Our colleague Chris Low pointed out the teams he is buying and selling heading into 2017, so this is the perfect opportunity to look at the top 5 returning ACC teams and determine whether they are playoff contenders or pretenders.
First up: defending national champion Clemson.
Reasons the Tigers are contenders: Coach Dabo Swinney has built a program that should be in national championship contention every single season, given the way he and his staff have recruited and developed players over the last five years. Brent Venables has been entrenched as defensive coordinator for four years, so one can reasonably expect a top 10 defensive performance year in and year out.