Going into last season, there was a lot of excitement surrounding the new 12-team College Football Playoff. Several teams were considered dark horses for the new system, including Virginia Tech. After a season-opening overtime loss at Vanderbilt was the start of a frustrating season that saw another 6-6 finish.
In the end, the ACC got two teams in the CFP, first-year member SMU and traditional powerhouse Clemson, the two teams that played in the conference title game. The Tigers won a thriller on a field goal as time expired, but neither team drew a top-eight seed, which meant both teams were on the road and lost in the first round, SMU at Penn State and Clemson at Texas.
This season the conference has some teams that will be looking to get into the field for the first time, but it feels with the SEC and Big Ten, it seems like the ACC has smaller wiggle room than the other two conferences. Regardless, here are three ACC teams who could make the expanded field in 2025.
3 ACC schools that could make the 2025 College Football Playoff field who didn’t in 2024
It wouldn’t be shocking to see Clemson back in the field this season, but it would be if SMU made it again with a more difficult schedule. Three other teams that could be dark horse conference teams to get in are Miami, Louisville, and North Carolina.
Miami replaced Cam Ward at quarterback with Carson Beck from Georgia, and more portal additions on both sides of the ball should put the Hurricanes in the mix. One question is, can Mario Cristobal get them over the top this year, as he has failed to the last couple of seasons in South Florida?
Louisville picked up USC transfer signal caller Miller Moss, and with Isaac Brown in the backfield and some key other skilled position players, the Cardinals are this season’s Virginia Tech from last fall in terms of a CFP darkhorse. Louisville will again be able to score, the question will be, can they get enough stops defensively?
The final team that could make the College Football Playoff from the ACC who didn’t in 2024 is North Carolina. Bill Belichick has had very interesting first six months on the job in Chapel Hill off the field, but can he put it together on the field? If he does, the Tar Heels could be a sneaky CFP pick.