The ACC proved to be one of the more interesting conferences in 2022. Having been pretty much dominated by Clemson since 2015, it was nice to see two new faces battle out the title. Was this an aberration or has Clemson adjusted to life after Trevor Lawrence? Well, they will start the seasons as favourites, however, there are a few teams who look capable of challenging.
Last season Wake Forest got off to an 8-0 start and made it to the Championship game. They were involved in some very high-scoring games and given Sam Hartman is returning scoring points shouldn’t be a problem. They have been bowl eligible for most of the Dave Clawson era and should give a good account of themselves.
However, the main threat to a Clemson revival may come in the shape of NC State. They beat the Tigers last year and lost a couple of really close games including a 3-pointer at Wake which ended up deciding the Atlantic Division. Last year’s Starting QB heads a number of returning starters and gets Wake Forest at home this year.
Florida State & Louisville both look to be improving and they are likely to make bowl eligibility. This leaves Syracuse & Boston College fighting to avoid the wooden spoon. Still, both might just scrape into a bowl game.
In the Coastal
Pittsburgh won the conference title for only the third time in their history last year but might struggle to repeat as divisional winners. QB Kenny Pickett is now with the Steelers so their starter is likely to be USC Transfer Kedon Slovis. How he adjusts to his new teammates will go a long way to determining the Panther’s season.
This might allow Miami to sneak in and take the division. They have a tough trip to Texas A&M early and face Clemson, however, nine wins could take this division and that is within their reach.
The Tar Heels look to have too much on their plate facing Notre Dame & road games against Miami & Wake. Despite that, they should make bowl eligibility easy enough. The Virginia Teams should flirt with 6-6 records while it could be a long season for both Duke & Georgia tech.
Atlantic Coast Conference Predicted Finish
Atlantic Division
Clemson 11-1
NC State 10-2
Wake Forest 8-4
Louisville 7-5
Florida State 7-5
Boston College 6-6
Syracuse 5-7
Coastal Division
Miami (FL) 9-3
Pittsburgh 8-4
North Carolina 8-4
Virginia 6-6
Virginia Tech 6-6
Georgia Tech 2-10
Duke 2-10
ACC Conference Championship
We expect the Tigers to win the ACC.
Image: Jamie Lamor Thompson/Shutterstock.com
We expect Clemson to regain their place as ACC champions and 12-1 might be good enough to take the 4th CFP place. NC State should rank highly and could get the ACC Orange Bowl place in the NY Six Bowls.
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