While the gap between Dabo Swinney's Tigers and the rest of the ACC may have closed, the national media has once again picked Clemson to win the Atlantic Coast Conference.
If the 2023 campaign does end with more conference hardware for Swinney, it would be the twenty-second time Clemson has hung a banner, and the eighth time in the last nine seasons.
While Clemson's run of dominance has media confidence high, Mike Norvell's squad in Tallahassee has dramatically closed the gap.
After the conclusion of ACC Media Days in Charlotte, 176 media members (including yours truly,) submitted ballots for conference honors. Of those 176, 103 first place votes were credited to the Tigers, with Florida State picking up 67.
But it was the overall point total that showed FSU's climb back towards conference contention.
Clemson recorded a total of 2,370 combined points, while FSU finished just 66 points behind with 2,304.
After the Tigers and Seminoles, UNC checked in third with five first place votes and 1,981 points, leading NC State's lone first place vote and 1,662 points.
Miami was the highest ranked team without a first place vote, checking in fifth with 1,553 points, preceding Duke and Pittsburgh, who tied with 1,511.
Lousville, Wake Forest, and Syracuse rounded out the top ten on the media's projection list, while Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Boston College, and Virginia closed out the voting.
Clemson opens their season on September 4th at Duke, followed by Charleston Southern and FAU at home before hosting the Seminoles on September 23 in a matchup that will likely go a long way in determining conference superiority, and potentially, a ticket to the NCAA College Football Playoffs.