Boston College picks up first place vote in ACC media poll

The ACC preseason media poll didn’t have many surprises.

Florida State , who went 13-1 last year and a perfect 8-0 in conference play, was picked first on 81 out of 170 ballots, while Clemson was picked second coming off a 9-4 season and a strong finish.

Miami, NC State, and Louisville rounded out the top five, while Virginia Tech was sixth just behind the Cardinals.

The biggest surprise was seeing a first place vote cast for Boston College, a program picked to finish 14th in the conference just ahead of Wake Forest, Virginia, and Stanford.

The Eagles do have a new coach in Bill O’Brien, and had some momentum at the end of last season after beating new conference foe SMU in the Fenway Bowl.

The team also retains quite a bit of key talent, including quarterback Thomas Castellanos, named to the Maxwell Award watch list , as well as running back Kye Robichaux, wide receiver Lewis Bond, and defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku.

While it may be tough to imagine this team finishing at the top of the ACC, fans will get an early look at how they might fare as they take on the defending champion Seminoles in Tallahassee to open the season on September 2.