The college football regular season is flying by with nine weeks down and just four left before conference races are decided. Heading into the home stretch, the ACC has essentially become a two-horse race, one that everybody expected and one that hardly anyone did.
Here are our updated power rankings for the first week of November.
1. Miami (Fla.) (8-0, 6-0)
Last week: 1.
This week: At Notre Dame.
What to know: The Hurricanes would still have a path to the playoff if they lose this game, but they’d like to have it in the win column just the same, as it proved to be their saving grace a season ago. Darian Mensah and Co. continue to operate at a championship level, but the defense has become a concern.
2. Wake Forest (7-1, 5-1)
Last week: 2.
This week: Merrimack.
What to know: Most Demon Deacon regulars
should take the field only briefly if at all this week. That should definitely be the case for Gio Lopez, who had an injury scare late in the romp over Virginia.
3. Duke (6-2, 3-2)
Last week: 5.
This week: At North Carolina State.
What to know: The Blue Devils turned in their most complete performance of the season against Boston College. They can still play their own way into the ACC title game, but an extremely tough finishing stretch includes road dates at Miami and Wake Forest.
4. Virginia Tech (6-2, 3-2)
Last week: 4.
This week: At SMU.
What to know: The Hokies got a week to rest after their important win at Clemson. A win in Dallas would keep them in play for the conference title, but year one under James Franklin can already be considered a major step forward.
5. SMU (6-2, 4-2)
Last week: 3.
This week: Virginia Tech.
What to know: The September loss at Louisville was survivable, but the stumble at Syracuse could be fatal to the Mustangs in the ACC title race and with the College Football Playoff. Another setback here or next week against Wake Forest would mean settling for a mid-tier bowl.
6. Louisville (5-3, 4-2)
Last week: 6.
This week: At Georgia Tech.
What to know: The Cardinals let Stanford hang around for a half before taking charge after intermission. They’d like to have the next one in hand sooner with the Yellow Jackets basically playing out the string.
7. Clemson (5-3, 3-2)
Last week: 7.
This week: At Syracuse.
What to know: Maybe the Tigers’ offense really did just need time to gel, or maybe Florida State’s defense really is that bad. Regardless, Tait Reynolds and Co. will have to maintain their momentum against the suddenly dangerous Orange on the road.
8. Pittsburgh (6-3, 3-3)
Last week: 10.
This week: Open date.
What to know: The Panthers took advantage of a struggling Georgia Tech to snap their losing skid and achieve bowl eligibility. They get a few extra day to prepare for a Friday the 13th date with Florida State that can improve their postseason destination.
9. Syracuse (4-4, 2-4)
Last week: 15.
This week: Clemson.
What to know: It would seem having a healthy Steve Angeli makes a difference for the Orange. A bowl game is back in play after another victory with late-game dramatics, but the Orange might need this one with their last two ACC contests on the road.
10. North Carolina (4-4, 2-3)
Last week: 8.
This week: At Connecticut.
What to know: UNC fans are approaching the dreaded ‘what might have been’ territory after letting an opportunity to upend one of the ACC’s name-brand programs slip away. Like the Tar Heels, UConn also overtime victims against Syracuse earlier, so this one fits neatly into the tossup column.
11. Virginia (4-5, 2-4)
Last week: 12.
This week: Open date.
What to know: The Cavaliers’ precipitous fall from championship game appearance to the ACC’s bottom tier has the fans eager for the start of hoops season. A spate of injuries hasn’t helped, but the offense hadn’t shown much flash when healthy.
12. Stanford (4-5, 2-4)
Last week: 13.
This week: Open date.
What to know: The Cardinal get a needed week off before their final trip east to Virginia Tech. Stanford has already matched its win total from a year ago, so the stretch run figures to be more about building for the future.
13. Florida State (3-5, 1-4)
Last week: 9.
This week: At Boston College.
What to know: With the Mike Norvell era now over, it’s difficult to predict the interest level among the players going forward. Being away from Tallahassee for the next two weeks might actually be beneficial for interim coach Rick Stockstill as he tries to keep the team on the same page in games critical to their bowl hopes.
14. Boston College (4-4, 2-3)
Last week: 11.
This week: Florida State.
What to know: After running into a buzzsaw at Duke, the Eagles are in must-win mode to preserve their bowl hopes. The good news is Mason McKenzie might have better luck finding real estate against the Seminoles who just got torched by Clemson.
15. North Carolina State (4-4, 2-3)
Last week: 17.
This week: Duke.
What to know: The Wolfpack delivered a convincing home win against Califormia in Todd Goebbel’s first game as interim head coach. It might be a different story against the highly motivated Blue Devils, but the team’s initial response was encouraging.
16. California (3-6, 2-4)
Last week: 14.
This week: Open date.
What to know: A promising season has turned into a huge disappointment for the Golden Bears. Their last three games are winnable, starting with a trip to Virginia following this off week.
17. Georgia Tech (2-6, 1-4)
Last week: 16.
This week: Louisville.
What to know: The loss to Pittsburgh likely seals a losing campaign for the Yellow Jackets, a clear regression after three consecutive bowl appearances. The Oct. 10 upset of Duke could go down as the most confounding result of the entire conference season.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Duke, Syracuse rising in ACC power rankings after college football's Week 9
