1. Florida State (8-0, 5-0
ACC)Last week’s
ranking/result: 1 (W 41-14 over
Miami)
Still
no ranking higher than 1, which is too bad. Florida State struggled to
pull away from Miami early, Jameis Winston looked as close to a freshman
as he has all season, Miami played great....and Florida State won by 27
points. Over a top-ten and previously undefeated team. You’ve got to be
kidding me. This team is a
machine.
2.
Clemson (8-1, 6-1 ACC)Last
week’s ranking/result: 2 (W 59-10 at
Virginia)
After
struggling a bit with Maryland last week, Clemson showed that it is
still one of the better teams in the country with its 59-10 thrashing of
Virginia. Virginia is bad, yes, but Clemson did what it was supposed to
do and played very well. Oh, and the Tigers are starting to get their
ground game going, which is great news for that
offense.
3.
Miami (7-1, 3-1 ACC)Last
week’s ranking/result: 3 (L 41-14 at Florida
State)
The
Hurricanes played well in the loss at Florida State. Stephen Morris
reminded us all why he was supposed to be one of the best quarterbacks
in the league, the Miami defense stepped up (especially early)...and the
Hurricanes still lost by 27. That says a TON more about Florida State
than it does about Miami. Particularly considering the Canes’ recent
struggles against UNC/Wake Forest, it is a great sign that they played
that way against FSU. It means they’re learning from their mistakes in
past weeks and while they may be a year or two away from truly elite
status, they’re on their
way.
4.
Georgia Tech (6-3, 4-2
ACC)Last week’s
ranking/result: 4 (W 21-10 over
Pittsburgh)
Georgia
Tech is almost certainly out of the running in the Coastal Division,
but the often-confusing Yellow Jackets are at least trending in the
right direction with three straight wins. For the most part, Georgia
Tech has beaten opponents it is better than and lost to superior
opponents, which is certainly not the way of the ACC generally. But the
best sign for Georgia Tech moving forward this season and into next is
that the defense under first-year coordinator Ted Roof looks better and
better every
week.
5.
Duke (6-2, 2-2 ACC)Last
week’s ranking/result:5
(Off)
Can’t
play the ‘what if’ game, but if Duke had starting quarterback Anthony
Boone when it faced Georgia Tech and Pitt...well, I’m not saying the
Blue Devils would be undefeated, but...okay, we won’t go down that road.
It’s hard not to, though, because the Blue Devils currently control
their own destiny in the ACC Coastal. Win out, and they win the
Division. They’d have to beat Miami at home to do it, but it’s certainly
not out of the question considering Miami’s recent personnel losses.
It’s likely not going to happen, but the only certainty that matters is
Duke is bowl-eligible for its second straight season and the Blue Devils
have a very manageable November schedule, unlike last year. Next step
for David Cutcliffe as he builds this program is winning some November
games. And maybe a “state
championship”.
*Note:
After Duke, we have the whole BC-UNC-Virginia Tech conundrum, which, if
nothing else, proves that the transitive property is
worthless.
T-6.
Virginia Tech (6-3, 3-2
ACC)Last week’s
ranking/result: 6 (L 34-27 at Boston
College)
Best
win: at Georgia TechCombined
record of teams VT has lost to: 18-6 (0.750) (No. 1
Alabama)Combined record of teams VT has
beaten: 26-24 (24-17 without FCS Western
Carolina)Last three games:
1-2
Virginia
Tech’s resume is better than UNC or BC, but the last two weeks have been
really bad. The Hokies can’t move the ball on offense (or they just
turn it over), and this fantastic defense continues to be wasted. It
allowed 34 points, yes, but 17 of those were off of one pick six and two
drives that started in Virginia Tech’s red zone. And now, the Hokies
get an angry Miami team on Saturday on the
road.
T-6.
