Athlon Sports predicts ACC football order of finish in 2025

The 2025 college football season is more than two months away from officially kicking off. But that just means Ranking Season is in full swing, and Athlon Sports came bearing gifts with its annual preseason magazine.

As part of its 2025 edition, Athlon Sports predicted the ACC’s order of finish for the upcoming season, with some serious similarities to how 2024 played out. That includes reigning ACC champion Clemson once again lifting the conference trophy after knocking off Miami in Charlotte.

Beyond that, Athlon expects a considerable bounceback effort for FSU, which suffered through a miserable 2-win campaign in 2024, but isn’t nearly as high on some of the other ACC teams that could find themselves looking for a new head football coach before the end of the regular season.

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Check out Athlon Sports‘ ACC projected order of finish for the 2025 season (2024 record) below:

1. Clemson Tigers (10-4, 7-1 ACC)

Clemson is back, and Athlon Sports believes it will ultimately reign supreme atop the ACC once again in 2025 after claiming its eighth ACC championship in the last 10 years last season. Athlon predicts the Tigers will win its ninth conference title since 2015 with a championship game win over the Hurricanes.

Dabo Swinney returns a ton of talent, led by three-year starting QB Cade Klubnik, and finally dipped into the NCAA Transfer Portal to reload defensively. That included adding former Purdue pass rusher Will Heldt to work under new defensive coordinator Tom Allen, the former Indiana head coach who comes over after a one-year stint as Penn State‘s DC.

2. Miami Hurricanes (10-3, 6-2)

After a transformative 2024 season with ex-transfer QB Cam Ward at the helm, ‘Canes head coach Mario Cristobal doubled down and added former Georgia starting QB Carson Beck, a two-year starter, out of the portal this offseason. And Athlon clearly expects Beck to be a great fit in Miami, projecting a run to the ACC title game.

Despite a disappointing 2024, which ended prematurely with a UCL elbow injury to this throwing arm in the SEC Championship game, Beck is primed for a bounce-back season in Coral Gables and will have plenty of help in 2025, especially behind a loaded offensive line — which was clearly lacking last season in Athens. If Beck follows in Ward’s footsteps, he could cement his place as the next No. 1 overall draft pick.

3. SMU Mustangs (11-3, 8-0)

The Mustangs were the surprise of the 2024 season, rolling through the ACC undefeated in their first season in the league before falling to Clemson in the ACC championship game. Still, that conference run was more than enough to secure a spot in the 2024 College Football Playoff, and Athlon clearly doesn’t expect much of a dropoff in 2025.

SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee returns much of same roster that helped spearhead last season’s success, including returning starting QB Kevin Jennings, who has gone a bit overlooked as one of college football’s elite returning QBs. If Jennings and company can turn that perceived slight into motivation, the Mustangs will once again be a serious ACC contender in 2025 with another potential Playoff spot on the line.

4. Louisville Cardinals (9-4, 5-3)

Much like it did a year ago, Cardinals head coach Jeff Brohm put all his chips behind a former transfer QB leading the way after landing Miller Moss out of USC this offseason. Much like last year’s QB1, Tyler Shough, Moss is hitting reset on his career under Brohm’s tutelage and could be primed for a breakout season in 2025.

But Moss isn’t coming alone. Brohm and Louisville also added talented WRs TreyShun Hurry (San Jose State) and Dacari Collins (NC State), while also reloading defensively with the addition of LB Clev Lubin (Coastal Carolina), among others. If Brohm can get Moss and the new transfers to play up to their potential, Athlon believes the Cardinals will be in the mix for the ACC title in 2025.

5. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (7-6, 5-3)

Entering Year 3 at the helm of his alma mater, Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key clearly has Georgia Tech headed in the right direction and Athlon expects more of the same in 2025. Tech returns talented dual-threat QB Haynes King to lead a mostly-intact offense that lost its 2024 leading receiver (Auburn transfer Eric Singleton Jr.) but returns nearly everyone else.

Given the wealth of experience, the Yellow Jackets could be primed for a surprise breakout season in 2025, especially if Key can continue to push the right buttons. Still, Georgia Tech isn’t without its question marks, including in the trenches, where Key overhauled its offensive and defensive fronts through the transfer portal this offseason.

6. Duke Blue Devils (9-4, 5-3)

Manny Diaz‘s first season in Durham was certainly a success after transforming the Blue Devils into legit ACC contenders in short order. And Athlon clearly has high hopes for another strong push in 2025 after Diaz landed uber-talented QB Darian Mensah (Tulane) out of the transfer portal.

Of course, that will require Diaz and the Blue Devils getting the most out of their newest portal additions, especially after losing plenty of talent at key skill positions this offseason. If Mensah can build upon last season’s success, Duke will undoubtedly make itself a factor in the ACC in 2025.

7. Florida State Seminoles (2-10, 1-7)

Suffice it to say, 2024 was an utter disappointment for FSU and head coach Mike Norvell. That led to a complete offseason overhaul, including former UCF and Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn as the new offensive coordinator and former Nebraska DC Tony White taking over the same position in Tallahasse.

