On3 national college football analyst Andy Staples released his ACC power rankings, stacking up all 17 teams in the league ahead of the 2026 season.

After making a run to last season’s College Football Playoff national championship game, Miami leads the pack at No. 1, followed by SMU at No. 2, Virginia at No. 3 and Louisville at No. 4.

Clemson, coming off a disappointing 7-6 season in 2025, landed at No. 5.

Despite a very talented roster last year, the Tigers finished with the second-worst record in Dabo Swinney’s 17 full seasons as Clemson’s head coach.

Staples says wasting such a talented roster is “discouraging,” and Staples believes Swinney must show immediate progress during the upcoming season to prove “he hasn’t lost his touch.” Failing to improve on last year’s record could mean “dire” consequences for Swinney, Staples added.

“The Tigers remain one of the most talented teams in the ACC despite losing nine draft picks, but the fact that they went 7-6 last season with all those draft picks is discouraging. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney needs to prove he hasn’t lost his touch. Fail to improve this season and the consequences could be dire,” Staples wrote.

“Christopher Vizzina has waited his turn behind Cade Klubnik at QB, but Vizzina may get a push from freshman Tait Reynolds in preseason practice. Linebacker Sammy Brown and edge Will Heldt lead a defense that still has plenty of future NFL players. The question is how much production Clemson will get out of those players against a schedule that starts with Lane Kiffin’s debut at LSU.”

Clemson went 4-4 in ACC play last season, tying with four other teams for seventh place in the conference standings.

Clemson’s 2026 schedule includes home ACC games against North Carolina (Sept. 19), Miami (Oct. 3), Virginia Tech (Oct. 24) and Georgia Tech (Nov. 14), while the Tigers will play road ACC games against Cal (Sept. 25), Florida State (Oct. 31), Syracuse (Nov. 7) and Duke (Nov. 20).

Here’s where Clemson’s 2026 conference opponents stand in Staples’ ACC power rankings:

Miami: No. 1

Duke: No. 6

Virginia Tech: No. 7

Cal: No. 8

Georgia Tech: No. 12

Florida State: No. 13

Syracuse: No. 14

North Carolina: No. 15