2025 ACC Conference Preview

Jake Wimberly

Ross Gaskin Contributing:

The 2024 season for the ACC was a very good year. They had two representatives in the first 12 team playoff bracket, a Heisman finalist, and a highly competitive conference title race. As good as 2024 was, 2025 will be an incredible season for the ACC.

Be ready for a legit national championship contender coming out of the ACC this year as each team seemingly has an insane QB.

With all of this exciting talent, each team in the ACC is hungry to show the country that they can be the most dominant conference in college football, and can bring the Natty trophy back to the ACC.

The conference this year based on the numbers will have the #1 best returning QB production in the Power 4.

Cumulative Conference Quarterback Metrics:

ACC- 17.18
Big 12- 15.44
Big 10- 15.38
SEC- 14.77

This does not guarantee that an ACC team will win the National Championship, but it does give them a significant advantage based on these numbers. Also, these rankings are a testament to the ACC being able to retain and recruit talent.

2025 ACC Quarterback Rankings:

Clemson: Cade Klubnik- 33.6
Virginia: Chandler Morris- 23.7
Miami: Carson Beck- 23.5
Georgia Tech: Haynes King- 18.1
Duke: Darian Mensah- 16.7
SMU: Kevin Jennings- 16.2
Florida State: Thomas Castellanos- 14.5
Pitt: Eli Holstein: 13.2
Virginia Tech: Kyron Drones- 12.7
Louisville: Miller Moss- 11.5
Syracuse: Rickie Collins- 10.5
NC State: CJ Bailey- 10.5
California: Devin Brown- 9.5
UNC: Max Johnson- 9.5
Wake Forest: Robby Ashford- 8
Boston College: Grayson James- 4.5
Stanford: Elijah Brown- 4.5

These rankings are purely based on returning production. Every spot on the list is subject to change as some guys either did not play, got hurt, or split reps with another QB last season. Expect guys like Thomas Costellanos, Rickie Collins, and Darian Mensah to fly up the board.

The most exciting guy on this list is the stud QB for the Clemson Tigers, Cade Klubnik. Klubnik had a fantastic 2024 season where he threw for 3,639 yards and 36 TDs while also running for 463 yards and 7 more TDs. Cade Klubnik right now is my favorite to win the Heisman trophy in 2025.

The other most notable QBs in the ACC are the new transfers coming in this year like Carson Beck (Georgia→Miami), Darian Mensah (Tulane→Duke), and Miller Moss (USC→Louisville). All three had great years with their previous teams, but decided the grass was greener on the other side and transferred.

2025 ACC Head Coach Rankings:

Clemson: Dabo Swinney- 17
Florida State: Mike Norvell- 15
Louisville: Jeff Brohm- 14
SMU: Rhett Lashlee- 13
Miami: Mario Cristobal- 12
UNC: Bill Belichick- 12
California: Justin Wilcox- 7.5
NC State: Dave Doeren- 6.5
Syracuse: Fran Brown- 6.5
Wake Forest: Jack Dikert- 5
Boston College: Bill O'Brien- 5
Pitt: Pat Narduzzi- 4
Duke: Manny Diaz- 4
Georgia Tech: Brent Key- 4
Stanford: Troy Taylor- 3
Virginia Tech: Brent Pry- 3
Virginia: Tony Elliott- 1

The legendary coach, Dado Swinney, is of course once again the top ranked head coach in the ACC. His reign of dominance has no end in sight as he has built a team that could potentially go the distance.

The most anticipated coach on this list by far Bill Belichick. Coach Belichick is often regarded as the greatest head coach in NFL history, and now he will be coaching the UNC Tar Heels. We will not know if college football will workout for coach Belichick, but I can guarantee that it will produce some memorable moments.

A coach that people need to keep their eye on is Mike Norvell with Florida State. After a 2-10 2024 season, the Seminole faithful were calling for his job and his head. Even with him being the 2nd ranked coach in the ACC and having some really good seasons, Mike Norvell is on the Hot Seat.

Another coach who could be on the hot seat soon is Virginia’s head coach, Tony Elliott. Coach Elliott, in his 3 seasons with Virginia, has a disappointing 11-23 record. He will probably get more time to build, but he is not off to a good start.

2025 Power Four Coaching Index:

Big 10- 12.78
Big 12- 12.55
SEC- 12.43
ACC- 9.46

Strength of Schedule Numbers:

Syracuse: 1108.37
Florida State: 1083.94
Clemson: 1065.8
Stanford: 1060.38
Virginia Tech: 1056.62
Miami: 1052.93
Pitt: 1041.05
SMU: 1039.17
Boston College: 1039.1
Georgia Tech: 1038.19
NC State: 1020.01
Louisville: 1015.58
UNC: 994.86
Duke: 973.38
Wake Forest: 956.3
Virginia: 926.57
California: 921.46

By our numbers, Syracuse has the toughest schedule in the ACC which could give them a lot of problems as they will have a new QB this season, and they lost a lot of talent to the portal and the draft. That being said, if the ‘Cuse can have a 9+ win season, they will have a good chance at the playoffs.

The ACC never has a shortage of big time games, and that is evident in week 1 of the 2025 season. In week 1 Miami will play Notre Dame, Florida State will play Alabama, and Clemson will play LSU.

Clemson will have the 3rd hardest schedule in the ACC, which might sound like a bad thing, but I think it could be great for the Tigers. Clemson has a great team that can handle this schedule, which will give them a huge advantage when it comes to making the playoffs and being ready for the playoffs.

The biggest schedule disadvantage is Florida State. After an abysmal 2024 season, the Seminoles and Mike Norvell have to have a good season, but with the 2nd hardest schedule, it will be an uphill battle. Florida State will seemingly have everything going against them in 2025.

The Conference race as a whole:

The ACC title race will be highly competitive, but only 2 teams can play for it and those teams are pretty obvious. The ACC title is really only a race between Clemson and Miami as of right now, but that is not a guarantee as we saw SMU make a miraculous run to get to the ACC title game and the playoffs.

The other teams who have a chance at the title are Georgia Tech and SMU. Out of these two however, Georgia Tech has the biggest opportunity to change the landscape in the ACC. The Yellow Jackets have a ton of their starters returning and Brent Key has them boys looking right, so do not be surprised if Georgia Tech makes a legit run at the title.

My ACC dark horse for 2025 is the Florida State Seminoles. Nobody expects them to be good, and they have nothing to lose and everything to gain. To me, that makes them dangerous. People need to stop sleeping on Florida State because they have the potential to have an insane comeback season.

When everything is all said and done, Clemson will remain kings of the ACC as they will beat Miami in the 2025 ACC conference championship.

Once conference championship week is over, we believe that the Clemson Tigers and the Miami Hurricanes will be in the playoffs. Georgia Tech might have a chance to make the playoffs, but their odds aren’t great. Watch out for Clemson to have a great playoff run as we have them making it to, and possibly winning, the National Championship.