The preseason AP Top 25 poll was released today, and the ACC has 3 members represented: Miami at 7, SMU at 19, and Louisville at 24.
AP Poll: Preseason Top 25 📊 pic.twitter.com/pmbxBQCKDP
— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) August 17, 2026
These 3 teams all have something in common—they all play Wake Forest this season.
The Deacs will play 2025 National Runner Up #7 Miami at home in week 3. The Hurricanes have reloaded at QB with Duke transfer Darian Mensah, return both running backs from last season, and still have one of the most electric players in all of college football in Malachi Toney. They should be poised for another run at the National Championship, so the Deacs get an early chance to play spoilers in front of the home crowd.
Wake will face #24 Louisville on the road the following week. The Cardinals are averaging a little over 9 wins per season in Jeff Brohm’s 3 years as the head coach. Former Ohio State backup Lincoln Kienholz joins an outstanding pair of running backs in Isaac Brown and Keyjuan Brown, who rushed for 8.8 and 7.3 yards per carry respectively last season. Cardinal Stadium has not been kind to the Deacs in recent history—Wake is 1-4 on the road against Louisville since 2014 with an average margin of -14.4 points.
The Deacs will face #19 SMU in Dallas for the first time since 1972 on November 14th. The Mustangs have lost 2 ACC regular season games by a combined 4 points since joining the ACC, and both of those game were on the road (Wake, Cal). Star QB Kevin Jennings is back for his 5th season and he is joined by Cal transfer running back Kendrick Raphael, who ran the ball 232 times last season for 943 yards and 13 touchdowns. SMU also loaded up on transfers on the defensive side and should be in contention for the ACC Championship this season.
Obviously, the preseason rankings really don’t mean that much—we have no idea if any of these teams will still be ranked when Wake plays them. With asymmetrical scheduling due to the conference size, it can be hard to determine who will be playing the ACC Championship game at the end of the season, one or two of these teams will probably be a good bet at this point.
Who do you think will win the ACC this season?