Best bet to win ACC Coastal: Miami or UNC?

The ACC Atlantic belongs to the Clemson Tigers, but who from the Coastal will meet them in Charlotte: The Miami Hurricanes or the North Carolina Tar Heels?

If you had to pick one team to win a Power 5 conference, it would have to be the Clemson Tigers to win the ACC…again.

Dabo Swinney‘s team has dominated the ACC throughout the College Football Playoff era. Clemson has won the ACC each of the last five years. The Tigers have played for a national title in four of the last five years, winning it all in 2016 and 2018. Though their path back to the playoff looks to be as smooth as ever, they might actually get challenged by someone in Charlotte.

Clemson is not only the runaway favorite to win the ACC Atlantic again, but the conference as well. If the Tigers don’t get to Charlotte, something went horribly wrong for them. However, they do need to keep an eye on what’s going on in the ACC Coastal this year, as there are a handful of teams who could thwart their plans of reaching the playoff.

The two biggest threats to Clemson coming out of the ACC Coastal have to be Miami Hurricanes and the North Carolina Tar Heels. The question is who poses a bigger threat to Clemson out of the ACC Coastal this year: The U or UNC?

Here are the latest odds for who will win the ACC this year, via LVSuperBook.

Updated 2020 ACC title odds

Clemson at 1/6 odds to win the ACC is astounding, but the Tigers have earned that level of praise with their consistently dominant play. What is interesting is Miami and North Carolina both come in at 12/2 odds to win the conference. In short, they are co-favorites to win the ACC Coastal. With both programs on the rise, who is more likely to play in the 2021 Orange Bowl as ACC runner-ups?

As weird as it sounds now, there aren’t any unwinnable games on Miami’s schedule. While the road date at Michigan State in late September could be an issue, keep in mind the Spartans have a new head coach in Mel Tucker and aren’t the program they used to be under former head coach Mark Dantonio. A win in East Lansing could help jumpstart the Canes heading into ACC play.

Miami draws Pittsburgh, North Carolina, Florida State and Duke at home this year. Though road dates at Virginia and Virginia Tech could be challenging, the Canes should be able to put away Wake Forest in Winston-Salem and Georgia Tech in Atlanta.

As long as head coach Manny Diaz and graduate transfer quarterback D’Eriq King hold up their end of the bargain, this could be a 10-2 Miami team capable of getting to Charlotte as ACC Coastal champions.

Though North Carolina has the better head coach in Mack Brown and a strong quarterback in Sam Howell, the Tar Heels don’t catch much of a break with their schedule. Their non-conference could be unforgiving, as they have to play at UCF in Orlando Week 1 and then Auburn at Mercedes-Benz in Atlanta in Week 2. James Madison is also a very tough FCS team. They should beat lousy UConn.

While the ACC part of their schedule is certainly navigable, the Tar Heels have a tough three-game stretch heading into their bye. Though they host Virginia Tech at Chapel Hill, North Carolina has a rivalry game at Wallace Wade vs. Duke the following week. Even if the campuses are only seven miles apart, having this game the week before the road date at Miami doesn’t help the Tar Heels.

Conversely, Miami has a bye before the crucial North Carolina game. It’s an advantage in the Cane’s favor that shouldn’t be overlooked. So as we’re looking at it right now, let’s give the slight edge to Miami, not just because the division game is at Hard Rock, but the Hurricanes don’t have as many potential roadblocks ahead of the meeting as the Tar Heels do. The U gets to Charlotte.

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