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.

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. [2018 2018 NC State Wolfpack football team|NC State Wolfpack football team|NC State] – 2
  4. [2018 2018 Virginia Cavaliers football team|Virginia Tech Hokies football team|Virginia Tech], [2018 Florida State Seminoles football|Florida State Seminoles football team|Florida State] – 1
Atlantic Division
  1. Clemson – 1,031
  2. [2018 2018 Florida Gators football team|Florida State Seminoles football team|Florida State] – 789
  3. NC State – 712
  4. [2018 2018 Boston College Eagles football team|Boston College Eagles football team|Boston College] – 545
  5. [2018 2018 Louisville Cardinals football team|Louisville Cardinals football team|Louisville] – 422
  6. [2018 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football|Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team|Wake Forest] – 413
  7. [2018 Syracuse Orange football|Syracuse Orange football team|Syracuse] – 232
Coastal Division
  1. Miami – 998
  2. Virginia Tech – 838
  3. [2018 2018 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team|Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team|Georgia Tech] – 654
  4. [2018 2018 Duke Blue Devils football team|Duke Blue Devils football team|Duke] – 607
  5. Pittsburgh – 420
  6. North Carolina – 370
  7. Virginia – 257

Preseason ACC Player of the year

Source:
1 A. J. 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:

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:
  • Records shown are prior to the 2018 season.
  • Years at school includes the 2018 season.

Schedule

† denotes Homecoming game

Regular season

Week eight


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 [2018 2018 BYU Cougars football team|BYU Cougars football team|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 [2018 2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team|Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team|Notre Dame]Wake 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

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

Home game attendance

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