Louisville Cardinals

ACC spring football primer: Power Rankings, burning questions for every team

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

Sports Illustrated, Andy Staples/Sports Illustrated

The ACC, home to two of the past four national champions, felt especially top-heavy when Florida State and Clemson re-emerged in the early part of this decade as the league’s best teams. While the Seminoles and Tigers have continued to dominate, the rest of the league has gotten deeper in an attempt to catch them. The Coastal Division still feels wide open, but instead of being stocked with mediocre teams, it’s got contenders such as Pittsburgh who can beat the eventual national champ on the road and still not win the division. Meanwhile, the Atlantic Division title isn’t guaranteed to run through Tallahassee or Clemson. Louisville returns a Heisman Trophy winner, and NC State will have one of the nation’s best and most experienced defensive lines.

It used to be an insult to be ranked near the middle of the ACC. Come November, the seventh best team in the ACC might still find itself in the top 25.

ACC Spring Power Rankings

This article originally appeared on