ACC post-spring power rankings: Florida State edges Clemson for No. 1, Miami in position to contend

The 2024 ACC season will be one unlike any in the league’s history as the conference balloons to 17 football members with the additions of Cal, Stanford and SMU. The coast-to-coast approach to ACC football will be new for coaches, players and fans alike as the newcomers find their spots in the pecking order of a conference that’s hungry to take steps forward on the field. 

The coaching turnover in the ACC provides a base level for intrigue in how things shake out. Duke, Syracuse and Boston College all have new head coaches, while the Louisville, Georgia Tech and Stanford bosses are only in the second year of their tenures. At this point, even reigning ACC Coach of the Year Mike Norvell, preparing for his fifth season as Florida State’s head coach, seems like a mainstay with all the moving pieces across the conference. 

When it comes to ranking these teams ahead of the 2024 season, there is definitely a “what’s old is new” feeling as the debate for No. 1 centers around Florida State and Clemson. We see this as somewhat of a 1A/1B conversation, and the oddsmakers have agreed as well with each team having +290 odds to win the conference. Sorting through power rankings in May requires a tiered approach, and those two teams are alone on the top tier. 

Behind the two programs with the most ACC football titles is a tier of intriguing contenders who all have the combination of talent and schedule to be in the championship race over the final weeks of the season. Those four or five teams all seem to sit a step above the next two groups, which is occupied by nine or 10 teams destined to play coin-flip style games against each other this fall. The half that wins more than they lose will make bowl games, while the ones who come up short more often than not will spend the holidays at home. 

Enough about tiers, though, because we know the people want to see decisiveness. Let’s shake it all out with the first 2024 ACC power rankings now that spring practice and the spring transfer portal window is in the books.