Media days have come and gone, fall camp is on its last legs before game preparation takes hold and the onset of Week Zero means the 2025 college football season has officially arrived.
And what a season it should be.
The field chasing a national title might be as wide open as ever. There are dozens of teams that believe they’re in the College Football Playoff race. The Heisman Trophy field seems equally diverse from a famous last name in Austin, to the reigning champions in Columbus, Ohio, to a slew of contenders from coast to coast.
While that would normally make for a hazy crystal ball, ’sis perfectly clear at the moment. That’s, of course, subject to change once kickoff arrives, but after putting together a preseason Top 25, crafting some meticulous conference previews and diving into the biggest storylines in the sport, the 2025 campaign has certainly come into focus.
How will it all play out? Glad you asked.
Borrowing a page from our MMQB colleagues, it’s time to predict not just how the season will play out, but to unleash our inner degeneracy and lay down a winner and a loser for every game. While the NFL side of the shop only has to worry about 32 teams and 272 games, we’re supersizing that in college with every game from every Power 4 school plus Notre Dame. That’s a whopping 68 programs each playing 12 regular-season contests.
No need to do the math on that, just go ahead and enjoy knowing how this season will play out before it happens.
Predicting the Power 4ACCBig 12Big TenSECIndependent
MORE: Forty Observations on the 2025 College Football Schedule
In a slight contrast to last season when it needed a bit of help to make it to Charlotte, Clemson rolls through the conference it has lorded over much of the past decade with ease this season. Though Miami mounts a notable challenge given the heavy investments in its roster, the Hurricanes are not quite on the same level as the Tigers. SMU still has a great season in store despite losing a few more league games, while Duke and Pitt are among the teams that remain on the fringes of the conversation for bigger things. Don’t overlook Georgia Tech and Louisville as sleepers despite having a ton of toss-ups in ACC play. Syracuse takes a big step back against a much tougher slate than it had a year ago.
MORE: ACC Football Preview: Chaos Beyond CFP Hopefuls Make for Unpredictable League
Predicted ACC standings
Team
Overall Record
ACC Record
Clemson
11–1
8–0
Miami
10–2
7–1
Duke
9–3
6–2
SMU
9–3
6–2
Pitt
9–3
5–3
North Carolina
8–4
5–3
Georgia Tech
8–4
5–3
Louisville
8–4
4–4
Virginia Tech
7–5
5–3
Florida State
6–6
4–4
Cal
6–6
3–5
NC State
6–6
3–5
Virginia
5–7
2–6
Wake Forest
5–7
1–7
Boston College
4–8
2–6
Syracuse
3–9
1–7
Stanford
2–10
1–7
Here is how each ACC team fares this season, in alphabetical order:
