Miami Predicted to Win ACC, Tigers Fourth

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CHARLOTTE — The Miami Hurricanes are the runaway favorite to win the ACC Championship this coming season, according to the media who cover the league. The league’s preseason poll was released on Tuesday.

There were 185 media members who voted for this year’s ACC Football Championship from the ACC Kickoff event in Charlotte.

Clemson, who has won eight of the last 11 ACC Championships, came in No. 4 in the preseason vote, while last year’s champion, Duke, was predicted to finish 10th in the league.

The Hurricanes received 3,159 points in the annual preseason poll to earn the top spot, followed by SMU (2,794 points), Louisville (2,569) and Clemson (2,520). Georgia Tech rounded out the top five with 2,006 points.

In the media voting, Miami received 165 first-place votes. Clemson received seven first-place votes, followed by SMU with six, Louisville with four, Florida State with three and Georgia Tech with two. Stanford also received a first-place vote.

Virginia (1,981), NC State (1,964), Virginia Tech (1,962), Pitt (1,740) and Duke (1,452) completed the top 10 in one of the closest preseason polls in recent conference history, with just 19 points separating sixth through eighth place.

Florida State (1,439) was picked 11th, followed by California (1,392), Wake Forest (1,103), Syracuse (878), North Carolina (831), Boston College (491) and Stanford (483).

The ACC enters the 2026 season with one of the nation’s deepest and most competitive conferences, as teams begin the league’s transition to a nine-game conference schedule and compete for a berth in the 2026 ACC Football Championship Game on Saturday, December 5, at noon ET on ABC.

2026 ACC Football Predicted Order of Finish (Media Vote)

Rank Team – Points

  1. Miami (165) – 3159
  2. SMU (6) – 2794
  3. Louisville (4) – 2569
  4. Clemson (7) – 2520
  5. Georgia Tech (2) – 2006
  6. Virginia – 1981
  7. NC State – 1964
  8. Virginia Tech – 1962
  9. Pitt – 1740
  10. Duke – 1452
  11. Florida State (3) – 1439
  12. California – 1392
  13. Wake Forest – 1103
  14. Syracuse – 878
  15. North Carolina – 831
  16. Boston College – 491
  17. Stanford (1) – 483

First-place votes in parentheses

188 media voters

—courtesy of ACC Communications

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