Tag: Cal Football

ACC Football Teams Ranked by Returning Production for 2024

A look at each ACC team’s returning production for the upcoming 2024 season.

Forecasting which teams will rise to greatness in college football in any given season can prove challenging. However, a key indicator often lies in the roster’s returning players.

From seasoned fifth-year senior linebackers to up-and-coming junior quarterbacks, the presence of experienced athletes opting to continue with their respective programs can significantly bolster a team’s competitive advantage. This continuity becomes particularly crucial as other teams contend with talent depletion due to NFL draft selections, transfers, or eligibility regulations.

ESPN recently released a list of all 134 FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) teams, with each ACC team naturally being listed. Here is a look at each ACC team’s returning production on offense, defense, and total.

Updated 4/7

ACC starting quarterback rankings for 2024

Here are our ACC quarterback rankings for 2024, with projected starters.

We are still some time away from the start of the 2024 college football season, but that doesn’t stop us from looking ahead.

Today, we are looking at the ACC starting quarterbacks for 2024 and ranking them ahead of the season. This is just a preview, as it is still many months from the season, and things can change fast. While every team doesn’t have a starting quarterback on paper, we are making projections on these starters based on what we know right now.

The ACC is a bit different now, with the addition of new programs and new faces to the conference. Try not to get mad with these, they’re subjective! That said, here are our ACC starting quarterback rankings heading into the 2024 season.

– Updated 3/31

Every ACC football team’s ESPN preseason SP+ ranking

The ACC has some strong teams heading into the 2024 season, according to ESPN’s SP+.

The 2024 college football season is months away, but we all know that football remains on the mind throughout the offseason. 

Early rankings have been released all over the place, with ESPN’s Bill Connelly recently releasing the preseason ESPN SP+ rankings ($$$) for the 2024 season. These SP+ rankings consider multiple key factors regarding a football team, including returning production, recent recruiting, and recent history. A strong model; here is a bit more of what Connelly had to say about the rankings. 

“It’s a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency. It is a predictive measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football, not a résumé ranking. Along those same lines, these projections aren’t intended to be a guess at what the AP Top 25 will look like at the end of the season. These are simply early offseason power rankings based on the information we have been able to gather to date.”

Straightforward and to the point, these are power rankings based on what we know right now. So, how do Clemson and the rest of the ACC stack up in the first SP+ rankings for 2024? Check it out below.

Updated 2/16

Every ACC Football Team’s 2024 Recruiting Class Ranking After National Signing Day

Here is a look at every ACC team’s final 2024 recruiting class ranking.

Dabo Swinney and the Clemson coaching staff showcased their recruiting prowess in the 2024 class, adding considerable talent to their roster. However, the burning question remains: how does Clemson’s recruiting effort compare to other ACC powerhouses following National Signing Day?

Today, we delve into the post-National Signing Day landscape, dissecting each ACC football team’s 2024 recruiting team ranking according to 247Sports. While Clemson remains a formidable force in ACC recruiting circles, they find themselves not at the summit for this particular recruiting cycle. Another program is poised for a significant resurgence, and the 2024 class appears to be the catalyst for their potential return to past glory.

From perennial ACC contenders to emerging teams within the conference, let’s examine the 2024 recruiting team ranking for each ACC program, shedding light on the evolving dynamics within the conference.

–Updated 2/13

ACC Football 2024 Team Recruiting Rankings After Early Signing Day

Here is a full look at how the ACC stands in team recruiting rankings after early signing day.

Early signing day was, as it should be for every college football program nationwide, a very busy day.

High school players across the country signed their national letters of intent and secured the next step in their football careers as they prepare to join their new teams. The ACC had some good success on early signing day, with multiple ACC programs landing in the top 25 of class team rankings following the day. 

So, how does the ACC stack up against each other? That’s what we’re going to take a look at today. Here is a look at every ACC team’s 2024 team recruiting ranking according to 247Sports following early signing day.

Updated 12/25

California running back Jaydn Ott to return for 2024

Ott made a joke about entering the transfer portal on social media on Friday but quickly revealed his intention to stay.

California running back Jaydn Ott will return to the Golden Bears for the 2024 season, he announced on social media on Friday.

Ott initially started somberly into the camera and announced he would enter the transfer portal, but he revealed the joke and his intention to remain with the program just a few seconds later.

The California running back was named First-Team All-Pac 12 this past season after he led the conference with 1,260 rushing yards despite only playing in 11 games. He scored 11 touchdowns, second only to Washington’s Dillon Johnson in the conference, and he broke off five different 40-yard runs this season. Only six running backs in the nation had more.

