ACC football preseason power rankings: Will anyone challenge Clemson?

For the last several years, it has been Clemson and everybody else in the ACC football landscape.

All the while, the ACC is one of only two Power Five conferences to get a team into the College Football Playoff since this current postseason format’s inception. Though it has been Clemson representing the ACC for the last half-dozen years, perhaps a serious challenger emerges in 2021, whether that be in the Coastal Division or in the Atlantic Division that has belonged to the Tigers?

Here is how the ACC stacks up in the preseason power rankings ahead of the 2021 college season.

ACC football preseason power rankings for 2021 college season

The Syracuse Orange went a disastrous 1-10 last season under Dino Babers

Well, somebody has to be projected to finish last, and in the ACC this year, a good bet for that has to be the Syracuse Orange. While head coach Dino Babers had great success during his runs at Eastern Illinois and Bowling Green, he has only one winning season coaching Power Five football. Syracuse will not go 1-10 again this year, but wins will be hard to come by for the Orange in 2021.

The Duke Blue Devils are quickly losing ground in the ACC Coastal division

While David Cutcliffe has been an institution in Durham, his Duke Blue Devils have not finished better than tied for fourth in the ACC Coastal since 2015. Duke has missed out on a holiday season bowl in back-to-back years. Though he does not face much pressure at the helm, Duke is on the verge of finishing in last in the ACC Coastal, something that has never happened under his watch.

Geoff Collins faces pressure in third year leading the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

It will be very tough for Geoff Collins to get the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets turned around. He is tasked with taking a team that used the triple-option offense for a decade to rejoin the rest of the Power Five with their forward-pass-throwing ways. He did great work at Temple, but a third straight three-win season will not cut it. Georgia Tech needs to push for a .500 record this season.

Was 2019 or 2020 the anomaly for Scott Satterfield’s Louisville Cardinals?

Scott Satterfield enters year three at the helm of the Louisville Cardinals. While the former Appalachian State Mountaineers head coach had great success in Boone previously, his Louisville team regressed massively in year two. The question is if the speed-laden Cardinals will have any bite to them. Will they be closer to the eight-win team of 2019 or the four-win team from 2020?

Mike Norvell is relying on many transfers to rebuild the Florida State Seminoles

At a traditional power, year two is typically seen as the “pop” year for a head coach. Yes, last year was weird, but this is Mike Norvell’s second season in Tallahassee. The former Memphis Tigers head coach has loaded up on transfers to rebuild the Florida State Seminoles roster to his liking. While they are a year or so away from competing, the ‘Noles need to go bowling this December.

Bank on Dave Clawson’s Wake Forest Demon Deacons to win about seven games

Though the smallest school in the ACC is not dripping with a ton of football talent, Dave Clawson regularly gets the most out of it with his Wake Forest Demon Deacons program. Wake Forest has been to five straight bowl games, and Clawson is rapidly approaching a .500 career record in Winston-Salem. While the ceiling is limited, Wake Forest should win around seven or eight games.

Bronco Mendenhall’s Virginia Cavaliers must be assertive in the Commonwealth

While Bronco Mendenhall’s Virginia Cavaliers are an extreme dark horse to contend for their second ACC Coastal division title in three seasons, they need to assert themselves in the Commonwealth Cup vs. Virginia Tech first. Only once since the 2000s have the Hoos defeated the Hokies. This is how Virginia stays afloat in an improving ACC Coastal Division in the early 2020s.

Now, let’s look at the seven teams who have a snowball’s chance of getting to Charlotte this year.