The Big 12 may have parity from top to bottom, the Big Ten may have a slew of CFP contenders and it may just mean more in the SEC, but it’s hard to top the ACC coming into the 2025 season when it comes to palace intrigue and the general unknown. It’s almost as though it’s a Forrest Gump league: You never know what you’re going to get on any given weekend.
That’s partially because so many teams went extra heavy into the transfer portal or simply lost so much production from last year, but also the nature of a conference that spans both coasts and has a slew of middle-tier programs who are more apt to be falling backwards than striding forward. The number of true contenders is less than what you can count on one hand but there may well be a familiar national title team that could emerge among them. The bottom of the league might turn out to be the worst among its power conference brethren by a significant margin.
As a result, you can probably debate the overall quality of football in 2025 across the ACC as being somewhat substandard but it sure won’t lack for interest. Between a handful of prolific quarterbacks, some fascinating head coaching hires and a few former superpowers trying to get back to the tier of elite programs, the ACC actually feels more watchable than it has been in recent memory. Nobody is denying that it’s a top-heavy affair when it comes to good teams but the flip side is it should generate plenty of interest week to week and perhaps give the conference more than the two College Football Playoff teams that it produced last year.
CFP contenders
Clemson
Dabo Swinney’s Tigers have won the league eight times in the past decade and are poised to once again lord over their conference with an iron grip as one of the six or seven teams that enter 2025 with legitimate aspirations of lifting the CFP trophy come January. Though they struggled for stretches last season, the amount of talent they return is really only comparable with Penn State nationally and there could be as many as five first rounders leading the line in orange and purple this season. That includes a veteran quarterback in Cade Klubnik, stellar defensive linemen like Peter Woods and T.J. Parker, some surprisingly dangerous wideouts like Antonio Williams and what should be one of the better offensive lines the program has had lately. It has a chance to make a big statement early in the opener at home against LSU and if it wins that one, Clemson has a good shot at earning a top-four seed in the CFP given that it will likely be favored in every game this season. It’s the Tigers’ league to lose, basically.
Miami
The Hurricanes had the best offense in the country last season and while there’s some drop-off expected, it’s not to the point where there are any alarm bells ringing in Coral Gables, Fla. That’s because of the arrival of QB Carson Beck, who looked like a first-rounder at times during his stint at Georgia and is hoping to get back to that level despite having surgery that limited him prior to fall camp. His play will likely end up determining Miami’s ceiling and whether it can get into the playoff almost as much as a revamped defense will determine the team’s floor. The Canes were dreadful on the latter side of the ball in 2024 and the combination of portal pieces, a return to health for key players like Rueben Bain Jr. and the arrival of a new coordinator should make them at least passable this year. They get Notre Dame, Florida and Louisville all at home while missing Clemson so things are all set up for forcing the committee to make another difficult decision on its inclusion in the CFP if all those pieces come together.
SMU
A pleasant surprise in their first year in the ACC, the Mustangs made the jump up from the Group of 5 ranks with ease and went 8–0 in conference play. Yet the lasting image the country has of the team is likely getting walked off in Charlotte to lose the league title and then turning the ball over too much in a freezing cold introduction to CFP play. The schedule gets much more difficult this season for SMU (home vs. Baylor and at TCU in nonconference play, at Clemson and home against Miami and Louisville), but it returns QB Kevin Jennings, three key offensive linemen and virtually the entire back seven on defense. This has a chance to be a much better team even if its record doesn’t reflect it.
Louisville
There’s an alternate world where the Cardinals went undefeated last season after they suffered all four of their losses by one score. They’ll have to hope they get better luck (and tighten things up) in such games this season because if so, there’s a path to the playoff if Jeff Brohm keeps the arrow pointed up at his alma mater. Former USC starter Miller Moss takes over at quarterback and will get the benefit from a decent offensive line and one of, if not the, best running back tandems in Isaac Brown and Duke Watson. There are a ton of transfers that dot the two-deep roster so there’s quite a bit that needs to jell. They have a real shot at making it to Charlotte despite having to play all three of the other contenders mentioned above.
Team on the rise
Georgia Tech
It wasn’t long ago the Yellow Jackets looked rudderless and playing like one of the bottom-feeders in the ACC but things have changed quickly under head coach Brent Key. He’s built a really tough, hard-nosed group and they’re primed to do some damage as a fringe contender in 2025. QB Haynes King is back to lead an offense that includes an underrated tailback in Jamal Haynes and former freshman All-American tackle Ethan Mackenny and All-ACC guard Keylan Rutledge. The defense is solid and Tech misses many of the upper-tier teams in conference play with a very manageable schedule. Dreaming of the CFP might be a little much, but there’s a lot to like about the way the program is trending as one of the difficult outs on everybody’s slate.