Ott’s breakout game came against USC when he rushed for 153 yards and three touchdowns in California’s near-upset. Ott rumbled for a 43-yard touchdown and a 61-yard touchdown in the first quarter alone.

The California running back ended the 2023 season with five 150-yard games in 11 appearances

Ott finished 13th in the country in rushing yards this season, and he was fifth among underclassmen. He’ll be one of the best backs in the country as the Golden Bears adjust to life in the ACC.

The sophomore is only 1,089 yards away from California’s career rushing yard, a program with names like Marshawn Lynch and Jahvid Best on the all-time list.

USC – Cal finished its 2nd quarter after halftime in bizarre sequence

USC – Cal finished the second quarter … after halftime?

Football can be one of the most unpredictable sports to watch, but one thing you can usually count on is that the second quarter ends right before halftime.

Well, that absolutely was not the case during USC’s road game against California on Saturday.

In a very strange turn of events, the Trojans got one extra second of the game’s second quarter after halftime after USC tight end Lake McRee’s knee was ruled to have hit the ground before the quarter ended.

That meant that USC would get one extra second-quarter play after halftime before the third quarter started, just enough time to kick a field goal.

You could see the discussion going on as the Cal marching band played at midfield.

In something you just do not see in football, USC kicker Denis Lynch got some time during the break to practice his pending field goal.

Well, you’d think that would give Lynch the calm to knock in the kick as *checks notes* the last second of the second quarter resumed after halftime.

Cal coach Justin Wilcox decided to ice the attempt, and Lynch wound up missing the kick as the last second-quarter second ticked off the clock.

This has to have been the most bizarre sequence in college football this week, as the last play of the second quarter coming after halftime is a new one for us, and we’re not sure we’ll see this again anytime soon.

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Cal is in the ACC because of Stanford, much as UCLA is in the Big Ten due to USC

The folks in Berkeley might not like Stanford, but they should be thankful the Cardinal carried them to the ACC. It’s the only reason they found safe harbor.

One of the basic lessons of college sports realignment: It pays to have a travel buddy with a lot of dollars and clout. Just ask UCLA. Go to Berkeley and ask California.

UCLA would not be in the Big Ten if USC didn’t exist and have a world-class football program. UCLA was the tag-along travel partner which got invited onto the Big Ten plane because USC had the box-office appeal Fox Sports wanted. All that extra television money offered by Fox was due to USC’s presence in college football. As good as UCLA basketball is, the Bruins don’t drive the bus. They rode USC’s coattails and got on board the Big Ten charter flight.

It’s very much the same with Cal and Stanford in the ACC. Stanford did the heavy lifting. Stanford has the massive endowment and a financial house which is fundamentally in order, unlike Cal. Stanford lobbied hard for this ACC move. Cal, its leadership and administration in disarray, was quiet and relatively impotent in this larger series of events. Stanford carried Cal to the ACC, and that’s not something anyone would reasonably dispute.

UCLA and Cal can thank USC and Stanford for giving them a new conference home in the wake of the Pac-12 splintering and dying.

Let’s look at more elements and plot points attached to the reality that Cal is going to the ACC:

ACC schools approve the addition of Stanford, Cal, and SMU, per reports

After weeks of speculation, the ACC is adding three programs.

Major moves are happening in the ACC.

According to multiple reports, the ACC schools have approved the addition of Stanford, Cal, and SMU to the conference. This is huge news for the conference as they are adding their first program since the 2014-15 season.

The ACC was falling behind in college football realignment, and while it took some time, they are now catching up with the times and working toward building the conference. The SEC, Big Ten, and Big 12 have each already announced the addition of top programs around the country, and now the ACC is a part of the game.

According to reports, these programs are expected to join the conference in the 2024-25 athletics season. Things will never be the same in college football!

ACC closing in on adding three programs, per reports

Reports suggest that the ACC will be adding Stanford, Cal, and SMU in the near future.

College football realignment has been looming over the ACC for some time, and it sounds like things are heading toward a change in the conference. 

The conference recently fell one vote short of adding Stanford and Cal, with four programs voting no to adding the two West Coast schools. Even so, reports released Wednesday that the ACC is expected to add Stanford, Cal, and SMU to the conference. 

Mike Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle tweeted Wednesday that he was ” told Cal, Stanford, and SMU are in the process of finalizing a deal to join the ACC in football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball…” ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic reported that the conference was back in the works of adding programs shortly before Silver’s news. 

There are no guarantees, but things look to be going towards expansion in the ACC. 

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