ACC football season is closing in fast with the conference's first games just a little more than a week away.

Wake Forest and NC State kick off the year with matchups against Elon and UConn on Thursday, Aug. 31, followed by Miami vs. Miami of Ohio and Louisville at Georgia Tech on Friday, Sept. 1. Boston College (Northern Illinois), Virginia (Tennessee), Pitt (Wofford), Syracuse (Colgate), North Carolina (South Carolina), and Virginia Tech (ODU) are up on Saturday, Sept. 2. Florida State faces LSU on Sunday, Sept. 3 and Clemson plays at Duke on Monday, Sept. 4 to wrap up the first weekend of football.

The Preferred Walk-Ons Podcast brought in Mike Barber of The Richmond Times-Dispatch to preview the ACC season with a focus on UVA and VT plus other teams and players to watch. Be sure to check out all of Mike's coverage of Virginia football and the ACC in the Richmond Times-Dispatch as well as the "Teel and Barber Podcast."

Up for discussion in this episode...

  • Where things stand on ACC alignment talk (0:00-12:39)
  • What to expect from Virginia and Virginia Tech football this season (12:39-23:52)
  • Teams to watch in the ACC and players to keep an eye on for the Heisman Trophy (23:52-35:10)

TheSabre.com presents The Preferred Walk-Ons Podcast, a college sports podcast through the lens of the ACC. Michael McGraw, a University of Virginia graduate and fan, and Michael Shutt, a life-long NC State fan, both grew up watching the ACC and have insights on the history and present of the conference ... plus plenty of healthy ABC – (Anybody But Carolina) bias.

You can always email the show at [email protected]. You can also follow the show on Twitter or Instagram (@PWOPod).