Out of 183 media members who voted in the ACC Preseason poll, four, yes, four, voted for Florida State to win the ACC football crown in December. I’m proud to admit that I was one of the four. However, at the end of the day, Clemson, last season’s ACC Champion, was voted to win the conference by a landslide. One hundred sixty-seven media members voted for the Tigers to repeat as conference champions, with Miami coming in second with seven first-place votes.
Clemson is coming off a bounce-back season that started rocky with a blowout loss to Georgia, but then rebounded to go 10-4 overall, win the ACC Championship, and appear in their 7th College Football Invitational (also known as the College Football Playoff). SMU, last year’s ACC runner-up, and Georgia Tech each received two first-place votes, while Virginia Tech got one first-place vote.
FSU’s place in the preseason poll highlights the polarized opinion of the media on the potential of FSU to bounce back from its disastrous 2-10 season. Will Mike Norvell be able to resurrect the Noles back to a place among the national elites, or will this be another season where the Seminoles continue to live in the basement of college football? Interestingly, Duke, yes, that Duke, was projected ahead of FSU at sixth for the first time in ACC history (since FSU joined in 1991).
2025 ACC Football Predicted Order of Finish (Media Vote) Rk – Team – Points
First-place votes in parentheses (183 media voters)
Florida State will open the season on August 30th against 9th-ranked Alabama (from ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25 Ranking). Following games against East Texas A&M and Kent State, FSU will travel to Scott Stadium on a Friday night to face Virginia in its first ACC contest of the season. The Hurricanes come to town to kick off the month of October as the Noles look to avenge last season’s loss down in Miami. Pitt comes to town sporting a 6-5 record against the Noles lifetime, including 3-2 at Doak Campbell Stadium (winning the last two).
FSU will travel to Stanford, CA, to face the Cardinals for the first time in program history in an ACC After-Dark matchup (game is at 10:30 pm EST). The Demon Deacons of Wake Forest come to Doak Campbell Stadium before FSU heads to Death Valley to face preseason favorite, Clemson. FSU goes into that matchup having lost the last eight of nine matchups, including the last four of five at Memorial Stadium. The Noles will finish their home schedule against the Virginia Tech Hokies before heading into what has become a snake pit for FSU’s hopes and dreams. NC State will host the Noles at Carter-Finley Stadium on a Friday night, as FSU comes in having lost the last three games heartbreakingly in that stadium.
As usual, FSU will finish the season facing the Florida Gators, but this time, at The Swamp in Gainesville.
– Jesse’s thoughts: I guess I’m the bad cop this year because I had FSU sixth on my ballot. However, 2-7 were all pretty much tied, and then ranked according to my confidence that they hit the number. Scheduling is a major component of this, as teams like Duke avoid almost every top team in the conference (as we saw with SMU last year). One win could launch FSU as high as second and put them in contention for the title game. The truth is that this team is hard to predict, given all the changes. FSU ranked first in this poll last year and then proceeded to finish dead last in the conference. I am bullish on this team, but I’m ok with curbing expectations and letting them earn it throughout the season.
We here at Plant The Spear are excited for the season to kick off. And we don’t want you to miss one second of your source for authentic FSU coverage. Make sure you tune in on social media, the website, and our YouTube page for all things FSU Football as we kick off the 2025 college football season! Thanks for reading and Go Noles!
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