Virginia Tech has been picked eighth in the Atlantic Coast Conference preseason poll released this past week.
Miami has been selected as the preseason favorite to win the 2026 Atlantic Coast Conference football championship, according to the media’s predicted order of finish following a vote of more than 185 media members at this year’s ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hurricanes received 3,159 points in the annual preseason poll to earn the top spot, followed by SMU (2,794 points), Louisville (2,569) and Clemson (2,520). Georgia Tech rounded out the top five with 2,006 points. In the media voting, Miami received 165 first-place votes. Clemson received seven first-place votes, followed by SMU with six, Louisville with four, Florida State with three and Georgia Tech with two. Stanford also received a first-place vote.
Virginia (1,981), NC State (1,964), Virginia Tech (1,962), Pitt (1,740) and Duke (1,452) 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 (1,439) was picked 11th, followed by California (1,392), Wake Forest (1,103), Syracuse (878), North Carolina (831), Boston College (491) and Stanford (483). The ACC enters the 2026 season with one of the nation’s deepest and most competitive conferences, as teams begin the league’s transition to a nine-game conference schedule and compete for a berth in the 2026 ACC Football Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 5, at noon on ABC.
ACC teams are scheduled to play 25 non-conference games against P4 + ND — most of any conference, including nine games vs. SEC, five vs. B1G, five vs. Big 12 and six vs. Notre Dame. Two-thirds of the ACC’s non-conference games are against P4 or bowl-eligible teams. All 17 ACC teams will play at least 10 games vs. P4 + ND. Three of the five FBS teams playing 11 or more games vs. P4 + ND hail from the ACC.
There are 12 non-conference games against teams ranked in ESPN’s 2026 Way-Too-Early Top 25, and 12 games against teams ranked in the final 2025 College Football Playoff rankings and AP Top 25.
ACC Labor Day Weekend features five days of ACC football:
14 teams will compete in 12 games across five days (Thursday, Sept. 3 – Monday, Sept. 7).
SMU at Florida State on Labor Day Monday marks the ACC’s 17th consecutive year playing on Labor Day (excluding 2020) and 20th since 2005.
ACC leads all conferences in week one P4 non-conference games (five total).
ACC Football Fridays:
During the 2026 season, the ACC is playing a record 15 games on Fridays.
Over the first six weeks, ACC teams will appear in nine Friday games, which includes four Friday contests in week two.
The league will continue to take center stage in October and November, with:
At least one Friday night game will be played in each of Weeks 8, 10, 11, 12 and 13.
Thanksgiving week concludes with Florida at Florida State on Black Friday.
Strength and depth of ACC football:
Over the last three seasons, the ACC has had 11 or more bowl-eligible teams — the longest streak of any conference.
Last year, the ACC had seven teams with nine or more wins on the season — the most in a single season in ACC history.
Nine ACC teams had eight or more wins in 2025 — tied for the most in FBS and the most in a single season in ACC history.
In 2024, four teams finished the season with 10 or more wins — the first time in ACC history.
Miami has been selected as the preseason favorite to win the 2026 Atlantic Coast Conference football championship, according to the media’s predicted order of finish following a vote of more than 185 media members at this year’s ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Hurricanes received 3,159 points in the annual preseason poll to earn the top spot, followed by SMU (2,794 points), Louisville (2,569) and Clemson (2,520). Georgia Tech rounded out the top five with 2,006 points.
In the media voting, Miami received 165 first-place votes. Clemson received seven first-place votes, followed by SMU with six, Louisville with four, Florida State with three and Georgia Tech with two. Stanford also received a first-place vote.
Virginia (1,981), NC State (1,964), Virginia Tech (1,962), Pitt (1,740) and Duke (1,452) 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 (1,439) was picked 11th, followed by California (1,392), Wake Forest (1,103), Syracuse (878), North Carolina (831), Boston College (491) and Stanford (483).
The ACC enters the 2026 season with one of the nation’s deepest and most competitive conferences, as teams begin the league’s transition to a nine-game conference schedule and compete for a berth in the 2026 ACC Football Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 5, at noon on ABC.
Staff report
