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College football conference power rankings: Week 1

By Nathaniel Reeves

COLUMBUS, OH - NOVEMBER 26: (R-L) Head coach Urban Meyer of the Ohio State Buckeyes and Head coach Jim Harbaugh of the Michigan Wolverines (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - NOVEMBER 26: (R-L) Head coach Urban Meyer of the Ohio State Buckeyes and Head coach Jim Harbaugh of the Michigan Wolverines (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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TALLAHASSEE, FL – APRIL 8: Defensive Back Derwin James #3 of the Florida State Seminoles warms-up before the annual Garnet and Gold Spring Football game at Doak Campbell Stadium on Bobby Bowden Field on April 8, 2017 in Tallahassee, Florida. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
TALLAHASSEE, FL – APRIL 8: Defensive Back Derwin James #3 of the Florida State Seminoles warms-up before the annual Garnet and Gold Spring Football game at Doak Campbell Stadium on Bobby Bowden Field on April 8, 2017 in Tallahassee, Florida. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images) /

3. ACC 

There’s a clear tier of separation between the Pac-12 and the nation’s third best conference, as the ACC features arguably the nation’s most talented team, the defending national champion, and a returning Heisman Trophy winner.

No. 3 Florida State is the preseason ACC favorite and is being picked by nearly everyone to reach the College Football Playoff even if it loses to Alabama on Saturday in Atlanta. The Seminoles could have the best defense in college football behind a deep front seven and all-world safety Derwin James, while sophomore quarterback Deondre Francois is poised to take a major step forward.

Not far behind are the defending national champion Clemson Tigers, who open the season at No. 5 and have the talent for a repeat run. Replacing legendary quarterback Deshuan Watson is all but impossible, but the Tigers have an intimidating defensive front and a number of athletes on the offensive side for new signal caller Kelly Bryant to work with.

While Lamar Jackson will keep the No. 16 Louisville Cardinals in the conference title hunt, he has to work with a lot of new faces on offense plus a line that allowed the most sacks in the nation last year. What could help the ACC jump up to No. 1 by season’s end is a pair of rising programs in the No. 18 Miami Hurricanes and No. 21 Virginia Tech Hokies, both of whom are loaded with talent under their respective second-year head coaches.

Pittsburgh and NC State should hang around the fringes of the top 25, while North Carolina should be stable enough to make a bowl game in a massive rebuilding year. Even the bottom tier of the ACC is filled with intriguing head coaches like Syracuse’s Dino Babers and dynamic playmakers such as Harold Landry of Boston College.

There isn’t much to separate the top three, but the ACC’s depth at the top is just a bit below that of the SEC or Big Ten. The ACC will get a chance  to change that opinion in the first two weeks of the season with a number of massive nonconference games, including Florida State-Alabama, Clemson-Auburn and Virginia Tech-West Virginia.

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