4. ACC Surprise, Disappointment
ACC Team That Will Surprise
Pitt Panthers
It stinks to lose star DT Jaylen Twyman – who opted out on the season – but the line is still among the nation’s best. The secondary and offensive line are among the ACC’s best, too. There’s a date at Clemson to freak out about, and going to Miami doesn’t help, but Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, and Louisville are all home games.
Pull off an upset over the Hokies and/or the Irish, and there’s a shot at finishing in the top two with a chance at the ACC Championship.
2020 ACC Previews
Atlantic Boston College | Clemson | Florida State
Louisville | NC State | Syracuse | Wake Forest
Coastal Duke | Georgia Tech | Miami
North Carolina | Pitt | Virginia | Virginia Tech
CFN Preview 2020: All 130 Team Previews
ACC Team That Will Disappoint
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Disappoint is a bit relative since there aren’t a ton of expectations on the Demon Deacons, but going bowling is a regular thing now under Dave Clawson. There are enough high-end talents on both sides of the ball to be competitive, and the offense will be explosive again, but the almost-all ACC schedule – Old Dominion is the non-conference game – is brutal.
Missing Florida State and Pitt isn’t bad, but it’s uh-oh time if the team doesn’t at least split the early home games against Clemson and Notre Dame. Five of the first six games are at home, and the team only leaves North Carolina once before finishing up at Louisville, but it’ll be a fight to win four games in the new schedule.