Clemson Tigers Runaway Favorite in ACC Preseason Poll

The Tigers finished with 167 first-place votes by the media, recording 3,083 points by overall votes. Second were the Miami Hurricanes, who finished with 2,679 points, including seven first-place votes. 

Though Clemson does not play the Hurricanes in the regular season, the predictions indicate a crash course for the two teams to play at Bank of America Stadium on Dec. 6 in the ACC Championship. 

Rounding out the top five were SMU, Georgia Tech, and Louisville, respectively. The Mustangs saw their first season in the ACC end in a conference championship appearance, recording 2,612 points that included two first-place votes. Georgia Tech finished with 2,397 points and two first-place votes, and the Cardinals recorded 2,370 points. 

Clemson will play all three of these teams throughout the season. A matchup with the Yellow Jackets for its first conference game on Sept. 13 in Atlanta, a home rematch with SMU on Oct. 18, and a Friday night away matchup with the Cardinals on Nov. 4. 

The Duke Blue Devils found a sixth-place spot with 1,973 points, Florida State followed closely with 1,920 points for a seventh-place selection, receiving four first-place votes. Head coach Bill Belichick and the North Carolina Tar Heels were selected eighth by the media. 

The Tigers play all three of these teams, playing Duke and Florida State at home on Nov. 1 and 8, respectively. The team will head to Chapel Hill, N.C., to play the Tar Heels on Oct. 4. 

To round out the list, Pitt, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Boston College, Virginia, California, Wake Forest, and Stanford were selected from ninth place to 17th place. 

The Tigers have a schedule that will leave them battle-tested, including matchups against six of the seven top teams in the ACC, according to the poll, as well as an opening week matchup with LSU and a rivalry game against South Carolina. 

Head coach Dabo Swinney and the team will kick off on Aug. 30 at Memorial Stadium against LSU at 7:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ABC.