Post-spring overreactions for every ACC football team

College football is officially on summer break after teams across the sport wrapped up spring practice last month. And with no secondary NCAA Transfer Portal to create roster chaos, Power Four teams are free to focus on summer workouts without fear of losing any players to the portal.

With that in mind, CBS Sports dug deep and evaluated potential post-Spring overreactions for all 17 ACC college football programs this week. Each ACC team is assigned a specific overreaction that will feed their fanbase’s unbridled optimism over the next few months ahead of the start of preseason practice in July and August.

Boston College Eagles

CBS Sports overreaction: “Mason McKenzie is the next Trinidad Chambliss.”

Following the success of Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss last season, teams all across the sport scoured the lower ranks for the next great D-II transfer. And, based on early reports out of Chestnut Hill, BC’s Bill O’Brien might have hit the jackpot with Mason McKenzie. Like Chambliss, the 6-foot McKenzie was the GLIAC Player of the Year after combining for more than 3,000 total yards and 27 touchdowns for Saginaw Valley State last season. If he can recreate that success at Boston College, the Eagles could completely flip the script after finishing 2-10 in 2025.

Cal Golden Bears

CBS Sports overreaction: “Tosh Lupoi has completely upgraded recruiting”

Lupoi takes over at his alma mater after spending the last four years directing Oregon‘s defense under Dan Lanning. That followed a five-year stint as a top defensive assistant and lead recruiter at Alabama under Nick Saban (2014-18). That wealth of experience is already paying dividends over his first few months back in Berkley, where Lupoi not only retained budding star QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, but also secured commitments from four 2027 four-star prospects, which is double 2026’s number. If Lupoi can keep that recruiting effort up, Cal could contend for an ACC title in the next few years.

Clemson Tigers

CBS Sports overreaction: “Chad Morris is back to end all the offensive woes.”

Longtime Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney got the band back together with the return of former Arkansas and SMU head coach Chad Morris as Clemson’s offensive coordinator after more than a decade away. Morris’ last tenure as OC in 2011-14 helped spark the Tigers’ run of dominance in the mid-to-late 2010s, when it won the 2016 and 2018 CFP national titles. After finishing 11th in the ACC in scoring last season (27.2 ppg), Morris adds years of offensive explosiveness, including helping Texas State rank 12th nationally in scoring last season as the pass-game coordinator.

Duke Blue Devils

CBS Sports overreaction: “The Blue Devils can still hit nine wins without Darian Mensah.”

The defending ACC champions entered the offseason on a down note after superstar QB Darian Mensah, last year’s conference player of the year, hit the portal and transferred to rival Miami on the last day it was open in mid-January. Since then, the Blue Devils have been licking their wounds and trying to piece together a new offensive plan around redshirt freshman QB Dan Mahan and San Jose State transfer Walker Eget, who’s been limited while nursing injuries from last season. Still, given head coach Manny Diaz’s history, there’s budding confidence Duke can turn things around in Year 3.

Florida State Seminoles

CBS Sports overreaction: “The stable of running backs can carry the offense.”

The ‘Noles have fallen on hard times since their 2023 Playoff snub with a combined 7-17 record over the past two seasons. FSU coach Mike Norvell once again dipped into the portal for a starting QB and came away with former Auburn transfer Ashton Daniels. Following the retirement of Gus Malzahn, the Seminoles turned things over to new OC Tim Harris Jr., who has several talented tailbacks to work with. That includes Texas transfer Tre Wisner, who combined for more than 1,660 yards in two seasons in Austin, and returners Ousman Kromah and Samuel Singleton Jr., who combined for 768 yards in 2025.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

CBS Sports overreaction: “The Yellow Jackets can survive coordinator turnovers on both sides of the ball.”

Georgia Tech head coach and alum Brent Key replaced both coordinators this offseason, bringing in George Godsey and Jason Semore as his first-year offensive and defensive coordinators, respectively. Godsey came from the NFL and will get to work with several high-level transfers such as QB Alberto Mendoza (Indiana) and RB Justice Haynes (Michigan). Semore, meanwhile, will have some talent as well after adding former Alabama defenders Noah Carter and Jaylen Mbakwe, along with fellow DTs Tawfiq Thomas (Colorado) and Vincent Carroll-Jackson (UConn).

Louisville Cardinals

CBS Sports overreaction: “Lincoln Kienholz will take the passing game to the next level.”

The Cardinals return a strong run game in Year 4 under head coach Jeff Brohm, led by star running back Isaac Brown. But its in the passing game where Louisville has room to breakout after adding former Ohio State backup Lincoln Kienholz in the transfer portal. If Kienholz, a former four-star prospect in 2023, can prove to be more like Tyler Shough than Miller Moss, the Cardinals’ offense could have everything it needs to challenge for an ACC championship in 2026 in much the same way it did in 2024 with Shough behind center.

Miami Hurricanes

CBS Sports overreaction: “The ‘Canes are going to win the national championship.”

Now THAT’s an overreaction that might not be as much of a reach as some might think. After falling short in last season’s CFP national championship game following an incredible Playoff run, the Hurricanes broke the bank to poach elite QB Darian Mensah out of the transfer portal from Duke. Mensah joins an already explosive Miami offense that returns sophomore WR Malachi Toney and junior RB Mark Fletcher Jr., just to name a few. If some of the replacements along the offensive and defensive lines can rise to the challenge, the ‘Canes definitely have the firepower to win it all in 2026.

