Ready or not, the 2026 ACC football season kicks off next weekend. For some fans, it is an exciting time because their squad is poised to compete for the 2026 ACC Championship. For other teams (cough cough, UNC, cough), the best they can ask for is to finish the season above .500 and potentially make it to a bowl game. But instead of talking about how much we dread seeing Bill Belichick give another deadpan post-game presser where he doesn’t answer a single question like a normal human being, let’s talk about those ACC title contenders, shall we?
There are a handful of teams that are the current favorites to potentially win the conference. Per FanDuel Sportsbook, Miami is the overall favorite, followed by SMU, Louisville, and Clemson. It feels like the U has at least returned enough to win the conference, but the Mustangs also had a notable 2025 season, and I could see them leaving Charlotte with a trophy. Of the four, Clemson feels the least likely given the fact that they aren’t even in the preseason top 25. There’s more reasons we can highlight, but maybe we’ll just leave it at that.
While the ACC feels a bit top heavy this season, it also should be really interesting to see how everything plays out. One of the more important matchups will be when Miami faces off against Clemson on October 3rd in Death Valley. It’s very likely that the Hurricanes will go into that game undefeated assuming nothing crazy happens, and the Tigers will be hungry for a marquee victory so that Dabo Swinney finally gets to pop off his “I told you so” to anybody that decided his program is washed.
Another critical matchup will be SMU vs. Louisville on September 19th. This will be an early challenge for both teams that could act as a tie-breaker if it comes down to it near the end of the season. Last year, the Mustangs demolished the Cardinals at home 38-6. Will they be able to do the same on the road?
All and all, this is probably Miami’s title to lose, but we want to hear from you: who do you think will win the ACC championship in Charlotte? Do you think it will be one of the four teams mentioned, or do you think there is a dark horse waiting to surprise everyone? Let us know by participating in the SB Nation Reacts poll above, but also feel free to reply in the comments section.
