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2025 ACC Football Predictions with Odds and Expert Betting Advice

by Robert Ferringo - 8/18/2025

ACC football predictions Cade Klubnik Clemson Tigers

The existence of ACC football is one of the biggest reasons that SEC football and its troglodyte supporters have such inflated egos these days. Watching the ACC flop and flounder in the New Reality of College Sports has been a joy. And it has also elevated the status of their Southeastern rivals simply by comparison.

North Carolina. South Carolina. Florida. Kentucky. Georgia. The schools in the ACC all toil in the same part of the country as the SEC. But they are also clearly in the shadow of their college siblings. And the ACC’s soft, watered-down, sloppy and inconsistent brand of football makes them the idiot younger brothers of the Southeastern Big Boys.

Last year’s bowl season was a new low for the ACC. Despite stealing a playoff bid from the SEC into (SMU bounced Alabama), the ACC went a pathetic 2-12 in its 14 bowl games. That includes that same SMU squad getting wrecked at Penn State and Clemson losing to Texas by two touchdowns in the playoffs.

There’s nowhere to go but up?

The ACC enters 2025 with one national title contender (Clemson) and several other wannabes. More than that, though, it enters the fall with a lot of weak rosters, in-over-their-head coaches, and fan bases frustrated by the league’s growing irrelevance on the national stage.

We will see if the ACC can salvage some of its sagging reputation this season. Here is my 2025 ACC football conference preview, with odds to win the league in parentheses:

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The Favorite: Clemson (+110)

I give Dabo Swinney credit: he has been completely wrong with his resistance to the transfer portal and NIL, but he is committed to the bit. Clemson has lost 14 games over the last four years. That’s the same amount they dropped in the previous nine seasons combined. The Tigers still enter 2025 as a national championship favorite and this may be Swinney’s most complete roster of this decade. The Tigers steamrolled a feeble ACC last season to win the league title (their second in three years) and earn a spot in the playoffs. This year’s team is probably better. I’m not buying this team as a true title contender, though. I don’t think Cade Klubnik is an elite college quarterback and this team has too many, “Huh?” moments. Clemson has a massive home game to open the season, hosting LSU, and trips to Georgia Tech, Louisville and South Carolina won’t be easy. Clemson is the most talented and experienced roster in the ACC and should earn another league title. But this team isn’t winning another national championship.

The Contender: Miami (+380)

Last year a late slide, losing road games at Georgia Tech and Syracuse as double-digit favorites, sabotaged Miami’s dreams of making the college playoffs. The Hurricanes lost star quarterback Cam Ward, their top six receivers, their top rusher, and five of their top six defensive players from last year’s squad. Mario Cristobal hit the transfer portal hard to restock the cupboards and he has shown an ability to accumulate talent. Cristobal has increased his number of wins each of the past two seasons and now he’s looking to get Miami back over the hump and make them nationally relevant again. The problem is that Cristobal is a terrible in-game coach and Miami has been a perennial underachiever for most of this century. The Hurricanes, like Clemson, open with a marquee game (hosting Notre Dame). They don’t leave the state of Florida until November but they have several potential land mines on their schedule.

The Sleeper: Georgia Tech (+650)

Haynes King is one of the best college quarterbacks that no one talks about. King and head coach Brent Key have helped lift the Yellow Jackets out of the rubble of Geoff Collins’ post-triple option debacle. Georgia Tech plays a tough, physical style of football that makes them a fierce opponent every weekend. The Yellowjackets took down No. 4 Miami, No. 10 Florida State and should’ve beaten No. 6 Georgia last year, losing to the Bulldogs in eight overtimes and proving that these Jackets can play with anyone. If Tech can handle an opening week road trip to Colorado and a Sept. 13 home game against Clemson then the Yellowjackets have a schedule that could see them punch their way to the ACC title game.

The Spoiler: Louisville (+8000)

Louisville’s program has been trending upwards for five years. They are in Year 3 of Jeff Brohm’s tenure and are looking to earn the school’s first ACC title. I don’t think that Brohm has enough depth, especially on defense, to get the Cardinals there this season. They are going to be a major player in the league race, though, as they take on Miami, Clemson and SMU all in the back half of the year. USC transfer Miller Moss was a major grab in the transfer portal and will be guiding an offense that could top last year’s 36.5 points per game. Louisville is 19-8 straight-up over the past two seasons and five of those losses have come by a touchdown or less. They need to show some grit on defense and avoid goofy upsets like they suffered last season versus Stanford. If they do that the Cards will be a major player in the ACC in 2025.

The Overvalued Team: Duke (+3000)

The Blue Devils currently have the sixth-best odds to win the ACC. What? I think that this program way overpaid for Tulane transfer quarterback Darian Mensah, who is stepping up in class from the AAC. The Blue Devils (barely) beat a bunch of schlubs last year, needing double overtime to top Northwestern and winning by a combined 12 points against Connecticut, North Carolina and Wake Forest. The Blue Devils were No. 127 in the country in rushing and No. 108 in total offense last year. Duke has six true road games this fall, with two challenging back-to-back road trips, and I don’t see the talent level on this being capable of keeping them in the league’s top half.

