The 2020 ACC Preview with the top players, biggest games, most important transfers, and thoughts on each team.
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5. ACC 2020 Preview
The ACC puffed its chest out after the 2016 season, and rightly so.
Clemson had won the national title, Florida State and Louisville were rolling, Miami was back, Virginia Tech was great, Georgia Tech won nine games, and 11 of the 14 programs won seven games or more. But just as the ACC was starting to feel it, it all started to slip.
Clemson was still Clemson, and the conference was still okay, but it wasn’t dominant league many thought it could be. There wasn’t that push past the Big Ten to challenge the SEC for college football supremacy.
This year might just change all of that.
No, the ACC won’t be as deep or as talented as the SEC, and no, it doesn’t have as many high-end powers as the Big Ten, but it also doesn’t have a Rutgers.
And it has a Notre Dame.
CFN ACC Preview
Teams: Surprise, Disappointments | Top Games
Players To Watch | One Thought On Each Team
– CFN Preview 2020: All 130 Team Previews
Clemson is obvious star, but the league needs a No. 2. The SEC has several of those teams in the mix for whatever the No. 1 is in a given year, and Penn State, Wisconsin, and to a certain extent, Michigan, are there to be Ohio State’s Robin.
With Florida State down over the last few years – and with Miami, Virginia Tech and others being okay, but not killers – the league has been missing the overall oomph.
That just changed.
With Notre Dame a part of the ACC Championship mix this year, there’s the No. 2 team. There’s the real challenger to at least push Clemson, and best of all, there are more able to really and truly make things interesting.
Duke, Syracuse, Georgia Tech and Boston College are all just okay – to be nice – but it wouldn’t be in any way stunning if any of them were able to beat a Pitt, or Virginia, or North Carolina, etc. All 15 teams are at the very least interesting, if not solid.
It’s going to be a weekly battle with crazy twist after crazy twist on the way to coming up with the top two teams out of the 15 to play for the title, and best of all, it’s all going to be played at the high level we hopes was coming a few years ago.
NEXT: ACC Teams That Will Surprise, Disappoint
4. ACC Surprise, Disappointment
ACC Team That Will Surprise
Pitt Panthers
It stinks to lose star DT Jaylen Twyman – who opted out on the season – but the line is still among the nation’s best. The secondary and offensive line are among the ACC’s best, too. There’s a date at Clemson to freak out about, and going to Miami doesn’t help, but Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, and Louisville are all home games.
Pull off an upset over the Hokies and/or the Irish, and there’s a shot at finishing in the top two with a chance at the ACC Championship.
2020 ACC Previews
Atlantic Boston College | Clemson | Florida State
Louisville | NC State | Syracuse | Wake Forest
Coastal Duke | Georgia Tech | Miami
North Carolina | Pitt | Virginia | Virginia Tech
CFN Preview 2020: All 130 Team Previews
ACC Team That Will Disappoint
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Disappoint is a bit relative since there aren’t a ton of expectations on the Demon Deacons, but going bowling is a regular thing now under Dave Clawson. There are enough high-end talents on both sides of the ball to be competitive, and the offense will be explosive again, but the almost-all ACC schedule – Old Dominion is the non-conference game – is brutal.
Missing Florida State and Pitt isn’t bad, but it’s uh-oh time if the team doesn’t at least split the early home games against Clemson and Notre Dame. Five of the first six games are at home, and the team only leaves North Carolina once before finishing up at Louisville, but it’ll be a fight to win four games in the new schedule.
NEXT: ACC Game of the Year, Hot Seat Coaches
3. ACC Games, Hot Seat Coaches
ACC Game Of The Year
Clemson at Notre Dame, Nov. 7
This was going to be a big deal before, but now that Notre Dame is in the ACC 15-team mix, this takes on a life of its own. This could be the first of two showdowns with the top two teams going the ACC Championship, but the battle in South Bend will be big enough to be among the biggest games of the regular season.
The Irish could lose at Pitt, and on the wrong day, Clemson could get tripped up by Virginia or Miami, but be shocked if both teams aren’t 7-0.
5 Other Interesting ACC Games
This is all very, very fluid, but at the moment if the ACC slate stays relatively close to the original version …
1. Virginia Tech at Pitt, Nov. 21
2. Notre Dame at North Carolina, Nov. 27
3. Miami at Clemson, Oct. 10
4. Pitt at Clemson, Nov. 28
5. Florida State at Miami, Sept. 26
– 2020 CFN ACC 5-Year Program Rankings
5 ACC Coaches On The Hot Seat
It’s not necessarily about who’s about to get fired – especially this year.
Think of it this way – who has the most pressure to win, either because of high expectations or to keep the gig?
1. Manny Diaz, Miami
2. Dave Doeren, NC State
3. Dino Babers, Syracuse
4. Mike Norvell, Florida State
5. Justin Fuente, Virginia Tech
NEXT: ACC Key Players To Know
2. ACC Key Players To Know
5 ACC Transfers Who Will Matter
Five players who made the jump and now should be a big deal.
1. QB D’Eriq King, Miami from Houston
2. DE Quincy Roche, Miami from Temple
3. QB Phil Jurkovec, Boston College from Notre Dame
4. RB Jashaun Corbin, Florida State from Texas A&M
5. RB Khalil Herbert, Virginia Tech from Kansas
5 Big-Time ACC Players Who Deserve A Bigger Spotlight
Five players who deserve to be known and loved on a national level, but should rise up and be among the season’s best players.
