Week two of the 2014 season saw ACC football teams go 11-0 in out-of-conference games. Of course, there were few challenging opponents on the schedule for ACC teams this week, which mostly explains the perfect record. There was one big surprise though, when the Virginia Tech Hokies upset the Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus. The Pittsburgh Panthers also kicked off their ACC football schedule by running over the Boston College Eagles for a 30-20 victory.
After an exciting week of football, the ACC power rankings have been shaken up a bit. Here is how things currently stand:
2014 ACC Football Power Rankings: Week Three
No. 1 Florida State Seminoles
The biggest story to come out of the Florida State Seminoles’ game against the Citadel was Citadel offensive lineman Victor Hill commenting online after the game that they were intentionally trying to injure Florida State’s defensive linemen. They succeeded, too, as three went down during the game for the Seminoles. The game itself was a snoozer though and Florida State cruised to an easy 37-12 victory.
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No. 2 Clemson Tigers
Some ACC power rankings will surely put Virginia Tech in this spot, following their defeat of the then-No. 8 Buckeyes last week. But the Clemson Tigers were No. 2 in these rankings last week and their 73-7 demolition of the SC State Bulldogs was impressive enough to keep them here.
No. 3 Virginia Tech Hokies
Virginia Tech may not have moved into the No. 2 spot but they did make the biggest jump in these ACC power rankings this week, jumping four spots from No. 7.
No. 4 Louisville Cardinals
The Louisville Cardinals were impressive in their 66-21 victory over the Murray State Racers this week, but not impressive enough to avoid being leaped by the Hokies. The Cardinals looked great on offense, totaling 603 yards, but their pass defense could have been better. The Cardinals gave up 251 yards and three touchdowns through the air.
No. 5 Pittsburgh Panthers
Pittsburgh kicked off their ACC football schedule on Friday night with a dominating victory on the road against Boston College. Don’t let the 30-20 final score fool you—this one was not close at all. The Panthers shortened the game by running 51 times and the Eagles never found a way to slow down RB James Connor, who ran right through their defense for 214 yards and a touchdown on 36 carries. This one might have been even uglier if Pittsburgh coach Paul Chryst didn’t call pass plays in the red zone all night.
No. 6 Duke Blue Devils
It’s hard to say much about the Duke Blue Devils right now. Duke has yet to play a decent opponent and they won’t for quite a while. Duke’s out-of-conference schedule is pitiful, with games against Elon and Troy down and games against Kansas and Tulane still to go. ACC play will begin with a road trip to Miami but, as bad as the Hurricanes have looked, Duke may not be seriously challenged until they head to Pittsburgh on November 1st.
No. 7 North Carolina Tar Heels
North Carolina dropped out of the top 25 this week and, despite their 2-0 record, the drop was probably appropriate. The Tar Heels’ season-opening victory over Liberty was marred by turnovers and other bad mistakes. That could have been chalked up to it being week one but then this past weekend UNC needed to rally late to beat the San Diego Aztecs. Even after capturing the lead, UNC very nearly gave up the game, allowing the Aztecs to drive down the field for what could have been the game-winning score. An interception in the end zone was all that allowed the Heels to escape with the win.
No. 8 Virginia Cavaliers
This weekend provided some reason to look at the Virginia Cavaliers surprisingly close loss to the UCLA Bruins more skeptically. It wasn’t anything Virginia did (they defeated Richmond 45-13 on Saturday) but, rather, it now looks like UCLA may have been a tad overrated. The Bruins barely escaped the Memphis Tigers in their home-opener, 42-35.
No. 9 Miami Hurricanes
The Miami Hurricanes haven’t provided a whole lot of optimism yet this season, at least on offense. After starting the 2014 ACC football season with an ugly loss to the Louisville Cardinals, the Hurricanes defeated Florida A&M 41-7. Despite the high point total, the Hurricanes offense made quite a few mistakes, including three turnovers. Brad Kaaya completed only 12-of-22 passes and threw two interceptions. But the most troubling thing might have been the continuation of Miami’s struggles on third down. They converted on only 2-of-10 third down opportunities against Florida A&M, a week after going only 1-for-13 against Louisville.
No. 10 Syracuse Orange
The Syracuse Orange were off this week, following their double-overtime win over the Villanova Wildcats in their opener. But the Orange did receive some good news anyway. Villanova demonstrated that they are not your average FCS team, and may be closer to the level of North Dakota State and Eastern Washington than people thought. The Wildcats thrashed the Fordham Rams, who were ranked No. 10 nationally in the FCS Coaches Poll at the time, 50-6. The Orange will also get starting QB Terrel Hunt back this weekend, when they hit the road to play the Central Michigan Chippewas.
No. 11 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Like Duke, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets haven’t faced a tough opponent yet. Unlike Duke though, they have been seriously challenged. For the second-straight week, the Yellow Jackets went to halftime with the score close, trailing Tulane 24-21. The previous week, they went to the half up 10-9 against Wofford. The Yellow Jackets pulled away in the second half each time but their first-half struggles are a concern. They will face the Georgia Southern Eagles this week, the same team to put a scare into the NC State Wolfpack in week one.
No. 12 Boston College Eagles
Not only were the Eagles powerless to stop the Pitt running game this week, they also struggled mightily on offense. Tyler Murphy completed only 10-of-28 passes for 134 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. The Eagles finished with only 276 total yards of offense.
No. 13 NC State Wolfpack
Among all the power five conference teams, the NC State Wolfpack may have the most deceptive 2-0 record right now. The Wolfpack played two low-level opponents at home and barely escaped each time. The first was against Georgia Southern, who was playing their first game as an FBS team. This past weekend, the Wolfpack went back-and-forth with the Old Dominion Monarchs for three quarters and gave up more than 500 yards of offense in their 46-34 victory.
No. 14 Wake Forest Demon Deacons
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons managed to avoid a winless season, thanks to a win over the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs this weekend. It doesn’t change much else though. The Demon Deacons still look doomed to remain in the bottom of these ACC power rankings for the remainder of the season.