Team on the downslope
Virginia Tech
Once one of the most consistent programs along the eastern seaboard, the Hokies have finished with a losing record in two of Brent Pry’s three seasons in charge and the external pressure is certainly ramped up going into Year 4. They severely underperformed in 2024 despite returning the bulk of their roster and now must turn over most of their two-deep through the portal. Kyron Drones is back at QB, which gives them someone to build around, but this team was not great in close games and is an even greater enigma this season with so many new faces. A pair of fresh coordinators might help but it will be an uphill climb to get some positive momentum back in Blacksburg, Va.
New coaches
Bill Belichick, North Carolina
The six-time Super Bowl–winning head coach and one of the greatest to ever don the headset in the NFL coming to coach in Chapel Hill, N.C., will remain the story in college football for the first half of the season. It will be up to Belichick figuring out the college game to determine whether or not he is part of the storyline in the second half as this grand experiment in argyle and Carolina blue gets underway.
Jake Dickert, Wake Forest
Dickert has managed to win a lot of games at a lot of places where that’s tough to do (Wyoming, Washington State, etc.) and did well to win eight games last season despite his conference falling apart around him. He’ll have a long runway to get the Deacs back to contending in the league but don’t overlook him making the team better than expected in Year 1.
Frank Reich, Stanford
After Troy Taylor was dismissed in the spring, Andrew Luck brought in the former NFL head coach to guide the Cardinal on an interim basis this year. He’s one-and-done on the Farm and it will take every bit of his acumen to keep the team from the basement of the standings given the way the roster has dropped off.
Conference power rankings
- Clemson
- Miami
- SMU
- Louisville
- Duke
- Georgia Tech
- Pitt
- Florida State
- North Carolina
- Virginia
- NC State
- Virginia Tech
- Syracuse
- Boston College
- Wake Forest
- California
- Stanford
Heisman Trophy contenders
Clemson QB Cade Klubnik (+900 on FanDuel)
Sporting the second-best Heisman odds coming into the season behind Texas QB Arch Manning, Klubnik might have the best shot of any Clemson signal-caller to actually flash the stiff arm if his numbers take yet another leap after three years of consistent improvement.
Miami QB Carson Beck (+1800)
The 2023 version of Beck led his team to a 13–1 mark with just shy of 4,000 yards passing and 24 touchdowns. If he gets back to that level and helps bring The U to the playoff, Beck will earn a trip to New York at a minimum.
SMU QB Kevin Jennings (+3000)
Nick Saban called him one of the most underrated QBs in the country, and he’ll have a bit of a redemption story to play up given the way the playoff game against Penn State went. In his second full season as a starter, it’s not crazy to think that if he cuts down on his interceptions he could have 35-plus touchdowns.
Louisville QB Miller Moss (+5000)
Jeff Brohm is a wizard developing quarterbacks and Moss showed flashes in throwing for 18 touchdowns before getting benched at USC.
Transfer talk
WR Duce Robinson, USC to Florida State
A legacy Nole, Robinson was once one of the top recruits out west and caught seven touchdowns over two seasons with the Trojans. He’s a mismatch with his 6' 6" frame, he should instantly become the top option in the passing game for ex-Boston College QB Tommy Castellanos.
CB Xavier Lucas, Wisconsin to Miami
Lucas’s move spawned an ongoing lawsuit between his former school and his current one, but the Pompano Beach, Fla., native has a chance to make a big impact on the Hurricanes’ secondary that desperately needs some playmakers.
Edge James Williams, Nebraska to Florida State
Not the flashiest of acquisitions by Florida State this offseason, Williams should be a dependable presence up front who can help make the transition under defensive coordinator Tony White that much easier given how easily the two teamed up with the Cornhuskers.
QB Darian Mensah, Tulane to Duke
The Blue Devils made a big splash when they upgraded with Mensah behind center, who is a true dual-threat that was excellent during his time leading the Green Wave.
Fab freshmen
Clemson DL Amare Adams, No. 22 recruit (five stars) in 247Sports Composite
Adams is already wowing coaches with his size and ability, which should see him become a key rotation piece early on and make a terrific D-line that much deeper.
Georgia Tech S Tae Harris, No. 49 recruit (four stars)
He’s got some veterans in front of him but it would surprise nobody in Atlanta if Harris winds up taking the starting job by the end of the year.
Clemson RB Gideon Davidson, No. 69 recruit (four stars)
Running back is one of the few places where there’s not an incumbent starter at Clemson and the speedy Davidson should be able to find plenty of carries with the way he can burst through the line and pick up a long gain.
Duke edge Bryce Davis, No. 73 recruit (four stars)
Davis won a number of awards during his senior season in high school. He arrives in Durham, N.C., as one of the most highly touted recruits the football program has ever landed.
Bottom line
There’s a pretty wide disparity between the top teams in the ACC and everybody else, which should make this one of the more unpredictable conferences in the country in 2025 given how jumbled spots three through 16 figure to be. Clemson will be the prohibitive favorite to win the league, and it’s a coin toss after that to see who it might meet in Charlotte. There should be no shortage of drama and interesting things to watch given some of the players, coaches and programs involved.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ACC Football Preview: Chaos Beyond CFP Hopefuls Make for Unpredictable League.