{"id":379035,"date":"2026-08-23T13:49:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T13:49:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/379035\/"},"modified":"2026-08-23T13:49:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T13:49:15","slug":"after-miami-who-looks-good-in-acc-will-unc-improve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/379035\/","title":{"rendered":"After Miami, who looks good in ACC? Will UNC improve?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Miami Hurricanes made it to the championship game last season, putting the ACC in a little more favorable light. But what about this season?\u00a0 Here are five burning questions facing the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2026:<\/p>\n

Will Miami make a repeat trip to the CFP and\/or win ACC?<\/p>\n

Mario Cristobal had a vision for how to revitalize his alma mater, Miami, when he was hired in December 2021. He would recruit the Sunshine State hard, specifically South Florida, hire good assistants and develop talent. The plane took some time to take off, turbulence with a 5-7 mark in 2022 that was followed by a 7-6 year, but Miami produced a 10-3 record in 2024 and last year went 13-3 as the team fell just shy of the program\u2019s sixth national title.<\/p>\n

Why will Miami win the ACC? The Hurricanes have the least question marks and had the budget to acquire transfer talent to strengthen the roster. They added Duke transfer quarterback Darian Mensah, the preseason ACC player of the year, and he is surrounded by playmakers. Malachi Toney (109 catches, 1,211 yards and 10 touchdowns) and Duke transfer Cooper Barkate (72 receptions, 1,106 yards and seven touchdowns) are the league\u2019s top receiver tandem.<\/p>\n

The Hurricanes will also feature tailback Mark Fletcher (1,192 yards and 12 touchdowns), who will run behind a line that\u2019s replacing some big pieces (tackles Francis Mauigoa and Markel Bell were drafted in the first and third rounds, respectively) but will feature guard Samson Okunlola.<\/p>\n

There are losses on defense, notably linemen Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor. But Miami also has preseason All-ACC picks at all three levels: tackle Ahmad Moten Sr., linebacker Mohamed Toure and safety Bryce Fitzgerald.<\/p>\n

The Hurricanes have played for the ACC title just once (2017) but this looks like a deep roster that\u2019s capable of making a run and winning the conference championship.<\/p>\n

Who is No. 2 in the ACC?<\/p>\n

Miami is the clear front-runner but there\u2019s not much consensus on a No. 2 team. SMU, Louisville, Clemson and Georgia Tech each received first-place votes in the ACC preseason poll (as did FSU and Stanford, but neither are plausible contenders).<\/p>\n

Kevin Jennings passed for 3,000 yards in back-to-back seasons at SMU. The Mustangs should be fun to watch on offense, if they can kick-start the run game, but that will be helped by All-ACC linemen in tackle PJ Williams and center Josh Bates. SMU has gone 14-2 in ACC play the past two seasons, which includes a CFP berth in 2024.<\/p>\n

Louisville coach Jeff Brohm annually reloads through the transfer portal. But the Cardinals also have an under-the-radar receiver in Isaac Brown, who caught 101 passes for 884 yards and seven touchdowns in 2025. Brown is just 5-foot-9 and 190 pounds, but the Miami native is electric and should be a favorite target for Ohio State transfer quarterback Lincoln Kienholz.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s tougher to see Georgia Tech build off 2025 now that quarterback Haynes King is off to the NFL. There are plenty of questions about Clemson. SMU\u2019s game at Louisville on Sept. 19 could give an early indication of where those programs are in the battle for the league\u2019s No. 2 spot.<\/p>\n

Will the ACC\u2019s blue bloods take a step forward?<\/p>\n

Miami is clearly trending up. Florida State is treading water after back-to-back losing seasons. Clemson had won nine or more games from 2011-24 before backsliding a year ago. Virginia Tech last won eight games in 2019.<\/p>\n

The ACC is enjoying Miami\u2019s resurgence and SMU\u2019s early success since joining the league. But the ACC\u2019s biggest issue is that a trio of big brands (FSU, Clemson and VT) haven\u2019t been winning games. Without them in the national landscape, the ACC\u2019s perception hasn\u2019t been as good. And with the ACC pushing toward a nine-game schedule, those matchups don\u2019t hold up as well in the strength-of-schedule discussion.<\/p>\n

