Clemson Football: ACC Power Rankings headed into Week 6

For the guy that pens these Power Rankings, week 5 was a doozy in the Atlantic Coast Conference.  There were many upsets, crazy finishes, a huge Clemson football victory and really just all around debauchery in terms of who is the top of this conference.

After five weeks, I believed that the order of how things would shake out would become more clear, but with BC beating Louisville, Virginia Tech not showing up in a showdown with North Carolina, Georgia Tech beating Pitt, and Miami not losing to BYE this weekend it was an unexpected week in the conference.  Which makes doing these Power Rankings more fun.

There was a HUGE bit of movement this week, see if you agree or disagree.  Either way, I now know what it feels like to be an AP voter.  Onto the Post-Week 6 Power Rankings in the ACC:

14 – 10

14. Virginia Cavaliers – Last Week: 11 – (2-3) – Something is very wrong with QB Brennan Armstrong.  He is not nearly as explosive as he was a season ago.  This can definitely happen with a coaching change and philosophy shift, however it is extremely glaring.  A demoralizing loss to Duke this past weekend thrusts Tony Elliot’s Wahoos all the way down to the conference cellar.  Next up: vs. Louisville

13. Virginia Tech Hokies – Last Week: 11 – (2-3) – Along the same lines as Virginia, VT is ushering in a new coach and ran into arguably the hottest QB in the country last week in UNC’s Drake Maye.  The cupboard is pretty bare for the Hokies at this point, however there is life in the fanbase and a torrid backing of Head Coach Brent Pry, so therefore they are one spot better than UVA this week.  Next up: @ Pittsburgh

12. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets – Last Week: 13 – (2-3) – Former head man Geoff Collins was relieved of his duties a week earlier and that can rejuvenate a team or make them go the other way completely.  While I do not think GT is very good (although my recorded love of Jeff Sims is prevalent), they showed some real heart in going up to 2021 ACC Champ Pitt and pulling out a stunning 5-point victory.  Kudos to interim head coach Brent Key for getting a great effort from his team.  Next up: vs. Duke

11. Louisville Cardinals – Last Week: 9 – (2-3) – If players and coaches are going to talk all that smack in the pre-season about coming after Clemson and all of the elite teams in the ACC, you should not lose to Boston College.  That’s just what embattled head coach Scott Satterfield and “Lamar Light” QB Malik Cunningham did last week.  Granted, Cunningham was knocked out of the game late and insert unheralded Brock Domann and the electricity was all but gone.  This was not a good loss for the Cardinals at all.  Next up: @ UVA

10. Boston College Eagles – Last Week: 14 – (2-3) – a 34-33 improbable victory over Louisville last Saturday thrusts BC out of the cellar just in time for an upcoming night game versus Clemson this week.  Quarterback Phil Jurkovec was who we thought he would be coming into the season throwing 18-21 for 304 yards and 3 touchdowns.  They were able to amass 144 yards on the ground spread around three players (Broome, Garwo, Flowers) and Zay Flowers was as advertised in the pre-season with a couple of circus catches for touchdowns.  BC looked as serviceable as they’ve looked all season, yet still only managed a 1-point victory at home vs. Louisville.  This week?  A bigger challenge, but still at home.  Next up: vs. Clemson