To listen to the Paul Finebaums and other naysayers of the college football world, there are only 2 teams of substance in the ACC. Everyone other than Florida State and Clemson is viewed in the same regard as the Washington Generals are to the Harlem Globetrotters.

That’s the perception.

The reality is that 2024 promises to be the most competitive, wide-open conference race in recent memory thanks to improvements made through the transfer portal.

OK, maybe not as wide open as some voters in the league’s preseason poll think. Somehow Georgia Tech, new addition Cal and Boston College – all of whom were picked to finish in the bottom half of the conference – managed to get 1st-place votes.

It’s just another reminder that preseason predictions should always be kept in perspective.

Still, they’re a fun topic for debate until the games begin later this month.

So let’s get it started.

Here’s a look at 2 teams that are overvalued, 2 that are undervalued and 1 that the 170-member voting panel at the ACC’s recent Football Kickoff event got just right:

Overvalued

Miami: What would an ACC preseason poll be without the Hurricanes picked to finish at or near the top of the league?

It’s become a tradition since they entered the league in 2004. Even more predictable is that they’ll inevitably fall short of those high expectations. Miami has only gotten to the ACC title game once — and it’s had exactly 1 10-win season in that span, too.

In this case, Miami came in at No. 3 with 17 1st-place votes.

As usual, there’s some substance behind the pick. The Hurricanes are coming off a 2023 season in which they made some strides by returning to bowl eligibility. And coach Mario Cristobal bulked up his already talent-rich roster with one of the best transfer classes in the country, led by NFL-caliber quarterback Cam Ward.

But we’ve seen this before. Not only are there a lot of moving parts that have to mesh together, Cristobal has to prove he can go an entire season without fumbling away at least 1 game with his suspect game-management skills.

This might very well turn out to be the year Miami lives up to its preseason hype. But I’ll believe it when I see it.

Clemson: I get it. It would be blasphemy to pick the Tigers anywhere other than the top 2. So it’s no surprise that they’re predicted to finish a close 2nd to FSU.

But let’s look at this objectively.

Dabo Swinney’s team is coming off a 2023 season in which it lost 4 times to ACC opponents. Its 6th-place finish – behind Louisville, NC State and both Techs – was its lowest placing in the league since 2010. And it was the 4th consecutive year in which it missed out on the College Football Playoff.

Yes, the Tigers finished strong by winning their final 5 games including a dramatic come-from-behind win against Kentucky in the Gator Bowl. That doesn’t change the fact that they didn’t take advantage of the opportunity to improve themselves through the portal – as virtually everyone else in the league did. Or that their most important additions are true freshmen.

They might not finish 6th again this year. But with 2 of their toughest ACC games – at Florida State on Oct. 5 and Virginia Tech on Nov. 9 – on the road, there’s a good chance they won’t be finishing second, either.

Undervalued

Virginia Tech: The Hokies are set up to become this season’s version of Louisville, a team that exceeds modest expectations to make a serious run at the ACC Championship Game. The only difference is that Brent Pry’s team was picked to finish 6th in the preseason poll, 2 spots higher than the Cardinals were a year ago.

Tech is coming off a 2023 season in which it won 5 of its final 7 games, with the only losses coming to NC State and Louisville. It ranks No. 1 nationally with 95% of its production back on offense and 86% back on defense – including dynamic dual-threat quarterback Kyron Drones, 1,000-yard rusher Bhayshul Tuten and star edge rusher Antwaun Powell-Ryland, along with a number of key transfer additions.

The Hokies also have the advantage of a soft nonconference schedule, providing them with an opportunity to build momentum and ease into an ACC slate whose toughest test – against Clemson – is in Blacksburg. Tech might not be good enough to beat out Florida State for the regular-season conference title. But they’re good enough to finish second, which is good enough to earn a date with the Seminoles for a shot at the actual championship on Dec. 7.

Syracuse: New coach Fran Brown has created considerable buzz among the Orange faithful with his forceful, direct personality and some impressive pickups from the transfer portal. Clearly, though, the rest of the ACC has yet to catch on and feel the same kind of excitement. Syracuse was picked to finish 12th in the preseason poll. That’s probably about right based on last year. But there aren’t many similarities between the program former coach Dino Babers left behind and the one that will take the field in 2024.

Let’s start with the reinforcements. Kyle McCord, who went 11-1 as a starter at Ohio State, is now the quarterback. His receiving corps has been upgraded with the addition of fellow transfers Jackson Meeks and Zeed Haynes – 2 of the 3 former Georgia players that followed Brown to upstate New York. There’s more talent on defense as well thanks to the arrival of edge rusher Fadil Diggs from Texas A&M and the return of cornerback Duce Chestnut, who transferred back to Syracuse after spending a year at LSU.

Then there’s the schedule. The ACC blessed the Orange with a conference slate that doesn’t include either Florida State or Clemson. They do play both California teams, along with potential bottom-feeders Boston College and Pitt. It’s a recipe for a much higher-than-predicted finish, possibly in the top half of the conference standings.

Right on target

NC State is the opposite of Miami. While the Hurricanes are consistently picked among the top 3 in the preseason poll, the Wolfpack have finished 3rd or tied for 3rd in the final league standings in each of the past 4 seasons.

So their preseason prediction of a 4th-place finish in 2024 isn’t far off from that norm.

This could actually turn out to be Dave Doeren’s best team yet if the offensive talent he’s assembled around star WR KC Concepcion lives up to expectations. The Wolfpack could also benefit from the wave of momentum that helped send their school’s men’s and women’s basketball teams to the Final Four and its baseball team to the College World Series over the past 6 months.

At the very least, they should be good enough to get another shot at finally getting over the 10-win hump that has barely eluded them 4 times in the past 7 years.