After improving to 3-1 on the season with a clutch road victory at Cal, Clemson is now one of only two teams in the ACC with a 2-0 mark in conference play. The other just so happens to be Miami, a team the Tigers will host this weekend, with seemingly their season hanging in the balance. While an upset win over Miami would turn the ACC completely upside down, this Tigers team is improving rapidly.
One of the biggest reasons for this is Clemson's ascending defense. While the linebacking corps has been as advertised, Clemson may now have one of the best secondaries in college football. With a rising pass rush, this has, in effect, helped out Clemson's weakest unit defensively in the trenches. This has the Tigers looking like one of the more dangerous teams in the ACC. How do they stack up?
Here are the latest batch of ACC power rankings heading into Week 5. So much has changed already!
17. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (1-3) (Last Week: 14)
After falling on the road to Stanford last week, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets have plummeted to the bottom of the ACC power rankings this week. Their only win of the season came against Mercer two weeks ago. Clearly, coordinator attrition is sinking Brent Key's team before our very eyes. While all three of their losses have been to Power Four teams, they are not defeating any of them either...
16. Florida State Seminoles (2-2) (Last Week: 16)
Florida State is in no man's land for as long as Mike Norvell remains the Seminoles' head coach. It is not if, but a matter of when he will be relieved of his duties. The university pulling the plug on his former boss, athletic director Michael Alford, feels like the final nail in the coffin. Unless Florida State goes on some sort of miraculous run in ACC play, Florida State will have a new coach by December.
15. Stanford Cardinal (2-2) (Last Week: 17)
Stanford took care of business at home versus lowly Georgia Tech. While it was a late-night win not worthy of writing home about, wins have been quite hard to come by for the Cardinal over the last few years. This victory could serve as the building block Tavita Pritchard needs to get it rolling in Palo Alto. Then again, it may only end up being a home victory over what might be the worst team in the league.
14. Boston College Eagles (2-2) (Last Week: 12)
Boston College has already matched its win total from a season ago before the end of the month. While the Eagles do look to be better than they were a year ago, ACC play can be, and has been, a bit unforgiving for them at times. Bill O'Brien will need to coach his tail off to help Boston College get anywhere close to bowl eligibility this season. That might be what it will take for him to save his job.
13. Syracuse Orange (1-2) (Last Week: 13)
Syracuse was on a bye last week, so the Orange remain one of the hardest teams to gauge in the ACC. While they do not look to be anywhere near as good as they were two years ago, they may not be as bad as they were last season. This does feel like a pivotal one for Fran Brown as head coach. As long as Syracuse approaches bowl eligibility, he should be fine. Otherwise, he may need to be let go.
12. North Carolina State Wolfpack (2-2) (Last Week: 15)
Eventually, water will find its level in terms of how we should feel about Dave Doeren's North Carolina State Wolfpack. Simply put, they are more talented than what their record and efforts have shown. That right there is the biggest problem with this program. Doeren has been in charge for well over a decade now, and what does he have to show for it? If NC State misses a bowl game, he needs to go.
11. California Golden Bears (2-2) (Last Week: 8)
You almost have to feel bad for Tosh Lupoi. He was begging for the Cal student population to watch the Golden Bears take on Clemson under the bright lights on Friday night. Sadly, there was no juice to the game from the Cal standpoint. It is becoming abundantly clear that Lupoi does not have a strong staff in his first year leading his alma mater. It is a talented team that is being totally under-coached.
10. North Carolina Tar Heels (2-1) (Last Week: 11)
North Carolina was another ACC team on a bye this past week. For this reason, the Tar Heels are still a bit too hard to peg. While they do look to be better than they were a season ago, UNC appears to be a victim of a small sample size. Although the defense looks to be strong this season, the special teams are a mess, and Billy Edwards Jr. is not a reliable starting quarterback. He makes too many mistakes.
9. Clemson Tigers (3-1) (Last Week: 10)
Clemson may have only moved up a spot, but the Tigers are right where they need to be in the ACC hierarchy. After getting blown out on the road at LSU in Week 1, the Tigers have responded with three wins in a row over Georgia Southern, North Carolina, and Cal. While none of those teams may end up being good, Clemson is at least showing it can beat the teams it should by playing sound defense.
8. Virginia Cavaliers (3-1) (Last Week: 6)
Virginia appears to have been overstated by how well the Cavaliers looked versus North Carolina State. While they did bounce back last week after losing to West Virginia two weeks prior, the Hoos may be more of an ACC title bout pretender than we realized. Yes, somebody will have to get there to take on Miami. It could be UVA. However, they have not played their best football when it counts yet.
7. Louisville Cardinals (2-2) (Last Week: 2)
Louisville has taken a nosedive after suffering its second loss of the season. Losing to Ole Miss on a neutral site is one thing, but getting pushed around and falling at home to Wake Forest is another. For as electrifying as Lincoln Kienholz can be at quarterback for the Cardinals, Louisville's defense keeps being a major problem for the program. It is why Jeff Brohm may never win the conference at U of L.
6. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (3-1) (Last Week: 9)
Wake Forest is arguably the best-coached team in the entire league. From a pure talent perspective, Jake Dickert seems to get more out of his players than anyone. While the Purdue scare was a bit concerning, upsetting Louisville on the road got a lot of the college football world's attention. Even if the Week 3 loss to Miami was not pretty, the Demon Deacons did put up a fight versus the Canes.
5. Pittsburgh Panthers (4-0) (Last Week: 7)
Through the first third of the season, the Pittsburgh Panthers are one of four undefeated ACC teams. While the offense comes and goes, one thing has become readily apparent for Pat Narduzzi's team. He does seem to have a defense he can trust. Any time Pitt has a quality defense and competent quarterback play, the Panthers are as tough an out as anyone in the ACC. They are so hard to trust.
4. Duke Blue Devils (4-0) (Last Week: 5)
At 4-0, Duke is a strong ACC football team and is only getting better. Manny Diaz is coaching his tail off this season in Durham. While the Blue Devils have not played the most difficult schedule yet, they do have wins over Tulane, Illinois, and Stanford under their belt. With how bad Georgia Tech has been, Duke may be 6-0 before Halloween. If they beat UVA on the road, Duke may start the year out at 9-0!
3. Virginia Tech Hokies (4-0) (Last Week: 4)
Virginia Tech seems to have hired the right head coach in James Franklin. The Hokies are 4-0 in their first four games under his leadership. While they have not played anyone of note, this fanbase is over the moon with what it has seen out of this new regime so far. The big question now is how the team will perform versus the harder teams on their schedule. They have only passed easy tests thus far.
2. SMU Mustangs (3-1) (Last Week: 3)
Almost by default, the SMU Mustangs are the second-best team in the ACC. Outside of the Miami Hurricanes, they are the only one that is ranked heading into Week 5. So far, the Mustangs are 3-1 with a win over Florida State, but a road loss to Louisville. They nearly let Missouri State upset them at home on a late Saturday night kick. This team can hang with anyone, but it is no longer trustworthy.
1. Miami Hurricanes (4-0) (Last Week: 1)
Although Miami has not really been tested yet, the Hurricanes are the best team in the ACC until proven otherwise. They have such a talent and coaching advantage over everyone else in the league. However, Clemson does have a great shot at upsetting them on Saturday night. Miami is dealing with a bit of an injury bug in the defensive backfield and along the offensive line. What if Miami stumbles?
If Clemson's ascension and Miami's letdown tendencies intersect, we might have ourselves a game.
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