BOSTON COLLEGE
Coach: Bill O’Brien (9-16, third season; 24-25 overall)
2025: 2-10, 1-7 ACC
Buzz: O’Brien has hit the reset button with 50 new players (including 25 transfers), six new coaches and a new general manager in Kenyatta Watson. The Eagles added DII quarterback Mason McKenzie (4,300 passing yards and 1,600 rushing yards in 25 college games) from Saginaw Valley State. But he won’t have Kaelin Chudzinski, one of the top freshman tight ends in 2025, who will miss the season due to an Achilles injury. Look for Nedrick Boldin, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound receiver from Pahokee. One of his cousins is former FSU standout and Super Bowl champion Anquan Boldin.
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CALIFORNIA
Coach: Tosh Lupoi (first season)
2025: 7-6, 4-4 ACC
Buzz: Lupoi is back at his alma mater, where he played on the defensive line, after a four-year run as Oregon’s defensive coordinator/ LB coach. He also won a pair of national titles as an assistant at Alabama. QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele threw for 3,454 yards, 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions as a freshman last fall. Often known as JKS, the left-hander completed 64% of his passes. Cal landed a talented tight end in Dorian Thomas, a transfer from New Mexico. Thomas caught 56 passes for 560 yards and four touchdowns — including 10 catches for 71 yards and two touchdowns in the 2025 opener at Michigan.
CLEMSON
Coach: Dabo Swinney (187-53, 19th season)
2025: 7-6, 4-4 ACC
Buzz: Christopher Vizzina, in his fourth season, is the starting quarterback. Vizzina threw for 317 yards and three touchdowns in a fill-in start, losing to SMU in 2025. Junior Bryant Wesco caught 31 passes for 537 yards and six touchdowns before a season-ending injury in 2025. The 6-2, 195-pound Wesco surpassed 1,000 yards in his first 15 games, joining a Clemson group that includes Sammy Watkins, Artavis Scott and Justyn Ross. DE Will Heldt had 48 tackles and 7.5 sacks. The defense also features linebacker Sammy Brown (194 tackles in first two seasons) and cornerback Ashton Hampton (77 tackles, three interceptions).
DUKE
Coach: Manny Diaz (18-9, third season; 39-24 overall)
2025: 9-5, 6-2 ACC
Buzz: Duke went from having one of the ACC’s top quarterbacks in Darian Mensah to an open camp competition between San Jose State transfer Walker Eget and redshirt freshman Dan Mahan. Eget threw for 5,555 yards, 30 touchdowns and 19 interceptions the last two seasons at San Jose State. The strength on defense will be at linebacker, with Nick Morris Jr. and Luke Mergott. Mergott had 90 tackles and two interceptions; Morris had 18 tackles in four games after missing time due to injury. Duke has a rising star in tailback Nate Sheppard, who ran for 1,132 yards and 11 touchdowns as a freshman. The 5-10, 190-pound Sheppard also caught 37 passes for 286 yards and a touchdown.
FLORIDA STATE
Coach: Mike Norvell (38-34, seventh season; 76-50 overall)
2025: 5-7, 2-6 ACC
Buzz: Norvell is living in a pressure cooker but has been part of reshaping the program. FSU will have more than 60 new players, a new offensive coordinator (Tim Harris Jr.) as well as five new position coaches (QB, RB, DE, LB and CB). Duce Robinson is a preseason All-American after a 1,081-yard, six TD season. FSU has star players at all three levels on defense with defensive lineman Mandrell Desir (6.5 sacks), linebacker Chris Jones (135 tackles) and cornerback Ja’Bril Rawls (40 tackles, one interception). A Southern Miss transfer, Jones averaged more than 10 tackles per game and also had 9.5 tackles for loss in 2025.
GEORGIA TECH
Coach: Brent Key (27-20, fifth season)
2025: 9-4, 6-2 ACC
Buzz: Georgia Tech’s new quarterback is Alberto Mendoza, the brother of Heisman Trophy winner Fernando. Little brother completed 19 of 25 passes for 286 yards and five touchdowns in two seasons at Indiana, and Key praised Mendoza for his intelligence, vision and accuracy. Justice Haynes led the Big Ten in yards per carry (7.1) in 2025 at Michigan. He has 1,473 rushing yards in three seasons, including 2023-24 at Alabama. The Yellow Jackets lost offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner to Florida. Quarterback Aaron Philo, offensive lineman Harrison Moore and receiver Bailey Stockton followed Faulkner to Gainesville. Matching the nine-win season of 2025 will be an uphill battle.
