ACC football predictions 2024: Florida State, Clemson battle it out; Cam Ward, DJ Uiagalelei, top QBs

The Atlantic Coast Conference now extends to the Pacific Ocean.

This is college football in 2024. The ACC added Cal and Stanford from the Pac-12 and SMU – a surprise addition from the American Athletic Conference. That means 17 teams are in the fold, and Notre Dame maintains its five-game scheduling arrangement with the conference.

Florida State and Clemson, however, still have pending lawsuits against the ACC heading into the 12-team College Football Playoff era. The Seminoles and Tigers were the only ACC teams to reach the CFP in the last 10 seasons, and their role in the future of the conference remains to be seen.

On the field in 2024, the conference has four teams ranked in Sporting News' Preseason Top 25. Florida State and Clemson are joined by Louisville and NC State. The ACC should be competitive, but how many teams will be true CFP contenders? Will multiple ACC teams reach the CFP?

Who has the edge in the ACC this season? Here is a closer look at the ACC, with predictions, defining games, Heisman Trophy contenders and more.

MORE: Sporting News 2024 preseason All-America team

What's new in the ACC in 2024?

The ACC will have 17 teams in 2024. The conference added Stanford and Cal from the Pac-12 and SMU from the American Athletic Conference. The ACC will not have divisions, and the top two teams will play in the ACC championship game at Bank of America Stadium  in Charlotte, N.C., on Dec. 7.

Here is a look at the 17 teams in the ACC in 2024:

2024 ACC predicted order of finish

1. Florida State
2. Clemson
3. Louisville
4. NC State
5. Miami, Fla.
6. SMU
7. Georgia Tech
8. North Carolina
9. Virginia Tech
10. Pitt
11. Syracuse
12. Boston College
13. Cal
14. Duke
15. Wake Forest
16. Stanford
17. Virginia

Georgia Tech and Florida State open the season at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, on Saturday. The Yellow Jackets beat Boston College 17-14 in Dublin in 2016, and an upset in this matchup would throw the entire pecking order to start the season off.

Florida State and Clemson have combined to win the ACC championship in 12 of the last 13 seasons, and they are the logical favorites at the top given their consistency. Their Oct. 5 matchup should be the tone-setter for the conference race. The Seminoles play Notre Dame in non-conference play. Clemson gets Georgia in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff game.

Louisville, Miami and NC State all are considered ACC championship contenders, but that hinges on the transfer roulette wheel with quarterbacks. Louisville's Tyler Shough (from Texas Tech), NC State's Grayson McCall (Coastal Carolina) and Miami's Cameron Ward (Washington State) will take a spin with their new teams.

Who is an ACC sleeper: Virginia Tech, North Carolina or Pitt? The Tar Heels have the ACC's leading rusher in Omarion Hampton, Virginia Tech returns dual-threat quarterback Kyron Jones, and both teams routed the Panthers last season. The Hokies are the best bet among those three teams.

Of the new additions, SMU could make a run in Year 1. Preston Stone would have ranked third in the ACC in passing yards last season. We like their chances better than Cal or Stanford. The bottom third features three teams breaking in new coaches in Syracuse's Fran Brown, Boston College's Bill O'Brien and Duke's Manny Diaz.

MORE: Sporting News Preseason Top 25 | Composite preseason Top 25

Top storyline: Will Florida State stay in the present tense?

Florida State finished 13-0 and won the ACC championship last season, but quarterback Jordan Travis suffered a season-ending injury. The Seminoles were snubbed from the CFP in dramatic fashion – then subsequently saw several opt-outs before a humiliating 63-3 loss to Georgia in the Orange Bowl. The Seminoles' future in the ACC remains a talking point, but Mike Norvell has another playoff-contending team.

Florida State projects to have around nine starters from the transfer portal, including former Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei. Edge rusher Patrick Payton – a projected first-round pick, leads a strong defense. If the Seminoles win the ACC this year, there will be no doubt about their playoff value. Can they still make it in as a runner up?

ACC Heisman Trophy contenders

Here are the top four Heisman Trophy candidates in the ACC heading into the 2024 season:

Cameron Ward, QB, Miami

Ward averaged 3,484 passing yards, 24 TDs and eight interceptions at Washington State the last two seasons. Miami finished 12-13 in the same stretch. Ward’s arrival is the reason for the hype around the Hurricanes, and a run to the ACC championship game could result in Ward getting a trip to New York. Miami has not had a Heisman Trophy winner since Gino Torretta in 1992.

DJ Uiagalelei, QB, Florida State

Uiagalelei averaged 2,579 yards, 22 TDs and seven interceptions the last two seasons between stops as Clemson and Oregon State. The move to Florida State should lead to an improvement in completion percentage, and there are enough high-stakes games on the schedule to keep DJU in the limelight.

