The confetti on the floor of Mercedes-Benz Stadium had barely been cleared away, and the calendar was yet to tick over into February when the 2025 ACC Football Schedule was released in its entirety. While not quite heralding the beginning of the new college football season, the release excites us for the fall, with the fate of 17 teams laid out like a roadmap to Bank of America Stadium in December.
There are must-see matchups aplenty in conference play alone, and we’ve attempted to rank the very best games on the 2025 ACC Football Schedule that you’ll want to circle on your calendar.
Top 10 Games on the 2025 ACC Football Schedule
10) East Carolina vs. NC State – Week 1
This ranking of the must-see matchups on the 2025 ACC Football Schedule was intended to feature conference-only clashes. But when a non-conference game kicks off the campaign and has this many storylines, it’s just far too good not to talk about.
By the time this game kicks off, East Carolina Pirates and NC State Wolfpack players will have had eight long months to stew on the last encounter.
WATCH: ECU, NC State Players Brawl at Military Bowl
On Dec. 28. at the Military Bowl, blood boiled and was ultimately spilled as an almighty scuffle closed out a thrilling encounter in Annapolis. Eight players were ejected as East Carolina edged a 26-21 win, their first since 2018. Far from an annual rivalry, any opportunity to watch these teams collide should be celebrated.
Two exciting quarterbacks, Kaitin Houser and CJ Bailey, will duke it out in Week 1.
9) Stanford vs. Virginia – Week 4
In the interest of inclusivity, I wanted to feature a game from every one of the 17 ACC teams in this list of must-see matchups. That’s not the easiest thing to do, especially when several of the conference combatants haven’t put the most exciting product together in recent seasons. The Stanford Cardinal and Virginia Cavaliers may fall under that description from last season.
Yet, their Week 4 clash on the 2025 ACC Football Schedule has an element of fanfare about it.
- Firstly, it’s the inaugural matchup between the two teams, having avoided each other last fall.
- Secondly, Virginia added AAC-leading quarterback Chandler Morris to lead the offense following the departure of Anthony Colandrea.
- Thirdly, Stanford should be better in Year 3 under Troy Taylor, right?
8) California vs. Virginia Tech – Week 9
Week 9. Thursday or Friday night. Lane Stadium. Need we say more?
There is nothing in the world of college football that screams “must-watch” than when Metallica’s Enter Sandman kicks in from the home of the Virginia Tech Hokies set to the dark sky of a midweek night. It is pure theatre and epitomizes everything that is great about the pride, passion, and pageantry of college football.
The vibes in Lane rn: immaculate #ThisIsHome | 📺 @accnetwork pic.twitter.com/1LRcuTlPa2
— Virginia Tech Football (@HokiesFB) September 3, 2023
With kick-off times yet to be released, this could be the only night game in Lane Stadium on the 2025 ACC Football Schedule. Furthermore, the California Golden Bears added some intriguing pieces in the college football transfer portal this offseason, notably quarterback duo Jaron Keawe Sagaolutele and Devin Brown.
Kyron Drones is back for Virginia Tech, so this could be a shootout.
7) Wake Forest vs. Duke – Week 14
While sitting outside the local catchment of the Duke Blue Devils, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and their Durham-based ACC counterparts still partake in a fierce annual rivalry. You might not consider that a matchup between these two teams constitutes a must-see matchup of the 2025 ACC Football Schedule, but you’d be dead wrong, and here’s why.
The last three editions of the game have all been close-fought affairs, with one score deciding the victor. Duke and Wake Forest both invested in highly-talent, extremely exciting quarterbacks this offseason, with the Blue Devils adding Darian Mensah and the Demon Deacons welcoming Deshawn Purdie. Wake Forest also has a new head coach for the first time since 2014, shaking things up some.
6) Louisville vs. Miami – Week 8
Jeff Brohm has revitalized Louisville Cardinals football over the past two seasons. He’s led the team to consecutive nine-plus-win seasons for the first time in a decade and ensured the team featured in the AP Poll and CFP Rankings in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history. After missing out last fall, his team is looking to return to the ACC Championship Game in 2025.
