Clemson football appears to be the clear favorite in the ACC for 2025. The Tigers are coming off an ACC championship and College Football Playoff appearance last season. Quarterback Cade Klubnik returns for his third year under offensive coordinator Garrett Riley, and the team made a notable coaching addition with Tom Allen from Penn State taking over as defensive coordinator.
Experts are projecting Clemson to comfortably win over 9.5 games, with potential to reach 11 wins or more. The Tigers bring back many key pieces from last year’s championship team.
The ACC appears to have four top-tier teams projected as strong contenders for the conference championship: Clemson, Miami, SMU, and Louisville.
Football
Miami is considered a serious contender with quarterback Carson Beck, a high-profile transfer from Georgia. While he’s recovering from an elbow injury, Miami’s strength lies in their offensive line and overall roster talent. Oddsmakers have set their over/under at 8.5 wins.
SMU is also highly regarded after finishing as the ACC runner-up last season and making the College Football Playoff. Under coach Rhett Lashlee, the Mustangs are 16-0 in conference games over the last two seasons. SMU faces a challenging schedule in 2025, hosting conference contenders Miami and Louisville.
Louisville rounds out the top tier with quarterback Miller Moss leading the offense. The Cardinals secured a promising transfer class, though they return just four starters on defense.
Results? Wait And See
Looking at the “way-too-early” national rankings, Clemson is projected to be the best team in the ACC with a top-five national ranking and playoff expectations.
Other ACC teams mentioned as just missing the top 25 nationally include Georgia Tech and Louisville.
These projections show the ACC appears to have a clear structure with four elite teams at the top (Clemson, Miami, SMU, and Louisville) expected to compete for the conference championship, followed by a competitive middle tier.
ACC Looking Strong | Projecting The ’25 NCAA Tournament
Which ACC football teams are knocking it out of the park with recruiting for 2025? According to the latest 247 data the top five are; Miami, Florida State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Clemson. Just how effectively will teams on this list utilize these players? We’ll find out this fall.
Be sure to subscribe to ACC Nation Podcast and catch all of the football previews this summer leading up to Week Zero when Stanford travels to Hawaii on Saturday, August 23 to open up the season for the conference.
