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Home , ACC Championship Game, Bronco Mendenhall, David Cutcliffe, Ernie Davis, Jameis Winston, Mack Brown

ACC FOOTBALL

ACC FOOTBALL OVERALL SUCCESS SUCCESS IN 2020 • The ACC has won seven national championships in football, men’s • Eight ACC teams – tied for the most of any conference – had a .500 basketball, women’s basketball and since 2015. That ties for record-or-better in 2020: Clemson (10-2), Notre Dame (10-2), Miami the most of any conference. The ACC is the only conference to win each (8-3), (8-4), NC State (8-4), (6-5), Pitt (6-5) of those four titles over that stretch. and Virginia (5-5).

• The ACC has won three of the last eight football national titles. • In addition to CFP participants Clemson and Notre Dame, four ad- ditional ACC teams played in a in 2020 - North Carolina in • The ACC has had a team in either the Playoff or the the Capital One , Miami in the Cheez-It Bowl, NC State in BCS National Championship Game in each of the past eight years. The the TaxSlayer and Wake Forest in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. It ACC is one of only two conferences that can make that claim. was the 20th consecutive season in which the ACC earned at least six bowl bids. The ACC ranks second among all conferences with 143 bowl • Six different ACC teams have played in the prestigious Capital One appearances since 2005. Orange Bowl since 2013 – Clemson in 2013 & 2015, Tech in 2014, State in 2016, Miami in 2017, Virginia in 2019 and North • Four ACC teams were ranked in the final 2020 AP Top 25 Poll, led by Carolina in 2020. No. 3 Clemson. The Tigers were followed by No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 18 North Carolina and No. 22 Miami. In the Amway Coaches Top 25 • Clemson and Notre Dame each earned a bid in Poll, Clemson was No. 3, followed by No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 17 North 2020. It was the first time in its seven-year history that the CFP featured Carolina and No. 22 Miami. NC State received votes in both polls. Five multiple ACC teams. After winning the ACC Championship Game over ACC teams were ranked in the final CFP Top 25 Poll released prior to Notre Dame, Clemson landed the No. 2 spot in the four-team CFP field, the bowl games on Dec. 20 – No. 2 Clemson, No. 4 Notre Dame, No. 13 earning a playoff spot for the sixth consecutive year. Notre Dame made North Carolina, No. 18 Miami and No. 23 NC State. The five ACC teams the field as the No. 4 selection and appeared in the CFP for the second were the most from any conference. time in three seasons. • The ACC played 85 of a possible 90-game regular-season schedule • Clemson’s six overall CFP selections tie Alabama for the most of any (94.4 percent) in 2020. No conference played more total regular-sea- school in the seven-year history of the Playoff’s existence. The ACC has son games (85) than the ACC. Thirteen of the 15 teams (86.7 percent) placed at least one team in the Playoff in each of those seven years. The played at least 10 games. Tigers earned the No. 1 seed in 2015 and 2017 and were the No. 2 seed in 2016 and 2018. Florida State was seeded No. 3 as the conference • Nine games in 2020 featured a matchup of AP Top 25 ACC teams. That champion in 2014. equals the most ranked matchups of any ACC season. There were also nine in 1992. Three of those games were between top 10 teams, the ACC 2021 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE most matchups of top 10 ACC teams since 2004. • The ACC’s non-conference schedule continues to be the most difficult in the country. In addition to 23 games against Power 5 opponents • Twenty-two ACC football players earned at least one 2020 All-America (including Notre Dame), the ACC will play 13 non-conference games team recognition from either the Walter Camp Football Foundation against teams ranked in the final 2020 AP Top 25 poll. All 14 teams (WCFF), Associated Press (AP), Football Writers Association of America play at least one Power 5 non-conference opponent, while nine teams (FWAA), Coaches Association (AFCA) or Sporting – Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North News this season. Nine different ACC teams had at least one All-Ameri- Carolina, Virginia and – play two. For the second time ca selection. in the last three years, North Carolina and Wake Forest will meet in a non-conference game on Nov. 6. • ACC players brought home five national individual awards in 2020 – , Notre Dame (Pop Warner Award); Jose Borregales, Miami (Lou • An exciting Labor Day opening weekend of ACC Football includes Groza Award), Pressley Harvin III, Georgia Tech ( Award), Trevor at least one game per day Thursday through Monday, Sept. 2-6. The Lawrence, Clemson ( Award & Heisman Finalist); Jeremi- weekend begins with NC State hosting USF in Raleigh on Thursday, Sept. ah Owusu-Koramoah, Notre Dame () 2, followed by Wake Forest vs. Old Dominion and Virginia Tech vs. UNC on Friday, Sept. 3. Saturday’s slate features eight ACC teams in action, • Clemson (15-0) won the league’s eighth football national champion- including Miami against defending national champion Alabama in the ship in 2018 with a 44-16 win over previously unbeaten Alabama. The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in , and Clemson vs. Georgia in the 28-point margin of victory was the largest over a No. 1 ranked team in Duke’s Mayo Classic in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACC history.

