ACC Football: Ranking the Atlantic teams ahead of 2021 season

3. Boston College Eagles

I have Boston College in third place in the Atlantic division for two reasons. First off, they did manage to win six games in 2020, and that is especially impressive by their standards. Secondly, the idea of Boston College being a competitor appears to be something that America really wants to hear. Some have even gone as far as to say that the Eagles can threaten Clemson for the ACC title, but I will die before I endorse that campaign.

2. North Carolina State Wolfpack

As established at the beginning of the discussion, NC State somehow ripped off an eight-win season last year and was the sole team that beat the outstanding Liberty Flames. That is a pretty stout performance to lead into 2021 with.

Now the Wolfpack have been known to be a very hot-and-cold football power in recent memory, so there is a solid chance that what they have just done will in no way resemble them this fall. But, as I have done so far with these rankings, I have to base the bulk of my analyses on what I have actually seen. So with that in mind, NC State takes the runner-up spot in the division.

1. Clemson Tigers

Regardless of how much wishful thinking goes into the concept of parity taking the ACC Atlantic (or the ACC as a whole) by storm, there is no denying that Clemson still wears the crown of the conference upon its head.

The recruiting is off the charts, head coach Dabo Swinney is a genius on the sidelines, and they have won the league’s title game for six straight seasons. Everything that matters points towards another year of the Tigers running through every obstacle that the ACC has to offer, and that is why they are who I think will be the best team in the Atlantic division for 2021.