BOSTON COLLEGE
Coach: Bill O’Brien (7-6, second season; 22-15 overall in college football)
2024: 7-6 (4-4, T-8 ACC)
Buzz: BC lost a pair of second-round picks in OL Ozzy Trapilo and DE Donovan Ezeiruaku, raising questions up front about both lines; just two offensive linemen are back, and one defensive lineman returns. The Eagles have an open QB battle in camp between transfers Grayson James (FIU) and Dylan Lonergan (Georgia/Alabama). And the schedule could be daunting as BC faces four of the projected top five ACC teams (Clemson, Louisville, SMU and Georgia Tech) as well as plays host to Notre Dame.
CALIFORNIA
Coach: Justin Wilcox (42-50, ninth season; 42-50 overall)
2024: 6-7 (2-6, T-14 ACC)
Buzz: The Bears lost nearly two dozen players to the transfer portal, a massive loss of production that includes star RB Jadyn Ott (to Oklahoma) and QB Fernando Mendoza (to Indiana). Cal has just five returning starters, with only WR Trond Grizzell remaining on offense. Cal grabbed two key transfers in QB Devin Brown (Ohio State) and WR Jacob De Jesus (UNLV), but a defense led by LB Cade Uluave (74 tackles in nine games) will have to keep the games low scoring if the Bears are to have a fighting shot at a bowl.
CLEMSON
Coach: Dabo Swinney (180-47, 18th season; 180-47 overall)
2024: 10-4 (7-1, 2nd ACC but won league title game)
Buzz: Clemson has won 10 or more games in 13 of the last 14 seasons, and this group appears to be among the best Swinney has assembled. The Tigers are led by the league’s best quarterback in Cade Klubnik, who threw for 3,639 yards and 36 touchdowns in 2024. Add in three defensive stars who could be selected early in the 2026 NFL draft (DE T.J. Parker, DT Peter Woods and CB Aveion Terrell) and the Tigers have few question marks — aside from getting over the hump vs. the SEC after an 0-3 mark in 2024.
DUKE
Coach: Manny Diaz (9-4, second season; 30-19 overall)
2024: 9-4 (5-3, T-4 ACC)
Buzz: What Diaz achieved in his first year at Duke is worthy of celebration, a nine-win season with victories over UNC and FSU. Duke’s offense was often sluggish, so Diaz brought in Tulane QB Darian Mensah (2,723 yards, six INTs, 65.9 percent completion rate) and he’ll have four returning offensive linemen to protect him. Cornerback Chandler Rivers (54 tackles, 3 INTs) leads a defense that is undersized but stingy.
FLORIDA STATE
Coach: Mike Norvell (33-27, sixth season; 71-43 overall)
2024: 2-10 (1-7, 17th ACC)
Buzz: Norvell hit the reset button, adding a pair of new coordinators (Gus Malzahn on offense and Tony White on defense) while landing 23 transfers in the offseason. FSU could start an all-transfer offense, led by elusive-but-often-inaccurate QB Tommy Castellanos. The defensive line should be a strength, featuring Darrell Jackson, Nebraska transfer James Williams and Western Kentucky transfer Deante McCray.
GEORGIA TECH
Coach: Brent Key (18-16, fourth season; 18-16 overall)
2024: 7-6 (5-3, T-4 ACC)
Buzz: QB Haynes King led the ACC with a 72.9 completion percentage and had just two INTs, but now he has a rebuilt WR room led by Florida International standouts Eric Rivers (1,172 yards, 12 TDs) and Dean Patterson (685 yards, seven TDs). Add in RB Jamal Haynes with a veteran line, and this offense will be fun to watch. DT Jordan van den Berg leads a defense that should improve after giving up 31 or more points in five of six losses, a stat skewed by the 8OT loss to Georgia.
LOUISVILLE
Coach: Jeff Brohm (19-8, third season; 85-52 overall)
2024: 9-4 (5-3, T-4 ACC)
Buzz: Miller Moss (2,555 passing yards, 18 TDs and 9 INTs) departed Southern Cal for Louisville, where he could be the next big portal quarterback that coach Jeff Brohm has developed. RB Isaac Brown had a breakout freshman season, racking up 1,173 yards, 11 touchdowns and an impressive 7.1 yards per carry. The Cards could be 5-0 going into a showdown at Miami on Oct. 17, and they have difficult ACC matchups vs. Clemson and at SMU in November.
MIAMI
Coach: Mario Cristobal (22-16, fourth season; 84-76 overall)
2024: 10-3 (6-2, 3rd ACC)
Buzz: Miami was a failed-clock-management loss to Georgia Tech away from a CFP spot in 2024 but has restocked for a run in 2025. Transfer QB Carson Beck had back-to-back 3,000-yard seasons at Georgia but also had elbow surgery in the offseason. Miami has veteran experience on the offensive and defensive lines and has hit the portal to fill needs, such as WR CJ Daniels (2,439 yards and 21 TDs at Liberty and LSU).
