Revisiting August’s preseason ACC football power rankings

With the calendar about to flip, and the offseason quickly approaching/already here for many programs around the country, I decided to take a look back at the preseason ACC rankings I wrote back in August

to see how they stacked up to the actual results of the season.

Going back, I found some solid predictions, as well as some regrettably bad ones. Below is a rundown of the preseason ACC Media Poll, my STL predictions, and the actual results of the regular season.

And, in the name of transparency, a breakdown of the three best and three worst ranking predictions, including the Virginia Cavaliers.

Biggest hits

Pitt

STL Projection: 6th

Finish: 6th

I had Pitt as the biggest sleeper team in the league, saying the Panthers were capable of finishing in the top four and could “make things interesting at the end of the year to potentially punch a ticket to Charlotte.“ Both nearly happened, as Pat Narduzzi’s team finished the regular season at 8-4 and 6-2 in the ACC, losing to Miami in the final week of the season to eliminate itself from title game contention.

Turns out, that final three game stretch of Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, and Miami proved out to be as tough as advertised, though the Panthers were able to shock Yellow Jackets with a few timely takeaways in their 42-28 win in Atlanta to salvage a 1-2 record during the stretch. The Panthers dropped their bowl game to ECU in ugly fashion, 23-17, but did have some younger guys make plays on the defensive side of the ball that could help them in ’26.

Louisville

STL Projection: 7th

Finish: 7th

The preseason hype surrounded mostly around Louisville’s offense heading into this year. The addition of Miller Moss to go with the running back tandem of Isaac Brown and Keyjuan Brown backed that up as making some sense. But it ended up being the performance of a much-improved defense that carried the Cardinals, while the offense struggled with a combination of turnovers and unlucky injuries that hindered its ability to consistently play to its potential even with guys like Caullin Lacy and Chris Bell on the outside as gamebreakers.

The Cardinals felt so close yet so far from being a legit threat in the league. One week you’d see a dominant defensive performance against then No. 2 Miami, and a few weeks later, a three-game losing streak with losses to Cal and Clemson teams playing for far less.

I had them finishing seventh, which is where they landed in the end. With constant turnovers, struggling on third down, and owning the sixth-most penalty yards in the league squandering away what could have been a better year in Louisville.

On the bright side for Cardinal fans, Isaac McKneely is averaging 11 points per game heading into conference play on the hardwood.

NC State

STL Projection: 9th

Finish: 9th

Looking back, NC State was the most accurate prediction of all 17 teams:

“Dave Doeren’s teams have stayed relatively consistent throughout the years, anywhere from six to nine has been the sweet spot, with Wolfpack fans certainly looking for that big-time year where the program breaks into the upper echelon of the league. 2025 won’t be that year, but this team will find a way to still go bowling.”

The Wolfpack finished the regular season 7-5, taking the same ninth spot I had them at in the league. CJ Bailey and co. have since won their bowl game against Memphis to cap the year with an eighth victory, but in a wide open year in the league, I can’t help but think Wolfpack fans are somewhat bummed with another good, not great season.

The Pack did pick up two of the best wins of any ACC team, knocking off UVA in an early-September shootout and handing No. 8 Georgia Tech for its first loss of the year in November. Bailey showed flashes of brilliance in a number of high scoring games (including those two wins) and that’s enough of a reason to feel optimistic about this team in ‘26, assuming NC State does everything it can to keep him in Raleigh once portal season *officially* begins on January 2nd.

Biggest misses

Clemson

STL Projection: 1st

Finish: 11th

Hand up, I bought all of the Clemson stock heading into 2025 and I’m ashamed to admit it here in December. An experienced quarterback, one of the better defensive line groups on paper, and a solid group of receivers all garnered hype by almost anyone who talked about the ACC before the season, including me. But the Tigers did little but underachieve from the moment the season kicked off.

Finishing the year 7-6 and a mediocre 4-4 in conference play, Dabo Swinney’s team finished 10 spots worse than preseason expectations, and even lost to Syracuse — at home! In fairness, Cuse did have its starting QB Steve Angeli on the field at that time, but no need to let context get in the way of the comedy that is the preseason No. 4 team in the country losing to the eventual dead-last finisher in its own league. Only in college sports.

Perhaps the failure of this season will be the year that vaults the Tigers into the bag game that is the transfer portal, a game Swinney has repeatedly elected not to go all-in on. Until then, maybe we should all pledge to remain skeptical of any and all future Clemson teams, it feels like the only option at this point. A brutal loss to Penn State in the Pinstripe Bowl might have already radiated that sentiment throughout much of Clemson’s fanbase. Man, that game was a tough watch.

Virginia

STL Projection: 10th

Finish: 1st

The stars aligned this year for UVA and Tony Elliott. Newfound NIL resources, a favorable schedule, and the vast majority of the transfer portal class proving themselves as impact players. The signs were there before the season with the talent and depth exceeding rosters from the past five years, but my biggest fear going into the year was that this team, despite all of those factors, still wore UVA logos on its uniforms. There had been little reason up until this year to be confident in a Virginia football team, and as a result, I ranked the ‘Hoos accordingly at 10 with the hope it would age like milk.

And it definitely did.

2025 was an all-time great season for the program. From ripping off seven-straight wins from September to November, nearly all of which came down to the final snap, climbing in the polls week after week, to controlling — for the entirety of four quarters — the rivalry game that has felt cursed for the better part of two decades. This season was special, even with how things went in the ACC title game (But boy, it would have been cool to win.) Holding an SEC team scoreless for nearly the entire game and the best running back in the country in Ahmad Hardy under 100 yards rushing for a program-record 11th win will have to do for now. The ’Hoos are finally trending up going into an offseason for the first time in a long time.

Wake Forest

STL Projection: 15th

Finish: 8th

Maybe it should have been more obvious that the Demon Deacons were capable of a big year with how light their schedule was as well. An opening night slugfest with Kennesaw State (who ended up being pretty dang good at 10-4) likely had most people feeling pretty confident that Jake Dickert’s first season would be as tough a rebuild as any. But, like the ‘Hoos, the Deacs took advantage of their schedule, going 6-2 in their final eight games with a one-point win over SMU and road wins over Virginia Tech and UVA during that span. The Deacs outperformed expectations, finishing squarely in the middle of the pack in the ACC.

Finishing the regular season at 8-4 with a chance to grab win number nine against an SEC team in Mississippi State is as good as any Wake fan could have have asked for back in August. Wake’s defense was as legit as any UVA faced all season long and for that, I apologize to Jake Dickert and his staff….I was clearly unfamiliar with your game four months ago.