In 2024 Preseason ACC Football Media Balloting
(Miami, NC State Also Ranked On League’s Top Tier)
By Mike Waddell
North Carolina Sports Network
For the first time in seven years, someone other than the Clemson Tigers has been projected as the Atlantic Coast Conference football champion in the league’s official preseason voting.
Florida State, which captured the ACC title and finished 13-1 last season, received 81 first-place votes in a poll of 170 media members, including David Glenn of the North Carolina Sports Network. The Seminoles, who are entering their fifth season under coach Mike Norvell, had 2,708 total points in the balloting.
The ACC is entering its first season with 17 football teams, thanks to the offseason additions of Cal and Stanford from the Pac-12 and SMU from the American Athletic Conference.
2024 ACC Preseason Poll
Team (First-Place Votes) — Points
1. Florida State (81) — 2,708
2. Clemson (55) — 2,657
3. Miami (17) — 2,344
4. NC State (8) — 2,318
5. Louisville — 1,984
6. Virginia Tech (5) — 1,968
7. SMU — 1,798
8. North Carolina — 1,712
9. Georgia Tech (1) — 1,539
10. Cal (2) — 1,095
11. Duke — 1,056
12. Syracuse — 1,035
13. Pitt — 1,016
14. Boston College (1) — 890
15. Wake Forest — 784
16. Virginia — 629
17. Stanford — 477
Clemson, which had been voted as the preseason ACC favorite for six years running (2018 through 2023), received 55 first-place nods and finished second in the voting this time. The Tigers won the ACC title in four of those six seasons (see below) and have captured seven of the last nine ACC championships overall under Dabo Swinney, who is entering his 16th full season as the program’s head coach.
Miami (17 first-place votes) edged NC State (eight) for third place in the voting. The Hurricanes, ACC members since 2004, have never claimed the league’s football crown. The Wolfpack, ACC members since its founding in 1953, has seven ACC football titles but hasn’t accomplished that feat since 1979, when the conference had only seven members.
The Seminoles (DJ Uiagalelei from Oregon State), Hurricanes (Cam Ward from Washington State) and Wolfpack (Grayson McCall from Coastal Carolina) are among the many ACC teams that are relying on a high-profile transfer at the all-important quarterback position this season.
Virginia Tech (five), Cal (two), Georgia Tech (one) and Boston College (one) also received one or more first-place votes.
Although Louisville played in the ACC championship game last year under first-year head coach Jeff Brohm, there was little optimism in this year’s voting for the three teams that had offseason coaching changes.
Duke (Manny Diaz), Syracuse (Fran Brown) and Boston College (Bill O’Brien) finished 11th, 12th and 14th in the voting, respectively.
Recent ACC Preseason Polls
Year — First-Place Selection (Actual ACC Champion)
2024 — Florida State (???)
2023 — Clemson (Florida State)
2022 — Clemson (Clemson)
2021 — Clemson (Pitt)
2020 — Clemson (Clemson)
2019 — Clemson (Clemson)
2018 — Clemson (Clemson)
