College Football Playoff Rankings Sound the Alarm for ACC Contenders

Fire up the outrage machine, my friends, because we have the first edition of the 2025 College Football Playoff rankings.

Do we know things will change? Sure do.

Should we put much stock into the Top 25? Probably not!

Nevertheless, the CFP selection committee has provided an easy talking point. In short, there's not a whole lot of love for the ACC.

One month ago, this storyline seemed unlikely. Miami surged to an impressive 5-0 start, taking down Notre Dame, South Florida, Florida and Florida State—three of which, in the moment, were Top 25 victories. The dominance of Miami's offensive and defensive lines was undeniable.

Two losses later, however, what could've been a highly ranked Miami team instead opened the CFP rankings in 18th—behind three ACC adversaries.

Granted, to be honest, not by much.

Virginia (14th), Louisville (15th) and Georgia Tech (17th) understandably are in front of the 'Canes. There's no serious debate about that specific order. Simultaneously, each member of the trio holds a one-loss record yet all trail—in descending order—two-loss Utah, Oklahoma, Texas and Notre Dame.

While that's a defensible choice from the committee, it sends a clear message to the ACC: You're trending toward one automatic bid, and nothing else.

Virginia has been a pleasant surprise, rising from a 5-7 record last year to the brink of a trip to the ACC Championship Game. Virginia is 8-1 overall and has removed the preseason hot seat for fourth-year coach Tony Elliott.

But the Wahoos don't exactly have a dramatic list of victories. That's the problem for their one-loss ACC counterparts, too.

Virginia earned a then-notable win over Florida State, which has since imploded. The head-to-head triumph over Louisville is surely why UVA sits one spot ahead of the Cards, who have upended Miami and Pitt—ranked 24th, by the way—on the road but boast little else of significance.

Rounding out the group, Georgia Tech has toppled Clemson—again, a once-impactful and now-mediocre win—and, uh, Wake Forest and Duke. Last weekend's loss to North Carolina State considerably stung the Yellow Jackets.

The greatest issue, however, is their upcoming schedules aren't much help.

Georgia Tech is the lone exception, staring down a closing stretch of Boston College, No. 24 Pitt and No. 5 Georgia. If the Jackets sweep them to finish 11-1 but fall short of the ACC title game due to tiebreakers, there will likely still be an argument for Georgia Tech to swipe an at-large invitation.

Virginia, though? Louisville? Not so much.

Wake Forest, Duke and Virginia Tech remain on UVA's slate, and Louisville has Clemson, SMU and Kentucky. Even if you want to include Miami, a final run of Syracuse, NC State, Va Tech and Pitt is unimpressive at best.

Widespread chaos, in theory, could be a savior for the ACC's multi-bid hopes. Mass attrition in front of these programs, while improbable, is possible.

But that's a bleak outlook for the first week of November.

Look, the history of college football is a caution to not overreact. Upsets will happen, and the rankings will change.

Heck, the ACC faced a comparable—not identical—concern in 2024 before Clemson won the league and SMU edged Alabama for the final at-large spot in the inaugural 12-team Playoff field. Maybe a similar outcome will happen.

Virginia, Louisville and Georgia Tech all have the ability to win out, which absolutely would shift the pressure to the selection committee to make tough decisions—and render this early takeaway hollow.

The metaphorical sky is not falling for the ACC.

Right now, though, it also looks pretty darn cloudy.