Cade Klubnik, QB, Clemson

Klubnik is in his second full year as a starter – and he led Clemson to victories in their last five games last season. That said, Klubnik averaged 179.4 passing yards per game in that stretch. Will a second season in Riley’s offense make a difference?

Omarion Hampton, RB, North Carolina

Hampton – a SN second-team All-American in 2023 – rushed for 1,504 yards and 15 TDs. He had a streak of six straight 100-yard games for the Tar Heels. Running back Charlie “Choo Choo” Justice was the last North Carolina player to finish in the top five in the Heisman voting in 1949.

Kyron Drones, QB, Virginia Tech

Dual-threat quarterbacks always have a chance, and Drones had 17 TDs and three interceptions last season along with a pair of games with 100-plus rushing yards. Virginia Tech has some sleeper appeal, too.

MORE: Top 25 QBs for 2024 | Ranking FBS coaches 1-134

Who is the ACC impact transfer?

Caullin Lacy and Ja'Corey Brooks, Louisville

We mentioned most of the quarterbacks, but Louisville added two dynamic receivers via the portal that should help Shough make the transition to Jeff Brohm's offense. Lacy had 91 catches for 1,316 yards and seven TDs at South Alabama last season. Brooks averaged 15.7 yards per catch with 10 TDs in three seasons at Alabama and had his 2023 season cut short by an upper body injury.

ACC freshman to watch

TJ Moore, WR, Clemson

Clemson’s top three receivers averaged 513 yards in 2023. The Tigers need more impact out of that position, and Moore – a five-star recruit from Tampa Catholic – averaged 25.4 yards per catch with 17 TDs as a senior in high school. He should break in as a much-needed vertical threat for offensive coordinator Garrett Riley.

ACC's top five games of 2024

A look at the five best games on the ACC schedule for 2024:

Clemson at Florida State (Oct. 5)

Not a surprise here. Clemson and Florida State have dominated the conference, and this could be the first of two (or even three) matchups between the ACC powers in the 12-team College Football Playoff era. The Tigers have won the last three meetings at Doak Campbell Stadium.

BUY NOW: Cheapest Florida State tickets available on StubHub for every game

Florida State at Miami (Oct. 26)

Where will the Hurricanes fit in the ACC race at this point? Florida State has won the last three meetings, but two of those matchups were one-score games. This is where Ward and Uiagalelei can leave their mark on the in-state series.

BUY NOW: Cheapest Miami tickets available on StubHub for every game

NC State at Clemson (Sept. 21)

NC State coach Dave Doeren had some pointed words for ESPN's College "GameDay" crew after the Wolfpack’s win against the Tigers last season, and NC State has won two of three in the series. Clemson hasn’t lost to NC State in Death Valley since 2002. This will be hot.

BUY NOW: Cheapest Clemson tickets available on StubHub for every game

Miami at Louisville (Oct. 19)

A possible look-ahead game for the Hurricanes with Florida State visiting Hard Rock Stadium the following week. The Cardinals were 5-1 at home in Brohm's first season. Louisville beat Miami 38-31 in a shootout last season. This one could be every bit as entertaining – and have ACC championship game implications later in the season.

BUY NOW: Cheapest Louisville tickets available on StubHub for every game

Florida State at SMU (Sept. 28)

SMU’s ACC opener is at Gerald Ford Stadium against defending conference champion Florida State. Who had that on their Bingo card three years ago? Two years ago, even? It gives the Mustangs a chance to announce their arrival in Texas-sized fashion.

ACC stat that matters

There are six first-year transfer quarterbacks in the ACC with at least four years of experience and 20 career starts to their name. That does not include Syracuse's Kyle McCord, who was 12-1 at Ohio State; and Duke's Maalik Murphy, who was 2-0 at Texas.

Those other six quarterbacks are on several of the preseason favorites, and McCall and Uiagalelei are the two quarterbacks with a career winning percentage higher than 70%. Are wins worthy of being a quarterback stat? You tell us.

ACC champion: Florida State

Dabo Swinney is 9-6 against Florida State, and Norvell was able to break a seven-game losing streak to the Tigers in 2023 in a 31-24 overtime thriller at Death Valley. The Oct. 5 matchup – and a potential ACC championship game rematch – especially with the wrinkle of Uiagalelei at quarterback. Road games at Miami (Oct. 26) and Notre Dame (Nov. 9) and the season finale against Florida (Nov. 30) all are part of a high-difficulty schedule, but Norvell plugged enough holes through the transfer portal that we think Florida State is the safest team among that top tier with Clemson, Miami and NC State.