NC State Wolfpack

CBS Sports overreaction: “The offense will be fine without Hollywood Smothers.”

Smothers, the Wolfpack’s most explosive offensive playmaker last season after combining for 1,128 yards and seven touchdowns in 2025, is now in Austin working in the same backfield as Texas QB Arch Manning. Of course, NC State still has its own dynamic QB in returning starter CJ Bailey, who’s totaled 6,012 combined yards and 53 touchdowns the past two seasons in Raleigh. If Bailey can take his game to the next level in Year 3, the ‘Pack could very well make an ACC title push, as well as help his own Heisman Trophy chances in the process.

North Carolina Tar Heels

CBS Sports overreaction: “Bobby Petrino will bail out Bill Belichick.”

The Belichick Era never really got off on the right foot after the start of his first season in Chapel Hill was mired in off-field drama surrounding his 25-year-old girlfriend. But Belichick still knows how to win after six Super Bowl titles in 24 seasons as the New England Patriots head coach. This offseason, Belichick hired Petrino to turn around a UNC offense that ranked 120th nationally in 2025. If Petrino can help former Wisconsin QB Billy Edwards Jr. get right after missing half of last season with injury, the Tar Heels might just have enough talent on both sides of the ball to make a bowl game in 2026.

Pittsburgh Panthers

CBS Sports overreaction: “The Panthers can compete for the ACC Championship.”

This is also an overreaction that might not be much of one after the Panthers finished fourth in the ACC last season with a 6-2 mark in conference play. Pitt returns 11 starters, including sophomore QB Mason Heintschel, who broke out with 2,354 yards and 16 touchdowns as a freshman in 2025. The Panthers’ conference title hopes are also aided by a favorable 2026 schedule that includes just Georgia Tech and Miami among last year’s top half of the 2025 ACC standings. If Pitt can split those two games, it could enter a Nov. 21 date at Louisville as the conference frontrunner.

SMU Mustangs

CBS Sports overreaction: “Jalen Hale can realize his potential in the SMU offense.”

A year after losing in the 2024 ACC title game, the Mustangs nearly made it back but a late conference push fell short after a Week 13 loss at Cal. With star dual-threat QB Kevin Jennings returning for a third season, SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee might have found his missing link with former Alabama WR Jalen Hale, whose once-promising college career was derailed by a devastating injury in 2024. If Hale can tap into the talent that made him a coveted four-star recruit in 2023, the Pony Express could once again be a force to be reckoned with.

Stanford Cardinal

CBS Sports overreaction: “The Cardinal won’t reach three wins (in 2026).”

Well, not every overreaction is exactly hopeful. Stanford has certainly had more than its fair share of difficulties over much of the past decade. That includes failing to win more than four games in the last seven seasons. Now on its fourth head coach in the past five years following the hiring of former Cardinal quarterback Tavita Pritchard, Stanford still looks like a program that needs a couple of years to get back on track. Which means Pritchard and Cardinal fans might be in for more tough sledding in 2026.

Syracuse Orange

CBS Sports overreaction: “Steve Angeli will pick up right where he left off.”

Angeli, the former Notre Dame transfer, started the 2025 season on a tear after throwing for 1,317 yards and 10 touchdowns to just two interceptions across his first four starts for the Orange. But a torn Achilles in Game 4 abruptly ended things for Angeli last season. Once fully recovered from that injury, Angeli has already proven he has what it takes to dominate as a starting QB and should be primed for a true breakout season in 2026 if he can stay healthy for a full season at Syracuse. That should certainly scare the rest of the ACC.

Virginia Cavaliers

CBS Sports overreaction: “The Hoos can hit double-digit wins again.”

The Cavaliers were among the ACC’s biggest surprises of the 2025 season and nearly won the entire league if not for a double-overtime loss to Duke in the conference game last December. Much of that success was in part due to a stellar season for well-traveled QB Chandler Morris, whose legal challenge for a seventh season of eligibility was denied last month. On the bright side, Virginia landed former Missouri and Penn State QB Beau Pribula in the transfer portal. If Pribula can repeat what he did last year in Mizzou, the Hoos will certainly be in ACC contention once again in 2026.

Virginia Tech Hokies

CBS Sports overreaction: “Returning production will give James Franklin a head start.”

Virginia Tech set off last year’s wild coaching carousel by both firing Brent Pry and hiring former Penn State coach James Franklin before the end of the 2025 regular season. Franklin promptly hired Pry as his defensive coordinator to keep some continuity off a Hokies team that’s lost 10 combined ACC games the past two seasons. If Franklin can instill a winning attitude like he did with the Nittany Lions and Vanderbilt, and infuse several elite PSU transfers like QB Ethan Grunkemeyer, Virginia Tech could certainly achieve bowl eligibility in Year 1.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons

CBS Sports overreaction: “Gio Lopez will rebound after being united with his former OC.”

The failed former North Carolina transfer struggled in his lone season working under Bill Belichick in 2025. But after transferring to Wake Forest this offseason, Lopez gets a fresh start with a familiar face — former Southern Miss OC Rob Ezell. The former Alabama QB/WR helped Lopez produce more than 3,600 yards and 31 touchdowns in 16 games across two seasons with the Jaguars in 2023-24 before joining head coach Jake Dickert at Wake Forest. If Lopez can tap into that relationship with Ezell, the Demon Deacons might have enough firepower to contend in the ACC in 2026.