Black is white. Up is down. Left is right.

Everything we thought we knew about college football has been thrown out of whack thanks to the dramatic changes that have taken place since the end of last season.

Things have gone so far off the rails that Cal and Stanford, schools located on the Pacific Coast, are now members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

How did it all happen?

That’s a complicated question that doesn’t have a logical answer. But there are plenty of other questions that can and will be answered on the field once the 2024 college football season opens Aug. 24.

These are the 25 most important:

25. Which ACC quarterback will be Notre Dame’s QB1 in 2025?

The ACC is rapidly becoming a farm system for future Notre Dame quarterbacks. First it was Sam Hartman from Wake Forest. Now it’s Duke’s Riley Leonard. That begs the question of who’s next? Considering the Irish’s history of plucking prolific passers from prominent academic schools in the conference’s traditional footprint, the most likely choice is Virginia’s Anthony Colandrea. Especially if loses the current battle with Tony Muskett for the Cavaliers’ starting job.

24. Where were you when Tyler Shough began his college football career?

Many of Shough’s teammates at Louisville were still in middle school when the transfer quarterback made his college debut in 2018. Now in his 7th season with his 3rd program, he’ll turn 25 on Sept. 28, the day he leads the Cardinals against Notre Dame in South Bend. To put into perspective how long he’s been around, his college career – which also includes time at Texas Tech, is as long as the combined college and professional career of his offensive coordinator Brian Brohm.

23. Tony Elliott or Pat Narduzzi: Who has the best chance at surviving the season?

Both start the year squarely on the hot seat. But Elliott is in the more precarious position. Narduzzi, the Pitt coach, won an ACC championship in 2021 and won 9 games in ‘22 before taking a step back last year. He’s also blessed with an athletic director in Heather Lyke who has shown great patience with other coaches, most notably basketball coach Jeff Capel. Elliott, on the other hand, is just 6-16 in his 2 seasons at Virginia. Granted, he’s had to deal with tragic circumstances beyond imagination and he handled them expertly. But at some point, it comes down to winning and losing. And his team has been picked to finish 16th in a 17-team conference.

22. How many teams will the ACC get in the new 12-team Playoff?

The 5 highest-ranked conference champions receive an automatic berth. So let’s assume the ACC champ will be ranked high enough to earn 1 of those 5 automatic bids. That’s 1 team in. My guess is that a second ACC team also will sneak into the field. Who might that be? Other than the usual suspects (FSU and Clemson), Virginia Tech, NC State, Miami and Louisville are the most likely candidates.

21. Who has the toughest schedule?

Cut and paste from virtually every other season in recent memory. It’s Georgia Tech again. Not only do the Yellow Jackets play 5 of the top 6 teams in the ACC’s preseason poll – including Louisville and Virginia Tech on the road – but they also have a brutal nonconference slate that includes Notre Dame, crosstown Atlanta rival Georgia State and a Georgia team that has only lost 2 games in the past 3 years. If the Yellow Jackets improve on last year’s 7-6 record, Brent Key should be ACC Coach of the Year.

20. Who has the easiest schedule?

As good as Louisville was in Jeff Brohm’s debut season last year, at least some of its success can be attributed to a schedule that avoided FSU and Clemson. This year, another first-year ACC coach has been gifted with the same kind of path to success. Fran Brown’s Syracuse Orange don’t have to play the Seminoles or Tigers during the regular season. They also get both California teams and potential bottom-feeders Boston College and Pitt, to go with nonconference soft touches Ohio, Holy Cross, UNLV and UConn.

19. Who will be this year’s Louisville?

Even with a schedule so closely resembling the one the Cardinals rode to Charlotte last year, it’s probably asking too much for Syracuse to pull off a similar surprise and reach the ACC title game. Although it’s not entirely out of the question. But if you’re looking for a middle-of-the-pack team to come out of nowhere and finish in the top 2, a better bet is ACC rookie SMU. The Mustangs return most of their top players from a team that won 11 games and the American Athletic Conference championship last season. They play 5 teams picked to finish among the bottom 7 in the preseason conference poll and their toughest league game, against FSU on Sept. 28, is at home.