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One of the teams set to stand between the Cardinals and that goal will be the Miami Hurricanes. The Hurricanes invested in former Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck after tasting transfer portal success with Cam Ward in 2024. The two played out a barnstorming 52-45 clash in Kentucky last fall, and this must-see matchup will draw a national audience as a Friday night game.
5) Boston College vs. Pittsburgh – Week 6
As part of the scheduling format announced when the ACC expanded to 17 teams and removed divisions, there are 16 protected annual rivalries. Nestled amongst a host of other must-see matchups in Week 6 of the 2025 ACC Football Schedule is a potential belter between the Boston College Eagles and Pittsburgh Panthers.
The last four encounters in Pennsylvania have been one-score games.
After winning in Chestnut Hill last fall, Bill O’Brien’s Eagles are just two games back from the Panthers in the all-time record and will look to close that gap on October 4. Boston College did a stellar job in the transfer portal and recruiting this offseason and looks to establish itself as a true contender behind the established front runners.
However, Eli Holstein has the talent to make Pitt a formidable foe.
4) Clemson vs. North Carolina – Week 6
Between 2014 and 2019, there were two dominant forces in college football and the NFL. The New England Patriots won the Super Bowl in 2014, 2016, and 2018, while the Clemson Tigers won a national championship in 2016 and 2018 but fell short at the finish line in 2015 and 2019.
Those two programs and their head coaches redefined what being dominant in a sport meant.
Those two head coaches meet in Week 6 of the 2025 ACC Football Schedule. There are storylines wherever you look at the Clemson Tigers and North Carolina Tar Heels this season.
There are statistics that you could fill pages of copy with. You could listen to podcasts about the Xs and Os for hours. But what makes this a must-see matchup is Dabo Swinney vs. Bill Belichick. Oct. 4. Get your popcorn.
3) Syracuse vs. Georgia Tech – Week 9
History teaches us that, eventually, there will be a changing of the guard. Dominance comes and goes in waves, and so do coaches. When Swinney and Belichick join Nick Saban in the broadcast booth with their clipboards and whistles hung in the college football coach’s retirement home, two more will come to take their place.
Fran Brown and Brent Key are well-positioned to elevate themselves accordingly.
Brown was clearly one of the best first-year coaches in college football last year. He turned Kyle McCord from a misfit into a machine and made Syracuse Orange football nationally relevant. Key has instilled a culture at Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket football that made a Week 0 win over the Florida State Seminoles seem like the standard all along.
This matchup should feature some seriously good football.
2) Miami vs. Florida State – Week 6
Was what happened to Florida State in the 2024 college football season simply a one-off, an extended hangover from an offseason spent commiserating their College Football Playoff snub? Or was it something worse?
We’re quickly going to discover who the Seminoles are as a program under Mike Norvell in 2025 as they face the Alabama Crimson Tide in Week 1 before taking on Miami in Week 6.
MORE: ‘Miami Doesn’t Have a Cam Ward’ Warns Analysts
There’s a local rivalry here, of course, and the Seminoles will want to avenge a significant shellacking from the 2024 season. Yet, ultimately, what makes this a must-see matchup is that both teams should be good enough to challenge either at or near the top of the ACC.
Subsequently, this collision of college football powerhouses could pave the pathway to the 2025 ACC Championship Game.
1) SMU vs. Clemson – Week 8
For two quarters in early December, you’d have written off this clash between Clemson and the SMU Mustangs as one-sided drivel, an unfortunate byproduct of college football realignment and expansion.
But just two quarters later, a remarkable comeback from the once-Group of Five powerhouse that courted College Football Playoff controversy sets the table for what should be the must-see matchup on the 2025 ACC Football Schedule.
There’s a feeling that Clemson could be unmissable this coming season. Star talent like quarterback Cade Klubnick is returning, and young, talented playmakers are emerging at various positions. The hire of Tom Allen as defensive coordinator ensures that both sides of the ball hold up their end of the bargain this fall. There’s a lot to love about Tigers football and the possibilities it holds in 2025.
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But the same could be said of SMU. Kevin Jennings didn’t begin the season as the de facto starting quarterback for the Mustangs. Yet, he fought off highly-regarded passer Preston Stone and is now firmly entrenched as QB1. Another year older, another year wiser, his dual-threat ability in an up-tempo offense should make him one of the most dangerous players in the country.
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