A quarter of the way through the season, we may know a thing or two about Clemson. At their best, the Tigers can play great defense and special teams, hoping their offense does just enough to lead them to victory. At their worst, they will allow things to snowball on both sides of the football, causing them to face large deficits. As it is with anything, the truth lies somewhere in between.
While Clemson has been a bottom-half team in the ACC throughout this season, there is a chance the Tigers could climb up future conference power rankings in the coming weeks. Yes, the Miami home date in two weeks looms large, but they will definitely have a shot at pulling off the slight upset over Cal on Friday night. If the Tigers do improve to 3-1 on the season, Clemson might have found itself.
With the ACC starting to sort itself just a little bit, here are this week's conference power rankings.
17. Stanford Cardinal (1-2) (Last Week: 14)
It was great while it lasted. Once again, the Stanford Cardinal are among the worst teams in the ACC. The reason the Cardinal dropped all the way down to last place in these rankings has everything to do with their offensive output. Through three games, Tavita Pritchard's program has only scored 50 points. That is good enough for dead last in the conference. He is an offensive-minded coach, too.
16. Florida State Seminoles (1-2) (Last Week: 16)
Mike Norvell may still be in Tallahassee, but Florida State has already picked out his casket. It is only a matter of time before the long-underperforming head coach of the Seminoles is out of a job. While the team did play Alabama well for stretches during their Week 3 road game in Tuscaloosa, they still did not come away with a win. If the only team Florida State plays well is Alabama, that is a problem.
15. North Carolina State Wolfpack (1-2) (Last Week: 11)
North Carolina State fans should be embarrassed by what transpired on Saturday. CJ Bailey could not have ripped defeat away from the jaws of victory any harder. Losing to Vanderbilt on a strip sack in the end zone when he could have just knelt was so beyond pathetic. This all comes back to coaching. It does not matter how long Dave Doeren has been in Raleigh. He needs to go yesterday.
14. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (1-2) (Last Week: 15)
Georgia Tech finally got a win in Week 3! The only problem with that is that the Yellow Jackets beat FCS Mercer at home. Although Brent Key is an excellent head coach, he does not have the players to overcome a revamped coaching staff. Georgia Tech will have to claw and scratch its way to 6-6 this season if the Ramblin' Wreck are lucky. Frankly, they probably should be lower than 14th on this list.
13. Syracuse Orange (1-2) (Last Week: 12)
The Syracuse Orange have grown moldy under Fran Brown. The hope was that they would be much improved this year when compared to last year because of better quarterback play. Unfortunately for their fans, we may have experienced the proverbial Dino Babers dead cat bounce in Brown's first year at the helm in 2024. Kyle McCord may have carried a team that had no business winning nine games.
12. Boston College Eagles (2-1) (Last Week: 17)
Color me shocked! The Boston College Eagles are not the worst team in the ACC ... right now. They are 2-1 on the season with wins over Rutgers and Maine. That may not seem like much, but the Eagles only had two wins all of last year. BC may be the most talent-depleted team in the league, but they do have a proven head coach at the helm in Bill O'Brien. They will win an ACC game this year, maybe two.
11. North Carolina Tar Heels (2-1) (Last Week: 8)
North Carolina takes a tumble after last week's road loss to Clemson. Defensively, this team has enough talent on that side of the ball to stay in games. Sadly, their special teams are a disaster. Even the simplest of field goals feel like a grand jubilee when they go through the uprights. The worst part about it all is that Billy Edwards Jr. might not be any good at quarterback. Bill Belichick is miserable.
10. Clemson Tigers (2-1) (Last Week: 13)
Clemson moves up three spots from No. 13 to No. 10 this week. This is the Tigers' highest spot in the rankings since entering the season around No. 4. The defense gets better each and every week, while the special teams remain solid. As long as the offense takes more positive steps forward under Chad Morris, Clemson can take a few teams by surprise. It is a team that is growing and rediscovering itself.
9. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (2-1) (Last Week: 9)
Wake Forest may just be a good football team. We should not react one way or another about how the Demon Deacons played Miami. For a while there, they did give the Hurricanes a run for their money. However, Jake Dickert's team only has so much talent to go around. While the chances of them getting to eight or so wins are fair, there is a ceiling for this group. It is not getting to Charlotte.
8. California Golden Bears (2-1) (Last Week: 10)
Cal moves up two spots after handling Wagner. Right now, the Golden Bears feel incredibly evenly matched with Clemson. While the Tigers do have a massive coaching advantage, the Golden Bears have Jaron-Keawe Sagopolutele at quarterback. Not to say he is the great equalizer, but he can make all the difference in any game. Cal feels like an average ACC team, but one with too much variance.
7. Pittsburgh Panthers (3-0) (Last Week: 7)
Entering Week 4, Pittsburgh is arguably the worst team in the conference that could somehow find its way into the ACC title bout. It would take a perfect storm for that to come to fruition. However, there is one constant about Pitt that should have our attention. Through the first three weeks of the season, Pat Narduzzi's defense has held its opponents to 14 points or less in a game. That is a huge positive.
6. Virginia Cavaliers (2-1) (Last Week: 3)
The Virginia Cavaliers may have only beaten a bad North Carolina State team like a drum. While Tony Elliot still looks to have a quality UVA team this year, losing to West Virginia was not on the bingo card. Yes, WVU may be much improved under Rich Rodriguez. However, this is a game Virginia needed to win to prove to everyone that they can get back to Charlotte. Well, it plays games in Charlottesville...
5. Duke Blue Devils (3-0) (Last Week: 6)
Keep your eyes on Duke. Manny Diaz is quietly becoming one of the better head coaches in the ACC. His Blue Devils are 3-0 with wins over Tulane, Illinois, and Stanford. Assuming they look the part versus William & Mary, Georgia Tech, and North Carolina, Duke could become bowl-eligible before Halloween. All Diaz does is win nine games annually in Durham. The late November game looms large.
4. Virginia Tech Hokies (3-0) (Last Week: 5)
Virginia Tech has quickly turned it around under James Franklin. While beating Maryland is nothing to write home about, the Hokies are starting to look the part of an ACC title bout contender. In time, teams like Duke and maybe even Virginia will pull past them. However, we are looking at a team with a talent and head-coaching advantage over most teams in this league. That should matter for VA Tech.
3. SMU Mustangs (2-1) (Last Week: 2)
There is a sizable jump from No. 4 to No. 3. Because SMU lost on the road at Louisville, the Mustangs are the best team on the outside looking in at Charlotte this week. Rhett Lashlee is a high-quality head coach. There are so many things Kevin Jennings can do on the football field that others can't. This unfortunately includes throwing the most bone-headed interceptions imaginable weekly.
2. Louisville Cardinals (2-1) (Last Week: 4)
After losing a barn burner to Ole Miss in Nashville in Week 1, Louisville has quickly emerged as the most formidable challenger to Miami in the ACC. Beating SMU at home shows this team is more than just a high-octane offense. The running game is punishing. Lincoln Kienholz has taken his game to another level since transferring over. The defense is still not a strong unit, but an opportunistic one.
1. Miami Hurricanes (3-0) (Last Week: 1)
It will take a boatload of injuries and the epitome of coaching malpractice for Miami to not hold onto the top spot in the ACC hierarchy for the foreseeable future. Darian Mensah is settling in nicely as the Hurricanes' new starting quarterback. While he does need his supporting cast to step it up a bit, they will not have to this week versus Central Michigan. Unfortunately, they will play at Clemson in Week 5.
The Associated Press knocking Miami down a peg after the Wake Forest game should motivate them.
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