1. WR Sage Surratt, Jr. Wake Forest
2. DE Victor Dimukeje, Sr. Duke
3. C Jimmy Morrissey, Sr. Pitt
4. LB Rayshard Ashby, Sr. Virginia Tech
5. S Joey Blount, Sr. Virginia
5 Best Pro Prospects From The ACC
1. QB Trevor Lawrence, Jr.
Clemson
2. DE Quincy Roche, Sr.
Miami
3. DT Marvin Wilson, Sr.
Florida State
4. DE Carlos Basham, Sr. Wake Forest
5. RB Travis Etienne, Sr. Clemson
– 2020 CFN Preseason All-ACC Team
5 Biggest ACC Shoes To Fill
1. QB Brennan Armstrong, Soph. or Keytaon Thompson, Sr. Virginia for Bryce Perkins
2. DE Jaelan Phillips, Jr. Miami for Gregory Rousseau
3. LB Mike Jones, Soph. Clemson for Isaiah Simmons
4. RB David Bailey, Jr. Boston College for AJ Dillon
5. CB Armani Chatman, Soph. Virginia Tech for Caleb Farley
NEXT: One Honest Thought On Each ACC Team
1. One Honest Thought On Each ACC Team
Click on each team for the preview, 5 things to know
ACC
Boston College
Notre Dame transfer QB Phil Jurkovec being eligible right away is huge for the start of the Jeff Hafley era. In a strong 15-team ACC, Boston College is at or near the bottom in overall talent and upside, but the offensive line is great, David Bailey is a thumper of a runner in place of AJ Dillon, and the Eagles have their quarterback.
Clemson
Notre Dame is terrific and at least four other ACC teams are top-25 worthy, but it’s still Clemson and everyone else. As long as the offensive backfield holds, the rest of the parts are in place to make another run to play for the national title. There’s so much depth that losing almost anyone to opting out – or anything else – doesn’t really matter that much.
Duke
There might not be another team in America that’s going to miss the layup non-conference games more than Duke. It was originally supposed to play Middle Tennessee, Elon and Charlotte, and it’s keeping Charlotte. Realistically, instead of starting 3-0, it’s only going to get that one win over the 49ers. To go bowling in this year of a strong ACC, coming up with four or five more wins will be tough.
Florida State
Mike Norvell teams are known for their amazing offenses, and little-to-no defenses. What’s going to happen when he has an elite D? If all of the Noles stay in place and don’t opt out, they’ll have the defense to hang around with anyone on the schedule.
Louisville
Louisville made the big step back in the first year under Scott Satterfield, but this is a jam-packed ACC with a whole lot of good teams. This is one of them, and missing Clemson and North Carolina is gigantic, but it’s still going to be a fight for six wins because of so many tough games on the slate.
Georgia Tech
The expectations are still going to be at close to zero, and they’ll need to be. It’s a far better overall team – and it’ll come up with a few victories – but where’s the win on the schedule? UCF is the non-conference game, and the dates with Syracuse and Boston College are on the road. This is another rebuilding year, and it’s okay.
Miami
There might not be a more interesting overall team or situation in college football. Start with the problem of being in the hottest of coronavirus hot spots, throw in the NFL talents who might follow Gregory Rousseau and opt-on, and include the expectations, and this isn’t going to be easy. However, if the Canes are able to go, having QB D’Eriq King is a good guy to help turn things around.
North Carolina
The Tar Heels are loaded offensively, Mack Brown’s recruiting class is special, and the passing game should be phenomenal, but this is still a team that struggled with its consistency last year. It misses Clemson and Pitt, and it gets Notre Dame at home after an off-week. Put UNC in the bucket of teams that can realistically shoot for the No. 2 spot.
NC State
This might be the toughest team in the ACC to figure out. 2019’s clunker of a campaign should be an aberration for Dave Doeren, and the lines are in place to be a whole lot better, but it’s still going to be a push to get to 6-4. Not having Clemson or Notre Dame on the slate certainly helps.
Notre Dame
Notre Dame always gets everyone’s best punch, but double that in a year when the games actually count in conference play. The Irish are below Clemson and a step above the other 13 teams, but there’s no layup. It would be a slap in the face to the conference if they come in as a rental and end up ripping through the schedule.
Pitt
This might be the most dangerous mid-level team in the ACC with the defensive talent to screw up anyone on the slate. That includes Clemson late in the year, Notre Dame at home, Miami on the road, Virginia Tech, and everyone else. No, Pitt won’t win the ACC title, but it’ll keep someone else from being in the mix.
Syracuse
Can the lines hold up? The pass protection has to be night-and-day better, the defensive front seven has to prove it’s not among the ACC’s worst, and getting to five wins is going to be a grind considering the road games at Clemson, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Pitt and Louisville on the slate – and the Orange will get there thanks to a favorable home schedule.
Virginia
There are so many ways to assume Virginia is about to take a big step back. There’s no Bryce Perkins, trips to Clemson, Virginia Tech, Miami and Florida State aren’t easy, and the overall firepower isn’t there. With that said, undersell what Bronco Mendenhall and his staff can do at your own peril.
Virginia Tech
It’s a shame there’s no Notre Dame on the schedule – that might be the battle for the No. 2 spot. The Hokie defense might not have the overall talent of Clemson’s, and the line isn’t as good as Pitt’s – even without Jaylen Twyman – but this is a strong enough team to not just go to the ACC title game, but maybe even win it. It should be favored in the first nine games before hosting Clemson.
Wake Forest
The offense will be there to hang around in every game, and the pass rush is good enough to be a factor. It’ll be tough to come up with a big win total with its schedule – starting out with Clemson, at NC State, and Notre Dame doesn’t help – but it”ll come up with its share of upsets.
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