In 2022, the ACC had a total nine teams competing in bowl games. The conference came away with five wins in bowl season and saw its conference champion Clemson lose in the Orange Bowl to Tennessee by a score of 31-14. Entering this season, the conference has two playoff hopeful teams in Florida State and Clemson. But what about everyone else? Who can make some noise in the ACC and who can be a surprise team in 2023? With the conference dropping the divisions, will anyone challenge Clemson or Florida State for the conference title? We will take a look at each team and break down the schedule to answer these big questions.
Virginia Tech
We start our journey with Virginia Tech. The Hokies had a disappointing season in 2022 that saw the team finish with a record of 3-8 and a conference record of just 1-6. Virginia Tech only played 11 games in 2022 as their game against Virginia was cancelled due to the tragedy the Cavalier program suffered late in the season.
The Hokies have brought in a number of transfers via the portal, including Kyron Drones (QB from Baylor), three wide receivers in Ali Jennings (from Old Dominion), Jaylin Lane (from Middle Tennessee) and Da'Quan Felton (from Norfolk State). The team also brought in Bhayshul Tuten, a running back from North Carolina A&T. On defense, the team added CB Derrick Canteen from Georgia Southern and MLB Stone Snyder from VMI.
But are these additions enough for Brent Pry to lead his team to a bowl game? As of right now, the win total for the Hokies is set at 5.5. Looking at their schedule, it's hard to find six wins. To start the season, the team plays Old Dominion, Purdue, Rutgers and Marshall. This is a tough way to start the season if you're Virginia Tech and the team could easily fall to 1-3 and I think that is exactly what will happen. Then they get into ACC play with Pitt, Florida State, Wake Forest and Syracuse. Another tough stretch for the Hokies and it's hard to see them coming away with a win in those four games. So, I think they will come out of those games with a 1-7 record. To finish the season Virginia Tech plays Louisville, Boston College, NC State and Virginia. This might be the easiest stretch of games for the Hokies this season. I think Virginia Tech can pick up wins against Boston College and Virginia to finish with a record of 3-9.
Virginia
The next team we will look at is the Virginia Cavaliers. Virginia's season was unfortunately cut short due to tragedy. The team finished 3-7 and 1-6 in conference play.
The Cavaliers bring in transfer QB Tony Muskett (from Monmouth) to replace Brennan Armstrong who transferred to NC State. They also added Clemson RB Kobe Pace to an already established running back room. The defensive side of the ball remains relatively the same as last season aside from losses at linebacker in Nick Jackson and cornerbacks Anthony Johnson and Fentrell Cypress II.
Virginia's current win total is set at just 3.5 and with the schedule they have in 2023, it may be hard to get to that total. The Cavaliers open with a tough four game stretch, starting on the road at Tennessee then they play James Madison, Maryland and NC State. The only possible win I see in this stretch is against James Madison, but even that's a toss-up, we'll put Virginia at 1-3 to start the season. They then play Boston College, William & Mary, North Carolina and Miami. This is an easier four game stretch, but I only see one guaranteed win over William & Mary and a toss-up against Boston College. I do, however, think Virginia is the better team and will be able to beat Boston College to get to 3-5 on the season. Virginia has Georgia Tech, Louisville, Duke and Virginia Tech to finish the season. It's hard to see Virginia getting a win in these last four games and I think Virginia will finish 3-9 on the season.
Miami
Next up is Miami and the Hurricanes are one of those teams that you just don't know what they're going to look like. There was a lot of hype around the team entering the 2022 season and they fell short of reaching a bowl game by going 5-7.
Miami has a new offensive coordinator in Shannon Dawson which should propel the play of quarterback Tyler Van Dyke and fans are hoping year 2 for head coach Mario Cristobal ends with a bowl win. But can the Canes deliver?
Their win total is set at 7.5 and they open the season with a favorable four game stretch against Miami of Ohio, Texas A&M, Bethune Cookman and Temple. The only toss-up game here is against Texas A&M, but I think Miami will get the win in that game and get to 4-0 to start the season. They then play Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Clemson and Virginia. I have Miami going 2-2 in this stretch with losses to Heisman hopeful Drake May and the North Carolina Tar Heels and a loss to Clemson bringing Miami to 6-2 on the season. They finish the season against NC State, Florida State, Louisville and Boston College. I can see Miami coming out of this stretch of games with just one loss to Florida State and just barely beating NC State on the road and finishing 9-3 on the season.
Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech for the past couple seasons has been one of the worst teams in not only the ACC but all of college football. However, in 2022, the Yellow Jackets won more than 3 games for the first time since 2018 and finished 5-7. In 2023, Georgia Tech will look to take another step forward and hope to make a bowl game for the first time since 2018. However, they'll have to do it with a new starting quarterback after Jeff Sims transferred to Nebraska.