18. Will Georgia Tech ever beat Georgia again?

Probably. But not this year. The Yellow Jackets have lost 6 straight to their rival and 19 of the past 22 dating to 2001. While Key has done an admirable job at rebuilding the program at his alma mater and clearly has it heading in the right direction, the gap is far too wide to expect the Bulldogs’ dominance to end anytime soon.

17. Will Louisville ever beat Kentucky again?

The Cardinals have lost 5 straight Commonwealth Cup matchups and 6 of the past 7. The streak should have ended last year at home, but it didn’t thanks to Louisville’s 4th-quarter meltdown. Even though this year’s game will be played in Lexington, Brohm’s team won’t let it slip away again.

16. Was 2023 a hiccup or the start of a downward trend for Wake Forest?

The Deacons’ 8-year bowl streak ended last year after posting their first losing record in a non-COVID season since 2015. A large portion of their misfortune can be chalked up to some spotty quarterback play and an offensive line that gave up an ACC-high 49 sacks. But those might only be symptoms of a bigger problem. A problem that might be too big for Dave Clawson to solve at a school the size of Wake Forest in the transfer portal and NIL era.

15. Which new coach will have the best season?

It’s a tossup between Brown, who has the best transfer class and easiest schedule at Syracuse and Manny Diaz, who inherited the best returning core and culture at Duke. The ACC’s 3rd new coach, Boston College’s Bill O’Brien, has a much bigger job ahead of him and will have a much more difficult path to bowl eligibility than the other 2.

14. Which of the 3 new teams will have the best season?

The logical answer would be SMU, since the Mustangs are coming off a conference championship with a lineup full of returning starters. But that success came against a schedule that included only 3 games against power conference opponents. And SMU lost them all. After opening with a pair of nonconference cupcakes, the Mustangs will have to run a gauntlet of 10 straight power league contests. It’s yet to be seen if they have the depth and physicality to handle the higher level of competition. Cal, meanwhile, enters the league with one of the nation’s best returning running backs and a veteran defense from a team that played in the Pac-12 and went to a bowl in 2013.

13. Who is Gerald J. Ford?

Nope. Not the former President. SMU’s on-campus football stadium is named for a different Gerald Ford. This one is a billionaire banker whose financial contribution helped pay for the venue’s construction. The current 32,000-seat stadium opened in 2000 and stands on the site of the Mustangs’ former home, Ownby Stadium, which was razed 2 years earlier.

12. Didn’t you used to be Oronde Gadsden II?

Gadsden led the nation’s tight ends and set a Syracuse school record for the position by catching 61 passes as a sophomore in 2022, setting himself up to be an early round NFL Draft pick. But after a foot injury limited him to only 2 games last season, his name has all but disappeared from most preseason lists of the ACC’s best players. Except ours, of course. (Spoiler alert: Our Top 25 ACC player ranking publishes Tuesday.) Out of sight, out of mind. But the 6-5, 215-pound junior, with his 4.5 speed and NFL pedigree, is back and healthy again. And with the addition of Ohio State transfer Kyle McCord throwing to him, he’ll have every opportunity to reacquaint himself to the college football world by putting up some monster numbers.

11. Which DJU will Florida State get?

The Seminoles are banking their hopes to repeat as ACC champions on the shoulders of former Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, who returns to the conference after spending last season at Oregon State. It’s a calculated gamble depending on which version of DJU they get. If it’s the productive Uiagaleli who threw for 2,638 yards and 21 touchdowns for the Beavers last season, it will be a good move. But it could backfire on Mike Novell if he gets saddled with the Uiagalelei whose sometimes iffy decision-making skills and inconsistency got him run out of Clemson in favor of Cade Klubnik.

10. Which transfer quarterback will have the best season?

Cam Ward was the most sought-after available quarterback after completing 66% of his passes for 3,736 yards and 25 touchdowns last season at Washington State. As impressive as those numbers were, they could potentially be even better this year as the triggerman for offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson’s Air Raid attack. Surrounded by one of the ACC’s best receiving corps, Bernie Kosar’s single-season school record of 3,642 yards is well within Ward’s reach. And 4,000 yards is a realistic possibility.

9. Is there a realistic Heisman candidate in the house?

Not according to the oddsmakers. Ward is the only ACC player listed among the top 10 favorites on FanDuel sportsbook. He’s No. 8 on the list at +1800. DJU is the only other player from the conference to make the top 20 at No. 18 (+5000). Klubnik has the 3rd-best odds at +5000. But if you’re looking to take a flyer on a value pick, Virginia Tech quarterback Kyron Drones at +10000 might turn out to be your best bet.