LOUISVILLE
Coach: Jeff Brohm (28-12, fourth season; 94-56 overall)
2025: 9-4, 4-4 ACC
Buzz: The Cardinals have had success with transfer quarterbacks in recent years under Jeff Brohm. This year, they turn to Ohio State transfer Lincoln Kienholz (250 passing yards and one TD in three seasons with the Buckeyes). Defensive lineman Clev Lubin is a preseason All-ACC pick. He had 61 tackles and 8.5 sacks last fall. Louisville has won 10, 9 and 9 games in Brohm’s first three seasons. The Cardinals face a daunting schedule with 11 opponents from Power 4 conferences — including preseason No. 9 Ole Miss and No. 22 SMU in September.
MIAMI
Coach: Mario Cristobal (35-19, fifth season; 97-79 overall)
2025: 13-3, 6-2 ACC
Buzz: Cristobal signed an extension, Miami retained both of its coordinators, there’s a wealth of returning talent on offense and defense and a high-level transfer quarterback. This team looks ready to make another CFP run in 2026. Miami travels to Stanford, Wake Forest, Clemson and UNC (which should all be navigable games) before a Nov. 7 showdown at No. 4 Notre Dame. The Hurricanes’ offense should be worth the price of admission. They will feature a 3,000-yard passer (Darian Mensah at Duke), a pair of 1,000-yard receivers (Malachi Toney and Cooper Barkate at Duke) and a 1,000-yard rusher (Mark Fletcher Jr.).
NORTH CAROLINA
Coach: Bill Belichick (4-8, second season; 4-8 overall)
2025: 4-8, 2-6 ACC
Buzz: Belichick’s second year is already fascinating. Defensive coordinator (and son) Steve Belichick is on medical leave. GM Michael Lombardi is suspended. And Bobby Petrino is back in the ACC as the Tar Heels’ offensive coordinator. Quite the story: Melkart Abou Jaoude walked on at Delaware and had 6.5 sacks as a redshirt sophomore. But in 2025, the 260-pound defensive lineman racked up 10.5 sacks at UNC. Belichick has kept the quarterback decision under wraps. The starter will have a big target: 6-foot-2, 190-pound Jordan Shipp had 60 receptions for 671 yards and six touchdowns.
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NORTH CAROLINA STATE
Coach: Dave Doeren (95-70, 14th season; 118-74 overall)
2025: 8-5, 4-4 ACC
Buzz: The ACC is loaded with quality passers, and CJ Bailey should be up there in the conversation. The Miami native was accurate as a sophomore (68.8%) and threw for 3,105 yards, 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Bailey’s supporting cast should be good, too, although the Wolfpack will miss Hollywood Smothers, who ran for 939 yards in 2025, but transferred to Texas. Still, NC State has a quality running back in Jayden Scott (581 rushing yards, 5.5 yards per carry) and a dynamic 5-8 receiver in Victor Snow (815 receiving yards, eight TDs at Buffalo in 2025). NC State’s defense was just 111th in total defense last year and will miss DE Caden Fordham (143 tackles).
PITTSBURGH
Coach: Pat Narduzzi (80-61, 12th season)
2025: 8-5, 6-2 ACC
Buzz: Mason Heintschel impressed as a true freshman, throwing for 2,354 yards, 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Heintschel led Pitt to wins at FSU, at Georgia Tech and over NC State. If Pitt is to make a run in the ACC, it will be with run-pass balance. Ja’Kyrian Turner ran for 745 yards as a freshman, averaging 5.3 yards per carry. Pitt has a potential head coaching candidate in 33-year-old offensive coordinator Cade Bell. His dad, Kerwin, was Florida’s quarterback from 1984-87.