The Undervalued Team: Pittsburgh (+3000)

This just kind of feels like a vintage Pat Narduzzi team. Narduzzi has his flaws as an in-game manager. His teams are great underdogs, though, and they are always a thorn in the side of top ACC squads. Pitt has the second-most returning starters of any team in the league this year (14), behind only Clemson. The Panthers started 7-0 last season and got up to No. 19 in the country. If they can take out rival West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl on Sept. 13 then there is a path to an 8-1 start. Sophomore quarterback Eli Holstein’s maturation is a major storyline for this group. Improvement under center, and fixing the defense, could make Pitt a surprise team in this muddled conference.

The Rest:

SMU (+850) – In its first year in the ACC, the 2024 Mustangs kicked down the league’s door, pissed in its living room, and punched its mom in the face. SMU barely missed winning the ACC title but still played its way into the college playoffs after stepping up from the AAC. Rhett Lashlee has guided SMU to 22 wins over the past two years and still has slick quarterback Kevin Jennings leading the squad. SMU lost some beef in the trenches. And they aren’t going to surprise anyone in the ACC this year. SMU has a tough nonconference slate (Baylor, TCU) and they won’t be able to dodge heavyweights Clemson and Miami this year.

Florida State (+2800) – Last year was a complete and total train wreck for the Seminoles. They opened the season in the Top 10 and with dreams of earning the playoff spot that they were robbed of in 2023. Instead, they lost 10 of 12 games and the team quit on head coach Mike Norvell. This year Florida State lost 10 of its top 16 tacklers and they will have 11 new starters on offense. The Seminoles should be able to regroup and still have talent. If FSU gets buried in its opener against Alabama then thoughts of year’s collapse could start to creep in.

Virginia Tech (+3500) – Does Brent Pry have any idea what he is doing? We’re heading into Year 4 of his tenure and there’s no way to tell if he is any better or worse than Justin Fuentes was. Tech was a disappointment last year after starting 2024 as a trendy sleeper pick in the ACC. The Hokies did have two overtime losses and three other losses by four points or less. The Hokies need to find a way to win those games. Quarterback Kyron Drones must stay healthy and be more productive in the passing game. Season-opening games against South Carolina and Vanderbilt are going to show us a lot about this group.

North Carolina (+4000) – Bill Belichick. Bill Belichick Bill Belichick Bill Belichick. That’s all we’ve heard about with this team for eight months. Can they play? That’s what we will find out soon enough. There has been major roster turnover and I still think the Tar Heels are devoid of talent. I think a bowl game should be the goal for this team. Remember: Deion Sanders’ first try with Colorado was a messy circus. I think we will see the same here in Chapel Hill.

N.C. State (+4,500) – If you’re still waiting for the Dave Doeren breakthrough at N.C. State after 12 years then you are just a fool. Doeren has done a good job of maintaining the Pack’s status as a mediocre program; The Pack is capable of the occasional nine-win campaign and Doeren has posted just three losing records. If he can’t turn around N.C. State’s defense – which allowed at least 21 points in every game and 30.2 points per game on the year – then the Wolfpack will be an afterthought again this season.

Syracuse (+7000) – Syracuse has the lowest returning production of anyone in the ACC and their number is among the lowest in the country. Their quarterback, top running back, top three receivers, and eight of their top 10 defenders, are gone. The Orange seem like they are starting over in Year 2 under Fran Brown. They also have a brutal schedule, with five games – all on the road – against teams in the preseason Top 20.

Virginia (+8000) – Somehow Tony Elliott earned a fourth year at Virginia, despite failing to take the Cavaliers to the postseason in any of his first three tries. On one hand, I appreciate Virginia taking a patient approach with a head coach. But Elliott may be out of road if he can’t make strides this season. Virginia was No. 120 in passing defense and No. 101 in total defense last year. If they can get some stops they have enough winnable games on the schedule (especially at home) where a bowl appearance isn’t out of the questions.

Boston College (+8000) – Say what you want about Bill O’Brien, but the guy has put together one of the best resumes of any former Belichick assistant. O’Brien will have a lot of roster turnover for Year 2 after a surprising 7-6 season in his first attempt at Chestnut Hill. B.C. has a rugged home schedule (Clemson, Notre Dame, SMU and Georgia Tech) and this team may be better ATS than W-L this season.

California (+15,000) – Justin Wilcox has dragged the Golden Bears to back-to-back bowl games. The Bears upset Auburn last year and lost games to Miami, Pitt and N.C. State by a combined four points. Losing Jayden Ott to the portal was killer and Cal lost more than it gained this offseason. The Bears avoid Clemson, Miami and FSU this year and have just enough wiggle room in that schedule where a third straight bowl isn’t out of reach.

Wake Forest (+50,000) – Dave Clawson did the Lord’s work in Winston-Salem for a long time, winning 11 games as recently as 2021. This program can’t compete in the transfer/NIL era and they brought in former Washington State head man Jake Dickert to take the reins. Wake lost 18 of 22 starters from last year’s group and this looks like a total rebuild.

Stanford (+50,000) – This is a mess. Andrew Luck is serving as “general manager” and Frank Reich is the stopgap head coach. Stanford was bereft of talent on the roster and that was before the spring exodus. All you need to know about the Cardinal: they are opening the season as road underdogs against lowly Hawaii.

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