Following ACC Media Days, the conference released its 2021 preseason poll as voted on by media covering the league. Among the nearly 150 votes cast, Clemson is picked to win its seventh straight conference title. The Tigers, a preseason College Football Playoff favorite as well, received all but one vote to win the ACC Atlantic and 125 votes to win the ACC Championship Game.
But Clemson was not a unanimous pick. North Carolina received 16 votes to win the ACC and is the preseason favorite to win the ACC Coastal. Miami, picked second behind the Tar Heels in the Coastal, received three votes to win the ACC while Virginia, Georgia Tech and NC State all received one.
| Team | First-place votes |
|---|---|
| Clemson | 125 |
| North Carolina | 16 |
| Miami | 3 |
| Virginia | 1 |
| Georgia Tech | 1 |
| NC State | 1 |
Here's how the entire preseason ACC media poll turned out. First-place votes are in parenthesis.
| Atlantic Division | Coastal Division |
|---|---|
| Clemson 1,028 (146) | North Carolina 979 (109) |
| NC State 804 (1) | Miami 881 (28) |
| Boston College 638 | Virginia Tech 582 (3) |
| Florida State 510 | Pitt 576 (1) |
| Wake Forest 472 | Virginia 540 (2) |
| Louisville 462 | Georgia Tech 340 (4) |
| Syracuse 202 | Duke 218 |