The new ACC is here. ACC coaches had good things to say about the conference heading into 2024, and four teams project to hit the 10-win mark with another seven reaching bowl eligibility.
It will be a new-look ACC next season in more ways than one. A year after debuting a division-less format, the conference added three new programs in Cal, Stanford, and SMU, bringing the total number of member schools to 17. We’ve already looked at the toughest non-conference games for the new-look ACC this season.
Florida State faces Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl in the latest 247Sports College Football Playoff projections, and there’s room for more ACC teams to join the Seminoles in their hunt for a national championship next season.
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Here’s a look at every ACC team’s projected final record in 2024 and where they finish in the new-look conference standings:
Wins: Richmond, at Coastal Carolina
Losses: at Wake Forest, Maryland, Louisville, at Clemson, North Carolina, at Pittsburgh, at Notre Dame, SMU, at Virginia Tech
Virginia finished with the second-worst record in the conference record last season and could be in line for another stinker in 2024. Richmond and Coastal Carolina are the easiest games on the Cavaliers’ schedule, but both are losable. Then there’s a brutal five-game stretch that features Louisville, Clemson, UNC and Notre Dame.
Wins: Cal Poly, Wake Forest, at San Jose State
Losses: TCU, at Syracuse, at Clemson, Virginia Tech, at Notre Dame, SMU, at North Carolina State, Louisville, at California
Newcomer Stanford finished 3-9 in the Pac-12 last season and is expected to post a similar record with one of the ACC’s toughest schedules next season. Clemson, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame and SMU comprise a brutal four-game stretch. The Cardinal gets a breather against Wake Forest before two more tough matchups against NC State and Louisville.
Wins: Duquesne, at Virginia, Western Kentucky
Losses: at Florida State, at Missouri, Michigan State, at Virginia Tech, Louisville, Syracuse, at SMU, North Carolina, Pittsburgh
Bill O’Brien brings longterm potential to Boston College. However, all signs point towards a rebuilding year in Boston, and the Eagles didn’t get any favors with their schedule. Boston College gets smacked in the face early with trips to Florida State and Missouri. It doesn’t let up much after, either.
Wins: Elon, Connecticut, at Middle Tennessee State, at Wake Forest
Losses: at Northwestern, North Carolina, at Georgia Tech, Florida State, SMU, at Miami, at North Carolina State, Virginia Tech
Duke is a candidate to start the season 3-1 in non-conference play before hosting rival UNC in an intriguing ACC opener. The Blue Devils’ conference slate is the toughest in the ACC next season, and there’s potential for them to stumble down the stretch. Duke faces seven of the ACC’s top 10 teams in our preseason power rankings in the last eight weeks of the season.
Wins: North Carolina A&T, Virginia, Louisiana, at Connecticut, California
Losses: Ole Miss, at North Carolina State, Clemson, at Stanford, at North Carolina, at Miami, Duke
Wake Forest finished with the worst record in the conference last season (1-7) and is unlikely to drastically move from that mark in 2024. The Demon Deacons could push for a bowl game thanks to non-conference matchups against North Carolina A&T, UConn and Louisiana. However, don’t expect a big finish with games against NC State, Clemson and Miami later in the season.
Wins: Kent State, at Cincinnati, Youngstown State, Virginia, at Boston College
Losses: West Virginia, at North Carolina, California, Syracuse, at SMU, Clemson, at Louisville
Pitt finished 3-9 last season but might get back to bowl eligibility against a mediocre schedule next fall. A weak non-conference schedule is a big help, but the Panthers likely need an upset win at UNC or at home against Cal or Syracuse to make the postseason.
Wins: UC Davis, San Diego State, at Pittsburgh, Oregon State, at Wake Forest, Stanford
Losses: at Auburn, at Florida State, Miami, North Carolina State, Syracuse, at SMU
Cal has the talent to make back-to-back bowl games for just the second time during Justin Wilcox’s eight years at the helm and is a dark horse candidate in the ACC. The trip to Auburn will be tough. So will the stretch against Florida State, Miami, Pittsburgh and NC State. Fortunately for Cal, the schedule loosens up from there.
Wins: Ohio, Stanford, Holy Cross, at UNLV, at Pittsburgh, Boston College, California, Connecticut
Losses: Georgia Tech, at North Carolina State, Virginia Tech, Miami
The trip to UNLV on Oct. 5 could prove dicey. Fran Brown has a chance to lead the Orange to its first eight-win season since 2018 thanks to it’s soft non-conference slate but it’ll need to win tough conference matchups against Pittsburgh, Boston College and Cal.
