There’s a clear top and bottom to the ACC. Miami, Clemson, and SMU round out the top three, while Florida State, Virginia, Stanford, and Wake Forest hold steady at the bottom. The middle of the pack is much more interesting regarding the ACC power rankings. However, No. 4-13 could probably beat the other 9 on any given Saturday.
Let's start from the bottom. NC State hasn't been a good team this season. The Wolfpack have four wins by a combined 35 points to Western Carolina, Lousiana Tech, Northern Illinois, and California. To quote Sesame Street, "One of these is not like the others." The only thing saving NC State from being in the "bottom tier" is its win over Cal.
California has done well, kind of. The Golden Bears started hot with three straight wins, including one over Auburn. But since then, they've lost four in a row. The thing about Cal is it plays up or down to its competition. FSU isn't good, but Cal lost 14-9. Two weeks later, Miami — the No. 1 team in the rankings — needed some questionable calls to knock off California. Then the Bears play up to Pitt and down to NC State. They're by far the most confusing team in the ACC.
Rank | School | Game Result | Previous rank |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Miami | W, Louisville 52-45 | 1 |
2 | Clemson | W, Viginia 48-31 | 2 |
3 | SMU | W, Stanford 40-10 | 3 |
4 | Pittsburgh | BYE | 6 |
5 | Louisville | L, Miami 52-45 | 4 |
6 | Virginia Tech | W, Boston College 42-21 | 7 |
7 | Georgia Tech | L, Notre Dame 31-13 | 5 |
8 | Syracuse | BYE | 9 |
9 | Duke | W, Florida State 23-16 | 11 |
10 | California | L, NC State 24-23 | 8 |
11 | Boston College | L, Viginia Tech 42-21 | 10 |
12 | North Carolina | BYE | 12 |
13 | NC State | W, California 24-23 | 14 |
14 | Florida State | L, Duke 23-16 | 13 |
15 | Virginia | L, Clemson 48-31 | 15 |
16 | Stanford | L, Stanford 40-10 | 16 |
17 | Wake Forest | W, UConn 23-20 | 17 |
At the top, we have Louisville, Virginia Tech, and Georgia Tech. All Three have shown flashes of greatness while falling flat on their faces later. None of them have a chance of making the ACC Championship, but one or two could play a spoiler role if the top-3 aren't careful.
The last team at the top is undefeated but unproven. Along with SMU, Pittsburgh has been the surprise team this year. The Panthers have already clinched a bowl berth, going 6-0, but they've had an easy schedule. We'll see how good they are with SMU, Clemson, and Louisville left on the schedule.