In the eyes of On3 national college football analyst Josh Pate, the ACC is a conference of one true heavyweight and a host of underachievers.
In his comprehensive season preview, Pate lauded the Clemson Tigers as a "legitimate national championship contender" but simultaneously blasted the rest of the conference for what he called an "embarrassing" lack of quality depth.
A Playoff Game in Death Valley?
Pate is so bullish on the Tigers that he's predicting a College Football Playoff game will be held in Death Valley this December. His forecast has Clemson winning the ACC and earning a No. 5 seed, which would grant them a home game in the first round of the 12-team playoff, likely against a team like No. 12 Boise State.
"I think I know that Clemson is a legitimate national championship contender," Pate said, arguing that this is the perfect year for a team like Clemson to win it all. "There really is no true alpha... this is the year that they can do more than just make it. They can win the whole thing."
Pate's confidence is rooted in Clemson's stability—returning their quarterback, offensive coordinator, and head coach—and the "really good NFL talent at all three levels of the defense." However, he did point to one glaring flaw that could derail everything: a run defense that ranked 85th nationally last year.
An 'Embarrassing' Lack of Depth
While praising Clemson, Pate launched a scathing critique of the ACC as a whole, calling the league's lack of quality teams "embarrassing, and it has been for a while."
He argued that with the conference's rich recruiting footprint, there is no excuse for the consistent underperformance of its members.
"They’ve got programs in the state of Florida, Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia," Pate said. "Miami has woefully underachieved up until about five minutes ago... Virginia Tech has been a letdown. Virginia has been probably, perennially the biggest letdown of any of these teams."
For Pate, the path is clear for Clemson to dominate a weak conference and make a deep playoff run. But he also issued a stark challenge to the rest of the ACC to close a gap that he believes has become embarrassingly wide.