• An exciting offensive season saw the ACC set a scoring record in conference regular-season games in 2020. The average scoring in league games this year was 60.4 points, just ahead of the average of 59.3 points in 2012. ACC NOTES

ACC IN BOWL GAMES HEAD COACHING SUCCESS • A nation’s best 10 ACC teams • Twelve head coaches in the played a postseason bowl game ACC have won at least 50 career following the 2019 season – games, including five with more Boston College (TicketSmarter than 100 victories. North Caroli- Bowl), Clemson (CFP), Florida na’s is tops among State (Tony the Tiger ), active coaches with 259 wins, Louisville (Franklin American and Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly Mortgage ), (coaching in the ACC for the first Miami (Walk-On’s Independence year) has 252. The other 100-win Bowl), North Carolina (Military coaches in the ACC are Clem- Bowl presented by Northrop son’s (140), Wake Grumman), Pitt (Quick Lane Forest’s (130), Vir- Bowl), Virginia (Capital One ginia’s (129) Orange Bowl), Virginia Tech (Belk and Duke’s (118). Bowl) and Wake Forest (New Era No other conference has as many ). coaches with 100 career wins.

• Prior to the 2020 season, the ACC was tied for the most bowl teams • Clemson’s Dabo Swinney’s 140 victories ranks second all-time in the (42) among all conferences over a four-year stretch from 2016-19 (11 in ACC. He only trails former FSU Bobby Bowden (173). 2016, 10 in 2017, 11 in 2018, 10 in 2019).

• The ACC has a 12-year agreement with the Capital One Orange Bowl • Among active coaches, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, Florida State’s Mike to host an ACC team—either its champion or next available team—in Norvell and North Carolina’s Mack Brown and rank among the top 25 all years when the Orange Bowl is not a semifinal site for the College in the nation in career winning percentage. Swinney’s .814 winning Football Playoff. The opponent will be the highest ranked available team percentage leads the nation. from the SEC, Big Ten or Notre Dame.

ACC IN THE NFL DRAFT • Most NFL draft experts expect Clemson to be the third ACC player to be selected No. 1 overall, joining (2015, Florida State) and (2006, NC State). In addition to Lawrence, several other ACC players have made appearanc- es in NFL Draft experts’ mock drafts.

• Current ACC teams have had a total of nine players chosen as the first overall selection in the NFL Draft. The most recent was Florida State’s Jameis Winston, who was tabbed first in 2015 by the Tampa Bay Bucs. Miami (, 1987, Tampa Bay; and , 1991, ) and Virginia Tech (, 1985, Buffalo; and , 2001, Atlanta) each had two top selections while Florida State (Jameis Winston, 2015, Bucs), NC State (Mario Williams, 2006, Texans), Virginia (, 1942, Steelers) and Syracuse (, 1962, Redskins) each had one. Also, NC State’s , the No. 2 overall selec- tion in the 1962 draft, was chosen No. 1 in the AFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders.

• Since the 2005 season, the ACC has had 570 players chosen in the NFL Draft, including 89 first-round picks, the second highest totals of any conference.

• The ACC has had 289 players selected since 2013 - the second-highest total among all conferences - and has had 40 or more players picked in four of the last seven drafts. The ACC’s 45 draftees in 2018 was its third-highest ever.