CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — SMU is headed to the Atlantic Coast Conference title game. Miami controls its destiny, and if the Hurricanes stumble this week Clemson will play for the league championship once again.
And when it’s all said and done, the ACC might get two of those teams — or all three, if things break right — into the newly expanded College Football Playoff.
There were surprises in the ACC this season: Florida State went from first to worst, Mack Brown’s time at North Carolina is about to run out and SMU is headed to the conference title game after getting exactly zero first-place votes out of 170 cast in the preseason league poll. Of the league’s 17 teams, nine spent at least one week in the AP Top 25 as well with Clemson and Miami there every week to this point.
A look at 2024 in the ACC:
Miami quarterback Cam Ward is likely headed to New York as a Heisman Trophy finalist in December, and there’s a slew of other ACC players who may hear their name as award winners.
North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton is a finalist for the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s top running back (Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty figures to be the huge favorite there), Ward is a finalist for the Davey O’Brien as the nation’s top quarterback, and the Florida State kicking duo of punter Alex Mastromanno and kicker Ryan Fitzgerald are up for national honors as well.
SMU, Miami, Clemson, Syracuse, Duke, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Pitt, North Carolina, Cal and Boston College all have already hit the six-win threshold for bowl eligibility.
The Virginia Tech-Virginia winner will finish the regular season 6-6, adding tons of extra spice to that rivalry game. N.C. State could also get to six wins if it beats rival North Carolina.
Wake Forest, Stanford and Florida State will finish the regular season without six wins.
North Carolina has already parted ways with Mack Brown, who will coach the finale against N.C. State.
Mike Norvell went from an ACC title in 2023 to finishing last in a 17-team league in 2024, so some Florida State fans want change. The enormous buyout he’d be owed figures to keep him safe.
The Virginia-Virginia Tech game is certain to lead to some grumbling from one side. The winning coach — either the Cavaliers’ Tony Elliott or the Hokies’ Brent Pry — will finish 6-6, the other 5-7. That’s a big difference.
Change can be good. The first-year coaches (at least in their current job) in the ACC this season all are bowl eligible: Manny Diaz and Duke have eight wins, as do Fran Brown and Syracuse. Bill O’Brien is 6-5 so far in Year 1 at Boston College.
A few of the freshmen who made a serious impact in 2024:
— Eli Holstein, QB, Pitt: He won his first seven starts. The last Panther to do that was a guy named Dan Marino.
— O.J. Frederique, CB, Miami: The Hurricanes didn’t have a ton of depth at corner and Frederique quickly became a star.
— Isaac Brown, RB, Louisville: He enters this week 104 yards shy of 1,000 for the season.
— CJ Bailey, QB, N.C. State: Had a seven-game stretch where he completed at least 64% of all his throws.
— Luke Kromenhoek, QB, Florida State: A big guy with big-play potential, and one of the bright spots in a tough year in Tallahassee.
— Jordan Lyle, RB, Miami: The Hurricanes used him as a closer and the speedster had a ton of highlight-reel plays.
— Sammy Brown, LB, Clemson: He’s not even in the top-10 snap count guys for the Tigers on defense, but is fourth in tackles.
Based on the current 247 composite rankings, the teams in the best shape as of now for signing day include Miami, Clemson, Georgia Tech, SMU and Duke. Florida State isn’t high in the rankings but that may be deceiving; more than half of its current commits are four-star players.
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