Top 5 concerns troubling ACC fans ahead of 2024 CFB season
The ACC is having a big reinvention in 2024. Adding a diverse group of new members in SMU, Cal and Stanford extends the ACC from Cal to Boston College. The question is will it make things better for a league that has struggled in recent seasons? Here are five concerns that ACC fans might be pondering ahead of the 2024 season.
Top 5 concerns troubling ACC fans in 2024
1. What if Florida State's loss wasn't a fluke?
Through the 2023 season, Florida State was the ACC's standard bearer. The Seminoles were one of the nation's top teams. But an untimely injury to QB Jordan Travis and a couple of ugly games after his injury left Florida State outside the four-team playoff.
The good news for FSU is that they'd make the College Football Playoff in 2024. Or is that the bad news? For all their angst, FSU was obliterated 63-3 by Georgia in the Orange Bowl. Granted, UGA was a 21-point favorite, but all of that begs the question. What if the ACC isn't ready for the top teams in the SEC and Big Ten? It's a real concern.
2. Is Clemson's fade real?
Taking FSU out of the equation, Clemson is the team that has historically legitimized the ACC in postseason play. After all, only four teams had more than one CFP championship game appearance: Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and Clemson.
But since the Tigers' 2018 title, things have changed. Over the last four seasons, Clemson has lost two, three, three and four games, respectively. That this slide coincides with Dabo Swinney's refusal to utilize the transfer portal can't be a surprise... or a good sign. College football may have passed Clemson by, thanks to a stubborn coach.
3. Is Miami just all hype?
One of the offseason's most talked-about programs is Miami. Coach Mario Cristobal, off a disappointing 12-13 start at UM, went all-in on this transfer portal class. Adding Cam Ward, Damien Martinez and many others should demonstrate that Miami is serious about winning. But will they move the needle?
It's worth noting at this point that in the last decade, Miami has more losing seasons (three) than 10-win seasons (one). Cristobal added an impressive group of guns for hire, but has he changed the culture around the underachieving program? Miami will be better, but it also could end up just fizzling out anyway.
4. Do the new teams help or hurt?
In 2024, there's not much argument to be made that the ACC made itself stronger with new programs. SMU is the best of the three new teams, and that alone should be telling. It might be scary for the ACC that the Mustangs, who haven't done much of anything in college football since the 1980s, could jump into the ACC and compete.
But Cal and Stanford, while they are top-flight schools that have had some good football teams, are pretty awful at the moment. It's easy to imagine the ACC's strength of schedule sliding down in 2024.
5. Will the ACC get hammered again in the new Playoff?
The best thing about the 12-team playoff for the ACC was that their Florida State-like teams wouldn't get short shrift. Or will they? OK, the ACC champion will go into the playoff. Barring catastrophe, it will even get a first-round bye, as the death of the Pac-12 should make the ACC securely one of the top four conferences.
But when it comes time to add a second team or a third team, won't the SEC or the beefed-up Big Ten have better arguments? Can anybody genuinely say that Miami or SMU will be more deserving of a playoff spot than, say, Ole Miss or Penn State? The ACC will probably be left behind again, substituting one problem for another.
What do you think about the ACC in 2024? Share your thoughts and issues below in our comments section!