After the first five games of the season, the Clemson Tigers are exactly where most people expected that they would be. At 3-2 overall and 2-1 in ACC play, Clemson has shown everyone that it can beat up on underwhelming teams, but cannot hang with some of the best ones college football can provide. Clemson is entering its bye week, hoping to finally regain control of its season's narrative.
For a few minutes there, Clemson actually looked like it could compete with the Miami Hurricanes. The Clemson defense did make Darian Mensah look uncomfortable at times. This was also Tait Reynolds' best game at quarterback so far in his career. However, Miami was simply too fast and too explosive for Clemson to keep this one interesting. No wonder the Hurricanes won in a total laugher.
As for the rest of the ACC, it is quite telling where the Tigers find themselves in these power rankings.
17. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (1-3) (Last Week: 17)
It does not matter that the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets were on a bye. This is still arguably the worst team in the ACC. Their only win of the season is over FCS Mercer. Flawed teams such as Colorado, Tennessee, and Stanford all had their way with them. Brent Key has time to get his alma mater's team back to good, but the Georgia Tech teams we saw over the last few seasons are a distant memory.
16. Stanford Cardinal (2-3) (Last Week: 15)
Stanford may have a head-to-head win over Georgia Tech, but Tavita Pritchard's alma mater does not have enough talent to compete in ACC play. Teams like Miami and now Wake Forest have routinely ear-holed them. While it can only go up from here for the Cardinal, we have to wonder if they will ever return to glory like they were under Jim Harbaugh and David Shaw. It is such an anonymous program.
15. California Golden Bears (2-3) (Last Week: 11)
We are starting to creep into some truly scary territory for the California Golden Bears. After losing on the road to UNLV, there is a non-zero chance that Tosh Lupoi could be one-and-done leading his alma mater. There may not be a worse-coached team in the entire ACC than Cal. Clemson exposed them firsthand. While Cal has a conference win over Syracuse, the Golden Bears have the far better roster.
14. Boston College Eagles (2-3) (Last Week: 14)
Boston College is not a good team, but the Eagles may not be the worst one in the ACC this year after all. They did push the SMU Mustangs in Week 5 to nearly get a third victory of the season. Admittedly, the floor was the roof for this team. Nobody was expecting them to do much anyway. While it remains to be seen how hot a seat Bill O'Brien is sitting on, total apathy has completely devoured BC athletics.
13. Syracuse Orange (2-2) (Last Week: 13)
Syracuse is coming off a close win over independent rival UConn. Although Fran Brown has a long way to go to get back to the level he was coaching at two seasons ago, Syracuse is arguably the hardest team to peg in the entire conference. It may be a result of a small sample size, but SU is capable of hanging with anyone, as well as getting blown out by anyone, too. We need more time.
12. North Carolina Tar Heels (2-2) (Last Week: 10)
North Carolina is a better team than the Tar Heels were a year ago. While they did push Notre Dame to the brink, the Tar Heels are riding a two-game losing streak, with defeats to Clemson and the Fighting Irish since starting the year out at 2-0. Apparently, beating TCU in a rock fight in Dublin was nothing to write home about. UNC could still be a bowl team, but the Tar Heels will have to make it happen fast.
11. Louisville Cardinals (2-3) (Last Week: 7)
There is no bigger disappointment in the ACC than Louisville. While losing a neutral-site affair to Ole Miss is understandable, as is increasingly dropping a close one at home to Wake Forest, how do you lose to North Carolina State to be 2-3? Jeff Brohm's team has a roster construction problem. It gives up too many points that its inconsistent offense cannot cash in on. This team might be in big trouble.
10. North Carolina State Wolfpack (3-2) (Last Week: 12)
No team in the ACC fluctuates as wildly or as carelessly as Dave Doeren's North Carolina State Wolfpack. The high end of this team may not be great, but we have seen the bottom fall out on this team one too many times before. The Virginia loss looks worse by the week. The Vanderbilt defeat should have been a fireable offense. Beating Louisville has stopped the bleeding a bit, but not much.
9. Virginia Cavaliers (3-2) (Last Week: 8)
Virginia carving up North Carolina State in Week 0 feels like eons ago. The Cavaliers have since lost a bad game to West Virginia, and then got embarrassed at Florida State. Tony Elliott is under fire again. UVA was last year's runner-up in the ACC. The Hoos were one or two series away from reaching the College Football Playoff. While this is still a likely bowl team, eight wins might be the team's ceiling.
8. Clemson Tigers (3-2) (Last Week: 9)
Fate would have it, Clemson got blown out at home by 28 points to the best team in the conference, and still went up a spot. Miami exposed the Tigers in more ways than one. However, Clemson is still an improving team, even if it does not look to be the case versus the upper echelon of the sport. As long as Clemson takes on ACC cannon fodder, the Tigers will have an outside shot of getting to Charlotte.
7. Florida State Seminoles (3-2) (Last Week: 16)
Florida State skyrockets up nine spots in this week's rankings for its utter evisceration of quasi-rival Virginia. There is usually about one result per week per league that leaves us flabbergasted. This would be it for the ACC. Florida State scored 38 unanswered points after being down 7-0 to UVA. It was a win that might have been enough to save Mike Norvell's job. Florida State is actually feisty now.
6. Virginia Tech Hokies (4-1) (Last Week: 3)
Had Virginia Tech made its game-winning, chip-shot field goal attempt, the Hokies might have a claim for the No. 2 spot in this week's power rankings. They were No. 3 last week. Instead, a strange home loss to Pittsburgh has them dropping down three spots. Virginia Tech has a talent advantage over most of the teams it will play in the ACC. However, the James Franklin of it all remains a big concern.
5. Pittsburgh Panthers (5-0) (Last Week: 5)
The Pittsburgh Panthers may have beaten Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. They might even be ranked ahead of Week 6. However, the fact that they are now without Mason Heintschel for the rest of the year is problematic for Pat Narduzzi's team. Yes, Pitt has a menacing defense, but Heintschel's torn ACL could make the Panthers somewhat one-dimensional. Furthermore, they are so hard to trust.
4. SMU Mustangs (4-1) (Last Week: 2)
It is almost as if the SMU Mustangs are begging for the Associated Press to knock the Mustangs out of their top 25 poll. SMU has played with its food the last two weeks. Closer wins than expected over Missouri State and Boston College do not give us any hope of SMU crashing the College Football Playoff later on. It is a fine team, but let's not put the cart before the horse before we crown them.
3. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (4-1) (Last Week: 6)
One could argue that the most impressive ACC team beyond that of Miami so far this year is the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. To date, they have given the Canes the toughest run for their money. After falling at home to Miami, Wake Forest has gone on to beat Louisville on the road and stomp Stanford in Week 5. This is a team that could win upwards of 10 games this season if all goes right.
2. Duke Blue Devils (4-0) (Last Week: 4)
Duke may have been on a bye this past week, but the Blue Devils have been the best undefeated team in the ACC, outside of Miami, of course. Manny Diaz has his team playing with a great sense of passion and togetherness. It is not out of the realm of possibility that Duke repeats as ACC champs. They may be 9-0 by the time they take on Miami in Coral Gables. Diaz will be out for blood in that one.
1. Miami Hurricanes (5-0) (Last Week: 1)
As a surprise to absolutely no one, the Miami Hurricanes are No. 1 with a bullet in this week's power rankings once again. Every team is going down swinging when taking on the Canes. This is one of five or six teams that should have realistic national title aspirations, at least for now. While it remains to be seen how good this team can look versus high-quality competition, they are just destroying people.
Miami is arguably the closest thing to a College Football Playoff lock we have at this point of the year.
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