Where Did Wake Forest Finish in Final ACC Football Power Rankings?

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (8-4, 4-4 ACC) finished the regular season with a loss on the road to Duke (7-5, 6-2). However, the Deacs are bowl-eligible and will find out their destination on Sunday afternoon.

Since Week Five, we have been ranking the 17 teams in the ACC in our weekly Power Rankings. The Deacs dropped two spots after that loss to Duke. In fact, the Blue Devils, because they made their way to the ACC Championship Game, moved up six spots over Week 14, the largest movement of any team in the final Power Rankings.

Wake Forest finishes the season ranked No. 7. Not bad for a team that was predicted to end the season at No. 16 (out of 17 teams) in the ACC preseason rankings. Head coach Jake Dickert, in his first year, set a tone and had his team exceed expectations. The team is headed to a bowl game, which was not on many people's radar back in August.

Each week, our staff ranks the 17 ACC teams to determine that week's rankings.
More specifically, as the season progressed, we tracked the Demon Deacons to see how they progressed (or regressed) each week.

Here's how the Deacs ranked throughout the season:

Week Five - Debuted at No. 13
Week Six - Lost to Georgia Tech but remained at No. 13
Week Seven - Beat Virginia Tech and moved to No. 12
Week Eight - Beat Oregon State and moved up to No. 9
Week Nine - Won the Bye Week with a move up to No. 8
Week Ten - Beat SMU and moved up to No. 6
Week Eleven - Got humiliated in Tallahassee and fell to No. 11
Week Twelve - Beat UVA and moved up to No. 7
Week Thirteen - Beat UNC and moved up to a season-high spot at No. 4
Week Fourteen - Demolished Delaware, but still dropped down to No. 5
Week Fifteen (Final) - Lost to Duke and ended up at No. 7 to end the season.

How Power Rankings Are Determined

Each week, our editorial staff of nine writers individually ranks the 17 teams in the ACC. Their votes are tabulated, and final weekly power rankings are determined. Not all of our staff are Wake homers. Our diverse writing staff is based across the country and covers the SEC, Big Ten, and Big 12.

Here's where our panel of voters ranked the teams for the final rankings of the season:

2025 ACC Final Football Power Rankings

Wake Forest wide receiver Carlos Hernandez | Evan Harris/Wake Forest on SI

Our format is slightly different for our final rankings. In previous weeks, "highest ranking" and "lowest ranking" referred to the votes they received for that week. This week, for the final rankings, "highest ranking" and "lowest ranking" refer to the team's ranking during the season.

17. Boston College (2-10, 1-7)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 17
Highest Ranking: #15 (Week 5)
Lowest Ranking: #17 (Weeks 8-9, 11-15)
Average Ranking: 15.17 (17th)

16. Syracuse (3-9, 1-7)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 16
Highest Ranking: #5 (Week 5)
Lowest Ranking: #16 (Weeks 14-15)
Average Ranking: 11,67 (13th)

15. North Carolina (4-8, 2-6)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 15
Highest Ranking: #14 (Week 5)
Lowest Ranking: #17 (Weeks 7 and 10)
Average Ranking: 14.00 (15th tie)

14. Virginia Tech (3-9, 2-6)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 13
Highest Ranking: #13 (Weeks 10-14)
Lowest Ranking: #17 (Week 5)
Average Ranking: 12.67 (14th)

13. Stanford (4-8, 3-5)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 14
Highest Ranking: #13 (Week 15)
Lowest Ranking: #17 (Week 6)
Average Ranking: 14.00 (15th tie)

12. Florida State (5-7, 2-6)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 11
Highest Ranking: #2 (Week 5)
Lowest Ranking: #13 (Week 9)
Average Ranking: 8.25 (10)

11. California (7-5, 4-4)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 12
Highest Ranking: #10 (Week 6)
Lowest Ranking: #12 (Weeks 5, 8, 11-12, and 14)
Average Ranking: 10.50 (12th)

10. NC State (7-5, 4-4)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 9
Highest Ranking: #6 (Week 5)
Lowest Ranking: #10 (Weeks 8-13, 15)
Average Ranking: 8.33 (11th)

9. Louisville (8-4, 4-4)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 7
Highest Ranking: #2 (Weeks 6 and 11)
Lowest Ranking: #9 (Week 15)
Average Ranking: 4.25 (4th)

8. Clemson (7-5, 4-4)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 8
Highest Ranking: #8 (Weeks 7-8, 10, 13-15)
Lowest Ranking: #12 (Week 6)
Average Ranking: 8.17 (9th)

7. Wake Forest (8-4, 4-4)

Wake Forest defensive back Nick Andersen celebrates after the walk-off win against SMU. With a on Saturday, the Deacs can go bowling this postseason. | Evan Harris - Wake Forest On SI

Last Week's Power Ranking: 5
Highest Ranking: #4 (Week 13)
Lowest Ranking: #13 (Weeks 5-6)
Average Ranking: 7.75 (8th)

6. Pittsburgh (8-4, 6-2)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 6
Highest Ranking: #5 (Weeks 10 and 12)
Lowest Ranking: #11 (Week 6)
Average Ranking: 6.50 (6th)

5. #22 Georgia Tech (9-3, 6-2)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 4
Highest Ranking: #1 (Weeks 9-10)
Lowest Ranking: #5 (Weeks 6 and 15)
Average Ranking: 2.67 (3rd)

4. Duke (7-5, 6-2)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 10
Highest Ranking: #4 (Week 15)
Lowest Ranking: #10 (Week 14)
Average Ranking: 7.00 (7th)

3. SMU (8-4, 6-2)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 3
Highest Ranking: #3 (Weeks 14-15)
Lowest Ranking: #9 (Weeks 6 and 10)
Average Ranking: 5.33 (5th)

2. #17 Virginia (10-2, 7-1)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 2
Highest Ranking: #1 (Week 11)
Lowest Ranking: #7 (Week 5)
Average Ranking: 2.50 (2nd)

1. #12 Miami (10-2, 6-2)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 1
Highest Ranking: #1 (Weeks 5-8, 12-15)
Lowest Ranking: #3 (Weeks 9 and 11)
Average Ranking: 1.33 (1st)

Note: Power Rankings are determined by the Wake Forest Demon Deacons On SI editorial staff.

What's Next?

Wake Forest awaits its bowl game announcement, which is expected to come on Sunday, December 7. Various projections have the Deacs playing in the Military Bowl (Annapolis), the Fenway Bowl (Boston), the Pinstripes Bowl (New York), and the Sun Bowl (El Paso). It could be one of these or something completely unexpected. The good news is the Deacs get to play another game, regardless of the destination.