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One year after their schedule was christened as the league’s most favorable in these very rankings, Syracuse now finds itself on the other end of the conference rotation. Luckily Fran Brown cashed in on last year’s slate with a 10-win season because the team could still be close to the same caliber and still find a step down in terms of the final record. The Orange not only have the toughest conference schedule draw with road games at Clemson, SMU and Miami but also face Tennessee and Notre Dame away from home in nonconference play.2
Florida State faces a schedule that could include as many as four preseason top 25 opponents — depending on where voters rank rival Florida. Either way, the Seminoles will definitely take on three teams with legitimate College Football Playoff hopes in Alabama, Miami and Clemson. But given Florida State’s projected win total, the program isn’t starting the season among that group of contenders. Mike Norvell is counting on offseason changes to correct last year’s struggles, but with a schedule this tough, a return to title contention may still be a year away.3
Annual rivalries with both Georgia and Clemson have left Georgia Tech with one of the toughest schedules in the ACC since the league expanded to two divisions in 2005. But this year is actually a reprieve considering the Yellow Jackets avoid Notre Dame, Miami, SMU and Louisville. It speaks to the annual challenge for Brent Key that the “easier” years still have him with a top-five toughest schedule in the ACC, but that’s the way it goes for the Rambling Wreck.4
Drawing BYU and Notre Dame as nonconference opponents adds to a league slate that includes road trips to both SMU and Miami. Making matters worse, those games against ACC contenders come in the midst of a five week back-and-forth with road games in Dallas, Miami and Chapel Hill sandwiching around home dates with Florida State and Pitt. There’s simply no chance for Stanford to get settled until about 10 games into the season, at which point the Cardinal’s fate may already be sealed.5
Notre Dame cycles onto the schedule once again — this time in the same year as a road trip to Michigan State. That adds even more weight to a slate that already includes Clemson, SMU and Louisville in conference play. The most interesting wrinkle could be whether Boston College can find some home-field magic. The Eagles play five home games in a six-week stretch, with three visitors — Clemson, Notre Dame and SMU — carrying College Football Playoff hopes into the season. Boston College may not be a playoff contender itself, but it could still have a major say in the CFP race.6
Clemson can’t play itself, but it’s scheduled to play many of the other top teams in the ACC along with a season opener against LSU and its rivalry week finale at South Carolina . The Tigers have an ACC title game rematch with SMU in Week 8, a revenge opportunity against Louisville in Week 12 and not many opponents that are projected to be near the bottom of the league. Given Clemson’s big-picture expectations, a tough schedule is welcomed, but it’s notable there aren’t many chances for the Tigers to catch their breath with a surefire win.7
The Hurricanes typically do a good job of putting at least one high-profile nonconference game on the schedule. This year they have two with the second leg of a home-and-home against Florida and a massive season opener against Notre Dame in Week 1. Both of those games are at home, which takes some of the teeth away from the challenge, but those opponents raise Miami’s schedule to a respectable strength rating — especially when you add in games against both Louisville and SMU in conference play.8
With no Clemson or Miami on the schedule last season, SMU entered its first year in the ACC with an opportunity to hit the ground running. The Mustangs did just that, going 8-0 in conference play and making the ACC Championship Game as well as the CFP. Now things are a bit more difficult, with both Clemson and Miami rotating onto the schedule to pair with Louisville for a tough conference draw. The nonconference slate could be tricky as well, with SMU facing in-state foes Baylor and TCU before the end September.9
A manageable start to the 2025 schedule really opens up in Week 8 as Louisville will have seven consecutive games to close the season with no off weeks. That run includes road dates against Miami and SMU as well as high-profile home games against Clemson and Kentucky . The nonconference portion of the schedule offers some opportunity to stack wins (Eastern Kentucky , JMU, Bowling Green) but that’s balanced out by one of the toughest conference draws in the league.10
Notre Dame cycles back onto the schedule for Pitt as one of the great rivalries of the 20th Century is renewed for the 73rd time. That, of course, is a tougher opponent than Pitt might otherwise face in the nonconference portion of the schedule, especially with a road game edition of the Backyard Brawl in Week 3. Still, Pitt catches a bit of a break with no Clemson or SMU, and gets some well-timed off weeks in advance of playing both Louisville and Notre Dame at home.11
A pressure-packed season for Brent Pry and the Hokies opens with back-to-back dates against SEC foes, first playing South Carolina in Atlanta in Week 1 then hosting Vanderbilt back in Blacksburg in Week 2. But then the schedule lightens up a bit, and the Hokies will have a chance to really build the season up before some of the toughest games in ACC play. “Enter Sandman” could be the X-factor in Virginia Tech’s ACC record in 2025, because there’s no Clemson or SMU on the schedule and both of the tougher challenges (Louisville and SMU) will be making the trip to Blacksburg.12
There are two daunting road trips on NC State’s schedule — first facing Notre Dame in South Bend as the seventh game in a row without an off week and then traveling to play Miami in Hard Rock Stadium in November. But the Wolfpack catch some nice breaks that could help their final record. They don’t play Clemson, SMU or Louisville in conference play and get some of the tougher conference opponents (Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Florida State) in Carter-Finley Stadium.13
Nine of Duke’s 11 FBS opponents were bowl teams last season, but outside of Clemson the Blue Devils aren’t exactly punching up against the competition. Duke does not play Miami, Louisville or SMU this season and gets its toughest nonconference opponent (Illinois) in Durham. There are some schedule quirks that could be challenging, like the cross-country travel with road games at Syracuse and Cal in back-to-back weeks, but Duke should feel good about its ability to compete and win against most of its schedule.14
This might be a little low when travel issues are taken into consideration, as there are a couple spots on the schedule where the Bears are crossing multiple time zones without an off week. There’s a San Diego-to-Boston-to-Berkley run in the first half of the season, then a ping-ponging tour from Berkley-to-Blacksburg-to-Berkley-to-Louisville starting in mid-October. In terms of opponents there’s no Clemson or Miami, and Minnesota is the toughest nonconference draw, but navigating the season won’t be “easy” by any stretch.15
The first year of the Bill Belichick era brings plenty of attention and excitement from the outside. There’s also an opportunity to hit the ground running with a favorable conference draw. The Tar Heels get a week off before hosting Clemson and another bye after to recover. They then avoid arguably next three most challenging teams in the league (Miami, SMU, Louisville). The margins might be thin for a roster that’s been totally reloaded with transfers and true freshmen, but North Carolina won’t look out-classed when it gets off the bus on most Saturdays.16
This is a strong Year 1 schedule for Jake Dickert as it provides some great opportunities for development at both the beginning and end of the season. Kennesaw State and Western Carolina are the first two opponents out of the gate, and then the Demon Deacons will host Delaware in November in between rivalry games against North Carolina and Duke. There’s no Clemson, Miami or Louisville on the slate, and the SMU game is at home after a bye. If this team can win as a favorite, steal a couple coin flips and pull an upset it could be a big bounce-back season for the program.17
A busy offseason aligns with one of the more favorable schedules to set up what could be coach Tony Elliot’s long-awaited breakthrough with the program. Virginia brings in 31 players the portal (it only took 22 total over the previous two offseasons) and face a schedule that lacks Clemson, Miami and SMU. The toughest nonconference game is actually against an ACC peer in NC State, so if Virginia can hold serve as a favorite it might need only one or two upsets to be bowl eligible for the first time since 2021.