The ACC media members selected Clemson as the clear cut favorite to win the conference championship in their preseason football poll that was released Friday.
The Tigers, who are ranked number one overall in the nation, are predicted to finish first in the ACC by 132 of the media panel’s 134 voters and are also expected to win the ACC Championship Game.
Not only are the Tigers picked to win that but their junior quarterback Trevor Lawrence was selected as the ACC Preseason Player of the Year and the Tigers led all schools with five players voted to the 27 member 2020 Preseason All-ACC Team.
Notre Dame, who will compete as an ACC football member this season, followed the Tigers up with the remaining two first-place votes. North Carolina came in third, Louisville Fourth, and Virginia Tech fifth.
Each ACC team is slated to play 11 games (10 conference, one non-conference) in the shortened season. At season’s end the two teams with the highest conference winning percentages earn spots in the ACC Football Championship Game on Dec. 12 or Dec. 19 at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium.
Lawrence was named ACC Preseason Player of the Year on 100 ballots. He was followed by Clemson senior running back Travis Etienne (the ACC Player of the Year each the past two seasons) who received 30 votes. The pair have led Clemson to a combined 29-1 record over the past two seasons, highlighted by the national title two years ago and a berth in the CFP National Championship Game last January.
ACC Preseason Poll
(First-place votes in parenthesis, followed by total points)
1. Clemson (132) – 2008 (also picked to win ACC Football Championship Game)
2. Notre Dame (2) – 1824
3. North Carolina – 1682
4. Louisville – 1434
5. Virginia Tech – 1318
6. Miami – 1280
7. Florida State – 1177
8. Pitt – 1132
9. Virginia – 994
10. Wake Forest – 659
11. NC State – 634
12. Duke – 618
13. Boston College – 532
14. Syracuse – 449
15. Georgia Tech – 339
2020 All-ACC Preseason Football Team
(Total votes in parenthesis)
Offense
WR – Tamorrion Terry, Florida State (100)
WR – Tutu Atwell, Louisville (96)
WR – Dazz Newsome, North Carolina (75)
TE – Brevin Jordan, Miami (77)
AP – Michael Carter, North Carolina (82)
OT – Jackson Carman, Clemson (64)
OT – Ben Petrula, Boston College (61)
OG – Zion Johnson, Boston College (78)
OG – Aaron Banks, Notre Dame (34)
C – Jimmy Morrissey, Pitt (80)
QB – Trevor Lawrence, Clemson (131)
RB – Travis Etienne, Clemson (133)
RB – Javian Hawkins, Louisville (80)
Defense
DE – Carlos Basham Jr., Wake Forest (89)
DE – Patrick Jones II, Pitt (37)
DT – Marvin Wilson, Florida State (108)
DT – Tyler Davis, Clemson (75)
LB – Chazz Surratt, North Carolina (106)
LB – Rayshard Ashby, Virginia Tech (66)
LB – Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Notre Dame (47)
CB – Asante Samuel Jr., Florida State (90)
CB – Derion Kendrick, Clemson (85)
S – Paris Ford, Pitt (62)
S – Hamsah Nasirildeen, Florida State (56)
Special Teams
PK – Nick Sciba, Wake Forest (69)
P – Trenton Gill, NC State (43)
SP – Damond Philyaw-Johnson, Duke (48)
ACC Player of the Year
1. Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson – 100
2. Travis Etienne, RB, Clemson – 30
3. Sam Howell, QB, North Carolina – 1
4. Chazz Surratt, LB, North Carolina – 1
5. Ian Book, QB, Notre Dame – 1
6. Carlos Basham Jr., DE, Wake Forest – 1
