The preseason noise is already here, and in the ACC, the top of the league looks like a Miami conversation.
InsideTheU’s David Lake put together his preseason All-ACC ballot and predicted order of finish, and he has the Hurricanes sitting at No. 1 in the conference. That lines up with the betting market, too: according to FanDuel Sportsbook, Miami is the favorite to win the ACC at -145, with SMU next at +750 and Louisville right behind at +800.
The whole exercise comes with the usual warning label. Preseason picks have a habit of aging badly - Clemson was the preseason choice to win the ACC before going 7-6 and finishing tied for seventh in 2025, and Florida State was picked the year before that before stumbling to 2-10 and last place.
The last time the ACC media got it right was 2022, when Clemson went 11-3 and finished a perfect 8-0 in league play. Still, Lake’s ballot gives a clear picture of how he sees the conference shaping up.
At quarterback, Miami’s Darian Mensah gets the nod as the ACC’s preseason Player of the Year. Mensah comes over from Duke after throwing for 3,973 yards and 34 touchdowns, and Lake expects the move to Miami to unlock even more production. With better skill talent around him and a stronger offensive line in front of him, Lake says it would not be surprising to see Mensah top 4,000 passing yards in 2026.
Miami’s footprint on the offensive ballot is all over the place. Mark Fletcher earns a spot at running back after the Hurricanes’ College Football Playoff run, and Malachi Toney makes the team twice - once at wide receiver and once as the all-purpose back.
Lake also included Miami transfer and top-end receiving threat Darian Mensah? No - Mensah is the quarterback, while Toney’s versatility is what lands him the specialist-style role.
Miami wideout Malachi Toney is joined by Florida State’s Duce Robinson and Clemson’s T.J. Moore, with Lake pointing to 1,000-yard seasons for Toney and Robinson in 2025 and Moore’s NFL-caliber upside after 837 yards and four touchdowns.
The rest of the offense leans on production and experience. Louisville’s Isaac Brown is on the list after a huge 2025 season in which he ran for 884 yards and seven touchdowns while averaging 8.8 yards per carry.
The Cardinals also place tight end Brody Foley on the team after he posted 528 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in 2025. Up front, the offensive line includes PJ Williams of SMU, Ethan Mackenny of Georgia Tech, Noah Josey of Virginia, Spike Sowells of NC State and center Josh Bates of SMU.
On defense, Miami again dominates the ballot. Damon Wilson, a Missouri transfer, is listed at defensive end after producing 9.5 sacks and more than 50 quarterback pressures in 2025.
The Hurricanes also land Ahmad Moten and Justin Scott inside, with Lake expecting Moten to be among the best defensive linemen in the country and Scott to take another step as a consistent impact player. Miami is also represented at linebacker by Mohamed Toure, who had 84 tackles and three tackles for loss in 2025, and in the secondary by Xavier Lucas and Bryce Fitzgerald.
Lake’s other defensive choices include North Carolina’s Melkart Abou Jaoude, who had 12 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks in 12 games; Clemson linebacker Sammy Brown, who finished with 106 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, five sacks and an interception; and Louisville linebacker Stanquan Clark, who was limited to five games in 2025 but had 76 tackles and 7.5 tackles for loss in 2024. Clemson corner Ashton Hampton, a 6-foot-2 cover man who also tackles, is on the list, along with Louisville safety Koen Entringer, an Iowa transfer who had 73 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss. Fitzgerald gets the nod after six interceptions as a true freshman in 2025.
Special teams brings in Georgia Tech kicker Aidan Birr, Duke punter Kade Reynoldson and Miami specialist Malachi Toney. Birr made 25 of 29 field goals in 2025, while Reynoldson averaged 44.6 yards per punt. Toney is there after averaging 13 yards per punt return.
Lake’s projected order of finish has Miami first, followed by Louisville, SMU and Clemson. Georgia Tech is fifth, then Pittsburgh, NC State, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, California, Florida State, Virginia, Syracuse, Duke, Stanford and Boston College.
He sees Miami as the clear top team because of its roster and schedule, while Louisville, SMU and Clemson sit in the next tier. The Cardinals and Mustangs meet in September, a game Lake says will matter a lot. Clemson, meanwhile, gets bumped down partly because of Miami on the schedule and what Lake describes as a program that is backsliding.
Georgia Tech lands at No. 5 thanks to a physical style and a strong offensive line. Pittsburgh and NC State are grouped together because of quarterback play that could fuel shootouts.
Lake says he may be higher on North Carolina than most as Bill Belichick enters year two, with Billy Edwards and a strong defensive line helping the Tar Heels’ case. Virginia Tech should be more competitive under James Franklin, while Wake Forest could be frisky despite a difficult conference slate.
At the bottom, Lake lumps Florida State, Virginia, Syracuse, Duke, Stanford and Boston College together as teams that are pretty interchangeable.
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