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.
2. Florida State Seminoles
I have to admit, I did not see a losing season coming for the Seminoles last year, but the transition from coach Jimbo Fisher to Willie Taggart was tougher than expected. Taggart he has a deeper squad in Year 2 that is now bought in, and that should pay dividends. I have their offense improving by about eight points per game, and the defense is stronger as well with eight starters back, including leading tackler Hamsah Nasirildeen (91 tackles in 2018). While I do not see them winning in Death Valley, the Seminoles are talented enough to make it back to a bowl game.
T-3. Syracuse Orange
Had Syracuse held on to its 23-13 lead at Clemson last season, it would have won the Atlantic Division at 7-1 last year and kept the Tigers out of the playoff. The Orange lose their quarterback, top wide receiver and three starting offensive linemen, but they return leading rusher Moe Neal (869 yards in 2018). They are No. 59 on my experience chart and have some key indicators going against them. Still, the Orange host Clemson in Week 3 and defeated them the last time they met in the Carrier Dome, and a win in that game would put Syracuse in the driver's seat of the division.
T-3. NC State Wolfpack
Head coach Dave Doeren is doing a great job here with five straight bowl game appearances. After a nine-win season in 2017, the Wolfpack lost four defensive linemen to the NFL draft, but Doeren told me he felt good about the replacements. The defense was just as strong in 2018, allowing 393 yards and 24.9 points per game, and the win total remained at nine. This year they lose quarterback Ryan Finley (3,928 passing yards, 25 TDs, 11 INTs in 2018) as well as top rusher Reggie Gallaspy II (1,091 yards, 18 TDs) and a pair of 1,000-yard receivers and have just four starters back on offense. However, Doeren feels good about the offensive substitutes, so this looks to be another top-notch Wolfpack team.
5. Boston College Eagles
Injuries derailed the offense last year and the Eagles return only nine starters, but head coach Steve Addazio believes this year's unit will be the best he has had at Boston College. My computer is calling for 33.3 points per game, which would be their best mark since 1993. The defensive line loses some talent, including Zach Allen (15 tackles for loss in 2018), and is the only real question mark on a team that also has my No. 3-rated special teams unit in the ACC. After a tough game against Virginia Tech in the opener, the schedule gets softer (Richmond, Kansas, at Rutgers) and could have this team on a roll going into the meat of their ACC schedule. I expect Boston College to surprise a few folks this year.
6. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
I have talked to head coach Dave Clawson all 11 years he has been an FBS coach, and I always enjoy our conversations until he pokes fun at me for picking Wake Forest to finish at the bottom of their division. This year it was, "When are you finally going to pick us to make a bowl?". Well, I did not want to jinx him, but this is the year I am predicting the Demon Deacons to make it to a bowl game, as they have 12 starters back, including seven on offense. Wake Forest is No. 36 on my experience chart and could go 4-0 in nonconference play with the North Carolina home game counting as a nonconference game.
7. Louisville Cardinals
Who knew replacing a Heisman Trophy winner would be so difficult? Louisville was 2-2 and led Florida State late with the ball but lost -- and the season blew up and head coach Bobby Petrino was fired after 10 games. Louisville goes from No. 115 to No. 16 on my experience chart, and it brings back 16 starters, including 10 on defense. The Cardinals also made a great hire in Scott Satterfield, who was 47-16 at Appalachian State after the Mountaineers made their jump to the FBS. This team will be vastly improved on both sides of the ball, but it has a considerable amount of ground to make up (they were outscored on average 50-20 in ACC games in 2018) and probably will not escape the basement.
Coastal Division
1. Miami Hurricanes
Miami had one of the nation's premier defenses last year, but an underachieving offense averaged 359 yards per game and the Hurricanes lost five games as a favorite and finished 7-6 with a 35-3 blowout loss in the Pinstripe Bowl. It was enough to make Mark Richt retire, but Manny Diaz is not your typical first-year head coach, as he has been here the past three years as the defensive coordinator. He has a top-10 defense with a strong linebacker corps and a much-improved offense, plus a more manageable schedule. The Hurricanes have a solid shot at winning the division.
T-2. Virginia Tech Hokies
Last spring when I talked to defensive coordinator Bud Foster, his defense was coming off a season where it allowed just 14.8 points per game. But last year his defense was extremely young and could not afford to lose any starters. However, they lost three starters before the season and others during the year. The result was a Hokies defense that allowed 31.0 points per game and Virginia Tech went 6-7. This year 10 starters are back, and my computer says they will allow just 319 yards per game. On offense, Virginia Tech brings back six starters, including starting quarterback Ryan Willis, and four of the top five receivers return. The Hokies' last losing season was 1992, so I believe they will bounce back this season and are a definite contender in the division.
T-2. Virginia Cavaliers
Virginia was picked to finish in the basement by the ACC media (and myself) last year and were just No. 112 on my experience chart. However, the Cavaliers surprised everyone by going 8-5, and it could have been better; they had two tough losses late in the season to Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech by three points each. But a 28-0 bowl shutout of South Carolina has expectations high for 2019, and rightfully so, as they are now No. 56 on my experience chart and have one of the nation's best defenses and a dynamic quarterback in Bryce Perkins, who threw for 2,680 yards (25 TDs, 9 INTs) and ran for 923 yards a season ago.
4. Pittsburgh Panthers
Pittsburgh was picked fifth by the media in the Coastal last year, but in the preseason head coach Pat Narduzzi said he would bet what he had in his wallet that the Panthers would be in the ACC title game. Pitt wrapped up the Coastal with one week left and lost a meaningless game to Miami in the regular-season finale. The Panthers lose two 1,000-yard rushers and four starting offensive linemen, but new offensive coordinator Mark Whipple could help them improve their points per game, and the defense is solid with six starters back. The Panthers will be a contender again in the Coastal.
5. North Carolina Tar Heels
Larry Fedora led North Carolina to a combined 19-8 record in 2015-16, including an 11-1 record and No. 8 ranking in 2015 before losing the ACC title game. The past two years were terribly unlucky when it came to injuries, and last year the Tar Heels were gutted by massive suspensions that had several key players miss up to four games. New head coach Mack Brown did an excellent job here in his first tenure, and his last Heels team in 1997 went 11-1 and ranked No. 6. He brings in two top-notch coordinators in Phil Longo (offense) and Jay Bateman (defense). The Tar Heels lost five games by seven points or fewer in 2018 and had just a minus-6 yards per game differential despite their 2-9 record. Brown should have them flirting with a bowl bid, but North Carolina does face 11 bowl teams from 2018.
6. Duke Blue Devils
On paper, Duke had perhaps head coach David Cutcliffe's best team yet in 2018, led by future sixth overall pick Daniel Jones at quarterback and a veteran defense. Injuries crumpled that paper up and threw it in the wastebasket. Cutcliffe usually outperforms my expectations, but I picked the Blue Devils to finish tied for second in the Coastal last year, and they went just 3-5 for sixth in the division. Duke was 15-9 in ACC play from 2013 to 2015 but is 7-17 the past three years and has not finished higher than sixth.
7. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
This is a logical pick here for me. New head coach Geoff Collins has the fan base energized, and despite taking over an option team, he likes the receiving corps. The Yellow Jackets have a manageable early schedule and could get off to a good start and have players buying in to get to a bowl. This is the No. 122 team on my experience chart. Not only are they inexperienced, but they also have personnel that was recruited to run the option and Collins is drastically switching schemes. In my 25-plus years of covering college football, that usually results in a rebuilding year.