College football writer Phil Steele predicted his order of finish for the ACC ahead of the 2025 college football season. It should be a competitive race for the conference crown and some College Football Playoff spots.

Clemson returns as the defending ACC champions and is projected to perhaps do so again. SMU, Miami and maybe a couple of other teams could have something to say about that.

Without further ado, let’s dive into how the ACC could wind up this year. We start at the top!

Clemson is the favorite in the ACC and the projected top team per Steele. Cade Klubnik is back under center following a career year.

Sure, he’s the headliner on the team in 2025, but Dabo Swinney has a solid defense. There are two potential first round picks on the defense line: TJ Parker and Peter Woods.

SMU made the ACC title game last season against Clemson, lost, but still made the College Football Playoff. We’ll see if that’s still the case this coming season.

Kevin Jennings returns as the QB and it’ll help to have WR Jordan Hudson (no, not the one you’re thinking of), TE RJ Maryland and offensive linemen such as Addison Nichols, Logan Parr and PJ Williams up front.

Miami landed Carson Beck in the transfer portal from Georgia to replace Cam Ward at QB. That was the biggest get for their offseason and they are squarely in the ACC title mix.

Running back Mark Fletcher will be key in the backfield, as well as WR CJ Daniels. On defense, DE Rueben Bain, CB OJ Frederique and LB Wesley Bissainthe will be key to the entire unit.

Steele likes what Brent Key is doing at Georgia Tech and has them in the upper tier of the ACC this season. On offense, WR Eric Rivers and offensive lineman Keylan Rutledge are stars to watch, with QB Haynes King getting them the ball.

Not to mention, RB Jamal Haynes is a stud as well. Defensive tackle Jordan van der Berg should be a problem for opposing offensive lines as well.

Florida State was a disaster last year, but Steele likes them to finish within the top five of the ACC this season. QB Thomas Castellanos has the talent, but also a ton of confidence that some are hoping won’t backfire when FSU plays Alabama to open the year.

Some other playmakers include WR Duce Robinson and CB Jeremiah Wilson. Head coach Mike Norvell really needs a bounce back campaign.

Jeff Brohm and company were picked to finish in the top half of the ACC by Steele for the 2025 season. Isaac Brown and Caullin Lacy should be fun to watch at RB and WR. Transfer QB Miller Moss has a lot of eyes on him after leaving USC.

Linebacker Stanquan Clark leads the defense for the Cardinals this season. Defensive linemen Clev Lubin, Rene Konga and TJ Quinn should be circled on the film too.

The ACC gets some new blood with Bill Belichick this season. The Tar Heels are like Colorado when Deion Sanders took over in 2023: everything will be microanalyzed.

As far as what the Tar Heels have, RB Davion Gause will be interesting to watch, as well as offensive lineman Daniel King. On defense, watch out for CB Thaddeus Dixon.

Pitt is projected to be just above the middle of the ACC this coming season, per Steele. They’re coming off a 7-6 season, losing to Toledo in the GameAbove Sports Bowl.

RB Desmond Reid is back in the fold, along with center Lyndon Cooper leading the charge up front on the offensive line. Kenny Johnson will add to the skill on offense at WR and linebacker Kyle Lewis will be one to watch on the opposite side of the ball. Oh yeah, Reid is one of the best returnmen in the country too.

NC State is projected to finish in the middle of the pack, per Steele. Can they rise up the ACC this season? It remains to be seen.

TE Justin Joly might be flying under the radar outside the conference, but Steele has him on his preseason first-team. Linebacker Sean Brown is also a stud and should be a menace for opposing defenses.

Duke played really well under Manny Diaz last season. However, Steele has the Blue Devils in the middle tier of the ACC going into 2025.

There are some preseason first-team players though, such as OT Brian Parker and DB Chandler Rivers. Perhaps the Blue Devils are under the radar.

Brent Pry seems to be pushing some right buttons, but the Hokies have yet to get over that hump. Steele has them below the median in the ACC.

As far as the players on Steele’s All-ACC list, it starts at the second-team with offensive lineman Tomas Rimac. TE Benji Gosnell is also a player to watch for the Hokies this season.

Fran Brown had an awesome debut season with the Orange. It helped that QB Kyle McCord was under center, but now he’s off to the NFL.

Steele has Syracuse taking a step back in the ACC this coming season. Still, with the way Brown coaches and recruits, don’t be surprised if this time stuns a few people.

Tony Elliott needs a breakthrough year and to get to the postseason. Steele thinks they can do it in this year’s ACC, but it won’t mean much in terms of the race for the conference crown.

There are nine returning starters for the Cavaliers this season. At some point, something has to give, whether Elliott takes a step forward with the program or not.

O’Brien had a great debut season with Boston College, going 7-6. However, Steele doesn’t like them to finish too far out of the basement of the ACC this year.

According to Steele, there’s 12 returning starters, but BC has the third toughest schedule in the conference. Some players to watch for are OL Logan Taylor and safety KP Price, named to Steele’s preseason All-ACC teams.

Justin Wilcox is on the hot seat, Steele writes. Finishing near the bottom of the ACC won’t help that narrative either.

The Bears felt some losses in the transfer portal and don’t have much star power represented in the preseason right now. We’ll see if Cal can surprise some people this fall.

Jake Dickert takes over as head coach after coming over from Washington State. He did a solid job out west but it might take some time to get it going in the ACC.

The good news is, Dickert and Wake had 11 returning starters and attacked the transfer portal. So maybe some good news is on the way in Year 1.

At the bottom of the ACC for Steele is Stanford, which goes into 2025 with Frank Reich as the interim head coach and former QB Andrew Luck in his role as GM, looking to resurrect the program. How this goes is anyone’s guess, but Steele maintained he wasn’t the only one to pick Stanford to finish last.

Tight end Sam Roush should be a player to watch out for on offense. Others are offensive lineman Simione Pale and kicker Emmet Kenney.