ACC Football 2018: No surprise atop preseason power rankings

ACC football is poised to make another strong run at the College Football Playoff. Let’s take a look at the preseason power rankings for the conference.

ACC Football has been very top-heavy the last few seasons as Clemson has grown into a dominant force in the college football world. Florida State had success with Jimbo Fisher, including a national championship, but they are now under a new regime with Willie Taggart and will have to work hard to stay in the national spotlight.

Miami seemed to be a revelation last season under Mark Richt and look poised to make another run at the ACC title game this season.

Louisville is in transition mode as Lamar Jackson left early for the NFL and head coach Bobby Petrino’s job may be in jeopardy.

With the main slate of games starting this Saturday we take a look at our first set of power rankings for the ACC conference.

The Cavaliers started red-hot last year going 5-1 to start the season. After the hot first half, they faltered down the stretch and got thumped by Navy in their bowl game.

Virginia finished the year 6-7 and will look to make another bowl appearance. With road games at NC State, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech the schedule is a lot tougher than last year. One of the least experienced teams in the country, they should finish with the worst record in the conference.

This may seem like a surprising pick because the Demon Deacons were 8-5 last season but their schedule is brutal. They have a three-week stretch from mid-October to mid November with three road conference games against Florida State, Louisville, and NC State, with a trip to the Carrier Dome wedged in between. Don’t expect them to outplay expectations this year.

The Yellow Jackets offense is always hard to game plan around. This season their schedule will be very tough to manage. They do return their two leading rushers but facing Clemson and Miami at home, along with Virginia Tech and North Carolina on the road means this will be a rebuilding year for the Georgia Tech.