Post-Spring ACC Football Rankings 2016


Dishing up the post-spring ACC football rankings. Here’s how all of the conference’s teams look heading into summer.


Based on how good the teams appear to be after spring ball and heading into summer, welcome to the ACC post-spring football rankings.

14. Virginia

Is this really the worst team in the ACC? If so, it’s not by much  even though there’s a building job to be done on both sides of the ball. Bronco Mendenhall is a terrific hire, but he’s going to need a year or so.

13. Duke

Alright, alright … dismiss and disrespect Duke at your own peril. The ACC is so much stronger that someone has to be this low. Regardless, the offense will be fantastic and in plenty of fun shootouts.

12. Wake Forest

Is this when Wake Forest pulls out a shocking season? With so many starters returning on offense, the days of being an ACC free space might be over.

11. Syracuse

Give it a year. Dino Babers is going to make the Orange’s offense deadly with a little bit of time and the right pieces in place. This is an experienced team, but there aren’t yet any difference-makers.

10. Boston College

Welcome to the thorn in everyone’s side. The defense that finished No. 1 in the nation won’t drop off too much, if at all, while the offense should eventually be just good enough to get by. Kentucky quarterback transfer Patrick Towles matters.

9. Georgia Tech

This is probably way too low. After taking a year off, the Yellow Jackets should be right back in the ACC title hunt thanks to the offense being back to its normal, dangerous self. Experience has to translate into production.

8. NC State

The running game should quietly be dangerous if the offensive line can come together during fall camp. The defensive front seven will be good enough to keep the Wolfpack in most games.

7. Virginia Tech

Justin Fuente was into the Virginia Tech world faster than most new head coaches, thus making the transition relatively easy. Can the Hokie defense survive a ton of big departures? Not really, but the improved offense should be able to pick up the slack.

6. Pitt

The running game, aided by a great-looking offensive line, will carry this team though some tough times. The coaching staff knows defense – Pitt will be a dangerous sleeper.

5. North Carolina

The Tar Heels have the experience and they have the explosion, but can they move the offense without quarterback Marquise Williams? Not really, but they can be good enough to be in the hunt for the ACC title game again.

4. Miami

Brad Kaaya might actually be the best quarterback in the ACC – at least in the eyes of the NFL scouts – and he has the weapons to work with. The defensive front seven should shine, making up for issues in a secondary that’s starting over.

3. Louisville

Look out. Lamar Jackson stepped up as a rising star quarterback as the season went on, and this spring the offense started to show just how dangerous it’s going to be. Ten starters are back on offense, led by the multi-talented Jackson, and eight starters return on a defense that held teams to 24 points or fewer eight times in the last 11 games.

2. Florida State

Dalvin Cook is a superstar running back. With all five starters returning up front, he could be on a Heisman track. The defense will be better, and the quarterback situation will sort itself out, but does this year’s team have the want-to of 2014? The players are there to get to the CFP for the second time in three years.

1. Clemson

What can the Tigers do to take that one extra step? What can they do to get back into a national title position? Keeping Deshaun Watson healthy means everything, and getting wideout Mike Williams back helps too. Overall, the offense has the talent to be even more explosive.

On the other side, losing three starters up front stinks. However, defensive tackle Carlos Watkins is an NFL talent to work around, and the back seven appears to be coming around quickly. For a while, though, simply out-bombing teams on offense will be enough.

MORE: Post-Spring College Football Rankings, No. 1-128