Where Stanford Football Ranks in the ACC Heading into the 2024 Season

Jason Burke | Aug 2, 2024

Nov 18, 2023; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal quarterback Ashton Daniels (14) looks to throw a pass against the California Golden Bears during the first quarter at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports / Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports

Last season Stanford football went just 3-9 on the season, finishing tied with Arizona State at the bottom of the Pac-12. With a move to the ACC, where will the Cardinal be ranked when all is said and done in 2024? A poll of 170 media voters was taken for theACC.com, and let's just say it will be up to Stanford to change the narrative in '24.

The poll has Florida State University (FSU), the defending ACC champs, picked to win it all again this season. Stanford was at the other end of that poll, selected to finish last in the Conference. Rival Cal was picked to finished tenth out of 17 teams, but they also received two first-place votes along the way.

They say that the ACC is a Conference of quarterbacks, and they have a point. 10 ACC QBs were named to the Maxwell Award watch list, the most of any Conference in the nation, and 25% of the projected Week 1 starters in the NFL come from ACC schools.

Junior Ashton Daniels receieved the first ten starts of his collegiate career in 2023, so there is both some inexperience for Stanford at the position, but also a lot of room for growth that we could see from Daniels, going into his third season. Part of that growth will be having WR Elic Ayomanor to throw to for a second year. Ayomanor was the only Cardinal named to the Maxwell Award watch list, and he will receive a lot of attention on this club, both from the media, and from opposing defenses.

Stanford has room for growth heading into the 2024 campaign, but the over/under win total for the season set at Fox Sports is at 3.5 wins. The program as a whole is growing, and this will be head coach Troy Taylor's second season on the job, so it wouldn't be crazy to expect some of the returning athletes to take a step forward in 2024.

With the jump to the ACC, the quality of competition will be stronger, and there will be new hurdles to clear like more trips out to the East Coast. This season will be about making adjustments, and growing both as individuals, and as a team. We'll see if that translates into a few more wins, too.