2018 Atlantic Coast Conference football season


The 2018 Atlantic Coast Conference football season was the 66th season of College Football play for the Atlantic Coast Conference. It was played from August 30, 2018 until January 2019. The Atlantic Coast Conference consists of 14 members in two divisions. It was part of the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The entire 2018 schedule was released on January 17, 2018.

Previous Season

Clemson defeated Miami, 38–3, in the ACC Football Championship Game.
Ten teams participated in bowl games in the 2017 season and the league went 4–6 in those games. Two teams participated in New Years 6 Bowls, however both lost. Clemson lost to Alabama in the 2018 Sugar Bowl, 6–24. Miami was played in the Orange Bowl as the ACC's other New Years Six team and lost to Wisconsin 24–34. Louisville lost 27–31 to Mississippi in the TaxSlayer Bowl. NC State beat Arizona State 52–31 in the Sun Bowl. Wake Forest won a shootout in the Belk Bowl with Texas A&M, 55–52. Virginia Tech lost 21–30 to Oklahoma State in the Camping World Bowl Virginia lost 7–49 to Navy in the Military Bowl. Iowa defeated Boston College, 20-27, in the Pinstripe Bowl. Florida State beat Southern Miss 42–13 in the Independence Bowl. Duke beat Northern Illinois 36–14 in the Quick Lane Bowl.

Preseason

ACC Media days

The 2018 ACC Football Kickoff event was held on July 18 & 19 at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina. On July 6, the ACC announced 28 student athletes from 14 schools that addressed the media at the kickoff event. Press also released preseason polls at the event.

Preseason Poll

The 2018 ACC Preseason Poll was announced following the ACC Football Kickoff event. Clemson and Miami were selected to win the Atlantic Division and Coastal Division, respectively. Clemson was selected the favorite to win the ACC Championship, receiving 139 out of 148 votes, or 94% of the vote. The poll was voted on by 148 media members, all of which were in attendance for the ACC Football Kickoff.
ACC Championship Votes
  1. Clemson – 139
  2. Miami – 5
  3. NC State – 2
  4. Virginia Tech, Florida State – 1
Atlantic Division
  1. Clemson – 1,031
  2. Florida State – 789
  3. NC State – 712
  4. Boston College – 545
  5. Louisville – 422
  6. Wake Forest – 413
  7. Syracuse – 232
Coastal Division
  1. Miami – 998
  2. Virginia Tech – 838
  3. Georgia Tech – 654
  4. Duke – 607
  5. Pittsburgh – 420
  6. North Carolina – 370
  7. Virginia – 257

    Preseason ACC Player of the year

Source:
1 AJ Dillon - Boston College - 45
2 Christian Wilkins - Clemson - 42

3 Ryan Finley - NC State - 37
4 Cam Akers - Florida State - 13
5 Greg Dortch - Wake Forest – 3
T6 Joe Giles-Harris - Duke, TaQuon Marshall - Georgia Tech – 2
T8 Zach Allen - - Boston College, Eric Dungey - Syracuse, Jaylen Smith - Louisville, Olamide Zaccheaus - Virginia – 1

Preseason All Conference Teams

Offense
Defense
Specialist
Source:

Recruiting classes

Coaches

TeamHead coachYears at schoolOverall recordRecord at schoolACC record
Boston CollegeSteve Addazio644–4431–3315–25
ClemsonDabo Swinney11101–30101–3061–16
DukeDavid Cutcliffe11103–9659–6728–52
Florida StateWillie Taggart147–500–00–0
Georgia TechPaul Johnson11182–9375–5446–34
LouisvilleBobby Petrino9117–4875–2745–17
MiamiMark Richt3164–5819–712–4
North CarolinaLarry Fedora777–5343–3427–21
NC StateDave Doeren657–3434–3015–25
PittsburghPat Narduzzi421–1721–1714–10
SyracuseDino Babers345–328–164-12
VirginiaBronco Mendenhall3107–608–174–12
Virginia TechJustin Fuente345–3119–811–5
Wake ForestDave Clawson5111–10821–299–23

Notes:

Schedule

† denotes Homecoming game

Regular season

Week one

Week two

Week three

Week four

Week five

Week six

Week seven

Week eight

Week nine

Week ten

Week eleven

Week twelve

Week thirteen

Week fourteen

Championship game

DateTimeVisiting teamHome teamSiteBroadcastResultAttendanceReference
December 18:00 p.m.No. 2 ClemsonPittsburghBank of America Stadium • Charlotte, NCABCCLEM 42–1067,784

