Clemson has been the team to beat in the ACC (heck, the entire country) for years—and they have not faced a challenger that made them sweat, not even a little bit. With how well the Tigers recruit, this season is expected to be more of the same.
But due to a late addition to the schedule—Notre Dame -- that may not be the case this season.
With every active Power Five conference going with a conference-only schedule and two of them canceling their seasons, independents like the Fighting Irish were left with no one to play. The easiest way to fill their schedule was to come to an agreement with one of the three active Power Five conferences.
Due to their relationship with the ACC in every other sport, joining them made the most sense. Does that mean Clemson fans need to be concerned this season? Their team is the No.1 team in the country. But Notre Dame is the No. 10 team, and win the new rankings take all the Big Ten and Pac-12 teams out they are going to jump right up.
So, it sounds like Clemson could be given a run for their money this year in the ACC. While Notre Dame has decent odds to win the conference, Clemson is still a strong favorite (odds via Bovada.lv):
2020 - 2021 NCAA ACC Champion - Odds To Win
-
- Clemson -450
- Notre Dame +500
- North Carolina +800
- Miami Florida +1000
- Virginia Tech +1800
- Florida State +2800
- Pittsburgh +3300
- Louisville +4000
- Virginia +5000
- NC State +8000
- Wake Forest +8000
- Boston College +10000
- Duke +10000
- Syracuse +10000
- Georgia Tech +50000