ACC Power Rankings: BC rises, Hokies fall and can a third team step up?
There were some good things that happened for the ACC last weekend.
Boston College knocked off a top-10 team, and the league went 8-2 overall, with one of the defeats coming in conference play. Three ACC teams won road games against FBS foes.
All of that sounds good, right?
Well, not exactly. A ranked Virginia Tech team, who many thought was "back" after knocking off Ohio State lost at home, lost to a very respectable (but not 'Power 5') East Carolina team.
Louisville, presumably the league's No. 3 team, lost to Virginia, which had previously dropped 11 straight ACC contestes.
Can anyone else besides Florida State or Clemson step up? The league had better hope so, because the two powers play this weekend.
1. No. 1 Florida State (2-0)
Last week: 1 (Bye)
Next up: No. 22 Clemson
The Seminoles haven't looked great through their first two weeks, but it looks like they'll get all their injured defensive tackles back from the Citadel game (at least Eddie Goldman, who is a "full go" for practice, according to the Tallahassee Democrat), not to mention banged-up cornerbacks Ronald Darby and P.J. Williams.
FSUis much better than it has shown the first two weeks. This will be a stiff test, even at home, though.
The Seminoles could really use a dominating win the likes of which they had routinely last season, particularly when the College Football Playoff committee starts parsing the various results from around the country.
2. No. 22 Clemson (2-0)
Last week: T-3 (Bye)
Next up: at No. 1 Florida State
Clemson got the kind of big win it needed against South Carolina State two weeks ago, but there are still a lot of question marks.
Aaaaaaaaand now, Florida State.
FSU won last year's game in Death Valley handily, and Clemson was a better team last year. Florida State was better, too, though, and Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has harped on how much the Tigers' turnovers and miscues gave them no chance in last year's matchup.
FSU was clearly the better team, though. Obviously the gap has narrowed a bit this year -- maybe?
And Clemson is going to continue to rotate senior Cole Stoudt and freshmen Deshaun Watson at quarterback -- how much, only time will tell. But this game will be a pretty reasonable gauge on where Clemson actually is right now and what their ceiling might be.
T-3. Pittsburgh (3-0, 1-0 ACC)
Last week: 5 (W 42-25 at Florida International)
Next up: Iowa
It was ugly for a while, but ultimately, Pitt pulled away and took care of business on the road against an awful FIU team.
The ugliness was cause for concern, but Pitt's best win remains a transitive property win over Boston College (who beat a top-10 USC team this past weekend). Iowa is coming off of a loss to Iowa State, but the Hawkeyes are still a good team.
This was marked down as a sure loss for Pitt coming into the season; considering the way the two teams have looked so far, that's far from a certainty.
But if Pitt is for real, it will at the very least be competitive in this game, if not outright win it.
T-3. Boston College (2-1, 0-1 ACC)
Last week: 12 (W 37-31 over No. 9 USC)
Next up: Maine
Boston College looked downright pedestrian through its first two games, slogging through a boring (but dominant) win over UMass before failing to generate much offense in a loss at home to Pittsburgh.
But that didn't stop the Eagles from running through (and over ... and around) No. 9 USC on Saturday, amassing 452 ground yards in their home upset of the Trojan. (USC, for what it's worth, rushed for only 20 yards.)
Quarterback Tyler Murphy ran for 191 yards on 13 carries. Is this the Boston College we'll see the rest of the year, or was it a one-week wonder?
At least we know the Eagles' ceiling, though.
5. Duke (3-0)
Last week: 6 (41-3 win over Kansas)
Next up: Tulane
Business as usual for the Blue Devils in a 41-3 win over Kansas. Duke has yet to play anyone of note but have, for the most part, throttled all comers. And there is something to be said for that, as plenty of other teams in the ACC have struggled to put away weaker opponents.
Duke is now 3-0 for the first time since 1994, and with a rather meh Tulane team coming to town, that looks likely to improve to 4-0. But even including Tulane, Duke's first four opponents have a 2-8 record so far, and none have beaten an FBS team.
So, how good are the defending Coastal champs? We'll find out soon enough, but probably not this week.
6. Virginia (2-1, 1-0 ACC)
Last week: 10 (W 23-21 over No. 17 Louisville)
Next up: at No. 21 BYU
Virginia was, seemingly, not bothered at all by facing its second ranked opponent in its first three games, and a late field goal sealed the two-point win for the Cavaliers, their first ACC win in its last 11 tries.
The Cavaliers are clearly not content to be the doormat they were a season ago, and that defense continues to be excellent as the offense does just enough. Now, they'll have arguably their toughest game all year at No. 21 BYU.
Will they continue to play as well as they have against ranked opponents, even in their first trip outside of Scott Stadium?
Even if they can keep it competitive, they'll make it clear from the jump that they are just as ready as the rest of the Coastal Division to compete for that title. (Literally, the entire rest of the division.)
7. Virginia Tech (2-1)
Last week: 2 (L 28-21 to East Carolina)
Next up: Georgia Tech
And here we all thought Virginia Tech was a Coastal Division front-runner yet again after beating a top-10 Ohio State team on the road two weeks ago.
Maybe the Hokies still will win the Coastal, but the way they performed after that win -- particularly early in the game -- was disheartening. East Carolina is a very good team that would give a lot of teams a tough time across the country, even ranked teams.
The Pirates, arguably, should be ranked themeslves. But while Virginia Tech's defense didn't have the start it wanted, the offense basically couldn't manage to generate anything positive for most of the game, and that's a huge concern.
Now, the Hokies will play against Georgia Tech in a game that has decided the Coastal Division winner all but one time (last year). Maybe it will again this year? Who even knows.