Although they lost Jeff Sims, they were able to bring in Haynes King from Texas A&M via the transfer portal. The Yellow Jackets also added key transfers in WR Christian Leary (from Alabama), RB Trey Cooley (from Louisville), LB Andre White (from Texas A&M) and LB Braelen Oliver (from Minnesota). Can these transfers help Georgia Tech reach a bowl game in 2023?
The win total for Georgia Tech currently sits at just 4.5. The team opens its season against Louisville, SC State, Ole Miss and Wake Forest. This is a very rough slate to start the season for the Yellow Jackets and the only winnable game in this four-game stretch comes against SC State leaving Georgia Tech at 1-3 through the first four games. There next four games are against Bowling Green, Miami, Boston College and North Carolina. These games are more favorable for Georgia Tech as there are two games that are winnable for the Yellow Jackets against Bowling Green and Boston College and the team should be 3-5 after this stretch. They finish the season against Virginia, Clemson, Syracuse and Georgia. This is a very tough finish to the season for the Yellow Jackets and could only come away with one win against Virginia to get them to 4-8 on the season.
Pitt
Pitt finished the 2022 season with a 9-4 record including a bowl win against UCLA in a 37-35 victory in the Sun Bowl. The Panthers also finished ranked 22 overall in the AP top 25. Pitt was able to bring in a couple notable players from the transfer portal in QB Phil Jurkovec (from Boston College) and S Donovan McMillon (from Florida).
The win total for the Pitt Panthers currently sits at 6.5 and should be a pretty manageable mark for Pat Narduzzi's team. They start off the season against Wofford, Cincinnati, West Virginia and North Carolina. The only game in this stretch I could see Pitt losing is against North Carolina. A 3-1 start for the Panthers seems pretty realistic after those four games. Next, they play Virginia Tech, Louisville, Wake Forest and Notre Dame. Again, I only see Pitt losing one game in this stretch and that is to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Through the first eight games Pitt should be sitting at 6-2, very close to the season win total. They then finish the season against Florida State, Syracuse, Boston College and Duke. I think Pitt will drop one game in this stretch to Florida State to finish the season at 9-3.
Duke
The Duke Blue Devils surprised a lot of people last season by going 8-4 in the regular season and 5-3 in conference play and beating UCF 30-13 in the Military Bowl. Duke is returning most of their starters on both sides of the ball, 17 total, and hope it can propel them even further than last seasons success. However, they face a harder schedule than they did last season.
As of right now their win total is at 6.5, which would make them bowl eligible. But does this Blue Devil team have 6 wins in them?
Duke opens up with a very tough game against Clemson, then goes on to play Lafayette, Northwestern and UCONN. I don't see any way they can beat Clemson in their first game, but they should handle Lafayette and win closer games against Northwestern and UCONN to start 3-1. They then have a tough four game stretch in the middle of their season against Notre Dame, NC State, Florida State and Louisville. The only game I think this Duke team has a solid chance of winning is against NC State which will give them on win in this very difficult four game stretch and make them 4-4 on the season. They finish the season against Wake Forest, North Carolina, Virginia and Pitt. I have Duke going 2-2 in this stretch to finish 6-6, not as good as last season but they will still reach a bowl game with that record.
North Carolina
The last team to wrap up part one of this ACC preview is the North Carolina Tar Heels. In 2022 North Carolina went 9-3 and 6-2 in conference play. The Tar Heels finished their season with four losses to Georgia Tech, NC State, Clemson in the ACC championship and the again to Oregon in the Holiday Bowl.
North Carolina is returning Heisman hopeful Drake Maye at QB and brought in some wide receivers help in Nate McCollum (from Georgia Tech) and Tez Walker (from Kent State) via the transfer portal. On defense they brought in two cornerbacks in Armani Chatman (from Virginia Tech) and Alijah Huzzie (from ETSU).
The Tar Heels current win total is set at 8.5. They open the season against South Carolina, Appalachian State, Minnesota and Pitt. The Tar Heels should be able to come out of this four-game stretch undefeated at 4-0. Their next four games are against Syracuse, Miami, Virginia and Georgia Tech. The only toss up in this stretch is Miami, but I think North Carolina has enough to beat them and get to 8-0 after these four games. They then finish the season against Campbell, Duke, Clemson and NC State. I think North Carolina will drop the last two games of the season to Clemson and NC State finish 10-2.
Current ACC Standings After Part 1:
North Carolina 10-2 (6-2)
Pitt 9-3 (6-2)
Miami 9-3 (5-3)
Duke 6-6 (3-5)
Georgia Tech 4-8 (2-6)
Virginia Tech 3-9 (2-6)
Virginia 3-9 (1-7)