ESPN releases final preseason ACC Football rankings

Fresh off the 2024 season, in which the ACC got two teams into the College Football Playoff, the conference will look to add a third team to that event this season. With Clemson, Miami and SMU present in the top-20 of both these rankings and the AP Poll, the opportunity is certainly there for the taking.

Ahead of the season, which is now just weeks away, ESPN released its final preseason ACC Football rankings. These particular rankings are going to be based on the SP+ metric. That’s been updated multiple times throughout the offseason and will be getting updated consistently once the season gets going.

SP+ is described as a ” a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency.” In that way, it looks to be a predictive metric, rather than looking at each school’s resume and ranking them on that basis. With all of that in mind, here’s how SP+ handled the ACC with their national rankings included:

1. Clemson Tigers (National Rank: 10)

Dabo Swinney‘s Clemson Tigers enter the 2025 season ranked No. 1 in ESPN’s SP+ ACC Rankings. Clemson comes in at No. 10 nationally, six spots lower than its spot in the preseason AP Poll (No. 4).

Following three consecutive disappointing seasons (2021-23) in which the Tigers lost at least three games in three straight years for the first time since 2009-2011, the program put itself back on the map last season with an appearance in the College Football Playoff. Fans of the sport will get an early look at the Tigers on a national stage, as it kicks off the season at home against LSU.

2. Miami Hurricanes (National Rank: 14)

Had it not been for a disastrous blown game against Syracuse in its regular season finale last season, Miami looked to be well on its way to an appearance in the ACC Championship game and the College Football Playoff. With that loss in the back of their minds, expect Mario Cristobal and his program to be hell-bound on finishing the job and making the group of 12 teams this season.

Former Georgia quarterback Carson Beck takes over behind center for the Hurricanes this season, bringing the program some much needed College Football Playoff experience to the program. Except the Canes to be knocking on the door of the CFP once again this season.

3. SMU Mustangs (National Rank: 19)

SMU was one of the biggest surprises in all of college football last season, as it compiled an 11-1 (8-0) regular season record in its first season of ACC play. Once it dropped its third game of the season to BYU, it did not lose again until the ACC Championship Game against Clemson. This earned the Mustangs a trip to the College Football Playoff.

Although they were run off the field in their First Round matchup against Penn State, expectations are set once again for Rhett Lashlee‘s team to be right in the mix for a bid near the end of the season. With starting quarterback Kevin Jennings returning to Dallas, the opportunity is certainly there.

4. Louisville Cardinals (National Rank: 24)

Louisville continues its steady rise to national relevance under head coach Jeff Brohm, who returns for his third season in 2025. The Cardinals had not won nine games in a season since 2016 until it achieved that feat in both 2023 and 2024 under Brohm. Louisville has not enjoyed three consecutive nine-plus win seasons since 2012-2014, but that could certainly change this season.

They replaced quarterback Tyler Shough with USC transfer arm Miller Moss, who shredded the Cardinals in the 2023 Holiday Bowl. Along with returning two electric running backs and some nice defensive pieces, Louisville will be nationally relevant once again this season.

5. Florida State Seminoles (National Rank: 39)

Florida State at No. 5 in the ACC is a bit of a controversial slot for the SP+ Rankings, as the Seminoles suffered a miserable 2-10 season last year and were easily the worst team in the ACC. Mike Norvell‘s program however has brought in some key pieces from the Transfer Portal and are looking to get back to a bowl game this season.

College football fans will get an early look at whether or not the program is truly at the level it showed last season, or will once again be as nationally relevant as it was in 2023 when it narrowly missed out on the College Football Playoff. The Seminoles will host Alabama on Aug. 30 to kick-off the season.

6. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (National Rank: 41)

Georgia Tech is one of the most underrated teams in the conference heading into the 2025 season. In the second year of the Brent Key era in 2024, the pesky Yellow Jackets opened the season with a win over then No. 10 ranked Florida State, gave No. 4 Miami its first loss of the season on Nov. 9 and took No. 7 Georgia to 8OT in the regular season finale.

The program certainly showed signs of a breakthrough last season, and return all the tools (led by quarterback Haynes King) to make that a reality this season. The Jackets open the regular season at a Shedeur Sanders/Travis Hunter-less Colorado with an opportunity to impress on a national stage.

7. Virginia Tech Hokies (National Rank: 42)

There may not be a more under the microscope team in the ACC this season than the Virginia Tech Hokies. Head coach Brent Pry is heading into his fourth season, where he’s led the Hokies to a disappointing 16-21 record. They have failed to surpass the eight-win mark in five straight seasons and patience is wearing thin across Blacksburg.

Tech has a major opportunity to open the season with a bang, as it will face off against No. 13 South Carolina in Atlanta in the Aflac Kickoff Game. Unfortunately for Pry and Hokie fans, the program is 0-5 against top-25 ranked teams in the past three seasons. A win over the ‘Cocks could do wonders for the head coach.

8. Duke Blue Devils (National Rank: 43)

Newly hired head coach Manny Diaz brought some much needed relevance to the Duke Football program last season, as he led the Blue Devils to 9-4 record and an appearance in the Gator Bowl. The program has been on a bit of a run over the past three seasons, as it has won at least eight games in three straight years for the first time since 2013-15.

The program brought in star transfer quarterback Darian Mensah from Tulane to pair with a strong returning core on both sides. Be on the look out for this program this year, as it could make a strong push to be a top 3-4 team in the ACC this season.

9. NC State Wolfpack (National Rank: 46)

The 2024 season was an anomaly for NC State, which failed to win at least eight games in a season for just the second time since 2016. The Wolfpack opened ACC play 0-3 and just weren’t able to climb out of that hole to compete for a conference title. They ended up with a 3-5 conference record and ended up in the Military Bowl against East Carolina, in which it lost.

It opens the 2025 regular season against East Carolina in a bowl game rematch, in which fans will quickly get a glimpse at whether or not the Wolfpack will get back to their winning ways this season.

10. Pittsburgh Panthers (National Rank: 51)

Pittsburgh rounds out the top-ten of the preseason ACC Rankings, fresh off a season in which it went 7-6 with a loss to Toledo in the GameAbove Sports Bowl. The Panthers are heading into year 11 of the Pat Narduzzi era, in which it has finished ranked in the final AP Poll of the season in just two of his 10 seasons.

“The overall goal is to win a championship,” Narduzzi said at ACC Media Day. “Our guys break down on ACC champs every day. I said yesterday, ‘Hey, when we break down on that, it’s July, we’re a week away from camp opening up, like, you’d better mean it.’ Just don’t say it to say it, it’s say it to mean it.”

Teams 11-17

11. North Carolina Tar Heels (National Rank: 53)
12. Syracuse Orange (National Rank: 55)
13. Boston College Eagles (National Rank: 62)
14. California Golden Bears (National Rank: 64)
15. Virginia Cavaliers (National Rank: 74)
16. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (National Rank: 79)
17. Stanford Cardinal (National Rank: 82)