Is the ACC the nation’s best conference? Preseason Coaches Poll doesn’t quite think so
Most ACC head coaches echoed the refrain that they were part of the best conference in the country at ACC media days three weeks, but the coaching community at large still thinks the conference is a little behind the SEC at the top.
The preseason Coaches Poll was released Thursday, with Alabama coming in at No. 1 and five ACC teams in the top 25. The ACC representatives are Florida State at No. 3, Clemson, which beat Alabama in the national championship in January, at No. 5, Louisville at No. 17, Miami at No. 18 and Virginia Tech at No. 22.
N.C. State and North Carolina are among the teams also receiving votes.
The Wolfpack garnered the 33rd-most points in the poll, and the Tar Heels are 48th. Sixty-one teams earned at least one top-25 vote.
The SEC is the only conference with more teams in the poll than the ACC with the six, and the Big 12 also has five teams.
The full preseason poll
1. Alabama (49 first-place votes)
2. Ohio State (5)
3. Florida State (4)
4. USC
5. Clemson (7)
6. Penn State
7. Washington
8. Oklahoma
9. Michigan
10. Wisconsin
11. Oklahoma State
12. LSU
13. Auburn
14. Stanford
15. Georgia
16. Florida
17. Louisville
18. Miami
19. Kansas State
20. West Virginia
21. South Florida
22. Virginia Tech
23. Texas
24. Tennessee
25. Utah
Others receiving votes: Washington State 99, Colorado 72, TCU 58, Boise State 49, Notre Dame 49, Texas A&M 46, Pittsburgh 45, N.C. State 39, Oregon 37, Northwestern 25, Nebraska 23, Memphis 22, Arkansas 22, Mississippi State 19, San Diego State 18, Appalachian State 11, BYU 10, Georgia Tech 10, Tulsa 10, Wyoming 9, Western Michigan 8, Temple 8, North Carolina 8, Houston 7, Troy 6, Minnesota 6, Iowa 5, Louisiana Tech 4, Syracuse 3, Arizona 2, Army 1, Colorado State 1, Michigan State 1, Maryland 1, Toledo 1, UCLA 1.
This story was originally published August 3, 2017 at 2:22 PM with the headline "Is the ACC the nation’s best conference? Preseason Coaches Poll doesn’t quite think so."