By: Ryan Moreland (@ryanmoreland)
The rosters are (mostly) set and CFSL action is due to kick off in a week. That means it is time for the AD Coaches Poll. For those who haven’t been around in a while, every season I ask every AD to rank their conference (except for their team). I take the average rank of each team and compile them to make the poll.
This series will cover each conference and how the ADs think they will finish, starting with the ACC.
Last Season’s Standings
| Conference Rank | Team |
| 1 | Florida State |
| 2 | Miami |
| 3 | North Carolina |
| 4 | Clemson |
| 5 | Virginia Tech |
| 6 | Notre Dame |
AD Coaches Poll
| Projected Finish | Team | 1st Place Votes |
| 1 | Florida State | 4 |
| 2 | North Carolina | 2 |
| 3 | Miami | – |
| 4 | Virginia Tech | – |
| 5 | Clemson | – |
| 6 | Notre Dame | – |
Florida State is the favorite to win the ACC. However, they are tied for the smallest leading margin of any projected conference champion this season. The Seminoles’ main competition (at least in the eyes of the ADs) is North Carolina. The Tar Heels have the most first-place votes of any team not picked to win their conference.
The ACC thinks Miami will take a small step back this season, dropping them to third. Despite Clemsons’ impressive win over Virginia Tech last season, the coaches in the conference think the Hokies will jump the Tigers this season.
Last season, the ACC ADs were the closest of any conference to nailing the conference rankings correctly. This season might be tougher with Virginia Tech and Clemson both making major strides forward in the offseason. Time will tell if the ACC will once again be the most accurate in their predictions.