SMU
Coach: Rhett Lashlee (38-16, fifth season)
2025: 9-4, 6-2 ACC
Buzz: Lashlee guided SMU to the ACC title game in 2024, the first season the Mustangs were in the league, and the team was a win away in a wild tiebreaker scenario from advancing to Charlotte again in 2025. SMU’s donors and administration signed Lashlee to an extension, holding off interest from his alma mater, Arkansas. Kevin Jennings has thrown for 6,886 yards, 49 touchdowns and 24 interceptions the last two seasons. A 65 percent career passer, Jennings has a veteran line in front of him, too. SMU gave up just 20 points per game last fall but had to hit the portal to fill some gaps on defense.
STANFORD
Coach: Tavita Pritchard (first season)
2025: 4-8, 3-5 ACC
Buzz: Pritchard returns to his alma mater, where he was the quarterback from 2006-09. He joins the program from the Washington Commanders, where he helped develop Jayden Daniels. The Cardinal brought in Michigan transfer quarterback Davis Warren, who threw for 1,199 yards, seven touchdowns and nine interceptions in 2025. He completed 64.1% of his passes. Stanford has a quality group of running backs with Micah Ford and Miami native Sedrick Irvin Jr. Ford ran for 643 yards and four touchdowns, while Irvin Jr. had 118 rushing yards and a touchdown.
SYRACUSE
Coach: Fran Brown (13-12, second season)
2025: 3-9, 1-7 ACC
Buzz: Steve Angeli was quite good through four games, passing for 1,317 yards, 10 touchdowns and two interceptions before suffering a season-ending Achilles injury. Angeli led a win at Clemson in September, so his return is massive for Syracuse’s 2026 outlook. Brown is off to a wild start — 10-3 in year 1 and 3-9 in 2025, although Angeli’s injury is attributable to part of the drop-off. A wild stat: Syracuse managed just 20 points per game yet allowed nearly 35 points in 2025.
VIRGINIA
Coach: Tony Elliott (22-26, fifth season)
2025: 11-3, 7-1 ACC
Buzz: Tony Elliott won a combined 11 games in his first three seasons at Virginia before hitting the transfer portal for production and experience, which helped deliver an 11-3 season. The quarterback situation is a question mark after Chandler Morris lost his appeal to play a seventh season. Virginia will go from Morris (a 3,000-yard passer) to either Beau Primula (played sparingly at Penn State and started at Missouri) or Eli Holstein (lost his starting job at Pittsburgh). Defense could be a strength. Virginia adds lineman Zion Wilson (42 tackles at East Carolina) and defensive back Brandyn Hillman (49 tackles at Michigan) and returns standout linebacker Kam Robinson (64 tackles in eight games before suffering a torn ACL).
VIRGINIA TECH
Coach: James Franklin (first season; 128-60 overall)
2025: 3-9, 2-6 ACC
Buzz: Franklin worked his magic at Vanderbilt with back-to-back nine-win seasons in 2012-13 (his second and third years in Nashville). Winning at Vanderbilt ain’t easy. Franklin feels like the right fit given his mid-Atlantic and Northeast recruiting ties. VT should be able to run. Marcellous Hawkins had 749 rushing yards (6.3 yards per carry) in 2025 and is joined by 230-pound Louisiana transfer Bill Davis (767 yards and six touchdowns). Franklin is known for his defenses and has brought in some talent, including Cocoa DE Javion Hilson, so the defense should be better than a year ago. In an unusual move, Brent Pry was hired as defensive coordinator, though he was fired as Tech’s head coach last fall (he and Franklin are longtime friends).
WAKE FOREST
Coach: Jake Dickert (9-4, second season; 32-24 overall)
2025: 9-4, 4-4 ACC
Buzz: Wake hired Dickert to rebuild the program, and he turned in a 9-4 season. The Demon Deacons slipped past SMU yet were drilled at FSU. They’ll learn quickly about the 2026 team with September games against No. 7 Miami and at No. 21 Louisville. Gio Lopez is playing at his third school. His best season was 2024 at South Alabama, where he threw for 2,559 yards, 18 touchdowns and five interceptions. Wake’s offense was gutted by the transfer portal but seven defensive starters are back. Among the top returnees are defensive back Davaughn Patterson (80 tackles) and defensive lineman Langston Hardy (seven sacks).
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