The U Finally Favored

Miami has five national championships, a 3-1 record in College Football Playoff games and an 0-1 mark in ACC Championship Games — the only gap in the resume. CBS Sports' ACC panel (Aug. 27) says that changes in 2026. Mario Cristobal's breakthrough season, a run that ended in the national championship game, made the Hurricanes the conference's unmistakable favorite: the most expensive roster in the ACC, a manageable schedule, and the league's best QB-receiver duo in Darian Mensah and Malachi Toney.

"Never before has Miami been thrust into the role of unquestioned favorite," the panel wrote — Florida State in the 1990s and Clemson's 2015-20 dynasty held that mantle before. The consensus: Miami wins the ACC, and after sneaking into last year's bracket, this team plays for a first-round bye.

The Second CFP Seat Drama

How many ACC teams reach the 12-team playoff? The panel splits three ways:

  • One team: Fornelli and Talty see only Miami — "the ACC has the most coaching vacancies among the Power Four," says Talty, and seven ranked teams feast on each other (Patterson's take: seven teams get ranked but none stick at top-10 caliber).
  • Two teams: Crawford picks Miami plus the SMU-Louisville winner — Kevin Jennings returns for the Mustangs, and Jeff Brohm is "due for a major breakout after consecutive nine-win campaigns." Hummer agrees on SMU: if the Mustangs beat FSU and Louisville early, watch out.
  • Three-team conversation: Marcello sees the ACC pushing three into the discussion, with the SEC's brutal nine-game schedule opening the door for debate.

Behind the Favorite

NC State has the most favorable Power Four schedule (one ranked opponent: Louisville) but lost starters across the board. Virginia restarts around Beau Pribula — Marcello is skeptical of the rebuild, Fornelli sees a team dismissed too easily after 11 wins and three OT victories. Duke lost starter Darian Mensah to Miami at the portal deadline and pivots to San Jose State's Walker Eget with a run-first offense behind Nate Sheppard — the biggest red flag being a defense that ranked 122nd in yards per play. Cal under Tosh Lupoi could have the best quarterback in the league in most games if Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele keeps developing, and Pitt (Mason Heintschel + OC Kade Bell) is the dark horse to reach Charlotte via a friendly schedule before a brutal finish.

What This Means for CFB 27

College Football 27's ACC is a one-team league in the sim, and that's exactly why Miami is a cheat code in Dynasty: an elite offense, an elite QB-WR battery, and a conference slate the game engine treats as a cakewalk — bank the ACC crown and deploy energy to the playoff run. The value plays are behind them: Pitt's high-octane offense outplays its ratings, Cal is the rising-program pick, and NC State's schedule makes it the safest double-digit-win sim bet. On the card market, watch SMU-Louisville as the live-wire game of September — the winner's inventory spikes every year. And if Duke's defense really is a 122nd-ranked unit, buy low on Wolfpack and Hoos offensive cards facing them early.