ACC Power Rankings updated after Week 7 of college football
The top two teams in the ACC appear to be separating themselves from the pack after this past weekend’s games. Florida State and North Carolina were both impressive while earning key conference wins and seem to be the favorites to reach the ACC Championship Game at this point.
Louisville was in that top category heading into the weekend after a great win over Notre Dame. However, the Cardinals struggled at Pitt and dropped their first conference game of the year.
Duke does have the one loss to Notre Dame, but the Blue Devils remained unbeaten in the ACC with a dominant win over NC State on Saturday. Duke played well, despite being without star quarterback Riley Leonard. Here’s a full look at the ACC Power Rankings after Week 7 of college football:
1. Florida State (6-0)
Florida State was without one of its top playmakers in Johnny Wilson on Saturday against Syracuse but it didn’t matter. Fellow receiver Keon Coleman had a great game, catching nine passes for 140 yards and a touchdown, as FSU continued to roll with a 41-3 win.
The scary thing about Florida State is that the Seminoles blew out Syracuse, despite not playing close to their best. FSU was sloppy in the first half and allowed the Orange to hang around, before finally taking the game over.
2. North Carolina (6-0)
The addition of Tez Walker has taken the North Carolina offense to another level. The Kent State transfer, who was originally ruled ineligible by the NCAA, had six catches for 132 yards and three touchdowns over the weekend against Miami.
North Carolina put up 41 points and over 500 yards of offense against the Hurricanes. With a defense that continues to improve, UNC appears capable of competing with Florida State at the top of the ACC.
3. Duke (5-1) (+1)
No Riley Leonard, no problem for Duke against NC State. The Blue Devils dominated the Wolfpack without their star quarterback, despite completing only four passes.
The Duke defense continues to excel under Mike Elko. The three points scored by NC State were its fewest of the season.
4. Clemson (4-2) (+1)
The Tigers had a much-needed bye week this past weekend to get healthy and clean up mistakes. The offense in particular had plenty of work to do after struggling the last time out against Wake Forest.
The second half of the schedule is tough for Clemson, beginning Saturday at Miami. However, Clemson has a chance to keep moving up the ACC rankings the second half of the year.
5. Louisville (6-1) (-2)
Louisville is undefeated no more. The magical start to the season ended over the weekend as Pittsburgh upset the Cardinals and handed Jeff Brohm‘s squad its first loss of the year.
The teams appeared headed in opposite directions heading into the matchup. Louisville was feeling good after knocking off Notre Dame, while Pitt had yet to record a win against a Power 5 opponent. The Cardinals now have a bye week to try to get back on track.
6. Miami (4-2)
Miami dropped its second straight game after the stunning loss the previous week against Georgia Tech. However, this time the Hurricanes simply got outplayed, instead of making mental mistakes late.
Miami did some good things, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, as they put up nearly 500 yards of offense. However, they lost the turnover battle four to zero, which ultimately proved to be the difference in the game.
7. Georgia Tech (3-3) (+2)
The Yellow Jackets moved up a couple of spots in the ACC Power Rankings, despite having the weekend off. Losses by Wake Forest and NC State allowed the Yellow Jackets to jump a couple of spots.
Georgia Tech entered the bye week with a ton of momentum after stunning Miami in the final seconds the previous weekend. The Yellow Jackets will look to earn their second consecutive win when they face Boston College in Atlanta on Saturday.
8. Virginia Tech (3-4) (+3)
The Hokies also made a sizeable move up the ACC Power Rankings after a three-score win over Wake Forest this past weekend. Virginia Tech has been playing better and better as of late, going 2-1 in its past three games, with its only loss coming at Florida State.
Quarterback Kyron Drones has been the biggest reason for the turnaround. The sophomore had 380 yards of offense and a pair of touchdowns against the Demon Deacons.
9. Wake Forest (3-3) (-2)
There was optimism that Wake Forest had turned a corner after nearly pulling off the upset at Clemson on Oct. 7. Unfortunately for the Demon Deacons, they were unable to build on that, as they struggled mightily against Virginia Tech over the weekend.
The Wake Forest offense in particular has really played poorly lately. The Demon Deacons are averaging less than 14 points per game over their past three games.
10. NC State (4-3) (-2)
Speaking of offenses that are struggling, NC State managed only 3 points at Duke, while falling to 0-2 in its past two games against Power 5 teams. The Wolfpack went from Brennan Armstrong to MJ Morris at quarterback, but thus far, the switch hasn’t helped much.
If you were simply looking at the box score, you would think NC State won or was at least competitive against Duke. The Wolfpack had more total yards, more first downs and controlled time of possession. But it didn’t matter thanks to costly mistakes, including 11 penalties for 87 yards.
11. Syracuse (4-3) (-1)
The brutal stretch of the schedule continued for Syracuse on Saturday as the losses continue to pile up. The Orange dropped their third straight game, falling 41-3 to Florida State.
Syracuse had to play Clemson, North Carolina and FSU over a three-week stretch. The Orange now get a much-needed bye, before playing at Virginia Tech on Oct. 26.
12. Pitt (2-4) (+1)
Pittsburgh clearly made big strides during its bye week. The Panthers stunned previously unbeaten Louisville over the weekend for their first win of the season against an FBS team.
Pitt was outgained 430 to 288 and Louisville had twice as many first downs as the Panthers. But Louisville turned the ball over three times, compared to zero for Pitt.
13. Boston College (3-3) (-1)
Boston College dropped a spot in the ACC Power Rankings during its bye week thanks to Pitt’s impressive win. The Eagles had plenty to clean up after getting off to a 3-3 start.
Five of Boston College’s six games so far this season have been decided by three points or less. The Eagles need to win more of those games the second half of the season.
14. Virginia (1-5)
Virginia entered the bye week with some momentum after beating William & Mary to earn its first win of the season on Oct. 7. The Cavaliers have been competitive most of the year but have been unable to finish off games.
UVA is 0-3 in one-score games and will look to improve on that mark the second half of the year. The schedule is tough, though, beginning this weekend at North Carolina.
There are some huge games this weekend featuring some of the best teams in the ACC. Duke and Florida State will play Saturday night at 7:30, while Clemson and Miami will also face off on Saturday night. The rankings are sure to look much different following Week 7.