The Atlantic Coast Conference is finally at peace.<\/p>\n
The league and two of its most prominent members, Clemson and Florida State, have finally resolved their legal battles<\/a>. Barring any surprising developments, the conference will look the same until the next major wave of media rights deals begins (around 2030).<\/p>\n That\u2019s comforting news for ACC fans, who saw two teams from the league (Clemson and SMU) earn a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff in 2024. How many ACC teams will make the next one? That\u2019s anyone\u2019s guess.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a look at 10 offseason moves that could help determine what happens this fall.<\/p>\n 1. Hello, Bill Belichick<\/p>\n Dabo Swinney was the most decorated coach in the ACC until North Carolina hired the six-time Super Bowl winner to replace Mack Brown, who was let go after a 6-7 season.<\/p>\n Although most of the attention Belichick has received early on at UNC has revolved around his 24-year-old girlfriend<\/a>, the Tar Heels have been busy flipping the roster with close to 40 transfer additions<\/a> and more than 50 departures. It will be fascinating to see what Belichick and his staff can do with a roster that lacks top-end talent. UNC\u2019s over\/under for wins is 7.5 according to BetMGM.<\/p>\n 2. Clemson hires Tom Allen<\/p>\n The Tigers made the College Football Playoff in 2024, but changes still needed to be made. They gave up 292 yards rushing in the CFP loss to Texas and, for the season, ranked 16th in the ACC in rushing defense (160.6 ypg). Swinney fired defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin in January and hired Allen away from Penn State a week later.<\/p>\n Clemson DC Tom Allen gets choked up talking about the sacrifices his wife and kids had to make as he pursued his coaching career. \u201cWe\u2019re really close.\u201d Says pulling his kids out of school was taxing on everyone. \u201cOne time my daughter just wouldn\u2019t get out of the car\u201d pic.twitter.com\/J0wu3W7YED<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Chapel Fowler (@chapelfowler) January 15, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Allen said he left State College in part to be closer to his two daughters in the Carolinas, but the $400,000 salary bump surely didn\u2019t hurt.<\/p>\n Penn State ranked in the top 10 in scoring defense, total defense and rushing defense in 2024. Allen has plenty of quality talent to work with at Clemson, including three returning starters in the secondary, two of the team\u2019s top three leading tacklers at linebacker and three players on the defensive line who started at least 10 games last season.<\/p>\n 3. Miami finds a QB and bolsters its secondary<\/p>\n It\u2019s been another good offseason for Mario Cristobal. The Hurricanes landed their replacement for Cam Ward at quarterback in Carson Beck from Georgia. They also upgraded the secondary, most notably with the arrival of cornerback Xavier Lucas (Wisconsin) and safety Zechariah Poyser (Jacksonville State). These additions will aid new defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman (Minnesota) in his quest to get the Canes right on that side of the ball.<\/p>\n 4. Gus Malzahn leaves UCF to be the OC at Florida State<\/p>\n Malzahn made the unorthodox move of leaving a job as a Power 4 head coach to become an offensive coordinator at another P4 school in the same state, one that went 2-10 in 2024 after going 13-1 the previous season.\u00a0But Malzahn, who turns 60 in October, decided he just wanted to get back to coaching offense after completing his fourth season in Orlando with a 4-8 record.<\/p>\n The Seminoles could use all the help they can get on offense after ranking 131st in scoring (15.3 ppg) and 132nd in yards per play (4.4) in 2024. Boston College quarterback transfer Thomas Castellanos, originally a UCF signee for Malzahn, will try to lead the turnaround. Veteran receivers Duce Robinson (USC) and Squirrel White (Tennessee) are among 23 transfers in Mike Norvell\u2019s portal class.<\/p>\n 5. Duke spends millions on Darian Mensah<\/p>\n Maalik Murphy threw for 2,933 yards and set a school record with 26 touchdown passes, but he entered the transfer portal following the regular season. The Blue Devils pivoted to Mensah, who signed an NIL deal worth $4 million per season, according to CBS<\/a>. Mensah, who ranked No. 3 in The Athletic\u2019s winter portal QB rankings<\/a>, started 13 games at Tulane last season and threw for 2,723 yards with 22 touchdowns and six interceptions.<\/p>\n .@EJManuel3<\/a> breaks down the impact QB Darian Mensah will have on @DukeFOOTBALL<\/a> \ud83d\ude08\ud83c\udfc8 pic.twitter.com\/lWzWDs5RQZ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 ACC Network (@accnetwork) May 3, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Duke lost the left side of its offensive line and its top two receivers to graduation and leading rusher Star Thomas (Tennessee) to the transfer portal. But coach Manny Diaz picked up a couple of former quality FCS starters in receiver Cooper Barkate (Harvard) and offensive guard Jordan Larsen (South Dakota) to fortify the roster.<\/p>\n 6. Stanford hires Andrew Luck<\/p>\n Some people may have forgotten, but Stanford was a nationally relevant program not long ago. Luck helped start that run, quarterbacking Stanford to final rankings of No. 4 and No. 7 in 2010 and 2011, respectively, before becoming the No. 1 pick in the 2012 draft. Now, the 35-year-old is back in Palo Alto as Stanford\u2019s general manager, hoping to breathe life back into a program that has won only three games in four consecutive seasons. Luck hired his old coach with the Colts, Frank Reich, in March to serve as an interim head coach following Troy Taylor\u2019s firing.<\/p>\n Reich won\u2019t have to worry about NIL and roster building. Luck is handling all of that. He has his hands full. Stanford lost 27 players to the portal, including veteran edge rusher David Bailey (Texas Tech) and talented young receiver Emmett Mosley V (Texas) this spring. Stanford reeled in seven transfers who started at least eight games in 2024, but only one \u2014 offensive lineman Niki Prongos (UCLA) \u2014 played at the FBS level last season.<\/p>\n 7. Cal loses offensive weapons<\/p>\n The Bears\u2019 ACC debut included early-season losses to Florida State, Miami, Pitt and NC State by a combined nine points. The offseason has been just as painful.<\/p>\n Not only did quarterback Fernando Mendoza leave for Indiana, but the Bears lost five of their top six receivers \u2014 including tight end Jack Endries (Texas) and standout freshman Nyziah Hunter (Nebraska) \u2014 and their top four running backs. Jaydn Ott\u2019s departure to Oklahoma garnered the most headlines, but Jaivian Thomas (UCLA) was actually Cal\u2019s leading rusher in 2024.<\/p>\n O-T-T-T-O-G-O
We’ve got Jaydn Ott to go!#Calgorithm<\/a> #FightForCalGameday<\/a> #H1M<\/a> #WhyNotCal<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/8D68f8pnjH<\/a><\/p>\n