By: Bryce Mitchell
The 2023 ACC Football Preseason rankings were released Tuesday morning and the Clemson Tigers are favored for 2023.
The Florida State Seminoles followed Clemson, North Carolina placed third and NC State came behind the Tar Heels at four.
This is the Tigers’ eighth time being favored for the ACC title in the past nine years.
Out of the last 14 seasons as the conference title favorite, Clemson has won the title 10 times, most recently in 2022.
The purple and orange posted an 11-3 record last season and were undefeated against ACC teams. Their 2022 ACC title win against UNC finished with a final of 39-10.
On 103 ballots, the Tigers were favored as the champion and finished with 2,370 points.
Florida State wasn’t far behind with 2,304 points, and they collected 67 first-place votes.
The Seminoles had a 10-3 season in 2022 and won their bowl game. The Cheez-It Bowl, now the Pop-Tarts Bowl, ended with a Seminoles’ victory over Oklahoma 35-32.
Rumors and whispers have begun to surface that FSU could be the next team to beat in the ACC after landing the No. 7 spot on the NCAA Preseason Top 25 Rankings.
The Tar Heels took third behind Florida State with 1,981 points. They recorded a 9-5 season, and they consecutively lost their final four games, including the ACC Championship against Clemson.
NC State took fourth with 1,662 points after an 8-5 record in the 2022 season.
Miami was voted fifth with 1,553 points and Duke and Pitt tied for sixth with 1,511 points.
The Louisville Cardinals went ninth with 1,344 points and Wake Forest followed at 1,181 points.
At the bottom of the conference are Syracuse (826), Virginia Tech (678), Georgia Tech (633), Boston College (561) and Virginia (365).
The 2023 season will include a new schedule for the ACC, where the divisions are no more. The ACC Championship title game is scheduled for Dec. 2 at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.