NORTH CAROLINA
Coach: Bill Belichick (first season in college football)
2024: 6-7 (3-5, T-10 ACC)
Buzz: UNC created the most buzz in college football this offseason with Belichick’s hire and talk of assembling the NFL’s 33rd team in Chapel Hill. But how well did Belichick (302-165 in NFL) and the coaching staff fare in player development in the spring and preseason camp as they revamped the roster? There are questions everywhere, from who will start at quarterback to how many transfers will start on defense — but there will be no shortage of eyeballs on the Tar Heels this fall.
NORTH CAROLINA STATE
Coach: Dave Doeren (87-65, 13th season; 110-69 overall)
2024: 6-7 (3-5, T-4 ACC)
Buzz: Doeren also hit reset by hiring a pair of new coordinators, with Kurt Roper taking over the offense and D.J. Eliot guiding the defense. While there are scheme questions, QB CJ Bailey showed glimpses as a freshman (2,413 yards, 17 TDs and 10 INTs) and the Wolfpack return WR Noah Rogers (478 yards) as well as TE Justin Joly (661 yards, four TDs). NC State will need to stack wins early before playing Georgia Tech, at Miami, FSU and UNC in November.
PITTSBURGH
Coach: Pat Narduzzi (72-56, 11th season; 72-56 overall)
2024: 7-6 (3-5, T-10 ACC)
Buzz: If Pitt can find a level of consistency in 2025, a year after opening with seven wins and closing with six losses, the Panthers have the talent to challenge in the ACC. Running back Desmond Reid is electric, racking up 966 rushing yards and five TDs to go with 52 receptions for 579 yards and four TDs. Pitt’s defense struggled down the stretch last fall, and the challenge will be present again as the Panthers close with Notre Dame, travel to Georgia Tech and host Miami.
SMU
Coach: Rhett Lashlee (29-12, fourth season; 29-12 overall)
2024: 11-3 (8-0, 1st ACC, lost in league title game)
Buzz: QB Kevin Jennings had 3,245 passing yards and 23 TDs but the lasting memory is a turnover-filled CFP loss at Penn State. The Mustangs could again have a top-10 scoring offense, while the defense loaded up on transfers to complement DBs Ahmaad Moses and Isaiah Nwokobia. SMU earned a reprieve with a softer schedule in 2024 but will now face Baylor, TCU, Clemson, Miami and Louisville this fall.
STANFORD
Coach: Frank Reich (first season in college football)
2024: 3-9 (2-6, T-14 ACC)
Buzz: Reich (41-43 in NFL) was hired as interim head coach by Stanford GM Andrew Luck on March 31, and they started up spring ball the next day. Stanford has gone 3-9 in four consecutive years, and it’s tough to imagine a season much better in 2025. There are veterans across the OL and defense, but the talent gap between the Cardinal and the ACC will be considerable — and road trips to Hawaii, Virginia, SMU, Miami and UNC could take their toll.
SYRACUSE
Coach: Fran Brown (10-3, second season; 10-3 overall)
2024: 10-3 (5-3, T-4 ACC)
Buzz: A year after Brown guided the Orange to only their third 10-win season since 2001, a drop off is expected after losing QB Kyle McCord, TE Oronde Gadsden and RB LeQuint Allen to the NFL and star WR Trebor Pena to Penn State via transfer. Syracuse is banking on a large group of transfers, led by QBs Steve Angeli and Rickie Collins (LSU) as well as WR Johntay Cook II (Texas / Washington) to be productive. The Orange could face four potential CFP contenders away from home: Tennessee (at Atlanta), Clemson, Miami and Notre Dame.
VIRGINIA
Coach: Tony Elliott (11-23, fourth season; 11-23 overall)
2024: 5-7 (3-5, T-10 ACC)
Buzz: Virginia could be electric on offense with North Texas transfer QB Chandler Morris (3,774 passing yards, 31 touchdowns and 62.9 completion percentage) throwing to a deep group of receivers, led by UConn/James Madison transfer Cam Ross (1,799 yards in four college seasons). The Cavs lost six of their last seven games in 2024, and they weren’t close — five were by 10 or more points. Elliott needs to show some progress and a first bowl appearance for the program since 2019 would be just that.
VIRGINIA TECH
Coach: Brent Pry (16-21, 4th season; 16-21 overall)
2024: 6-7 (4-4, T-8 ACC)
Buzz: Pry is on the hot seat, five games below .500 at VT and with only a 7-6 mark in 2023 to build on. Aside from dual-threat QB Kyron Drones, who had 1,562 passing yards and 10 TDs in nine games, there are questions everywhere and little talent returning on offense. VT will face South Carolina and Vanderbilt early, and the ACC slate is tough with Georgia Tech, Louisville, FSU and Miami. If VT misses out on a bowl game, Pry could be out.
WAKE FOREST
Coach: Jake Dickert (First season at Wake; 23-20 overall)
2024: 4-8 (2-6, T-14 ACC)
Buzz: Dickert brought nine transfers from Washington State with him to Wake, which returns underrated RB Demond Claiborne (1,049 rushing yards, 11 TDs). Well-traveled QB Robby Ashford has thrown 309 college passes, with 11 TDs and 9 INTs at Auburn and South Carolina, after starting his career at Oregon. There are so many new pieces that reaching six wins will be tough, but it would be an accomplishment for Dickert in his first year.
