This time last season, UNC was being touted as a preseason top-10 team in college football, Sam Howell was a trendy pick to win the Heisman Trophy, and there was talk about the Tar Heels crashing the College Football Playoff. A 6-7 season later, along with the departure of the record-setting QB, there isn’t the same level of hype in Chapel Hill, as fall camp gets underway later this week. Last week at ACC Kickoff, Mack Brown relished his team being underrated entering an important 2022 season, for not only himself but the future of the program. That sentiment was proven true today, as UNC was picked to finish 3rd in the ACC Coastal for the upcoming season. Despite being picked to finish 3rd, Carolina did receive 18 first-place votes, as with the recent recruiting, and the addition of Gene Chizik to the coaching staff, many believe a turnaround in 2022 is very possible.
Miami was predicted to win the Coastal division, earning 98 first-place votes. Meanwhile defending ACC champion, Pittsburgh was picked to finish second, accumulating 38 first-place selections. Every team except Duke did receive at least one first-place vote.
This is the last season that the ACC will use division winners to determine its conference championship matchup, as starting next season, they will pit the top teams in the conference against one another to determine the conference champion.