Respected media outlet snubs Clemson football, tabs Miami as ACC favorite

Dec 7, 2024; Charlotte, NC, USA; Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney, and quarterback Cade Klubnik (2) celebrate after winning the 2024 ACC Championship game against the Southern Methodist Mustangs at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
Dec 7, 2024; Charlotte, NC, USA; Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney, and quarterback Cade Klubnik (2) celebrate after winning the 2024 ACC Championship game against the Southern Methodist Mustangs at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Essentially every pundit has projected Clemson football to make the College Football Playoff and run away with the ACC title this season. But not everyone is that high on the Tigers.

In fact, one media outlet ran simulations that were not so favorable for the Tigers, listing them as the 13th-best team in the country heading into the season and No. 2 in the ACC.

That's right, the overwhelming odds-on favorites to win the ACC are this outlet's second-best team in the conference.

According to TigerNet.com, Pro Football Focus ran 10,000 season simulations to decide their 2025 college football power rankings, and Clemson wasn't even in the top 10.

The Tigers were ranked the No. 13 team in the power rankings on PFF, and that really has more to do with the simulations not going quite how Clemson fans hope. Not only did the set of simulations not go as Clemson fans had hoped, missing out on the playoff field of 12, but it also projected a different ACC champion.

The simulations had Miami winning the ACC, and Clemson came in second. The odds gave Miami nearly a 21 percent chance to win the ACC, and Clemson only had a 12.8% chance. It also gave Clemson about a 31 percent chance to make the playoff, but less than a three percent shot to win it all.

It's hard to get mad at technology for projecting a different ACC champion, but it's interesting to see it so far off from what college football pundits predicted.

Pretty much everyone has Clemson winning the ACC and heading to its second straight College Football Playoff. Some experts have even said that it would be shocking to see Clemson fall short of a playoff semifinal.

If it's not computers projecting Clemson's 2025 season, it's usually favorable.