ACC Power Rankings updated after Week 4 of college football
The ACC showdown that everyone was looking forward to during the preseason lived up to the hype over the weekend. Clemson and Florida State needed overtime to settle their matchup on Saturday, before the Seminoles survived to remain ranked in the top 5 in the AP Poll and No. 1 in our ACC Power Rankings.
The top four teams in the ACC Power Rankings from last week all won in FSU, Miami, North Carolina and Duke. However, there was some movement in the poll after that. Florida State continues to look like the best team in the ACC, but there are still six unbeaten teams in the league competing for the top spot.
Meanwhile, the preseason ACC favorite in Clemson is 0-2 through its first two ACC games. The Tigers have a tough test at 4-0 Syracuse on Saturday. Here’s a look at the full ACC Power Rankings after Week 4 of the college football season:
1. Florida State Seminoles (4-0)
It wasn’t easy but it was a win. Florida State went on the road and survived against Clemson to improve to 4-0 on the year. Beating LSU and Clemson in September was viewed as a monumental task for the Seminoles entering the season, but that’s exactly what they did.
The schedule gets much easier now for FSU. Up next is a bye week, before upcoming games against Virginia Tech, Syracuse and Duke — all at home. Florida State is likely to be favored in every regular season game the rest of the way.
2. Miami Hurricanes (4-0)
Miami did exactly what it was supposed to on Saturday against Temple, controlling the game from start to finish. The Hurricanes earned a 41-7 victory and continue to show that they have taken a big step forward in Year 2 under Mario Cristobal.
Miami also has a bye this weekend, before hosting Georgia Tech. From there the Hurricanes have back-to-back huge games against North Carolina and Clemson that could decide what kind of season Cristobal’s team ultimately has.
3. North Carolina Tar Heels (4-0)
Drake Maye and the Tar Heels continue to roll and are now 4-0 for the first time since 1997. Maye is playing at an elite level and showed off his creativity with a left-handed touchdown pass on Saturday against Pitt.
It’s not just Maye, though. Omarion Hampton has emerged as an excellent running back for North Carolina, JJ Jones is developing into a top receiver option for Maye and the defense continues to play much better than it did a season ago. North Carolina should be a contender in the ACC throughout the entire season.
4. Duke Blue Devils (4-0)
Duke has continued to show that its upset of Clemson in Week 1 wasn’t a fluke. The Blue Devils improved to 4-0 on Saturday with a 41-7 win over UConn, and there’s plenty of excitement around the program with what Mike Elko has done in Durham.
ESPN College GameDay will be in town this weekend when the Blue Devils host Notre Dame. The matchup features two excellent quarterbacks in Duke’s Riley Leonard and Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman.
5. Louisville Cardinals (4-0) (+1)
First-year head coach Jeff Brohm has Louisville playing well, which shouldn’t be a surprise after Brohm led Purdue to the Big Ten Championship game a year ago. The Cardinals put up 56 points on Saturday against Boston College as several playmakers made huge plays.
Quarterback Jack Plummer threw for 388 yards and five touchdowns on Saturday against BC, connecting with his favorite target Jamari Thrash five times for 71 yards and a score. Running back Jawhar Jordan continues to play like one of the best backs in the ACC. Jordan had 134 rushing yards and two scores and added a 75-yard touchdown reception on Saturday.
6. Syracuse Orange (4-0) (+1)
The final undefeated team in the ACC, Syracuse rallied past Army over the weekend to remain unbeaten. The Orange trailed 10-3 at the half but stayed the course and rallied for a 29-16 victory.
Quarterback Garrett Shrader continues to give opposing teams trouble with his arm and his legs, and Clemson will have its hands full with Shrader and Syracuse this weekend. The Orange always seem to play the Tigers tough — particularly in the Carrier Dome.
7. Clemson Tigers (2-2) (-2)
Clemson is surprisingly 0-2 in the ACC for the first time since 2010. The Tigers played well against Florida State, but this isn’t a program interested in moral victories.
The good news for Clemson is that quarterback Cade Klubnik played his best game of the season, and the defense played well, too, particularly against the run. The bad news is that the Tigers are still 2-2 (0-2), still making critical mistakes and now have a tough road game against an undefeated opponent up next.
8. NC State Wolfpack (3-1) (+1)
NC State wasn’t sharp at all against winless Virginia on Friday, but an ugly win is still better than a well-played loss. Wolfpack kicker Brayden Narveson nailed a field goal as time expired to move NC State to 3-1 on the year.
Still, NC State needed costly penalties by Virginia to escape with a last-second win as a favorite. Brennan Armstrong and the Wolfpack need to play much better moving forward if NC State is going to move up the ACC Power Rankings.
9. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (2-2) (+4)
One of the biggest surprises in the ACC to date has been Georgia Tech. Yes, the Yellow Jackets are 2-2 (1-1), but they stunned Wake Forest by winning by two scores on the road over the weekend.
Georgia Tech’s two losses were against good teams in Louisville and Ole Miss, and they were competitive for the better part of both of those games games. First-year head coach Brent Key is doing a solid job in Atlanta.
10. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (3-1) (-2)
Wake Forest dropped a couple of spots after falling at home to Georgia Tech. Quarterback Mitch Griffis has moments where he looks really good, but the game seems to be moving too fast for him at times, too. He was sacked eight times on Saturday.
The good news for the Demon Deacons is that they get a bye to try and fix some mistakes. The bad news is — after the bye they have to play at Clemson.
11. Pitt Panthers (1-3)
There were high expectations for Pitt heading into the season, but the Panthers have struggled to live up to them thus far. Quarterback Phil Jurkovec finally started playing better this past weekend against North Carolina, before being banged up.
Backup QB Christian Veilleux then came in and threw a pair of interceptions on his 18 pass attempts. If Jurkovec is healthy enough to play on Saturday at Virginia Tech he will still start. But that seems like a pretty big if right now. The Panthers and Hokies both desperately need a win.
12. Boston College Eagles (1-2) (+1)
Boston College was unable to build off of its strong showing against Florida State in Week 3 as the Eagles were blown out by Louisville on Saturday. Head coach Jeff Hafley is a defensive coach, but his defense is having all kinds of issues at the moment.
BC and Virginia will both be looking for their first ACC win of the season on Saturday. Boston College is favored by 3 points heading into the matchup.
13. Virginia Tech Hokies (1-3) (-3)
Virginia Tech continues to head in the wrong direction after dropping its third consecutive game, this time to Marshall. The Hokies have been one of the more disappointing teams in all of Power 5 so far this season.
At one point, Frank Beamer and the Hokies had one of the most consistent programs in the country. With where the program is right now, it’s hard to see Virginia Tech getting back to that anytime soon.
14. Virginia Cavaliers (0-4)
Another week, another tough loss for Tony Elliott‘s team. Virginia seemed ready to pull off a shocker on Friday as the Cavaliers rallied from a 21-13 deficit to tie the game at 21 with 36 seconds left in regulation.
However, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty gave NC State good field position, and the Wolfpack won the game with a field goal at the buzzer. Virginia has arguably its best chance to get a win so far this season on Saturday at Boston College.
There are clearly some teams that have separated from the pack early on this season, but there is still a lot of football left. This weekend features some important games in the ACC race, including Louisville at NC State on Friday and Clemson at Syracuse on Saturday.