ACC power rankings Week 2: Let the overreactions begin

There’s nothing like post-Week 1 in college football. We analyze an entire rest of the season based on a single piece of data, but that’s what makes the sport great. And when it comes to the ACC, there’s a ton to react to as some teams looked way better than expected while others fell completely flat.

Now, we play a tricky game: Throw out all or most preseason expectations and rank off just one game, or take a more measured approach and apply different angles? Regardless, you have to be careful not to just rank Week 1 wins. Still, there’s sure to be some serious movement from our first ordering of teams. As we head into Week 2, here’s our ranking of the ACC from top to bottom.

Brad Senkiw's ACC power rankings

1. Miami Hurricanes

In the words of Ron Burgundy: “How did you do that? Heck, I’m not even mad. That’s amazing,” is how I felt after Miami’s 27-24 win over Notre Dame on Sunday. I said last week there was a gap between them and Clemson, but “The U” won a top-10 matchup. The Tigers didn’t.

2. Clemson Tigers

Oh boy, that was not good. Yes, the defense gave them a chance against LSU, but the offense failed to show up when it had to have it. Still, I nearly left the Tigers in first because LSU likely beats every team in this league.

3. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

I had this team ranked here last week and saw nothing to sway my confidence after seeing Haynes King score the game-winning touchdown at Colorado. Good start, and getting closer to calling this team a conference contender.

4. Louisville Cardinals

A blowout win over Eastern Kentucky isn’t a big surprise, but still impressed that the defense allowed just 2.6 yards per carry. Let’s see what happens against James Madison this week.

5. Florida State Seminoles

The biggest riser in the rankings, FSU flat-out dominated an Alabama team that’s just not right anymore and earned back some much-needed respect as a program. Now, this team should be 3-0 when ACC play begins later this month.

6. Duke Blue Devils

Nothing about a win over Elon moved me. I just feel like I should’ve put this team here last week.

7. SMU Mustangs

The Mustangs didn’t drop because of performance. A 29-point win over a school few even know exists isn’t going to move you up either. Better test ahead vs. Baylor.

8. NC State Wolfpack

Winning ugly is OK in Week 1 sometimes. It won’t get you a bump in these rankings, though, but a 24-17 victory over ECU is still way better than an in-state loss that would’ve put Dave Doeren in the hot-seat crosshairs.

9. Pittsburgh Panthers

Pitt looked really good in Week 1. Granted, it was against Duquesne and a 61-9 win with a lot of special teams help won’t happen every week, but it’s still a nice start.

10. Cal Bears

Got to admit, Justin Wilcox’s squad had a nice quality win over Oregon State, so maybe I was a little too dismissive of a young QB and new offense. This is a team to keep an eye on.

11. Boston College Eagles

Not going to react much to a 56-point win over Fordham. The Eagles were explosive on offense. Let’s see how they stack up against Michigan State this week.

12. Virginia Cavaliers

Tony Elliott and the Wahoos got off to an impressive start with a 48-7 win over a Coastal Carolina team that some pundits were predicting could beat UVA straight up. I’m giving the Cavs credit for not letting this be a game.

13. Syracuse Orange

A loss on the road to Tennessee should be easy to shake off, but it’s giving up over 7.2 yards per play on defense is hard to overlook. Better days are ahead for Fran Brown’s crew.

14. Virginia Tech Hokies

Typically, a loss to a ranked SEC team wouldn’t necessarily constitute a three-spot drop, but this program continues to lack good wins and probably should’ve started this low in these rankings.

15. North Carolina Tar Heels

Offense, defense, special teams, coaching: You name it, everything was a disaster in Bill Belichick’s first game at UNC on Monday night against TCU. You could slot them dead last and I wouldn’t argue.

16. Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Jake Dickert won his Deacs debut by a single point over Kennessaw State, and the offense only averaged 4.6 yards per play. It’s gonna be a long year in Winston-Salem.

17. Stanford Cardinal

The Cardinal almost moved up without even playing, but that Week 0 loss at Hawaii is still hard to look past.