Miami Picked as Preseason Favorite to Win 2026 ACC Football Championship
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Miami was selected as the preseason favorite to win the 2026 Atlantic Coast Conference football championship, according to a predicted order of finish voted on by more than 185 media members credentialed for this year's ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte.
The Hurricanes received 3,159 points and 165 first-place votes to top the poll, followed by SMU with 2,794 points, Louisville with 2,569 and Clemson with 2,520. Georgia Tech rounded out the top five with 2,006 points. Clemson received seven first-place votes, while SMU received six, Louisville four, Florida State three and Georgia Tech two. Stanford also received a first-place vote.
Virginia, NC State, Virginia Tech, Pitt and Duke completed the top 10 in one of the closest preseason polls in recent conference history, with just 19 points separating sixth through eighth place. Florida State was picked 11th, followed by California, Wake Forest, Syracuse, North Carolina, Boston College and Stanford.
The ACC enters the season as one of the nation's deepest conferences, with teams beginning the league's transition to a nine-game conference schedule while competing for a spot in the 2026 ACC Football Championship Game, set for noon ET Saturday, Dec. 5, on ABC.
2026 ACC Football Predicted Order of Finish (Media Vote)
Miami (165) — 3,159
SMU (6) — 2,794
Louisville (4) — 2,569
Clemson (7) — 2,520
Georgia Tech (2) — 2,006
Virginia — 1,981
NC State — 1,964
Virginia Tech — 1,962
Pitt — 1,740
Duke — 1,452
Florida State (3) — 1,439
California — 1,392
Wake Forest — 1,103
Syracuse — 878
North Carolina — 831
Boston College — 491
Stanford (1) — 483
First-place votes in parentheses. 188 media voters.
ACC Football Notes
The ACC has scheduled 25 non-conference games this season against Power Four opponents and Notre Dame, more than any other conference. That slate includes nine games against the SEC, five against the Big Ten, five against the Big 12 and six against Notre Dame. About two-thirds of the ACC's non-conference games come against Power Four or bowl-eligible opponents, and all 17 ACC teams will play at least 10 games against Power Four or Notre Dame competition. Three of the five FBS teams playing 11 or more such games are ACC members. The non-conference schedule also includes 12 games against teams ranked in ESPN's 2026 way-too-early Top 25, and 12 more against teams that finished in the final 2025 College Football Playoff rankings or AP Top 25. Twenty-nine of the ACC's non-conference games, involving 23 different teams, are against 2025 bowl participants.
The conference will again headline Labor Day weekend with its "Five Days of ACC Football" slate, featuring 14 teams in 12 games from Thursday, Sept. 3, through Monday, Sept. 7. SMU's game at Florida State on Labor Day marks the ACC's 17th consecutive year of Labor Day football, excluding 2020, and its 20th since 2005. The league also leads all conferences with five Power Four non-conference games in Week 1.
The ACC will play a record 15 games on Fridays in 2026, including nine over the season's first six weeks and four in Week 2 alone. The league will have at least one Friday night game in each of Weeks 8, 10, 11, 12 and 13, and Thanksgiving week will close with Florida at Florida State on Black Friday.
The conference has produced 11 or more bowl-eligible teams in each of the past three seasons, the longest active streak in the country. Last season, seven ACC teams won nine or more games, a single-season record for the conference, while nine teams won at least eight games, tying the FBS high and setting another ACC record. In 2024, four ACC teams finished with 10 or more wins for the first time in league history.
The 2026 ACC Football Championship Game will mark the 14th straight year and 18th time overall that the title game has aired on ABC; the game has been broadcast on ABC or ESPN every year since the championship began in 2005. It remains the only Power Four conference title game played at noon.
