17. Stanford Cardinal
Stanford is not expected to make significant improvements in Year 2 under coach Troy Taylor. The Cardinal face a challenging schedule in their ACC debut, which includes a few cross-country trips for road games on the East Coast. Returning wide receiver Elic Ayomanor is a bright spot on the roster having become the first Stanford player to surpass 1,000 yards receiving in a season since 2018.
16. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Wake Forest is still trying to figure out its quarterback situation for 2024. The Demon Deacons brought in former Boise State and Louisiana Tech transfer Hank Bachmeier to compete alongside Michael Kern, a redshirt senior entering his fifth season in Winston-Salem. Wake Forest took a big step backward offensively in 2023 without quarterback Sam Hartman.
15. Virginia Cavaliers
Virginia is in a similar position without a clear front-runner for QB1. Anthony Colandrea and Tony Muskett continue to split reps. The Cavaliers’ defense, which should be better in 2024 with a group of returning starters, got the better of the offense in the first scrimmage of fall camp this past weekend. Virginia ranked last in the ACC and 119th nationally a year ago with 33.8 points allowed per game.
14. Duke Blue Devils
Duke could be somewhat of a mystery team in the ACC this season after new head coach Manny Diaz stepped in to replace a departing Mike Elko. The Blue Devils lost a handful of key players to the transfer portal, too. Former Texas backup quarterback Maalik Murphy takes command of the offense with a powerful arm.