8. Louisville (2-1, 1-1 ACC)
Last week: T-3 (L 23-21 at Virginia)
Next up: Florida International
Virginia is actually a pretty good team, so there's not necessarily any shame in losing at Virginia.
But the Cardinals were flying high their its season-opening win over Miami and subsequent crushing of Murray State, and they looked like potentially the third-best team in the league.
Now, not so much.
Louisville scored on a crisp first drive before searching for answers the rest of the afternoon against the Cavaliers' pass rush, and starter
Will Gardner was pulled for freshman Reggie Bonnafon at one point (Gardner finished 14-of-34 for 16 yards). Louisville couldn't generate a ton on the ground, either.
But the Cardinals still have a lot of talent, and should be just fine. Should.
DISCLAIMER: The following five teams have not really done much, if anything to differentiate themselves from the pack. All have struggled at least once to beat inferior teams.
But only one of these teams -- Miami -- has an actual loss on its schedule, and that was at Louisville in the season-opener. So it's hard to know what to make of this group.
Hence, they're all tied for ninth. Listen, you try sorting this out. Seriously. When you find yourself parsing the finer points of Elon vs. Liberty vs. Georgia Southern in terms of strength of schedule, your head will explode.
T-9. Syracuse (2-0)
Last week: 13 (W 40-3 at Central Michigan)
Next up: Maryland
So much for all the concern about Syracuse's narrow win over FCS Villanova in Week 1. The Orange went on the road to face a pretty solid 2-0 MAC team and won convincingly, which has to mean something.
And quarterback Terrel Hunt, who was ejected from the season-opener for throwing a punch, bounced back nicely with 92 rushing yards and 175 passing yards. Syracuse out-rushed the Chippewas 289-34 and piled up 464 total yards, while its defense performed much better than in Week 1.
Maybe the Orange, a pretty experienced bunch, will actually be pretty good. Former Atlantic Division foe and current Big Ten member Maryland will be an excellent test, as the Terps have had ups and downs of their own through the first few weeks.
T-9. North Carolina (2-0)
Last week: 7 (Bye)
Next up: at East Carolina
The UNC coaching staff said that in the 31-27 win over San Diego State two weeks ago, the Tar Heels missed 34 tackles. If UNC does that on Saturday in Greenville, it might give up 34 touchdowns.
The Pirates' dangerous offense will be a very tough challenge for a UNC defense that has been good at some things (forcing turnovers) and bad at others (almost everything else).
UNC's offense has also taken awhile to click, and still hasn't looked as crisp as it will need to if it wants to keep up with a high-octane Pirate Air Raid attack.
The Tar Heels had better hope that they shored up a lot of issues during the bye week, as the way it played against Liberty and San Diego State won't be close to good enough.
T-9. NC State (3-0)
Last week: 11 (W 49-17 at South Florida)
Next up: Presbyterian
To call NC State's first two wins this season -- comebacks from double-digit deficits, at home, against Georgia Southern and Old Dominion -- underwhelming would be putting it mildly.
But it's not possible, then, to overstate what a convincing 49-17 win at South Florida means to this team.
It doesn't erase the first two weeks, to be sure, but it's a significant win -- and one that ties NC State's win total for last year. With Presbyterian looming next week, they're sure to pass it, which is huge.
Florida transfer quarterback Jacoby Brissett is now 69-of-98 for 810 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception though three weeks -- not too shabby, indeed.
T-9. Miami (2-1, 0-1 ACC)
Last week: 8 (W 41-20 over Arkansas State)
Next up: at No. 24 Nebraska
Well, the Miami offense finally got going against a pretty solid Arkansas State team last weekend, as freshman quarterback Brad Kaaya threw for 342 yards and four touchdowns, and Duke Johnson finishing with 90 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
But now, Miami -- warts and all -- will face a good Nebraska team on the road this weekend, and, yikes.
Nebraska squeaked by McNeese State in Week 2, but bounced back nicely with a 55-19 win at Fresno State. The Huskers are still beatable, but Miami hasn't looked the team some thought they'd be headed into this year just yet.
Maybe the last two weeks after the Louisville loss were enough for them to figure things out, and they'd better hope so.
T-9. Georgia Tech (3-0)
Last week: 9 (W 42-38 over Georgia Southern)
Next up: at Virginia Tech
For awhile, it looked like Georgia Tech had finally put it all together and was going to put away an opponent from the jump, getting out to a 35-10 second-quarter lead at home over Georgia Southern.
And then Georgia Southern rattled off 28 unanswered points in the second half to take a 38-35 lead with 10:46 to go.
Even with that lead, Eagles were driving and had reached the Georgia Tech 28-yard line before a fumble derailed the drive, and Georgia Tech scored on its ensuing possession to take the lead and win the game.
Good on Georgia Tech for getting three wins, but none of them have been particularly inspiring.
The defense, particularly, seems to be a concern. But the Yellow Jackets get a fresh slate starting this weekend against the Hokies in a game that almost always has long-standing implications.
14. Wake Forest (1-2)
Last week: 14 (L 36-24 at Utah State)
Next up: Army
Wake Forest actually played better than expected early on at Utah State, and the defense continues to be very good, scoring the first touchdown of the game on an interception return.
Ultimately, though, Wake trailed 29-7 at half, in spite of allowing just two offensive touchdowns.
The Wake offense continues to be dreadful, though, as it had -25 rushing yards and quarterback John Wolford had to throw the ball 50 times (completing just 20).
Wolford was sacked six times. It's going to be a long, long year for the rebuilding Deacs, who had just better hope that they get through this year with Wolford staying healthy behind a paper-thin offensive line.