Norvell also went heavy into the transfer portal in landing new dual-threat QB1 Tommy Castellanos (Boston College) and elite receivers Duce Robinson (USC) and Squirrel White (Tennessee). While Athlon doesn’t expect back-to-back disappointments for FSU, they clearly aren’t yet believers the Seminoles will return to its ACC-leading ways in 2025.

8. Pitt Panthers (7-6, 3-5)

The Panthers were a roller coaster in 2025 and Athlon doesn’t expect much to change in 2025, especially after losing a litany of talent to the NFL and the transfer portal this offseason.

Still, Pitt returns talented QB1 Eli Holstein and RB Desmon Reid and managed to rebuild its offensive line through the portal, which could mean big things for the Panthers in 2025.

9. North Carolina Tar Heels (6-7, 3-5)

North Carolina dominated the college football offseason headlines following the surprise hiring of six-time Super Bowl champion head coach Bill Belichick, even if it wasn’t always for the right reasons.

Still, the Tar Heels are all-in on Belichick and believe a coach of his NFL caliber will ultimately pay major dividends at North Carolina. A lot will rest on the shoulders of new transfer QB Gio Lopez (South Alabama), who is one of two dozen new additions that will be counted on in 2025.

10. NC State Wolfpack (6-7, 3-5)

The Wolfpack underwent quite the offseason overhaul after last season. Longtime head coach Dave Doeren replaced both coodinators as well as a multitude of premium talent to the portal.

Still, NC State isn’t without some talented returners, including QB CJ Bailey and playmakers Hollywood Smothers, Noah Rogers and Wesley Grimes. But given those losses, especially on defense, it’s clear Athlon expects another up-and-down season for the ‘Pack.

11. Virginia Tech Hokies (6-7, 4-4)

Hokies head coach Brent Pry faces arguably the most pivotal season of his tenure ahead of Year 4 in Blacksburg. And Athlon Sports isn’t betting on a turnaround in 2025.

Pry added former Tulsa head coach Philip Montgomery as his offensive coordinator in hopes of turning things around for talented dual-threat QB1 Kyron Drones. If that happens in 2025, Virginia Tech could be primed for a breakout season. If not, Pry could find himself on the hot seat before the end of the year.

12. Boston College Eagles (7-6, 4-4)

Year 1 under head coach Bill O’Brien was an overall success after making a bowl game, but BC has much higher hopes in 2025.

Part of that rests on O’Brien getting the most out of the QB position in Year 2 with Grayson James, who replaced Castellanos as QB1 midway through last season. Still, Athlon Sports doesn’t have the same expectations and expects a repeat of last year’s rollercoaster season in 2025.

13. Syracuse Orange (10-3, 5-3)

The ‘Cuse were another ACC surprise behind new head coach Fran Brown, who rode the strong arm of former Ohio State transfer QB Kyle McCord in what amounted to a breakout 2024 season.

But McCord is now in the NFL, and Brown must decide between a pair of transfer QBs in Steve Angeli (Notre Dame) and Rickie Collins (LSU) to lead the way this Fall. Based on this projection, Athlon isn’t quite sold on either QB repeating McCord’s success and expects a fall back to Earth for the Orange.

14. Virginia Cavaliers (5-7, 3-5)

Much like his in-state rival, veteran Virginia head coach Tony Elliott could find himself on the hot season if the Cavaliers struggle once again in Year 4.

Still, Elliott went all-out in the transfer portal to avoid such a fate, including adding transfer QB Chandler Morris (North Texas) and WR Jahmal Edrine (Purdue) on offense as well as S Devin Neal (Louisville) and LB Mitchell Melton (Ohio State) on defense.

15. Cal Golden Bears (6-7, 2-6)

The Golden Bears faced quite the uphill climb in their first season apart of the ACC, and Athlon Sports sees much of the same happening in 2025.

And outside of a considerable turnaround, Cal head coach Justin Wilcox is another ACC coach that could find himself on the hot seat before the end of the season, especially if new transfer QB Devin Brown (Ohio State) doesn’t produce a McCord-like effort in 2025.

16. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (4-8, 2-6)

The Demon Deacons enter Year 1 under head coach Jake Dickert with as many questions as answers, especially given the complete offseason overhaul that generally comes with a change at the top.

Dickert did manage to replenish some talent through the portal, especially in the trenches, but any 2025 success will undoubtedly depend on hitting a home run with one of its multi-time transfer QB additions in Robby Ashford (South Carolina) and Deshawn Purdie (Charlotte).

17. Stanford Cardinal (3-9, 2-6)

Last and but hardly least in Athlon’s projection is Stanford, which was dealt a shocking offseason overhaul with the March dismissal of former coach Troy Taylor and the hiring of former NFL coach Frank Reich.

New Cardinal general manager Andrew Luck brings some hope for the once-proud Pac-12 leader, but the coaching change added to widespread roster turnover doesn’t bode well for a return to form in 2025.