Boston College (4-4, 2-3
ACC)Last week’s
ranking/result: 9 (W 34-27 over Virginia
Tech)
Best
win: Virginia TechCombined
record of teams BC has lost to: 25-9 (.735) (No. 3 FSU, No. 8
Clemson)Combined record of teams BC has
beaten: 17-19 (13-14 without FCS
Villanova)Last three games:
1-2
Neither BC
nor UNC has a great win, really, although BC’s win over Virginia Tech is
better than any of UNC’s wins. But UNC beat BC handily just last week.
Hard to dismiss that. BC doesn’t have a loss as bad as UNC’s to ECU, but
again, BC lost to...UNC. Just can’t get around it. Otherwise, BC’s
resume is certainly strong enough to justify being ahead of the Tar
Heels with the way they’ve performed, even in losses (like Florida State
and Clemson). But, you know. That whole losing to UNC by 24 points
thing is a thing,
so.
T-6.
North Carolina (3-5, 2-3
ACC)Last week’s
ranking/result: 8 (W 27-19 at N.C.
State)
Best
win: Boston CollegeCombined
record of teams UNC has lost to: 32-11 (0.744) (No. 6 South
Carolina, No. 7 Miami)Combined record of
teams UNC has beaten:
12-13Last three games:
2-1
It’s
hard to justify moving UNC ahead of either Virginia Tech or BC,
considering it lost to Virginia Tech and BC is its best win. Even if it
was a dominating one. But the Tar Heels stay tied with those teams in
part because of that win, and also in part because they are playing
better than those teams the last three games. UNC is going to have a lot
of ground to make up the next few weeks, but if it continues to play
better football, the schedule is conducive to at least making a push for
bowl
eligibility.
9.
Pittsburgh (4-4, 2-4 ACC)Last
week’s ranking/result: 10 (L 21-10 at Georgia
Tech)
After
a loss at Navy, Pitt rebounded pretty well with a close loss at a
Georgia Tech team that has been playing great the last few weeks. But
ultimately, Pitt is 1-3 in its last four games and the offense has
gotten progressively worse each week. That offensive line is who we
thought it would be at the beginning of the year, and while Georgia
Tech’s run defense is good, -5 yards against an ACC opponent is not
going to get it
done.
10.
Syracuse (4-4, 2-2 ACC)
Last
week’s ranking/result: 12 (W 13-0 over Wake
Forest)
Syracuse
has four wins this season over teams with a combined 15-15 record. The
best team it has beaten is arguably 6-3 Tulane (from CUSA). And
Syracuse’s two ACC losses have been by a combined 91 points. But
Syracuse did what it needed to do at home against a Wake Forest team
that was playing well coming into the game. Throw out the FSU game in
two weeks - at Maryland, Pitt at home and BC at home are winnable. A
bowl is still a possibility for the
Orange.
11.
Wake Forest (4-5, 2-4
ACC)Last week’s
ranking/result: 7 (L 13-0 at
Syracuse)
Wake
Forest took a huge tumble this week, and that’s mainly because the
Deacs lost wide receiver Michael Campanaro for the season with a broken
collarbone. The offense, which wasn’t great to begin with, is absolutely
crippled without him. There’s just no way to bounce back from that,
although Wake’s defense continues to get better each
week.
12.
Maryland (5-3, 1-3 ACC)Last
week’s ranking/result: 11
(Off)
Maryland
showed a lot of fight last week against Clemson, but ultimately the
Terps are just too decimated by injuries to be any higher. They’re
trending in the wrong direction
fast.
13.
N.C. State (3-5, 0-5 ACC)Last
week’s ranking/result: 13 (L 27-19 to North
Carolina)
Many,
myself included, thought the Wolfpack would look a lot better on
offense when it got starting quarterback Brandon Mitchell back. Welp.
Mitchell has shown flashes, but he has been inaccurate and doesn’t seem
like the guy that can get the offense reenergized. And fixing the
offense might be a project too big for Dave Doeren, Matt Canada and
company this year
anyway.
14.
Virginia (2-7, 0-5 ACC)Last
week’s ranking/result: 14 (L 59-10 to
Clemson)
Is
there really anything to add here? The Cavaliers might not win again
this season, and their best chance is next week at a UNC team that has
won two in a row.
