per game and the secondary defense was porous to say the least, allowing about 189 yards through the air per game.
8. Georgia Tech - The Yellow Jackets are still running the triple option so they'll always have a chance to win games, but if they can get off on the right foot against defenses like Boston College's and Vanderbilt's then they might just have a nice season. There's no way that they can have the same bad injury luck as last year, right?
9. N.C. State - The Wolfpack loses a great quarterback-running back duo in Jacoby Brissett and Shadrach Thornton, but got graduate transfer quarterback Ryan Finley from Boise State. They also have to break in a new offensive coordinator and that could spell trouble for a team muddied in the middle of the Coastal Division.
10. Syracuse - The Orange have a new coach in Dino Babers who has seemingly been everywhere around the country in his endeavor to become a head coach. He's an offensive mastermind so hopefully he can make this team watchable on that side of the ball at the very least this season.
11. Duke - The Blue Devils just lost fifth-year quarterback Thomas Sirk after he re-injured his left Achilles tendon and will be out for the season. Redshirt Daniel Jones will have to run the offense in Sirk's stead and that will make for a tough year in Durham. While the team shouldn't completely suck under coach David Cutcliffe, it probably won't be fun to watch.
12. Virginia - Here's another team that has a new head coach in Bronco Mendenhall and it's going to take him at least a couple years to get this team to where he wants it in the ACC. He does have nice pieces in running back Taquan Mizell and strong safety Quin Blanding, but they're about a year away from making a difference.
13. Wake Forest - The Demon Deacons get their season started on Thursday against Tulane, where they are favored to win by 2+ touchdowns. While most of the major contributors to this team are back for another season, they are all still young and could struggle another year before really breaking out and stepping up in 2017.
14. Boston College - It's only right that BC starts this year where it ended last year. This team was downright atrocious and was one of the worst offenses in the conference, if not the nation. They averaged 17.2 points a game, which was 121 out of 128 teams in the country. It was one of the best defensive teams in the country though only allowing 15.2 a game and that could win them a few games this year. It can't get much worse than not winning a single ACC game all year.
