The ACC Preseason Poll is out, and yes, they clearly let Notre Dame writers vote this year

There’s been controversy for years as to whether Notre Dame should join a conference. Should the school of Rockne, Parseghian, Hornung and so many other legends sully themselves by conceding more than a century of league independence to the modern factors that go into college football?

Well if their beat writers are going to continue to be granted votes in the ACC’s preseason poll, maybe they should just keep playing on their own for awhile. Because this is a joke.

Below is the 2020 ACC Preseason Poll as voted on by 134 media members, with first place votes in parentheses. You get 15 points for putting a team in first place, 14 points for second place, etc.

And we’ll take a friendly wager that two of those media members Wake Up The Echoes with their alarm clock every morning.

1. Clemson (132) – 2008
2. Notre Dame (2) – 1824
3. North Carolina – 1682
4. Louisville – 1434
5. Virginia Tech – 1318
6. Miami – 1280
7. Florida State – 1177
8. Pitt – 1132
9. Virginia – 994
10. Wake Forest – 659
11. NC State – 634
12. Duke – 618
13. Boston College – 532
14. Syracuse – 449
15. Georgia Tech – 339

There’s for sure some smaller nits to pick here. Georgia Tech is trending up under Geoff Collins, and we’ll bet they don’t come in the cellar. While it does look like a down year for Syracuse, and their new offensive coordinator hire is pretty shambolic, if anyone can keep a program on track it’s Dino Babers.

But now we head to the closet to ship these clown shoes to the two writers that picked Notre Dame over Clemson. If you want to justify this as some kind of “Notre Dame is at home!” for their game on November 7th, fine. I mean it’s not a great pick, but it’s not a felony either. Right now at DraftKings the Tigers are a 7.5 point favorite in South Bend for what should be a terrific game.

But the best two teams in the league will head to Charlotte for the ACC Championship Game. And you really think ND is going to win it there?? Are you out of your mind?? Clemson is giving double-digits in Bank of America Stadium. Get all the way out of here with this you green-and-gold-glasses wearing hacks.

And that’s not even the worst crime. Look at this monstrosity for ACC Preseason Player of the Year:

1. Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson – 100
2. Travis Etienne, RB, Clemson – 30
3. Sam Howell, QB, North Carolina – 1
4. Chazz Surratt, LB, North Carolina – 1
5. Ian Book, QB, Notre Dame – 1
6. Carlos Basham Jr., DE, Wake Forest – 1

If you voted for Ian Book or Sam Howell over Trevor Lawrence for Preseason Player of the Year, there is absolutely no salvaging you. You are hopeless. HOPELESS. I guess we found two of the three voters that didn’t vote Lawrence as the All-ACC Preseason quarterback too, which... stop trying to be too cool for school and just do the thing that is intellectually correct.

Lawrence is 29-1 as a starter. He’s won a national championship. If he decides he doesn’t want to leave his dorm room for the rest of the season, he’s still the #1 pick in the NFL Draft. But three voters conferred a credential by a P5 conference don’t think he’s the best quarterback in his own league. And we wonder why Americans distrust media more than ever.

Shame. Shame. Shame.