No. 8: Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Wake Forest has been heading in the right direction lately, as they nearly defeated Georgia Tech two weeks ago and defeated Virginia Tech on the road this past weekend. Wake has been competitive in every game they have played in so far this year, and that scrappy attitude can get any team pretty far in the ACC.
The problem with Wake is that, before beating Virginia Tech, they have not successfully closed out a game in a positive manner all year long, and this is despite the fact that they have yet to secure a decent win over a good team this year.
No. 7: SMU Mustangs
If the SMU Mustangs had all the luck on their side last year, they got the opposite end of the luck in 2025, with terribly close losses to TCU and Baylor to start the year. However, they are currently 1-0 in the ACC, and with conference play beginning to ramp up, don't be surprised to see SMU talked up as a dark horse to be atop the ACC again this season.
Their offense has been electric this season, even in their losses. It isn't hard to imagine SMU being a tough team to deal with, regardless of who they play in the conference this season.