After a weekend that featured a classic between Notre Dame and Florida State but not many other results that were unexpected, there's not a lot of movement in this week's power rankings.
Of course, it wouldn't be the ACC without some ties in the rankings, and there are a few. But with five teams sporting a .500 record or worse and four more just a game above, it's pretty clear right now that there are a few that are starting to separate themselves.
Last week: 1 (W 31-27 over No. 6 Notre Dame)
Next up: Bye
When the lights are brightest and his team needs him the most, reigning Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston always seems to find a way to come through. And he did it again against Notre Dame, completing 15 of his 16 passes for 181 yards and a score in the second half. Notre Dame QB Everett Golson was great too, and made clutch plays of his own, but a pick play resulting in offensive pass interference nullified what would have been the game-winning touchdown, and the Irish fell just short.
FSU is not perfect by any means, but the Seminoles are getting better each week and the two teams treated everyone to a great college football game.
Last week: 2 (W 17-13 at Boston College)
Next up: Syracuse
Cole Stoudt is still not Deshaun Watson, but Clemson's senior QB is tough as nails, playing through a shoulder injury to lead his team to a 17-13 win at a surging Boston College team. Stoudt was 29 of 45 for 285 yards, but Clemson's defense stepped up once again, holding the Eagles' potent rushing attack to a season-low 120 yards and 11 total first downs. Clemson is banged up right now at tailback after losing Adam Choice to a torn ACL, and the running game hasn't been great anyways. But the defense is playing as well as it ever has and there's still a very real chance that the Tigers can win out.
Last week: 5 (W 20-13 over Virginia)
Next up: Bye
Schedule, schmedule. You can dismiss who Duke has beaten all you'd like, but the fact is that they've done it and plenty of other teams haven't taken care of business in the same way. And Virginia was playing as well as any team in the Coastal Division entering that game. Duke continues to win games by not hurting itself (no turnovers for the second straight game), running the ball when needed and just being that much tougher in the fourth quarter than it was in the first three.
The Blue Devils have it all right there for them to repeat as Coastal champs with the only remaining road games at Pittsburgh and at Syracuse. It's beginning to feel a bit like last year, but Coastal chaos has reigned supreme and might be a force too powerful for even the consistent Blue Devils.
Last week: T-3 (W 30-18 over NC State)
Next up: Bye
As usual with the Cardinals, it wasn't pretty, but it was a win. The defense allowed over 300 total yards for the first time this season to an NC State team desperate to turn things around, but the offense compensated by putting up 369 total yards. Michael Dyer finally had a good game for Louisville, rumbling his way to 173 yards on the ground, and quarterback Will Gardner looked much more comfortable with his best weapon DeVante Parker back at wide receiver (he had nine catches for 132 yards). You have to wonder if the defensive performance was a blip or if real vulnerabilities were exposed; the Cardinals close the season hosting No. 2 FSU, at Boston College, at No. 7 Notre Dame and home against Kentucky. So, yeah.
Last week: T-3 (L 20-13 at Duke)
Next up: North Carolina
Virginia's only losses this season are still to teams that are either ranked (UCLA by eight, at BYU with Taysom Hill by eight) or should be ranked (Duke by just seven). The Cavaliers weren't perfect against the Blue Devils, but they played well enough to win the game and very nearly did. Virginia out-gained Duke 465-334 and had just one turnover, but the Cavaliers couldn't finish drives and its defense, which had been dominant, didn't get a sack or a tackle for loss for the first time all season.
The next two games become very important for Virginia (UNC at home, at Georgia Tech), as after that, it plays Florida State, Miami and Virginia Tech. Nothing will be easy the rest of the year, but Virginia has remained resilient.
Last week: 6 (L 17-13 to No. 24 Clemson)
Next up: at Wake Forest
There's no shame in losing to Clemson, but the Eagles have to feel like they let one slip away. They led in the fourth quarter after quarterback Tyler Murphy hit Josh Bordner for a touchdown with 10:59 to go, but Clemson answered back right away and Boston College wouldn't score again. They got close at the end, but couldn't punch it in. Still, they fought hard and they didn't make anything easy, forcing Clemson to convert 10-of-21 third downs and not turning it over once. Nothing gets easier from here on out for the Eagles with trips to Virginia Tech and Florida State remaining, but they've shown they can play with anyone.
Last week: 9 (Bye)
Next up: at Virginia Tech
Miami moves up by virtue of having an off week. Such is life in the ACC Coastal, whereby not playing, you avoid looking foolish somehow. But Miami remains a very tough team to figure out. The Hurricanes are going to be tested this Thursday at Virginia Tech, but after that, the Hurricanes will have three of their final four games at home.
Of course, one of those games is against Florida State, but every other remaining game on the slate for Miami is simultaneously winnable and losable, depending on which team shows up. If it's the one that plays great defense and mistake-free (or mistake-limited) football like against Duke, they could go 4-1 through the final five. If it's the one that couldn't get a stop at Georgia Tech, then ... yeah. But the Coastal is still wide open and Miami still has a tiebreaker with the Division leader. So who knows.