8. What will UNC’s defense look like under new coordinator Geoff Collins?

Gene Chizik favored a conservative philosophy designed to limit big plays and force opponents into sustaining extended drives. A bend-but-don’t-break technique, if you will. Because the Tar Heels broke way too much, Mack Brown decided to make a change. Brown hired Geoff Collins, and the former Georgia Tech coach is much more aggressive in his play calling. Collins’ scheme is so aggressive that he’s earned the nickname the “Minister of Mayhem.” He’s going to have to create a lot of it, because without Drake Maye, UNC doesn’t figure to score as many points this season.

7. What will North Carolina’s offense look like without Drake Maye?

Speaking of that UNC offense … chances are it’s going to look very different this season. With Maye gone to the NFL and his 2 potential replacements – former backup Conner Harrell and transfer Max Johnson – so underwhelming during the spring that Brown brought Jacolby Criswell back to push them or compete with them, expect the Tar Heels to keep the ball on the ground a lot more in 2024. That’s probably a good strategy no matter who’s playing quarterback, considering the presence of ACC-leading rusher Omarion Hampton in the backfield.

6. Is this the year Miami finally lives up to the hype?

The Masters might be “A tradition unlike any other,” But it’s a close second for Miami to be picked to finish at or near the top of the ACC’s preseason poll every summer. The Hurricanes have been predicted to finish either 1st or 2nd in their division or among the 3 in the league 16 times since becoming a conference member in 2004. This year is no different. But they’ve yet to win their first football title. They’ve only made it to the championship game once in their 20 ACC seasons, losing 38-3 to Clemson in 2017. This year’s team has the talent to finally break through. And the pressure on coach Mario Cristobal to deliver is growing.

5. How much of an impact will Clemson WRs Bryant Wesco Jr. and TJ Moore have as true freshmen?

Both are 5-star prospects brought in to add talent and explosiveness to a lackluster receiving corps that has been the Tigers’ Achilles’ heel over the past couple of seasons. And both are expected to make big contributions right away. Wesco got a head start by enrolling early and participating in spring practice. He’s been so impressive that Klubnik has referred to him as the biggest difference-maker on the team. Asked why he thinks that, the Tigers’ quarterback replied simply: “You’ll see.” We’ll find out soon enough.

4. Will Dabo ever embrace the transfer portal?

Swinney’s decision to rely on true freshmen to address his team’s biggest need rather than bringing in plug-and-play veterans off the portal sums the issue facing the old-school Clemson coach. It’s the reason why this season will likely be a referendum on the way he runs his program. Dabo’s loyalty and faith in the players already in his program is admirable. But the Tigers finished 6th in the ACC last year and haven’t been to the College Football Playoff since 2020. If those trends continue, Swinney will either be forced to change his approach and embrace the portal or consider following Nick Saban’s lead and call it a career.

3. How many bowl teams will the ACC get?

The conference has 12 official tie-ins. Going by last year’s results, it should have enough to at least fill them all. Especially since Notre Dame is eligible for any of the ACC’s bowl slots if it isn’t selected for the Playoff. Of the 17 teams now affiliated with the league, 13 participated in the postseason in 2023.

2. Will any of the lawsuits be resolved before the end of the season?

Nope. With commissioner Jim Phillips digging in and vowing that the ACC will fight Florida State and Clemson as long as it takes to keep the conference together, it’s unlikely that either side will be interested in settling the dispute anytime soon. With 3 lawsuits being heard in 3 jurisdictions – with homecourt advantage seemingly holding in all of them – it’s going to be years rather than months before the validity of the league’s grant of rights is decided. No matter what you see on social media. So don’t hold your breath.

1. Who plays for the championship on Dec. 7?

Defending champion Florida State and perennial champion Clemson are picked to finish 1-2 in the ACC’s preseason poll. But both have questions that make them vulnerable, especially given the improvements made by several of their closest pursuers. Chances are at least 1 of the 2 frontrunners will falter, opening the door for someone else to sneak into Charlotte and play for the title the way Louisville did a year ago. The Cardinals should be among those in the mix – along with Miami, NC State and Virginia Tech – again this season.