Everyone expects Clemson to make its seventh straight appearance in the ACC Championship Game and represent the Atlantic Division once again this season.
But the question is who will oppose the Tigers for the conference crown, with North Carolina and Miami the preseason favorites to come out of the Coastal Division.
ESPN analyst Tom Luginbill was a guest on the Gramlich and Mac Lain podcast with Kelly Gramlich and Eric Mac Lain and made his prediction for who he thinks will square off in the conference title game.
“I’m gonna go with Clemson and Miami,” Luginbill said.
Miami finished the 2020 season 8-3 (7-2 ACC), with its losses coming at Clemson (42-17 on Oct. 10), vs. North Carolina (62-26 on Dec. 12) and to Oklahoma State (37-34 in the Cheez-It Bowl on Dec. 29).
With Miami returning quarterback D’Eriq King, and a bunch of other starters back as well, the Hurricanes hope to make a run at their first ACC Coastal division title since 2017.
“I think they’ve got the components, especially in that side of the division, to take the next step,” Luginbill said. “I mean, I really do. You look at that division, you’ve got some rebuilds still occurring. You’ve got a bit of a reloading Pitt. You’ve got Georgia Tech, which is getting better, but they’re not there yet. And we still haven’t had the matchup that the whole entire league’s split into divisions for, and that’s Florida State and Miami, and that’s not happening anytime soon. So, I’ll go with the safe bets here in July.”
.@TomLuginbill’s way to early @ACCFootball Championship prediction… @ClemsonFB vs. @CanesFootball! 🐅 🙌🏼
Full pod w/ Tom here: https://t.co/qpTrsmPgFz pic.twitter.com/iJbc8Q3f6F
— Kelly Gramlich (@kellygramlich) July 17, 2021
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