The Clemson Tigers had a tremendous opportunity to approach the upper echelon of the ACC on Saturday night, but could not take advantage of it. Clemson fell to 4-3 on the season and 2-2 in conference play after its 20-16 home loss to the Virginia Tech Hokies. It marks the eighth time in 10 games Clemson has lost at home to a Power Four team. Death Valley has become a house of horrors.
When a team outgains the opposition, has more rushing yards than them, has six sacks on the night, does not turn the ball over, and limits the opposing offense to only 1.9 yards per carry, that team should win, right? Well, coaching was not Clemson's forte on Saturday night. Now, the Tigers have no shot at getting to Charlotte and playing for a conference championship. They needed to win that one.
Let's take a look at how Clemson's most damning loss of the year impacts its standings in the ACC.
17. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (2-5) (Last Week: 15)
The Week 1 home loss to Colorado was telling. This year's Georgia Tech team was not going to be on par with what we have seen out of the Yellow Jackets in recent seasons. At 2-5 following their latest home loss to Boston College, the chances of Georgia Tech getting to a bowl game are incredibly slim. The Jackets still have to play Pitt, Louisville, Clemson, and Wake Forest in the ACC, as well as Georgia.
16. North Carolina State Wolfpack (3-4) (Last Week: 13)
It may have been a slight knee-jerk reaction, but North Carolina State had to fire longtime head coach Dave Doeren after losing to Stanford. NC State has fallen to 3-4 this season. The Wolfpack have been among the worst-coached teams in the ACC all year long. While they could have waited until the end of the season, clearly, apathy was no longer acceptable. The decision to fire Doeren did make sense.
15. California Golden Bears (3-5) (Last Week: 11)
As the season moves along, it is becoming more evident that Tosh Lupoi was not ready to be a Power Four head coach, let alone leading his alma mater. Outside of NC State, Cal is arguably the worst-coached team in the ACC. The Golden Bears used to play with some semblance of juice under their former head coach Justin Wilcox. This is why you sometimes need to leave well enough alone, folks.
14. Syracuse Orange (3-4) (Last Week: 17)
The Syracuse Orange will not be denied! After starting out ACC play 0-4, Fran Brown's Orange got a big win over North Carolina in overtime. While it may not be enough to help Brown save his job, or even get SU to bowl eligibility, nobody is going 0-for-the-ACC this season. Clemson does have to play Syracuse on the road in two weeks. It could potentially be a loser-leaves-town match, for all we know.
13. Florida State Seminoles (3-4) (Last Week: 14)
The Florida State Seminoles are not a good football team, but they have shown a bit more heart at times than some of their ACC contemporaries. Mike Norvell may be a dead man walking, but he is not out of his job just yet. With Clemson being about a touchdown underdog at Florida State, there is no reason for the Tigers to take the Seminoles for granted. At the very least, this team is still dangerous.
12. Pittsburgh Panthers (5-3) (Last Week: 10)
As stated last week, we could potentially see the Pittsburgh Panthers lose out after starting the season at 5-0. Yes, they did run into the buzzsaw that is the Miami Hurricanes, but this is not the same team without Mason Heintschel playing quarterback for them. Holden Geriner tried his best, but in the end, it did not matter. Pat Narduzzi is only as good as his starting quarterback allows Pitt to be.
11. Virginia Cavaliers (4-4) (Last Week: 9)
The Virginia Cavaliers are pedestrianly mediocre. At 4-4 on the season, they could make it back to a bowl game, or could miss out on one entirely. The spark that made last year's team so successful is simply no longer there. The fan base has had enough of the Hoos' inconsistent offense. Frankly, it will be important for Tony Elliott to get Virginia back to a bowl game to prove that last year was not a fluke.
10. Stanford Cardinal (4-4) (Last Week: 16)
Look at the Stanford Cardinal!. In Year 1, Tavita Pritchard just did something Troy Taylor could never do. He just matched Frank Reich's win total of four games from a year ago. Beating North Carolina State sent Dave Doeren packing. No, this is not a talented team by any stretch of the imagination. If it knocks off Cal and takes one of three between Louisville, Virginia Tech, and SMU, it will be a 6-6 team.
