As has become common place in recent years, the college football season began over the weekend with “Week 0,” a smaller slate of games that had special dispensation to take place earlier than normal. This year, one of them involved our very own North Carolina Tar Heels, who downed TCU 15-10 in Ireland. The win was a massive change from the way 2025 began in Bill Belichick’s first season in Chapel Hill.
Besides the Heels, there were four other ACC teams in action during Week 0. While we haven’t gotten a chance to see every team in action, here’s a look at where the vibes are at after the first couple games. For teams that haven’t played yet, you can refer to last week’s power rankings for my preseason read on them.
1. Miami (0-0)
Last Week: Bye
Next Week: Friday at Stanford
2. SMU (0-0)
Last Week: Bye
Next Week: Monday at Florida State
3. Virginia (1-0, 1-0 ACC)
Last Week: Beat NC State 34-8
Virginia went into their game against NC State as favorites, but it was definitely closer to a coin flip than it was to UVA being heavy favorites. However, the Cavaliers ended up coming away with a lopsided win. Quarterback Beau Pribula threw and ran for over 100 yards apiece in a comprehensive victory.
Next Week: Bye
4. Louisville (0-0)
Last Week: Bye
Next Week: Sunday vs. Ole Miss
5. Clemson (0-0)
Last Week: Bye
Next Week: Saturday at LSU
6. Georgia Tech (0-0)
Last Week: Bye
Next Week: Thursday vs. Colorado
7. Virginia Tech (0-0)
Last Week: Bye
Next Week: Saturday vs. VMI
8. Duke (0-0)
Last Week: Bye
Next Week: Saturday vs. Tulane
9. Pitt (0-0)
Last Week: Byu
Next Week: Saturday vs. Miami (OH)
10. Wake Forest (0-0)
Last Week: Bye
This Week: Thursday vs. Akron
11. North Carolina (1-0)
Last Week: Beat TCU 15-10
I certainly wasn’t expecting it, so I have to tip my cap to Belichick and co. on the victory. Now, whether they can carry that over to the rest of the season remains to be seen.
Next Week: Bye
12. Florida State (1-0)
Last Week: Beat New Mexico State 34-17
Mike Norvell could really use a good season, and while FSU got a Week 0 win, it maybe wasn’t as impressive as he’d like against New Mexico State. I might be overthinking it by dropping them this far, but they don’t exactly deserve the benefit of the doubt considering last year, they beat Alabama early and still ended up mediocre.
Next Week: Monday vs. SMU
13. NC State (0-1, 0-1 ACC)
Last Week: Lost to Virginia 34-8
This could be another case of dropping a team too far as Virginia’s probably pretty good, but State looked like a team that’ll get a coach fired in their opener.
This Week: Bye
14. Cal (0-0)
Last Week: Bye
Next Week: Saturday vs. UCLA
15. Syracuse (0-0)
Last Week: Bye
Next Week: Saturday vs. New Hampshire
16. Boston College (0-0)
Last Week: Bye
Next Week: Saturday at Cincinnati
17. Stanford (1-0)
Last Week: Beat Hawaii 37-27
They won the game in the end, but Stanford nearly blew a 16-point lead to Hawaii.
Next Week: Friday vs. Miami