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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – The Atlantic Coast Conference, in partnership with ESPN and the Southeastern Conference, has announced game times and television designations for two marquee ACC/SEC rivalry matchups taking place during the final week of the 2025 regular season.
On Saturday, November 29, Clemson will travel to South Carolina for its annual Palmetto Bowl showdown, with kickoff scheduled for noon ET. The game will be televised on either ABC or ESPN.
Also on November 29, Florida State will face Florida in Gainesville in the Seminoles’ regular-season finale. The matchup has been flexed, with the kickoff time to be set within one of two potential windows: between 3:30–4:30 p.m. ET or between 6-8 p.m. ET. The final kickoff time and television network will be announced at a later date.
On May 29, the ACC and ESPN unveiled the kickoff times and broadcast networks for more than 40 games during the first three weeks of the 2025 football season. The announcement also detailed the schedule for Thursday and Friday night games throughout the year. ACC teams are scheduled to participate in a total of 28 nationally televised games on networks including ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU. In addition, there will be 14 more matchups on ACC Network and five additional games airing on CBS, NBC, or The CW as part of the announced schedule. (Release)
2025 ACC Football Championship Game in Primetime Once Again
The 2025 ACC Football Championship Game will kick off at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 6, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, on ABC. The league’s football championship game will showcase the top two teams based on regular-season conference winning percentage.
The 8 p.m. ET kickoff marks the 16th time in the last 17 years that the game will be held in primetime. Since its inception in 2005, a total of 14 different teams have competed in the championship game.
Bank of America Stadium, home of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, has hosted 14 of the last 15 ACC Football Championship Games. The ACC, Carolina Panthers, and the Charlotte Sports Foundation have an agreement to keep the championship game in Charlotte through the 2030 season.
The winner of the conference championship game has advanced to the National Championship Game or competed in the College Football Playoff in nine of the last 12 seasons, including both of the two participating teams last year, with the ACC being one of only three multi-bid leagues.
Toughest Non-Conference Schedule Again in 2025
ACC teams are scheduled to play 26 games against fellow Power 4 Conference opponents and Notre Dame in 2025, the most of any conference.
ACC teams are set to play 14 non-conference games against teams ranked in both the final 2024 College Football Rankings and the 2024 Associated Press (AP) Top 25 Poll.
ACC teams will play 35 non-conference games against opponents that appeared in a bowl game last year, including eight against teams that made the 12-team College Football Playoff.
ACC teams are scheduled to play 16 non-conference games against teams in ESPN’s 2025 Way-Too-Early Top 25.
ACC Owns Labor Day Once Again
The ACC will once again close out college football’s opening weekend by anchoring Labor Day Monday, as Belichick makes his North Carolina debut with the Tar Heels hosting TCU.
This marks the 16th consecutive Labor Day game for the ACC (excluding the 2020 COVID season), and the 19th time since the tradition began with Florida State vs. Miami in 2005.
ACC Football Fridays
ACC football is set to dominate Fridays this fall, with a league-record 12 games scheduled on Fridays in 2025, the most of any conference.
Georgia Tech’s season-opening contest at Colorado on August 29 is one of two ACC games set for the first Friday of play in the 2025 season.
ACC is the Conference of Quarterbacks
The ACC is the Conference of Quarterbacks, with the return of full-time starters Cade Klubnik at Clemson, Haynes King at Georgia Tech, Kevin Jennings at SMU, Eli Holstein at Pitt, Kyron Drones at Virginia Tech, CJ Bailey at NC State and Thomas Castellanos at Florida State.
Five ACC quarterbacks were ranked in ESPN’s Top 15 QBs in College Football in 2025 – Cade Klubnik of Clemson, Carson Beck of Miami, Haynes King of Georgia Tech, Kevin Jennings of SMU and Darian Mensah of Duke.
The ACC features four of the top 10 quarterback transfers heading into the 2025 season and has seen a strong influx of talent at the position, including notable names like Carson Beck (Miami), Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele (California), Darian Mensah (Duke), Miller Moss (Louisville), Steve Angeli and Rickie Collins (Syracuse), Dylan Lonergan (Boston College), Chandler Morris (Virginia), Gio Lopez (North Carolina), Devin Brown (California), Daniel Kaelin (Virginia), and Deshawn Purdie (Wake Forest).
Since 2018, the ACC has had at least one quarterback drafted in the first round in six different drafts — the only conference to do that.
ACC is Loaded with Preeminent Players Heading into 2025
The ACC is stacked with preeminent players again heading into the 2025 season.
Top returners include: Desmond Reid, RB (Pitt); Francis Mauigoa, OT (Miami); Isaiah Nwokobia, S (SMU); Caleb Weaver, S (Duke); Avieon Terrell, CB (Clemson); Kyle Louis, LB (Pitt); Isaac Brown, RB (Louisville); Sammy Brown, LB (Clemson); T.J. Parker, DE (Clemson); Peter Woods, DT (Clemson); Luke Petitbon, OL (Florida State); Monroe Mills, OT (Virginia); Jamal Haynes, RB (Georgia Tech); Demond Claiborne, RB (Wake Forest); Antonio Williams, WR (Clemson).
Impact transfers ranked in the Top 100 include: Duce Robinson, WR (Florida State); Will Heldt, DE (Clemson); Eric Rivers, WR (Georgia Tech); Ethan O’Connor, CB (Miami); CJ Daniels, WR (Miami); Charles Brantley, CB (Miami); Thaddeus Dixon, CB (North Carolina); Fa’alili Fa’amoe, OL (Wake Forest); Daniel King, OT (North Carolina); Khmori House, LB (North Carolina); Zechariah Poyser, S (Miami); Micah Pettus, OT (Florida State); David Blay, DL (Miami).
ACC x NFL
No conference blends college football and NFL experience quite like the ACC in 2025, with three former NFL head coaches now leading programs: Bill O’Brien (Boston College), Bill Belichick (North Carolina), and Frank Reich (Stanford), the most of any conference.
Several ACC programs also feature General Managers with deep NFL ties, including Ron Rivera (Cal), John Garrett (Duke), Michael Lombardi (North Carolina) and Andrew Luck (Stanford), along with a growing number of former NFL stars contributing across coaching staffs and player development roles.