The ACC started the season with a lot of question marks. That was followed by some of the marquee conference teams struggling early on. Now, as we have turned the corner past the halfway point of the season, two ACC teams get tabbed by the National Football Foundation as top-10 teams and potential title contenders.
In its weekly FWAA-NFF Super 16 poll released Sunday, the voters have Miami as the number five team in the country and Clemson at number eight.
The Case for Miami
Miami was always one of the top two or three picks in the conference going back to the voting media poll at the ACC Kickoff in July. The Hurricanes brought in transfer quarterback Cam Ward and the results have been obvious. The Canes are 7-0 overall and in second place in the conference at 3-0.
Miami has the top-ranked offense in the country, averaging 577 yards per game. Ward is number one in the country in passing yards, passing yards per game, and passing touchdowns. The Canes have some controversial calls at the end of a couple of games, but 7-0 is 7-0.
The Case for Clemson
Clemson is 6-1 overall and 5-0 in ACC play, putting the Tigers at the top of the conference. The Tigers had some early issues to work out. They finished 2023 with a 9-4 overall record and a 4-4 ACC record, both marks far below what the Clemson fan base was used to. And the widely hailed quarterback Cade Klubnik had fewer than 3,000 passing yards and threw nine interceptions against 19 touchdowns.
Add a blowout loss to Georgia in this season’s opening weekend and there were question marks everywhere.
Questions answered. Clemson has won six straight games and their margin of victory in that winning streak is 27 points per game. As for Klubnik, he has now entered the Heisman conversation. He is completing passes at a 66% clip and has 20 touchdowns, both career highs. He also has only three interceptions on the season.
ACC schools Pitt (6-0, 2-0), and SMU (6-1, 3-0) also got votes in this week’s FWAA-Super 16 poll, seen here.