9. North Carolina Tar Heels (4-3) (Last Week: 7)
North Carolina suffered a soul-crushing loss of their own. All the positive momentum the Tar Heels had built under Bill Belichick fell to the wayside after losing to Syracuse in overtime. UNC had been playing some fantastic football after the Week 3 loss at Clemson. However, there is still so much of a talent disparity for savvy, defensive-minded coaching to possibly overcome. UNC has hit its ceiling.
8. Clemson Tigers (4-3) (Last Week: 5)
Clemson pulls back considerably after losing a winnable game at home to Virginia Tech. With a win, Clemson would have been behind Miami, SMU, and Wake Forest among the best teams in the ACC. Instead, Clemson may not have the offensive firepower to confidently achieve bowl eligibility before the latter part of November. At Syracuse and at home versus Georgia Tech are now must-win games.
7. Boston College Eagles (4-3) (Last Week: 12)
Boston College skyrockets up to No. 7 this week. It has nothing to do with the Eagles beating Georgia Tech, but rather that they are sitting atop an unfamiliar perch at 4-3. This is a team that some people thought would go winless. Instead, the Eagles are more than merely a feisty team in the ACC. If they can beat Florida State and Syracuse at home, the Eagles should finish the season at a sizzling 6-6.
6. Duke Blue Devils (5-2) (Last Week: 8)
Duke stopped the bleeding by getting a clutch win down the stretch at Virginia. This comes after falling to Georgia Tech and North Carolina in succession. While the chances of Manny Diaz's team getting back to Charlotte are slim at best, we are potentially looking at another nine-win season for his team. Duke still has to play Miami and Wake Forest, but the rest of its games are quite winnable.
5. Louisville Cardinals (4-3) (Last Week: 4)
As the season goes along, Louisville may have lost to two playoff-caliber teams in Ole Miss and Wake Forest. While the North Carolina State loss looks worse by the week, the win over SMU is a nice pelt on the wall for Jeff Brohm's team. At this time, Louisville is about the worst team that could potentially get to Charlotte. If the Cardinals made it there, they would not beat Miami or whoever they might face.
4. Virginia Tech Hokies (6-2) (Last Week: 6)
With their big road win over Clemson, the Virginia Tech Hokies improved to 6-2 on the season and are very much in the mix to get to Charlotte. James Franklin has Virginia Tech bowling in Year 1. While the Hokies may have taken advantage of the worst passing offense in the Power Four, this team showed a level of resiliency we did not know they had in them. Virginia Tech is not a great team, but it is rising.
3. SMU Mustangs (6-1) (Last Week: 3)
The SMU Mustangs are quietly taking care of their business in ACC play. All season long, they have consistently been a top-four team in the conference. While the close call at Florida State was very concerning, as was their loss to Louisville, Rhett Lashlee has his team hiding in the tall grass, waiting for someone to slip up. They still have Wake Forest and Notre Dame left on their schedule, though.
2. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (6-1) (Last Week: 2)
At this time, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons feel like the probable candidate to get to the ACC Championship Game to face the Miami Hurricanes in a rematch. Jake Dickert's team mushes people. It got healthier on its bye last week. With essentially two weeks to get ready for a huge road game at SMU, the Demon Deacons should have a 10-win season on their hands before we get to December.
1. Miami Hurricanes (7-0) (Last Week: 1)
As expected, the Miami Hurricanes sit atop the ACC standings once again. They are not moving unless they lose an unexpected one. Even in that event, they still own the head-to-head tiebreaker over Wake Forest. After beating the pulp out of Pitt, Miami has to focus on a tricky five-game stretch to end the regular season: at UNC, at Notre Dame, vs. Duke, vs. Virginia Tech, and vs. Boston College.
For the time being, it is simply Miami's world in the ACC, and the rest of league is merely living in it.
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