College football camps are here, and the grind for each team to find a way into the 12-team College Football Playoff is beginning. Last season, Miami came up short of reaching the ACC Championship Game, but they were the final team selected to the CFP and made a miracle run to the National Championship Game, falling short in the end against Indiana.
Entering the 2026 season, there has been a lot of turnover with coaches, coaching staffs, and rosters. James Franklin is the new coach at Virginia Tech, and teams like Virginia and Duke, who met in the ACC Championship Game last December, look to build off of last season's success. With that said, here are the preseason ACC Power Rankings.
2026 ACC Football Preseason Power Rankings
As camps get underway, let's fire up the first power rankings for the season. And no, we will not be making any foolish decisions as the media did with Stanford, picked to finish last, receiving a vote to win the conference.
There are a lot of questions surrounding the Cardinal after another coaching change, with Tavita Pritchard entering his first season. There is nowhere to go but up after four straight losing seasons.
Last season, Brent Pry entered the 2025 season on the hot seat in Blacksburg and was fired after a Week 3 loss to Old Dominion. It feels like Bill O'Brien could have the same fate with a slow start with the Eagles this fall.
After a very good first season in Central New York, things went south for a number of reasons in 2025. He's not on the hot seat, but a step forward needs to be made by Fran Brown and his team this season.
Jake Dickert arrived after four good seasons at Washington State, and the Demon Deacons finished 9-4. They became a team that nobody wanted to play and look to take another step under Dickert in 2026.
If Bill O'Brien's seat is hot, then Bill Belichick's is scorching hot. The former New England Patriots head coach can't afford another 4-8 season in Chapel Hill.
See above. Like Belichick, Mike Norvell can't survive a repeat of the 2025 season.
The surprise ACC champion last season had some big roster turnover with quarterback Darian Menash transferring to Miami. We'll see how things go in 2026.
Tosh Lupoi takes over in Berkley and has a very good weapon in quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele. The Golden Bears are going to be a dangerous game on everyone's schedule this upcoming season.
There is a lot of hype surrounding the Wolfpack under Dave Doeren. We've been down this road before and know how it's turned out. Can NC State flip the script in 2026?
The Cavaliers were the biggest surprise story in the ACC in 2025, advancing all the way to the ACC Championship Game. They fell to Duke in overtime after having a hangover from finally beating Virginia Tech last season. Clearly that was the Cavaliers' Super Bowl, and we'll see if they're for real this season.
Like NC State, Pitt seems to always enter a season with a lot of hype, but lets down their fanbase. Is this season different? It could be, and it needs to be.
Franklin is beginning his first season in charge of the Hokies, and truth be told, there is nowhere to go but up. The question will be whether or not Virginia Tech can surprise this season and take a huge first step under the former Penn State coach.
The Yellow Jackets lost a lot of talent from last season's squad, but never count out a Brent Key-coached team.
Another team that enters a lot of seasons with a ton of hype only to end up having a couple of disappointing losses is the Cardinals. Again, is this the year they break through and get back to the ACC title game?
If there is one coach who hears all the criticism, it's Dabo Swinney. There are a lot of analysts who are doubting the Tigers this season, but never bet against Swinney during a season when he needs to have a lot of success.
Kevin Jennings is back under center for coach Rhett Lashley, and there is a reason why the Mustangs are a pick by a lot of analysts to reach the ACC Championship Game.
Can the Hurricanes and head coach Mario Cristobal get over the hump and into the ACC Championship Game? It needs to be.
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