ACC Football: Season preview and final standings predictions

The Saturday Blitz staff goes on the record with their ACC football picks for the 2017 season. Can Clemson repeat or will a new team seize the crown?

The coaching ranks of the ACC are as strong as they’ve ever been. The conference returns the defending national champions and the Heisman trophy winner. That’s not bad, but it’s hardly likely that both of those things remain true in 2017, right?

From top to bottom the staff of the Saturday Blitz has made their projections for the ACC football standings in 2017. So let’s cut to the chase and take a look at how each division shakes out and who we tabbed as the 2017 ACC Champion.

ACC Atlantic Division

There are four active coaches in college football that have won a National Championship: Nick Saban (Alabama), Urban Meyer (Florida), Jimbo Fisher (Florida State) and Dabo Swinney (Clemson). Two of those coaches currently reside in the ACC Atlantic. No other conference in college football boasts a pair of national championship coaches, let alone two of them in the same division.

Florida State looks to be the most complete team in the conference by a wide margin. The Seminoles return Deondre Francois at the helm of their offense and a bevy of talented defensive players including Tarvarus McFadden and Derwin James. Clemson, the reigning national champions, will have to replace Heisman finalist Deshaun Watson as well as running back Wayne Gallman and receiver Mike Williams.

Questions abound the further down the list you go. Louisville will be dangerous with Heisman winner Lamar Jackson. However, the Cardinals will be extremely young this season and will be even more dependent on Jackson to carry the load. He was under constant pressure a year ago and won’t have the element of surprise working in his favor this year.

More: Game by game predictions for Louisville in 2017

The bottom of the division shouldn’t pose much of a threat to the upper portion, with the notable exception of NC State. The Wolfpack were a missed field goal away from toppling national champion Clemson a season ago. They’re a team that is sure to beat one of better squads in the conference one week and get blown out by an inferior team the following week.

ACC Coastal Division

Not all divisions are created equally. That’s certainty the case for the ACC this season. The Coastal is definitely the weaker of the two divisions, but it’s continuing to show improvement. Mark Richt and Justin Fuente are two of the better coaches in the country. Richt was a 10-win machine at Georgia and Fuente is an up-and-coming mind that could play his way into a job at a blue-blood school if he continues his winning ways at Virginia Tech.

More: Game by game predictions for Virginia Tech in 2017

After those two teams the rest of the division gets sketchy, fast. Pittsburgh, under the direction of new LSU offensive coordinator Matt Canada, was the No. 10 scoring offense in the country last season. The Panthers were the No. 106 scoring defense. Replacing running back James Conner is going to be a tough ask. It’s safe to assume that the Panthers are in for some sort of regression.

Also a candidate for a step backwards from a season ago, North Carolina will be without the leadership of No. 2 overall NFL draft pick Mitchell Tribusky. Stuck somewhere between bad and elite, the Tarheels look be a lock to finish just about .500 in the ACC without too many surprising results along the way.

Then there’s Georgia Tech, Duke and Virginia bringing up the rear. None of those teams has the pieces to make a legitimate run at a conference championship. All three were offensively challenged last season. None of those teams finished better than 70th in the nation in total offense a year ago and they haven’t done enough to give anyone confidence they’ll be significantly better in 2017.

ACC Champion – Florida State (12)

Also receiving votes: Clemson (2), Louisville (1), Miami (1)

The outcome of the final voting wasn’t surprising, but the distribution of votes was a bit curious. On paper, Florida State looks like an elite football team with very few weaknesses. Even with a true freshman at running back, the Noles seem ready to take the next step from their 9-3 finish in 2016. What’s better than that? A trip to the College Football Playoff.

More: Projected 2-deep depth chart for Florida State in 2017

There were four first place votes that did not go to the Noles. Clemson, Louisville and Miami each garnered some love from at least one member of the Saturday Blitz staff. These weren’t homer picks, and there’s a combination of reasons that makes these other candidates seem viable.

Clemson’s case is pretty straight forward. They’re the defending champions. Yes, they lost a lot of pieces, but Dabo Swinney is an elite coach and a large chunk of their championship team remains intact. The Clemson vs. Florida State game from a year ago was a thriller. The Noles might have a bit more seasoned talent, but if the Tigers are able to win that game they’ll be in the driver’s seat to win the conference again.

Louisville also gave Clemson a run for their money in 2016, but Miami is a somewhat new face to the conference race. The Hurricanes are one of the more recognizable brands in college football, but it’s been a while since they were real players on the national stage. Our staff tabbed the ‘Canes as heavy favorites, receiving nearly two-thirds of the vote to take the Coastal Division. If they can make it to the championship game with one loss or fewer, they have a real shot at an ACC title and a trip the playoff. They’re not the favorites, but they’re a legitimate contender.

Next: Rankings the top 50 players in college football in 2017

Can Florida State put it all together and return to the College Football Playoff, or will their be a new face representing the ACC in the playoff, perhaps Miami or Virginia Tech? What do you think? Let us know in the comments or on Facebook or Twitter.