ACC Power Rankings updated after Week 8 of college football
It was another fun weekend of college football in the ACC that saw one team continue to separate itself from the rest. The Duke and Florida State game lived up to the hype for a while, before the Seminoles eventually pulled away to improve to 7-0 (5-0).
Meanwhile, another top ACC contender in North Carolina is no longer unbeaten after the Tar Heels were stunned by a Virginia team that had been 1-5 on the season. Elsewhere, Miami beat Clemson without starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, as the Hurricanes were able to get back on track after back-to-back losses.
With six weeks left in the regular season, Florida State is unbeaten, while four ACC teams have only one loss. Here’s a look at the updated ACC Power Rankings after Week 8 of college football:
1. Florida State (7-0)
Florida State got off to a slow start against Duke but eventually pulled away for a 38-20 victory. The Seminoles trailed 20-17 entering the fourth quarter, before outscoring Duke 21-0 in the final period.
It helped Florida State that Riley Leonard was unable to play the entire game due to his ankle injury. That, along with an offense that got rolling late, helped FSU to a three-score win. Florida State clearly looks like the best team in the ACC at this point as they are the only unbeaten team remaining in the league. The Seminoles have games remaining against Wake Forest, Pitt, Miami, North Alabama and Florida. They should be favored in each of those matchups.
2. Miami (5-2) (+4)
Miami moved up four spots in the ACC Power Rankings after an impressive overtime win against Clemson. The Hurricanes were without starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, but they relied on their running game and defense to come out on top.
Freshman quarterback Emory Williams also stepped up and made some big plays late in the double-overtime victory. Miami was coming off of back-to-back losses, including a heartbreaker to Georgia Tech in which it appeared as though the Hurricanes had the game won. Mario Cristobal‘s team showed some serious mental toughness in the win over the Tigers. This Miami team clearly has a lot of talent.
3. North Carolina (6-1) (-1)
North Carolina and Florida State seemed on a collision course for the ACC title game, until the Tar Heels stumbled over the weekend. UNC had an inexplicable home loss to a Virginia team that had only beaten William & Mary during the 2023 season.
It’s still possible that UNC reaches the ACC Championship, but the loss to the Cavaliers likely ends North Carolina’s playoff hopes and severely hurts Drake Maye‘s Heisman chances. North Carolina will look to get back on track on Saturday at Georgia Tech.
4. Duke (5-2) (-1)
Duke played Florida State tough for three-plus quarters, despite Riley Leonard being less than 100 percent healthy at the start of the game and eventually leaving the contest early. It’s clear that Duke is for real, even if Florida State did eventually pull away.
Mike Elko‘s Blue Devils have another huge game this weekend at Louisville. With a win, Duke will have a real shot at playing in the ACC Championship game in Charlotte at the end of the year.
5. Louisville (6-1)
Louisville had a much-needed bye this past weekend after being stunned by Pitt on Oct. 14. The Cardinals are still in the race to reach the ACC title game, but they have to start doing a better job of taking care of the football.
Louisville has been really good at home this season, including earning a win against Notre Dame. The Cardinals will look to continue that on Saturday against a really good Duke team with an excellent defense.
6. Clemson (4-3) (-2)
Clemson just continues to find ways to lose games. The Tigers turned the ball over three times against Miami and blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter.
The offense was inconsistent for most of the night, and the defense eventually got worn down. The Tigers are now 2-3 in the ACC after starting the year with dreams of getting back to the College Football Playoff.
7. Virginia Tech (3-4) (+1)
Virginia Tech was near the bottom of the league for most of the first half of the season but has slowly moved up the ACC Power Rankings higher and higher. Kyron Drones taking over at quarterback for the Hokies has been a much-needed spark.
Virginia Tech had a bye this past weekend after going 2-1 in its first three ACC games. The Hokies will look to move to 3-1 with a win over Syracuse on Thursday.
8. Wake Forest (4-3) (+1)
Wake Forest was a part of one of the wildest games of the weekend. Pitt appeared to have secured a win over the Demon Deacons, but quarterback Christian Veilleux started his slide early on a third-down run late in the game.
That gave Wake Forest one more possession and the Demon Deacons took advantage of it as third-string quarterback Santino Marucci led a touchdown drive for the win to improve Wake to 4-3 (1-3). The schedule gets tougher now, though, as Wake Forest hosts Florida State, before playing at Duke.
9. NC State (4-3) (+1)
NC State desperately needed a bye after scoring only 3 points against Duke, and the Wolfpack got one this past weekend. The NC State offense has really struggled, no matter who has been at quarterback this year.
You can bet Dave Doeren and his staff worked hard this past week to try and clean some things up, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. NC State now has a mad Clemson team with a really good defense coming to town. The good news for the Wolfpack is that the game is at home.
10. Syracuse (4-3) (+1)
Several teams that had a bye this past weekend moved up in the ACC Power Rankings, including Syracuse. The Orange were off over the weekend after a brutal three-game stretch that included games vs. Clemson, at North Carolina and at Florida State.
The second half of the schedule is more manageable for Syracuse, beginning Saturday against Virginia Tech. Dino Babers and his team need two more wins to become bowl eligible.
11. Boston College (3-4) (+2)
Boston College pushed its winning streak to three games on Saturday with a victory at Georgia Tech. The Eagles got off to a 1-3 start to the season but are now 4-3 with several games remaining that they have a chance to win.
Thomas Castellanos has made a ton of plays at quarterback for the Eagles and is beating teams with his arm and his legs. BC has an out-of-conference matchup with UConn coming up this weekend.
12. Georgia Tech (3-4) (-5)
It’s been an up-and-down season for Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets were unable to build on their win at Miami as they followed that up by losing at home to Boston College.
Georgia Tech turned the ball over three times against BC and also surrendered more than 500 yards of offense. Up next, the Yellow Jackets will look to get back on track against North Carolina.
13. Virginia (2-5) (+1)
It has been a tough season for Tony Elliott and Virginia, but the Cavaliers got a huge win on Saturday. Virginia earned its first win over a top-10 team in school history by stunning North Carolina.
The Cavaliers put up 436 yards of offense and played well on third down defensively in the victory. Up next, Virginia plays at Miami.
14. Pitt (2-5) (-2)
Pitt was oh so close to pulling off its second consecutive win. Instead, the Panthers are now 2-5 (1-3) with games against Florida State and Notre Dame up next.
Pat Narduzzi teams typically improve as the season goes along. However, this team has simply struggled with consistency all year.
Florida State looks like the class of the ACC at this point, but there is still a lot of football left to be played. This week’s ACC slate kicks off on Thursday with Syracuse at Virginia Tech. Two of the top teams in the league in Florida State and North Carolina are on the road this weekend, and two contenders in Duke and Louisville will be battling to stay in second place in the league. It should be another fun week of football in the ACC.