Week 5 left the ACC with a lot more questions than answers, especially when it comes to the bottom half of this league. Right now, there are about four or five teams that look the part. The rest of the conference is a jumbled mess that will take a while to sort out.
Even the top contenders could fall off in a hurry. Such is life in the ACC. Here’s where everyone stands heading into Week 6:
Brad Senkiw
1. Miami Hurricanes
The Hurricanes completed their non-conference schedule unscathed and begin ACC play with an angry FSU team this week.
2. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
The Yellow Jackets tried to blow one at Wake Forest early, but a nice rally keeps them right behind Miami.
3. Louisville Cardinals
The Cards overcame two double-digit deficits to win a wild one at Pitt and move up a spot this week.
4. Florida State Seminoles
I’m not going to beat FSU up too much after last Friday’s overtime loss in a wild, weird game at Virginia, a tough out this year.
5. Virginia Cavaliers
A signature win against FSU for Tony Elliott and the Cavaliers has them eyeing a big season.
6. Duke Blue Devils
Manny Diaz has had his team ready to play the last two weeks, and now Duke is set up to make a real push in the ACC.
7. Cal Bears
Maybe last week’s plummet down these rankings was a bit much, or maybe the win over BC was more about BC.
8. SMU Mustangs
No game this past week means nothing bad to say about the Ponies.
9. Syracuse Orange
Well, that wasn’t an ideal performance against Duke and a big letdown after the Clemson win. Maybe the QB loss is too much to overcome.
10. Clemson Tigers
Not playing and watching a lot of other teams struggle bumpd the Tigers up, but they have to show something at UNC.
11. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
I’m giving Wake a lot of credit for the effort and competitiveness this team has shown over the last couple of weeks.
12. NC State Wolfpack
Back-to-back conference losses as a favorite have Dave Doren and the Wolfpack's season on the ropes.
13. Pittsburgh Panthers
You can’t blow that lead twice at home. It might be time to take a hard look at the future of this program.
14. Virginia Tech Hokies
Nice win at NC State, getting the Hokies out of the bottom three and giving them hope for a decent season after firing their head coach.
15. North Carolina Tar Heels
A week off keeps UNC from moving down, but this team is a 13.5-point underdog at home against Clemson this week. Yikes.
16. Stanford Cardinal
A win is a win, I guess, even if it’s by one against San Jose State, but everything is a struggle for this team.
17. Boston College Eagles
We have a new cellar dweller after the Eagles lost at home and gave up 28 points to a Cal team that didn’t score the previous week.