2019 ACC Football Boilerplate on the Hourglass - records, projections and more

For decades it was Florida State football when you thought of the ACC, but now there is officially a new king in the castle in the ACC and college football.

The Clemson Tigers are the team to beat in 2019 and there is no doubt about it. What they have been able to accomplish on and off the field for that matter has been nothing short of amazing. But - after Clemson, the ACC has taken a bit of a face lift the last several years.

NC State has remained consistent, Florida State just can’t get right and the ACC Coastal is a roller coaster every year. Out of all our picks the last two year, the ACC coastal has been the worst. Much of that is to do with coaches moving in and out of programs, roster talent not panning out or quarterback play not being good to elite.

This year should be another whirlwind year in the conference outside of Clemson.

2019 ACC Power Rankings:

Virginia Tech and Miami, along with NC State should again have good years as all three teams have the talent to compete - it just comes down to quarterback play and coaching.

Florida State faces a pivotal year two under Willie Taggart and while Syracuse is 12th on our list, they could again make some noise in 2019.

You can look at the numbers on the power rankings and see from Pittsburgh all the way to Syracuse, there isn’t a ton of separation and the last few years in the league have proven that.

ACC coaching rankings:

Lots of moving and shaking in the league this year from the head coaching stand point from Geoff Collins at Georgia Tech, to Scott Satterfield at Louisville, to Many Diaz back at the U. Willie Taggert is in year two at FSU and again we will learn a lot about these new coaches in 2019.

Justin Fuente is looking for a bounce back year at Virginia Tech and Dave Doeren continues to stay at the top of the ACC, being the most consistent coach in the league not named Dabo.

Mac Brown returns to North Carolina and we will see if there is any magic left for him to revive Tobacco Road for the Tar Heels.

ACC Talent Rankings.

Again at the top it should be no surprise, Clemson has the most roster talent in the league, but Miami isn’t far behind at all. The problem with Miami has been inconsistency at coaching and quarterback.

Florida State still has elite talent, but they have to find better quarterback play and have missed on some positions along the offensive front and elsewhere.

Across the board though from 7th to 14th, the rest of the rosters are dang near mirror images of each other, which is why this league has become one of the hardest to project top to bottom.

ACC Quarterback Rankings:

After the golden boy Trevor Lawrence, look over to Virginia as Bryce Perkins has given Bronco Mendenhall something to smile about. Virginia Tech and Boston College should see really good quarterback play this year, but teams like Syracuse and Duke will look to replace really good ones from a year ago.

Again at Florida State, they will look to transfer Alex Hornibrook from Wisconsin to revive the quarterback position. Hornibrook was very average in the B10, so we will see how life treats him in the ACC.

Tait Martell is another transfer portal quarterback looking to do work down in Miami. He will be an integral part to the success or lack thereof for Many Diaz.

Strength of Schedule Rankings:

Georgia Tech and Duke play the hardest schedules in the conference this year as Tech has to play Clemson and Georgia, while Duke opens with Alabama.

Easier scheduling should lend itself helpful to teams like Syracuse or Miami and Virginia Tech - all teams looking to either keep momentum or grab new momentum in 2019.

Most people around the country will tune in week two to see Clemson host Texas A&M and Miami plays Florida in a neutral site game August 24th as a true kickoff classic for college football.

Final Rankings:

Of course we have Clemson winning the ACC and making it back to the National Championship, but what after that?

Due to scheduling and coaching - we have Virginia Tech having a great year in the Coastal and Miami as well. We have Carolina to Georgia Tech having a rough go in 2019, but if recent history repeats itself, one of those teams could surprise and get to the eight or nine win plateau.

NC Sate should again win upward of nine games and Florida State should win eight in 2019. Anything less could spell trouble for Willie Taggart. Virginia and Syracuse both have the tools to make a bowl game, as does Wake Forest. Boston College and Pittsburgh, along with Carolina could be the wild cards of the league this fall.

Editors Note: All photos courtesy of 247sports.com