Ahead of the 2026 season, USA Today ranked the top college football programs, both in the ACC and in the country.

Though Clemson is coming off a highly disappointing 2025 campaign, Dabo Swinney’s program is still ranked first among ACC programs, thanks to its combination of historical success, conference titles and remarkable run in the previous decade that saw the Tigers win two national titles and reach the College Football Playoff six straight times from 2015-20.

“To paraphrase a mantra from another league, football just means more at Clemson among the ACC’s founders,” USA Today wrote. “The Tigers’ return to national prominence in the 2010s with two national titles under Dabo Swinney is just a small part of the program’s rich legacy that includes 24 conference titles and nearly 800 wins.”

Florida State’s storied history has it at No. 2 in the ACC program rankings, despite the program’s drastic decline of late. Miami, Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh round out the top five.

Virginia’s program, led by former Clemson assistant Tony Elliott, checks in at No. 15.

“There’ve been a few good moments for the Cavaliers, like the prime-time stunner that gave Florida State its first ACC loss in 1995 and last season’s unexpected appearance in the league title game,” USA Today wrote. “Overall though, UVa has just a .414 winning percentage in league play since its 1954 founding and won the conference championship just two times.”

Despite winning the ACC title as a five-loss team in 2025, Duke is ranked dead last among the 17 ACC football programs.

“Somebody has to be No. 17 on the list, and it might seem odd at first glance to see the defending conference champion in that spot,” USA Today wrote. “Indeed, the Blue Devils’ apparent commitment to changing their football fortunes could move them up in future rankings, but their all-time .371 league win percentage keeps them here for now.”

As for where Clemson’s program stands nationally entering the upcoming season, the Tigers have fallen to No. 13 among USA Today’s top 25 programs, after losing at least four games in each of the last three seasons.

“A downturn in the past three years has seen Clemson slip from its position near the top,” USA Today wrote.

Ohio State is No. 1 in the rankings, followed by Alabama, Georgia, Notre Dame and Texas.

LSU, which will host Clemson to open the 2026 season on Sept. 5 (7:30 p.m., ABC), is ranked No. 6.

“LSU is the only program to have three coaches win a national championship in this millennium,” USA Today wrote. “Lane Kiffin could become the fourth. Money poured in to fund his roster. LSU’s standards are such that Brian Kelly got fired after winning 71% of his games. In-state talent gravitates to LSU, but the Tigers also built a national brand, and a night game at Tiger Stadium is a college football mecca.”

Miami leads the ACC in USA Today’s national program rankings, coming in at No. 9. After Clemson, two other ACC programs made the top 25, with Florida State at No. 18 and SMU at No. 25.