ACC Power Rankings Heading Into Week Two

The ACC football season got underway this week and it was predictably unpredictable. The only thing that went completely according to plan was the Wake Forest Demon Deacons looking like the worst team in the league. Other than that, a few teams impressed, others disappointed and, of course, there were a lot of wins over FCS teams. So let’s try to make sense of how things currently stand in the week two ACC Power Rankings, now that the teams have finally hit the field and shaken things up.

ACC Power Rankings: Week Two

No. 1 Florida State Seminoles:

The Seminoles’ win over the Oklahoma State Cowboys in week one was closer than expected but, ultimately, it was still a victory over a Power Five opponent. Nobody else in the ACC started the year with such a quality out-of-conference win so even if the Seminoles struggled at times, their place at the top of the ACC Power Rankings remains unquestioned.

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No. 2 Clemson Tigers:

Like the Seminoles, the Tigers were one of the few teams to start the season with a tough non-conference game. Unlike the Seminoles, the Tigers were unable to pull out a victory. The Tigers looked like the obvious No. 2 team in the ACC Power Rankings during the preseason and the loss to Georgia hasn’t changed that. Florida State may be the only team in the ACC that could hang with the Bulldogs this year.

No. 3 Louisville Cardinals

Louisville kicked off their first season in the ACC with a bang by throttling the Miami Hurricanes 31-13. The Cardinals’ offense looked like a work-in-progress but that was to be expected. The defense, on the other hand, looked much better than most thought. The Louisville front-seven abused the Miami offensive line all night and completely shut down Duke Johnson. The win was a statement–the Cardinals have arrived.

No. 4 Pittsburgh Panthers

Like many other teams, the Panthers eased into the 2014 season with an easy game against an FCS opponent. Pittsburgh defeated Delaware 62-0 on the strength of their running game, which totaled 409 yards and seven touchdowns.

No. 5 North Carolina Tar Heels

North Carolina was a popular pick to win the Coastal division in the preseason. Their week one win over Liberty wasn’t particularly impressive but the Tar Heels still have plenty of talent. Many of their mistakes can likely be attributed to it being the first game of the season, but there is some reason for concern.

No. 6 Duke Blue Devils

The Blue Devils did all you could ask for in their 52-13 win over Elon in the season-opener. But Duke’s hopes of repeating as the Coastal-division champs took a hit with injuries to Braxton Deaver and Kelby Brown in the preseason and they will have to show that those losses won’t hurt them too much against quality competition.

No. 7 Virginia Tech Hokies

The Hokies got off to a strong start to their season with a thorough beating of the William & Mary Tribe. Not only did Virginia Tech run up nearly 500 yards of total offense, their defense stifled the Tribe, holding them to only 193 total yards. The Tribe were completely over matched, of course, but Virginia Tech needed to completely rebuild their front-seven in the off season, and the weekend’s result was encouraging.

No. 8 Virginia Cavaliers

Despite starting the season with a loss, the Cavaliers actually had one of the more impressive opening weeks in the ACC. Virginia was supposed to play the sacrificial lamb to the UCLA Bruins but opted not to oblige. The Cavs’ defense held UCLA’s supposedly-high-powered offense to only 358 total yards and one touchdown. The difference in the game was the three defensive touchdowns the Bruins forced, including two on interceptions thrown by Greyson Lambert. When Lambert was benched late in the second quarter Virginia made it a game and actually outscored the Bruins 17-7 the rest of the way. The performance could have been an aberration but the Cavaliers looked good enough to contend in the Coastal division.

No. 9 Miami Hurricanes

Unlike Virginia, the Hurricanes did not look like a team that could contend for much of anything in college football’s opening week. Not only did Miami fail to get revenge for the thrashing they received from Louisville in last season’s Russell Athletic Bowl, they just looked bad. The Hurricanes seem to have a number of issues, including a porous offensive line. True freshman QB Brad Kaaya showed some promise in his first collegiate game but, ultimately, he wasn’t able to get much going and the Hurricanes offense looked anemic for most of the night.

No. 10 Syracuse Orange

The Orange struggled in their week one win over the Villanova Wildcats but there are still reasons for optimism there. The Orange return the most experienced team in the ACC, after finishing third in the Atlantic last year. Syracuse also had to win the game without starting QB Terrel Hunt, after he was ejected in the second quarter. And Villanova is no pushover. Their quarterback, John Robertson, might be one of the best the Orange will face all year.

No. 11 Boston College Eagles

The Eagles looked pretty good in their season-opening win against the UMass Minute Men. However, they lost quite a bit of talent after last season, including the Heisman-finalist Andre Williams, so the Eagles should be viewed with some skepticism, for now. The good news is that BC plays Pittsburgh tonight, which should provide a much better view of how good this team is.

No. 12 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Georgia Tech ran away with a win over the Wofford Terriers in the end but it was uncomfortably close for much of the game. After going to the intermission with a 10-9 lead, the Yellow Jackets finally got some separation in the third quarter, when they began a streak of touchdowns on four consecutive drives. And the most interesting thing about this game: Georgia Tech QB Justin Thomas throwing for nearly 300 yards. Could the Yellow Jackets pass the ball a bit more this year? We’ll have to wait and see. Georgia Tech won’t play a quality opponent until ACC scheduling forces them to, on September 20th at Virginia Tech.

No. 13 North Carolina State Wolfpack

North Carolina State barely managed to sneak by the Georgia Southern Eagles this weekend. In fact, they needed two late touchdown drives just to edge the Eagles out 24-23. And although QB Jacoby Brissett was instrumental in those two touchdown drives, this game should put the brakes on the Brissett-as-Wolfpack-savior narrative, for the time being.

No. 14 Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Wake Forest played the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks on Thursday and finished with only 94 total yards. That total included 97 passing yards. Do the math and…yeah…Wake Forest finished with -3 yards on the ground. The Demon Deacons will probably occupy the bottom spot in the ACC Power Rankings for the duration of the season.