The ACC continues to raise its stature as one of the top power conferences in college football on the heels of Clemson’s national title run in 2016. The NCAAF futures odds at BetOnline point to another great race to the ACC conference title in 2017, with the top team making a possible national title run this season as well.
ACC Conference Championship 2017 Futures
The sport of basketball usually comes to mind when you think about betting on the ACC, but this conference has been able to elevate its status in the world of college football over the past few seasons with a number of teams making a run into the Top 25. This was obviously led by the Clemson Tigers as the reining College Football Playoff Champions. Here is a look at a few teams that should make the most noise in this season’s run to the 2017 ACC Conference Championship in college football.
Top ACC Favorite
The Florida State Seminoles have been a traditional college football powerhouse going all the way back to Bobby Bowden’s long stint as head coach stating in the late 1970’s. They have taken a back seat to Clemson the past two seasons, but as a +110 favorite to win the ACC, it could be Florida State’s time to return to the top of the heap in the ACC.
This team is stacked with talent on both sides of the ball and there is reason for excitement on offense behind sophomore quarterback Deondre Francois. He proved to be a duel threat last season with 3,350 yards passing and 20 touchdown throws to go along with his ability to make plays with his feet. The defense is highlighted by a secondary that could be the best in the nation and a front seven that returns quite a bit of talent from last year’s squad.
Top ACC Contenders
Clemson could take a small step backwards this season as a +400 second-favorite to win the ACC with quarterback Deshaun Watson playing in the NFL, but we have already seen head coach Dabo Swinney’s ability to quickly reload in light of back-to-back 14-1 campaigns. The Tigers will get a shot at Florida State in early November on their home field in a game that could decide the ACC Atlantic Division title.
The defensive line remains one of Clemson’s biggest strengths this season and some returning linemen on the offensive side of the ball should make things a bit easier for quarterback Kelly Bryant as the heir apparent to Watson.
Both Miami and Louisville have been listed as +650 third-favorites to win the ACC, but I would give the lean towards the Hurricanes as the top team in the ACC’s Coastal Division this season. Miami head coach Mark Richt has been slowly rebuilding this program into the national power it was years ago and this could be the season where it takes a big step forward by actually winning the ACC.
The Hurricanes have a clear path to the conference title game and anything can happen from there. Malik Rosier should get the call at quarterback for the departed Brad Kaaya, but both Evan Shirreff and N’Kosi Perry are also ready to step up and fill that role. The ground game needs to be a much bigger factor in Miami’s game plan this season to take that next step.
Top ACC Longshot
If you are going to ride a longshot to win the ACC this year, my top choice would be North Carolina State at +2500 odds to win. The Wolfpack finished fourth in the Atlantic Division last season at 3-5 in conference play and they went 7-6 overall, but they are stacked on defense, especially up front and we all know that defense wins championship. The depth of competition above them in this division will be hard to overcome. However, if Ryan Finley can step up his game at quarterback and NC State can find a way to consistently run the ball; this team could be a factor in Atlantic this year.
Odds to win the ACC Title
(Visit BetOnline to get up to the minute ACC future odds.)
- Boston College +20000
- Clemson +350
- Duke +8000
- Florida State -110
- Georgia Tech +2500
- Louisville +550
- Miami +550
- NC State +2200
- North Carolina +3600
- Syracuse +15000
- Virginia +15000
- Pittsburgh +5000
- Virginia Tech +900
- Wake Forest +15000