There are questions about Dabo Swinney\u2019s future at Clemson, despite a consistent 14-year run and national titles in 2016 and \u201918. Swinney famously loathes the transfer portal, although he\u2019s warmed up in past years, but he\u2019s convinced homegrown quarterback Christopher Vizzina is the answer. Vizzina has an All-ACC receiver in Bryant Wesco Jr., and the Tigers have a trio of defensive stars (end Will Heldt, linebacker Sammy Brown and safety Ashton Hampton). Clemson went just 7-6 a year ago. Will the Tigers take a step forward?<\/p>\n

James Franklin had a reputation for not winning big games at Penn State, but VT fans would likely accept a winning season as a first step in the program\u2019s rebuild. The Hokies have won just 30 games since the start of the 2020 season, enjoying just one winning season (7-6 in 2023).<\/p>\n

FSU hasn\u2019t been relevant the past two seasons, lacking consistent quarterback play as well as the ability to win on the road. Coach Mike Norvell has more than 60 new players and an early schedule that\u2019s unforgiving \u2014 SMU on Labor Day, at Alabama on Sept. 19 and Virginia on Oct. 3.<\/p>\n

\"FILEIs Clemson quarterback Christopher Vizzina, center, the answer for the Tigers? (AP Photo\/Jacob Kupferman, File)
\nThe offseason has been horrific at UNC \u2014 will the football improve?<\/p>\n

Bill Belichick\u2019s hire as North Carolina coach sent shockwaves through college football and the NFL. Belichick may have won eight Super Bowls as a head coach and assistant in the NFL, but the transition to college saw him suffer eight losses in his first year.<\/p>\n

UNC lost big in five of its games (by 34, 28, 25, 23 and 16). If there was any optimism for year 2, there aren\u2019t any signs yet from an offseason that has only brought more turmoil. General manager Michael Lombardi was placed on administrative leave on July 27. Defensive coordinator Steve Belichick was place on medical leave on Aug. 6, and it\u2019s not clear if he will return ahead of the opener against TCU in Ireland on Aug. 29.<\/p>\n

Lombardi made the mistake of calling UNC the NFL\u2019s 33rd team before the 2025 season. But the Tar Heels didn\u2019t have a player drafted this spring. Aside from defensive lineman Melkart Abou Jaoude, there\u2019s not much pro talent on the 2026 roster.<\/p>\n

Belichick signed a five-year deal. But he\u2019s now 74 years old. Is he having any fun coaching in college? We\u2019ll find out this fall.<\/p>\n

\"NorthNorth Carolina coach Bill Belichick, here at news conference before preseason camp on July 30, begins his second season coaching college football. (AP Photo\/Aaron Beard)
\nHow about one dark horse to watch in the ACC?<\/p>\n

NC State was picked to finish seventh in the ACC\u2019s preseason poll. Coach Dave Doeren has a reputation for winning seven to nine games annually,<\/p>\n

But what if Doeren and the Wolfpack pull off their first 10-win season since he arrived in Raleigh before the 2013 season? NC State isn\u2019t loaded with talent compared to other schools, it could be a dark horse contender to reach the league\u2019s title game.<\/p>\n

NC State features one of the league\u2019s underrated quarterbacks, 3,000-yard passer CJ Bailey. The Miami native had 25 touchdowns and just nine interceptions in 2025 while also adding six rushing touchdowns.<\/p>\n

Also working in NC State\u2019s favor: a schedule that\u2019s not tough to navigate. The Wolfpack do face Louisville in Raleigh but won\u2019t play Miami, SMU or Clemson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Miami Hurricanes made it to the championship game last season, putting the ACC in a little more…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":379036,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,28,3731,123,125,124,76046,110],"class_list":["post-379035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-college-sports","tag-florida","tag-florida-state-seminoles","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news","tag-social-sports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379035"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379035\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/379036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}