Wins: Georgia State, VMI, Duke, at Louisville, UNC, at Syracuse, at Virginia Tech
Losses: Florida State, Notre Dame, at Georgia, Miami, North Carolina State
This is one of the best Georgia Tech teams in years, but it faces an uphill battle for bowl eligibility against an absolute gauntlet in 2024. The Yellow Jackets project to win toss-ups against Louisville, UNC and Virginia Tech. However, Brent Key’s crew faces CFP contenders in the first five weeks and hits several ACC title contenders in Miami and NC State shortly after. Georgia Tech is the only ACC team in our toughest overall schedule ranking, and it ranks No. 6 overall.
Wins: Austin Peay, Jacksonville State, SMU, at Virginia, at Boston College, at Stanford, Pittsburgh
Losses: Georgia Tech, at Notre Dame, Miami, at Clemson, at Kentucky
The Cardinals won 10 games against a much harder schedule last season but lost quarterback Jack Plummer and three of their top offensive weapons from a season ago: running backs Jawhar Jordan, Isaac Guerendo and wide receiver Jamari Thrash. Louisville still has enough to get to a bowl game, but it’s poised for a minor rebuild.
Wins: at Vanderbilt, Marshall, at Old Dominion, at Stanford, Boston College, at Syracuse, at Duke, Virginia
Losses: Rutgers, at Miami, Georgia Tech, Clemson
Virginia Tech is a trendy pick for a resurgence this season after a 7-6 finish last fall. The Hokies are a threat to put together a winning season in the ACC this year behind quarterback Kyron Drones and running back Bhayshul Tuten. However, we aren’t comfortable tabbing them a conference championship contender yet.
Wins: at Minnesota, Charlotte, North Carolina Central, James Madison, at Duke, Pittsburgh, at Virginia, Wake Forest, at Boston College
Losses: Georgia Tech, at Florida State, North Carolina State
UNC had the toughest preseason ACC schedule last season but got a far better draw this year. Feisty App State gets replaced by a lesser in-state foe in Charlotte, which headlines a weak non-conference slate. The Tar Heels dropped some serious head-scratchers the past couple of seasons. However, expect running back Omarion Hampton and an improved defense to end that trend, for the most part, in 2024.
Wins: at Nevada, Houston Christian, BYU, at Stanford, at Duke, Pittsburgh, Boston College, at Virginia, California
Losses: TCU, Florida State, at Louisville
Expect SMU to have the best season of any ACC newcomer, and its debut schedule is a big reason why. The Mustangs should go 3-1 in the non-conference, with its lone loss coming on Sonny Dykes’ return trip to University Park. A manageable conference slate has SMU clinching back-to-back nine-win seasons for the first time since the early 1980s.
Wins: Western Carolina, Louisiana Tech, Northern Illinois, Wake Forest, Syracuse, at California, Stanford, Duke, at Georgia Tech, at North Carolina
Losses: Tennessee, at Clemson
NC State has the easiest conference schedule in the ACC next season and is poised for its first 10-win season in 22 years. The early tests against Tennessee and Clemson loom large early in the season, but the Wolfpack face just one team in the top eight of our ACC power rankings (UNC, No. 8) after their bout with the Tigers.
Wins: Appalachian State, North Carolina State, Stanford, at Wake Forest, Virginia, Louisville, at Virginia Tech, at Pittsburgh, The Citadel, South Carolina
Losses: Georgia, at Florida State
Clemson has two of the biggest games in the ACC next season. The Chick-fil-A Kickoff in Atlanta has set the stage for a huge Week 1 matchup between perennial powers in the ACC and SEC. The trip to Florida State in Week 5 will help define the conference championship race. Clemson projects to lose both, but it would not be a surprise if Dabo Swinney pulled out upsets. Watch out for NC State and at Virginia Tech.
Wins: at Florida, Florida A&M, Ball State, at South Florida, Virginia Tech, at California, at Louisville, Duke, at Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, at Syracuse
Losses: Florida State
Miami has been fool’s gold the past few seasons. Is this the year the Hurricanes finally break out? Mario Cristobal and Co. finished 7-6 last fall but landed one of the transfer portal’s top quarterbacks in former Washington State star Cameron Ward.
Wins: Georgia Tech, Boston College, Memphis, California, at SMU, Clemson, at Duke, at Miami, North Carolina, Charleston Southern, Florida
Losses: at Notre Dame
Florida State finished the regular season undefeated last season and is a threat to do the same in 2024. However, Seminoles fans shouldn’t discount the home game against Clemson and the trip to Miami. We’ve got some questions about the Seminoles’ roster after losing Jordan Travis and a handful of other talent to the NFL, but Mike Norvell’s crew is the favorite for a second straight ACC Championship.
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