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Clemson Football picked to finish behind Florida State in the ACC

The ACC media picked Florida State to finish ahead of Clemson Football by 26 first-place votes for the 2024 season.

By John Chancey

Jul 25, 2024; Charlotte, NC, USA; Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney speaks to the media during the ACC Kickoff at Hilton Charlotte Uptown. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 25, 2024; Charlotte, NC, USA; Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney speaks to the media during the ACC Kickoff at Hilton Charlotte Uptown. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports / Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
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Following the conclusion of the ACC Kickoff last week selected members of the media cast their votes for the predicted order of finish for the 2024 season.

Clemson Football and Florida State were favored by most of the 170 voters, but they leaned toward the Seminoles to win it all.

FSU received 81 total first-place votes to finish first, followed by the Tigers with 55 votes. Miami received 17 votes, followed by NC State (8), Virginia Tech (5), California (2), Georgia Tech (1), and Boston College (1).

Florida State received a full tally of 2,708 points, followed by Clemson with 2,657 points. After that, there was a drop-off to 3rd place Miami with 2,344 points.

The results at the top are not unexpected, as Florida State won the conference with an undefeated regular season record in 2023. There has been considerable turnover, but head coach Mike Norvell earned the benefit of the doubt from the media that he has rebuilt the Seminoles via the transfer portal.

Clemson, in contrast, did not take any players from the portal this offseason. The Tigers finished 4-4 in conference play last season but returned a large portion of their squad, filled with blue-chip players.

Miami and NC State both brought in high-profile quarterbacks to steer their offense – Cam Ward (from Washington State) and Grayson McCall (from Coastal Carolina), respectively.

Last season’s runner-up, Louisville, was selected 5th overall, followed by popular dark horse Virginia Tech at 6th.

SMU was the highest-ranked newcomer, finishing 7th in the vote. California was 10th while Stanford finished last in 17th.

The team I see as the most overrated of the group, North Carolina, came in at 8th. 9th place Georgia Tech is perhaps a bit underrated. They are beginning to gain steam as another dark horse in the conference.

Pittsburgh, which won the ACC Championship in 2021, was selected 13th by the voters.

Former Tiger offensive coordinator Tony Elliott and the Virginia Cavaliers finished 16th.

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