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These 3 ACC football teams stand the best chance of improving by at least 3 wins in 2025
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Three wins.
It doesn’t sound like a lot in the context of at least a 12-game college football season. But it’s a quarter of the regular season. And that makes improving by at least 3 victories from 1 year to the next a lot more difficult than it might seem.
Still, it’s not impossible.
Even though Pitt probably considers 2024 a disappointment after losing its final 6 games, the Panthers were actually one of the nation’s most improved teams. By starting the year with 7 straight victories, they were 4 wins better than they were in 2023 when they went 3-9.
Syracuse also made a 4-win jump by going 10-4 in coach Fran Brown’s first season.
While those at the bottom of the standings have a better opportunity to make a dramatic improvement, that’s not the only way to do it. Miami improved from 7 wins to double-digits by going 10-3 thanks to the arrival of Heisman finalist quarterback Cam Ward.
So who are the most likely ACC candidates to improve by 3 wins in 2025?
Here are 3 teams to watch:
Florida State
2024 record: 2-10
It’s unlikely that the Seminoles will make a quantum leap back to the top of the ACC standings after last season’s crash and burn. But with the bar set so low, along with the additions of 2 new coordinators and another large class of incoming transfers, you’d think Mike Norvell’s team could almost get to 5 wins by accident.
Even with a challenging opener against Alabama in Tallahassee, FSU has an opportunity to match its 2024 win total by Week 4 with East Texas A&M and Kent State – a team that went 0-12 last season – up next. And the rest of the schedule is manageable, even with a trip to Clemson and rivalry games against Miami and Florida.
How much (if any) the Seminoles improve in 2025 will likely depend on how well offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn and his new quarterback, Boston College transfer Thomas Castellanos, work together. And how quickly they’re able to mesh.
If there’s 1 thing going in their favor, they can’t be much worse than OC Alex Atkins and QB DJ Uiagalelei were a year ago.
North Carolina
2024 record: 6-7
The Tar Heels certainly made a splash by hiring 6-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick as their new coach. They figure to be as much a curiosity item nationally as Colorado was in Year 1 under Coach Prime.
But let’s not get carried away.
Belichick was a great NFL coach, maybe even the best ever. But he’s 72 and this is the first time he’ll have worked with college kids. And Tom Brady won’t be playing quarterback for him.
Belichick will have the benefit of a schedule that lends itself to a 4-0 start with an opening stretch against TCU, Charlotte, Richmond and UCF. After a challenging ACC opener against Clemson in Chapel Hill on Oct. 4, the rest of the conference slate is anything but intimidating.
While I’m not ready to subscribe to the Belichick bump and proclaim UNC an immediate contender for the ACC championship, the opportunity for at least a 3-game improvement to the 9-win mark is a realistic goal depending on how much the new coach and his staff deepen the talent pool during the spring transfer window.
Virginia
2024 record: 5-7
The Cavaliers saved coach Tony Elliott’s job by improving from 3 wins to 5 in 2024. But after losing the season finale to rival Virginia Tech and falling short of bowl eligibility, it might just be a reprieve if they don’t build on the momentum and make an even bigger jump in 2025.
There are some major obstacles to overcome in order for that to happen, not the least of which is finding replacements for quarterback Anthony Colandrea, leading receiver Malachi Fields and 2-time All-ACC safety Jonas Sanker. But Elliott and his staff have been aggressive on the portal to fill those voids. The most notable addition has been quarterback Chandler Morris from North Texas (by way of Oklahoma and TCU), whose father Chad once worked with Elliott while on Dabo Swinney’s staff at Clemson.
The biggest reason for optimism heading into 2025, beyond last season’s improvement, is a schedule similar to the one that helped Syracuse make its jump up the ACC standings a year ago.
The Cavaliers don’t play Clemson. Or SMU. Or Syracuse. Assuming Florida State doesn’t make a miraculous recovery, their toughest conference game is at Louisville. All the others – Stanford, FSU, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech at home, UNC, Cal and Duke on the road – are reasonably winnable 50-50 games. Throw in a nonconference quartet of Coastal Carolina, William & Mary, Washington State and NC State (no, that’s not a typo), and 8 wins – maybe more – are absolutely within reach.
Award-winning columnist Brett Friedlander has covered the ACC and college basketball since the 1980s.
