Conference lawsuits, new teams lead storylines to watch at 2024 ACC Football Kickoff

CLEMSON — Football season is on the horizon with ACC Football Kickoff beginning Monday.

Coaches and players from 17 teams will participate in the four-day media event through Thursday in Charlotte. Amid the backdrop of Clemson, Florida State and ACC lawsuits, SMU, California and Stanford join the conference to give the league its most members ever.

The new programs will look to compete against conference powerhouses, like the Tigers and Seminoles, and emerging contenders such as Miami and Louisville. Each ACC school looks to make the new 12-team College Football Playoff to end the conference's three-year absence.

Here are five storylines to watch during ACC Football Kickoff:

How will Florida State respond after College Football Playoff snub last year?

The Seminoles dominated last year to win the conference en route to an undefeated regular season. Yet, they became the first unbeaten Power 5 team to miss the College Football Playoff after the selection committee chose a one-loss Alabama over them.

Then, FSU suffered a 63-3 defeat to Georgia in the Orange Bowl. As a result, coach Mike Norvell and his team enter 2024 with a chip on their shoulder to repeat as conference champion for the first time since Clemson in 2019-2020 and to make the CFP for the first time since 2015.

FSU lost key contributors from last year's team, like quarterback Jordan Travis, but replaced him with former Clemson and Oregon State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei. The team also added the No. 7 transfer portal, according to 247Sports.

How will SMU, California and Stanford fare in the ACC?

These three schools not only face new football opponents but have to deal with East Coast travel. Cal and Stanford will travel the most of any schools in the league in 2024 with the Bears accumulating more than 20,000 miles and the Cardinals more than 14,000. SMU will have the sixth-most miles traveled, racking up over 11,000.

On the field, each team will have to overcome unfamiliar teams in bids to win the conference championship. According to ESPN's Football Power Index, SMU has a 9% chance to win the ACC, Cal has a 2.6% chance and Stanford has a less than 1% chance. The Mustangs won 11 games and the AAC championship last year, while Cal and Stanford did not have a winning record.

How will Clemson, Florida State's lawsuits vs. ACC impact the Kickoff?

ACC commissioner Jim Phillips called Florida State and Clemson's lawsuits against the conference "disruptive" and "harmful" at this year's spring meetings in May. Yet he said the relationships can be salvaged as the ACC as both schools have remained cordial.

However, with each lawsuit proceeding after each motions to dismiss were unsuccessful, will the conference or both schools express further dissatisfaction this week over the lawsuits or grant of rights deal? Will another ACC school hint at potential litigation against the league?

Phillips will begin the festivities Monday followed by FSU. Clemson will take the stage Thursday.

Will Dabo Swinney's lack of transfer portal use impact Clemson again?

Speaking of Clemson, Dabo Swinney received criticism in the spring for the Tigers being one of four FBS schools not to land a transfer. Although he tried to bring in four transfer offensive linemen in the winter cycle, his philosophy is to recruit and develop high school players.

Since 2021, when transfers could play immediately and NIL became in effect, the Tigers have landed only two transfers (both reserve quarterbacks) and lost 45 players to the portal. In that period, Clemson missed the CFP in each season, including posting a 9-4 record this past year, which is its worst finish since 2010.

How will Year 1 coaches at Duke, Boston College and Syracuse perform?

It's a new era for the Blue Devils, Eagles and Orange as each coach will share their vision for their respective programs this week. Duke hired former Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz to replace Mike Elko, who left to coach Texas A&M. Under Elko, the Blue Devils went 17-9, including a home win against Clemson last season.

Boston College hired Bill O'Brien to replace Jeff Hafley, who departed to become the Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator. The Eagles have not won as many as eight games since 2009 despite having a winning record for the first time last year since 2018.

Syracuse hired former Georgia defensive backs coach Fran Brown to replace Dino Babers, who was fired in November. Babers had only two winning seasons over nearly eight seasons with the Orange, and the school hopes Brown can turn Syracuse's fortunes.

Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00