Editor’s note: This article was adapted from Phil Steele’s college football preview magazine, which is available here.
Who will come out of the Atlantic and Coastal divisions in the ACC? Clemson looks like an obvious choice to be one team to make the conference title game. We rank where each team is expected to finish.
Atlantic Division
1. Clemson Tigers
Can you find a more significant favorite to win a division in college football? I don’t think so. Clemson proved to be the best team in college football last season with its 44-16 route of Alabama in the national championship game and has an even better offense this year with eight starters back, including quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who threw for 3,280 yards and 30 TDs as a true freshman. While just four starters are back on defense, head coach Dabo Swinney does a great job playing a lot of student-athletes. Losing four players from the defensive line to the NFL will hurt, but six of Clemson’s units (including the defensive line) rank in my top seven.