ACC Banner Year: 3 Undefeated Top 14 Teams, But North Carolina, Florida State And Louisville Will Not Play In Regular Season

Atlantic Coast Conference basketball can wait, for the moment. ACC football is having a banner season so far.

After a summer in which conference leaders feared their 14-team league may be ripped apart like the Pac-12 or lose a member or two, the ACC instead gained three for 2024 with California, Stanford and SMU. Not exactly brand names, but names at least.

North Carolina coach Mack Brown has his team ranked No. 12 at 5-0 and tied for first in the Atlantic Coast Conference with No. 14 Louisville (6-0) at 3-0. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

A September and October to remember followed in which Florida State, North Carolina and Louisville all collected significant wins and stayed unbeaten. FSU beat No. 5 LSU, 45-24, on Sept. 3 in prime time. North Carolina also defeated a Southeastern Conference team, albeit a perpetual mediocre one in South Carolina, 31-17, on Sept. 2. And then-No. 25 Louisville just knocked off No. 10 Notre Dame, 33-20, last Saturday.

Atlantic Coast Conference Has Found Its Groove

That undefeated trio is in the top 14 of the latest Associated Press top 25. The Seminoles (5-0, 3-0 ACC) are No. 4. North Carolina (5-0, 2-0) is No. 12, and Louisville (6-0, 3-0) is No. 14. That is on par with the almighty SEC, which has three also in the top 13 with No. 1 Georgia, No. 11 Alabama and No. 13 Ole Miss.

Two other ACC teams are ranked in No. 17 Duke (4-1, 1-0) and No. 25 Miami (4-1, 0-1). Duke's only loss, by the way, was to Notre Dame on Sept. 30 when the Irish was No. 11.

Miami would be undefeated had coach Mario Cristobal simply called victory formation in the final seconds with a 20-17 lead over Georgia Tech Saturday. But running back Donald Chaney Jr. fumbled, and the rest is history. Georgia Tech upset then-No. 17 Miami, 23-20.

Tar Heels Host Miami Saturday In Key ACC Game

North Carolina hosts Miami Saturday (7:30 p.m., ABC) in one of four games around the country this weekend in which both teams are ranked. The others have No. 8 Oregon at No. 7 Washington, No. 10 USC at No. 21 Notre Dame and No. 18 UCLA at No. 15 Oregon State.

"It's one of the best seasons ACC football has had," Wes Durham, ACC play-by-play veteran with FOX and the ACC Network. The depth of the league is better. You've got some really good coaches. You have a Hall of Famer in Mack Brown (North Carolina). Jeff Brohm at Louisville was very good at Western Kentucky and Purdue. Mike Elko (at Duke) is one of the really great young coaches (46) in college football."

Brohm is working wonders in his first year at Louisville. Elko is in his second season at Duke.

The ACC does have three national championships in the last decade with Florida State in 2013 and Clemson in 2016 and '18. FSU also reached the 2014 College Football Playoff, while Clemson went again in 2019 and '20. But in those years, the ACC tended to be a one-horse league.

ACC Tied SEC With Most Teams Starting Off 4-0

Six ACC teams started this season 4-0 - the three current undefeated teams along with Miami, Duke and Syracuse. That tied the just-means-more SEC for the most undefeated teams after four games among Power 5 conferences in the history of the A.P. poll era that started in 1936. The ACC was the first to do that since the SEC in 2012. That's a sign of better balance.

"The league has kind of found its groove this year," Durham said. "They had a good September and an interesting start to October."

Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis has led the Seminoles to back-to-back wins over LSU. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

In a scheduling quirk, however, the undefeated trio of Florida State, North Carolina and Louisville do not play one another in the regular season. Florida State won at Louisville last season as both were in the Atlantic Division that was won by Clemson. North Carolina won the Coastal before losing to Clemson in the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte, N.C.

The ACC did away with divisional player before this season, however, and opted for a 3-5 scheduling rotation. Each team plays three permanent opponents with a rotation of five of the others for an eight-game league schedule.

"Whether it's us at 14 programs or any other Power 5 conference, you're going to have schedules in any league where teams do not play each other annually," ACC deputy commissioner Amy Yakola told OutKick.

A matchup of two of the above three undefeated teams could only happen in the ACC title game on Dec. 2 in Charlotte (8 p.m., ABC). The two teams with the best conference records will play in the championship game, and there are a bevy of tiebreakers should there be a three- or four-way lock.

Here are the remaining schedules of the three undefeated teams:

Florida State (5-0, 3-0 ACC)

Oct. 14 Syracuse Noon ABC

Oct. 21 No. 17 Duke

Oct 28 at Wake Forest

Nov. 4 at Pittsburgh

Nov. 11 No. 25 Miami

Nov. 18 North Alabama

Nov. 25 at Florida

North Carolina (5-0, 2-0 ACC)

Oct. 14 No. 25 Miami 7:30 p.m. ABC

Oct. 21 Virginia

Oct. 28 at Georgia Tech

Nov. 4 Campbell

Nov. 11 No. 17 Duke

Nov. 18 at Clemson

Nov. 25 at North Carolina State

Louisville (6-0, 3-0 ACC)

Oct. 14 at Pittsburgh 6:30 p.m., The CW

Oct. 28 No. 17 Duke

Nov. 4 Virginia Tech

Nov. 9 Virginia

Nov. 18 at No. 25 Miami

Nov. 25 No. 24 Kentucky

Atlantic Coast Conference Finish Could Be Fun

It looks to be a wild finish, just about the time basketball is heating up.

"Miami and Duke are still very much alive," Durham said. "I tell people, the bigger pool of schools you have in contention for the ACC championship, the better off your league is going to be in the postseason."

That will be more true when the College Football Playoff goes from four to 12 teams in 2024, and the ACC goes to 17 teams.

"It's going to be interesting to see what kind of rotation the league comes up with for 2024," Durham said. "We're going to lose some games that obviously people don't want to lose, but it's going to happen."

The ACC 2024 football schedule is expected to be finalized by the end of January.

It will also be interesting to see how the Atlantic Coast Conference finishes up 2023.

"It's been an exciting season thus far," Yakola said. "And we look forward to the rest of it, that's for sure."