ACC vs other conferences

ACC vs Power 5 matchups

This is a list of the power conference teams. Although the NCAA does not consider BYU a "Power Five" school, the ACC considers games against BYU as satisfying its "Power Five" scheduling requirement. The ACC plays in the non-conference games. All rankings are from the current AP Poll at the time of the game.
DateVisitorHomeSiteSignificanceScore
September 1CaliforniaNorth CarolinaCalifornia Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, CAL 17–24
September 1No. 1 AlabamaLouisvilleCamping World Stadium • OrlandoCamping World KickoffL 14–51
September 2No. 25 LSUNo. 8 Miami AT&T Stadium • Arlington, TXAdvocare ClassicL 17–33
September 8DukeNorthwesternRyan Field • Evanston, ILW 21–7
September 8No. 2 ClemsonTexas A&MKyle Field • College Station, TXW 28–26
September 8No. 13 Penn StatePittsburghHeinz Field • Pittsburgh, PARivalryL 6–51
September 8VirginiaIndianaMemorial Stadium • Bloomington, INL 16–20
September 15DukeBaylorMcLane Stadium • Waco, TXW 40–27
September 22No. 23 Boston CollegePurdueRoss–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, INL 13–30
September 22No. 8 Notre DameWake ForestBB&T Field • Winston–Salem, NCL 27–56
October 6No. 6 Notre DameNo. 23 Virginia TechLane Stadium • Blacksburg, VAL 23–45
October 13PittsburghNo. 5 Notre DameNotre Dame Stadium • South Bend, INRivalryL 14–19
November 10Florida StateNo. 3 Notre DameNotre Dame Stadium • South Bend, INL 13–42
November 17No. 12 SyracuseNo. 3 Notre DameYankee Stadium • Bronx, NYL 3–36
November 24Georgia TechNo. 5 GeorgiaSanford Stadium • Athens, GAClean, Old-Fashioned HateL 21–45
November 24South CarolinaNo. 2 ClemsonMemorial Stadium • Clemson, SCPalmetto BowlW 56–35
November 24No. 17 KentuckyLouisvilleCardinal Stadium • Louisville, KYGovernor's CupL 10–56
November 24No. 13 FloridaFlorida StateDoak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, FLRivalryL 14–41

Records against other conferences

Regular Season
Post Season

Postseason

Bowl games

Rankings are from CFP rankings. All times Eastern Time Zone. ACC teams shown in bold.

Awards and honors

Player of the week honors

All Conference Teams

Source:
First Team
Second Team
Third Team

ACC Individual Awards">Atlantic Coast Conference football individual awards">ACC Individual Awards

ACC Player of the Year
ACC Rookie of the Year
ACC Coach of the Year
ACC Offensive Player of the Year
ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year
Jacobs Blocking Trophy
ACC Defensive Player of the Year
ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year

All-Americans

Consensus
Associated Press
Walter Camp
FWAA

National award winners

Bold – Exceeded capacity
†Season High

NFL Draft

Round #Pick #NFL TeamPlayerPositionCollege
14Oakland RaidersClelin FerrellDEClemson
16New York GiantsDaniel JonesQBDuke
113Miami DolphinsChristian WilkinsDTClemson
114Atlanta FalconsChris LindstromGBoston College
116Carolina PanthersBrian BurnsLBFlorida State
117New York GiantsDexter LawrenceDTClemson
118Minnesota VikingsGarrett BradburyCNC State
240Oakland RaidersTrayvon MullenCBClemson
263Kansas City ChiefsJuan ThornhillSVirginia
365Arizona CardinalsZach AllenDEBoston College
372Cincinnati BengalsGermaine PrattLBNC State
381Detroit LionsWill HarrisSBoston College
4104Cincinnati BengalsRyan FinleyQBNC State
4117Detroit LionsAustin BryantDEClemson
4119Cleveland BrownsSheldrick RedwineSMiami
4124Seattle SeahawksPhil HaynesGWake Forest
5149Oakland RaidersHunter RenfrowWRClemson
5152Atlanta FalconsQadree OllisonRBPittsburgh
5158Dallas CowboysMichael JacksonCBMiami
5165Dallas CowboysJoe JacksonDEMiami
5173Washington RedskinsCole HolcombLBNorth Carolina
6181Buffalo BillsJaquan JohnsonCBMiami
6198San Francisco 49ersTim HarrisCBVirginia
6204Seattle SeahawksTravis HomerRBMiami
6206Washington RedskinsKelvin HarmonWRNC State
6209Seattle SeahawksDemarcus ChristmasDTFlorida State
7228Buffalo BillsTommy SweeneyTEBoston College
7245New York GiantsChris SlaytonDTSyracuse