The 2021 ACC championship game was the first since 2014 that did not include Clemson. It was also the first since 2008 that did not include either Clemson or Florida State. Kenny Pickett and the Pittsburgh Panthers took home the title in convincing fashion against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in what was the first conference championship for the Coastal Division since 2010. While Pickett is still in Pittsburgh playing in Heinz, I mean, Acrisure Stadium, he is not with the Panthers – so the 2022 ACC title game is bound to look different once again.'
The race for the Atlantic Division should be more entertaining than the odds depict. Clemson is the favorite at -220 per FanDuel, but the Tigers replaced both its offensive and defensive coordinators after former-OC Tony Elliot (Virginia) and former-DC Brent Venables (Oklahoma) took head coaching positions at other Power 5 programs. Clemson will hope for better quarterback play this season, but its defense has the makings of being a top 3, if not the best, defense in the country. The Tigers' biggest threat within the division will be North Carolina State, who has one of the best quarterbacks in the conference to go along with a defense that could be as good as top 10 in the country. The Wolfpack returns quite a bit of starters from last year's squad that won 9 games, and they are projected to have an elite defense with high-level production from the linebacker position.
They are not favored as heavily as Clemson in the Atlantic, but FanDuel lists the Miami Hurricanes as +125 favorites to win the Coastal Division. Miami hired Mario Cristobal away from Oregon in an attempt to get the program back to its dominant form of the '80s after a list of failed coaching hires since Larry Coker in 2006. Coach Cristobal will have his work cut out for him building this roster, but will have a promising young quarterback in Tyler Van Dyke running the offense. Virginia and Virginia Tech also welcome new coaches, while North Carolina and Pitt will look for replacements for program-great quarterbacks in Sam Howell and Pickett.'
Read our'College Football National Championship preview, including a +8000 longshot