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Florida State edged Clemson as the ACC preseason favorite in the league’s media poll, released Wednesday. The Seminoles, who are the conference’s reigning champions, received 81 of 170 possible first-place votes compared to 55 for Clemson and 17 for Miami.
The poll is a sign of FSU’s reclaimed prestige under fifth-year coach Mike Norvell, who guided the Seminoles to a 13-1 mark in 2023. Though FSU lost 10 NFL Draft picks from that team, the nation’s No. 7 transfer class is entering to help replenish the roster.
Florida State’s standing in the poll is also a reflection of the skepticism surrounding Clemson after the Tigers did not sign a single transfer following a 9-4 season. After winning six straight conference titles from 2015 to 2020, the Tigers have won the league championship just once in the past three seasons as NIL and the portal have fundamentally altered college football.
The 2024 season will be the ACC’s second without divisions, and the conference has expanded from 14 teams to 17 with the additions of California, SMU and Stanford. Of the newcomers, SMU was picked the highest at No. 7 while Cal and Stanford were picked to finish No. 10 and No. 17, respectively.
NC State also received eight first-place votes while Virginia Tech received five. Louisville, last year’s runner-up, finished No. 5 in the poll but did not receive any first-place votes.
Here’s a look at how the media sees the ACC shaking out in 2024 (first-place votes in parenthesis):
Florida State
2,708 (81)
Clemson
2,657 (55)
Miami
2,344 (17)
NC State
2,318 (8)
Louisville
1,984
Virginia…..
