With only three more weeks left in the regular season, there is still a possibility for the Clemson Tigers to reach the final ACC Championship Game in Charlotte. Clemson is one of six ACC teams with two or fewer conference losses. Although the Virginia Tech loss stung in the moment, the Hokies suffered a third defeat in league play last week against SMU. Clemson needs a few more teams to fall to make it.
Fortunately for the Tigers, they are one of a handful of teams who will only play eight ACC games this year. Even better, two of their final three games are coming against ACC opponents. As long as they take care of business against Georgia Tech and play their best game of the season at Duke, Clemson could be one of two teams playing for the ACC's right to have a College Football Playoff team this fall.
As expected, Clemson's close-call win over Syracuse has impacted the latest ACC power rankings.
17. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (2-7) (Last Week: 17)
It was only a matter of time before one ACC team was eliminated from bowl-game consideration. By losing their seventh game of the season to the Louisville Cardinals, Georgia Tech's campaign will end with a brutal beatdown at the hands of Georgia in Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate. Brent Key is not happy about how his team has played this year. Clemson will enter the Week 11 game as the sizable favorite.
16. California Golden Bears (3-6) (Last Week: 16)
There might be a few one-and-done head coaches in college football, and Tosh Lupoi could be one of them. In terms of talent when compared to outcomes, the California Golden Bears have been a big disappointment all season long. This team is poorly coached, and it is not getting any better. Clearly, it was a mistake for Cal to move on from Justin Wilcox when it did. The program is paying for it dearly.
15. Virginia Cavaliers (4-5) (Last Week: 13)
Admittedly, it was difficult to create any sort of separation between the six ACC teams who are 4-5 on the season. With Virginia having lost its last three games, the Cavaliers find themselves at the bottom of that barrel of mid. The Hoos have regressed massively from last year. The coaching has not been up to par. Nobody is happy in Charlottesville. Tony Elliott is under more pressure than we imagined.
14. Stanford Cardinal (4-5) (Last Week: 12)
Stanford has an outside shot at a bowl game, but two problems remain for the Cardinal. It is a talent issue, as well as the challenges that present themselves within a new staff. Tavita Pritchard may have his alma mater heading in the right direction, but let us make one thing perfectly clear: nobody loses like Stanford. When the Cardinal win, it is with a margin. When they lose, they often get blown out.
13. North Carolina State Wolfpack (4-5) (Last Week: 14)
North Carolina State appears to be on the verge of hiring Philip Rivers as its next head football coach. This may have been done to entice boosters or salvage its recruiting class. However, the Wolfpack have been focused on next year ever since firing Dave Doeren. This has been the most consistently inconsistent team in the conference all season long. As a result, NC State is in the middle of the pack.
12. Syracuse Orange (4-5) (Last Week: 9)
Syracuse is not a bad team, but it is certainly not a good one either. While the Orange did score the lone offensive touchdown last Saturday, they still suffered their fifth conference loss on the season. Fran Brown might be able to keep his job, but Steve Angeli did not look like he was about that action in Week 10. The Clemson defense frustrated him all afternoon, causing Syracuse to only score 13.
11. Boston College Eagles (4-5) (Last Week: 11)
Boston College is running out of time to get to six wins. While the Eagles have overachieved their incredibly low expectations coming in, we still have to wonder what the future holds for Bill O'Brien in Chestnut Hill. He should not be on the hot seat, but apathy is a bad disease plaguing Boston College athletics. It has for years now. While they are easy to root for from afar, this is not a superior product.
10. Florida State Seminoles (4-5) (Last Week: 15)
Florida State just did something Mike Norvell could never dream of. With their interim head coach, the Seminoles won a game on the road over Boston College. While it remains to be seen who they will go after in the head-coaching department, there is a non-zero chance that one of Clemson's biggest rivals will return to form here soon. Clemson should be thrilled to have delivered the knockout punch.
9. North Carolina Tar Heels (5-4) (Last Week: 10)
North Carolina is likely going to be a bowl team with only Louisville, Virginia, and North Carolina State left. Bill Belichick has done a remarkable job of coaching up this team that is largely devoid of talent. Although the Tar Heels have playmakers in the passing game, there was always a limited ceiling for this team. The fact UNC can still technically win nine games is astounding. It shows coaching matters.
8. Pittsburgh Panthers (6-3) (Last Week: 8)
The Pittsburgh Panthers might be bowl eligible, but this is not a strong team by any stretch of the imagination. Losing Mason Heintschel for the season caved in their ceiling almost immediately. While any Pat Narduzzi-led team will try its best to play consistently good defense, Pitt is a hard product to watch without competent quarterback play. This team is still allowed to grow, but it will be such a slog.
7. Clemson Tigers (6-3) (Last Week: 7)
Clemson comes in at No. 7 once again after winning a low-scoring affair on the road at Syracuse. The Tigers have shown an innate ability to save their best football for the second half, often handling the teams they are certainly better than. The Virginia Tech loss may be what keeps them out of serious talks about the playoffs. However, this team is improving, just not quickly enough on offense at all...
6. Virginia Tech Hokies (6-3) (Last Week: 5)
Virginia Tech is the biggest paper tiger in a league chock full of paper tigers. After ripping victory away from the jaws of defeat at Clemson a few weeks back, the Hokies came out of their bye totally flat. They got their skull beaten in by an SMU team that just lost to Syracuse. As it is with everything, it is the James Franklin of it all. It is so shocking that Clemson found a way to lose to this team at home.
5. SMU Mustangs (7-2) (Last Week: 6)
SMU is a fine team, and nothing more. The Mustangs' best wins on the season are arguably over Florida State and Boston College. The only quality team it has played so far is Louisville, and they lost to the Cardinals. While a loss to a lesser team like Syracuse was bound to happen, the hardest part of SMU's schedule is yet to come. The Ponies still have to play Wake Forest and Notre Dame this year.
4. Louisville Cardinals (6-3) (Last Week: 3)
It may not seem like much, but Louisville getting the head-to-head win over SMU has created a clear line of distinct separation between the top four teams in this conference and the rest of the pack. A slow start to the Cardinals' season may have ruined their playoff chances. However, they could finish the season with three more wins over North Carolina, Pittsburgh, and Kentucky to finish at 9-3 (7-2).
3. Duke Blue Devils (7-2) (Last Week: 4)
Had it not been for head-scratching close loss at Georgia Tech, Duke would be undeniably ranked. At 7-2, the Blue Devils only play ACC heavy-hitters the rest of the year. They have a huge game at Miami this weekend, with the Friday night Clemson kick next, and then the Wake Forest date to close it out. If Duke were to somehow finish the regular season at 10-2, the Blue Devils might be a playoff team.
2. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (8-1) (Last Week: 2)
Wake Forest is perhaps the most dangerous team in the ACC right now. Jake Dickert has his team cooking with gas. At 8-1 with its only loss being to Miami, the Demon Deacons are on track to face the Hurricanes once more in the final ACC Championship game. If they were to get to Charlotte at 11-1, this might be a playoff team. They will be playing SMU, Georgia Tech, and Duke the rest of the way.
1. Miami Hurricanes (8-1) (Last Week: 1)
Miami may have suffered its first loss of the season at Notre Dame, but this was a non-conference game for the Hurricanes. Injuries are catching up with them in a bad way, as the Hurricanes' national title aspirations are not as steady as they were only a week ago. To be quite honest, Miami better hope Wake Forest does not get to Charlotte. Then again, the focus needs to be on beating Duke.
A Miami-Wake Forest ACC Championship Game rematch may not be a foregone conclusion after all.
Add us as a preferred source on Google