Last week: T-12 (W 21-16 over Virginia Tech)
Next up: Georgia Tech
Hard to know what to make of Pitt, even now. Is it the team that is 2-1 against the bad teams on its schedule, or the one that is 2-2 against the good ones? The win over Virginia Tech last Thursday snapped a three-game losing streak and was much-needed, but it wasn't a game that anyone would ever watch voluntarily again as the teams combined for three turnovers (many more near-turnovers), 8-of-30 third down conversions and just 31 first downs. Quarterback Chad Voytik did just enough, passing for 92 yards and rushing for 118 yards. As for pretty much every other team in the division, the Coastal is still right there for the taking and Pitt has one of the friendlier schedules.
Last week: 7 (L 48-43 at North Carolina)
Next up: at Pittsburgh
Two weeks ago, Georgia Tech was one of 10 remaining unbeaten teams in college football. Now, the Yellow Jackets have lost two straight. The defense has been dreadful and has not allowed fewer than 5.45 yards per play against an FBS opponent this year. It has allowed eight or more yards per play twice and 6.5 or more three times. North Carolina's 390 passing yards were the most against the defense all year, and the 88 plays for 579 yards felt like 188 plays and 1,000 yards. It felt inevitable that Carolina would score on its final drive, and it must have to coach Paul Johnson as well, who tried an onside kick after a second-half touchdown when his defense had stopped getting any stops.
The offense is still powerful and explosive, but this isn't a team that can reliably play from behind and that's the situation it's been in the last few weeks.
Last week: 8 (L 21-16 at Pittsburgh)
Next up: Miami
The Hokies did beat Ohio State in Week 2 of this season, right? I didn't hallucinate that? Since that game, the Hokies are 2-3 and neither of their wins were particularly pretty. The offense has stalled and the defense is stout but still allows some big plays, which has often been enough for opponents.
At Pittsburgh, the Hokies set a new low in offense by rushing for just 26 yards and totaling just 61 yards of offense in the first half (291 for the game, much of which came late) and 16 first downs. Virginia Tech piled up pre-snap penalties, turnovers and near-turnovers and could not move the football. It was not pretty. The Hokies' only remaining road games this year are at Duke and Wake Forest, but it doesn't really matter who Virginia Tech's opponents are if it can't clean things up on offense.
Last week: 11 (W 48-43 over Georgia Tech)
Next up: at Virginia
This is who North Carolina is now, basically, and who it will be moving forward -- a team that is going to struggle to stop opposing offenses with any real firepower, and a team that is going to have to out-score almost every it plays in shootout fashion. The Tar Heels were nearly up to that task in two of its three games leading into Georgia Tech, but didn't have a single win to show for it. It looked like they might not against Georgia Tech either as the Yellow Jackets scored with three minutes remaining, but quarterback Marquise Williams (now the full-time quarterback, one would assume, for the foreseeable future) led the Heels on a game-winning drive.
UNC has scored 41, 35, 17, 43 and 48 points the last five games and -- you guessed it -- has only won the game it scored 48, even though the defense allowed over 600 yards. That's asking a lot of the offense, but UNC will face some more pedestrian opposing offenses in the back half of its schedule and the offense could lead a late-season turnaround.
Last week: 10 (L 30-18 at Louisville)
Next up: Bye
Even without seven suspended players on defense, NC State gave Louisville all it could handle. But "almost" doesn't count in college football, and the fact remains that coach Dave Doeren's team has lost four straight after winning four straight to start the season. The question now becomes whether or not NC State can build on its plucky performance last week, the first time it has played well arguably since the third quarter against Florida State.
The Wolfpack, though, still haven't equaled their total points scored against the Seminoles (41) in the last three games combined (32). But the end-of-season schedule works out well for them (Syracuse, Georgia Tech, Wake and North Carolina). It is no given that they will make a bowl game, but it is still very likely. They have to bounce back mentally and win some of these winnable games.
Last week: T-12 (W 30-7 at Wake Forest)
Next up: at No. 21 Clemson
Really, Syracuse hasn't lost a game it wasn't "supposed" to yet, save maybe Maryland at home. But it's been the performance of the team in some of those losses that raised concerns. Now, the Orange took care of business against a lesser opponent on the road, even with a freshman quarterback making his first start (AJ Long) against a good defense, so maybe there's some cause for optimism going forward? Syracuse has to win just two more games to get back to a bowl yet again, and after the trip to Clemson this week (um, probably a loss), there are some winnable opportunities left. Maybe Syracuse has turned a corner.
Last week: 14 (L 30-7 to Syracuse)
Next up: Boston College
Wake quarterback John Wolford had a promising start, leading Wake to a touchdown in the first quarter. But he went out with an injury in the second quarter, and Wake's offense fell apart, totaling fewer yards the rest of the game without him (79) than it had on his lone touchdown drive (91). Wake's final numbers on offense were not good, but the defense was a little bit underwhelming, considering it was facing a Syracuse offense that had not been very good and was starting a freshman quarterback. We're nitpicking here, though, especially since 14 of the 30 points allowed were on Syracuse defensive touchdowns.
The Wake Forest defense still ranks 41st in the nation. The Deacs might even sneak up and win an ACC game here in the final five.
