We’re a quarter of the way through the season, so we finally have a suitable sample size for some ACC Power rankings not based on ESPN or EA Sports ratings or recruiting and transfer portal rankings or what a different team by the same name did the year prior. DALE!!!
1. Miami Hurricanes (3-0, 2-0)
Year 5 of the Mario Cristobal era is off to a solid start. The Hurricanes have two Heisman contenders (Mensah, Toney) and have largely met expectations against the early season competition. Frankly, Miami’s
biggest early season concern is that the injury bug has bit multiple starters and key players, particularly in the backfield and secondary. But for the time being, Miami is still the heavy betting favorite to make the playoffs and play for the program’s first ACC Championship.
- Last Week: 33-20 win @ Wake Forest
- This Week: vs. Central Michigan, Sat. Sept. 26th at 6:30pm ET (CW)
2. Louisville Cardinals (2-1, 1-0)
Louisville pulled away from a very good SMU team in the fourth quarter, and after playing Ole Miss arguably closer than LSU did, the Cardinals look like a legitimate playoff contender and one of the two best teams in the ACC. Louisville’s offense looks up to the challenge – you could argue Isaac Brown is the best running back in the conference, and Lincoln Kienholz is playing about as well as New Orleans Saints QB Tyler Shough did for Coach Brohm – but is the defense up to the challenge? Up next is a very tricky Wake Forest offense that, at times, gave Miami fits.
- Last Week: 41-31 win vs. SMU
- This Week: vs. Wake Forest, Sat. Sept. 26th at 12:00pm ET (ESPN)
3. Duke Blue Devils (3-0, 1-0)
No Mensah, no Barkate, no problem! Duke has the best ACC resume so far in this early season: extracting revenge against a G5 playoff contending Tulane team; going into and beating a what-should-be ranked Illinois team; and then dispatching a Stanford team by almost the same score as Miami. Keep an eye on these Blue Devils – their defense is legit, and the team is a legit threat to return to Charlotte.
- Last Week: 35-7 win vs. Stanford
- This Week: vs. William & Mary, Sat. Sept. 26th at 3:30pm ET (ACCNX/ESPN+)
4. Virginia Tech Hokies (3-0, 0-0)
James Franklin’s first season starts with an undefeated non-conference schedule, capped last week by a two-score victory at Maryland. Already this team looks much improved considering that they easily handled Old Dominion this year, but lost to them (badly) last year. The Penn State transfers are leading this team: QB Ethan Grunkemeyer has an 86.4 QBR, good for 13th in the nation; and his top target is fellow Transfer TE Luke Reynolds who’s caught 4 of Grunkemeyer’s 7 touchdown passes. Penn State South heads to Boston this week to start its conference schedule.
- Last Week: 35-26 win @ Maryland
- This Week: @ Boston College, Sat. Sept. 26th at 12:00pm ET (ACCN)
5. SMU Mustangs (2-1, 1-1)
Oh what could have been. The Mustangs were leading the Cardinals early in the 4th quarter in what was a back-and-forth game, but finished the contest with three straight turnovers (one by downs, one by fumble, and one by interception). This is a talented team that is deservedly ranked by the AP voters, but they no longer control their destiny to make the ACC championship game. But the season is not lost. If this team takes care of business, SMU could vault right back into playoff discussion should they upset Notre Dame in late November.
- Last Week: 31-41 loss @ Louisville
- This Week: vs. Missouri State, Sat. Sept. 26th at 9:00pm ET (ACCN)
6. Pittsburgh Panthers (3-0, 1-0)
It wasn’t always pretty, but Pitt is 3-0 and will likely be 4-0 heading into a Week 5 contest at Virginia Tech. Pitt’s defense looks particularly stout, holding UCF and Syracuse to a combined 20 points (and shutting UCF out until the final 3 minutes of their match). But the Panthers’ offense has sputtered far too often against less than elite competition. Sounds like an FCS scrimmage is just what the doctor ordered.
- Last Week: 27-13 win vs. Syracuse
- This Week: vs. Bucknell, Sat. Sept. 26th at 12:00pm ET (ACCNX/ESPN+)
7. Virginia Cavaliers (2-1, 1-0)
After walloping NC State to start the season, Virginia fell back to earth dropping their border war contest with West Virginia. The Cavs early season loss was a bit reminiscent of last year’s early 31-35 “non-conference” loss at NC State. Perhaps West Virginia is a much improved, dark horse competitor in the Big XII (they went 4-8 last year). Perhaps Virginia is yet again a talented team that cannot avoid dropping a game or two each season to middling competition. We won’t learn much more this week against Delaware, but next week the Cavaliers head to Tallahassee.
- Last Week: 27-38 loss vs. West Virginia
- This Week: vs. Delaware, Sat. Sept. 26th at 6:00pm ET (ACCN)
8. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (2-1, 0-1)
Folks forget that Wake is coming off a nine-win season (featuring victories over SMU and Virginia) that was capped by a Duke’s Mayo Bowl win against Mississippi State. This is a good team that would at least be bowl eligible in the Big Ten or SEC. The fact that Miami dismantled them for 35 minutes is not surprising, but neither was Wake finishing the game strong and punishing Miami for dialing it back in the second half. Like last year, this team will notch a few victories against some great teams, and they have a chance this week when they visit Louisville.
- Last Week: 20-33 loss vs. Miami
- This Week: @ Louisville, Sat. Sept. 26th at 12:00pm ET (ESPN)
9. Clemson Tigers (2-1, 1-0)
Clemson is 1-0 in the ACC and technically still controls its destiny back to Charlotte, but these Tigers look like a shell of their former selves. Maybe, just maybe, this team finally figured everything out in the second half against North Carolina – after trailing 17-6 late in the second quarter, they outscored the Tarheels 22-3. After all, the 2024 team was dismantled by Georgia in their season opener only to go 7-1 in ACC competition and win the conference. To repeat that feat they will have a short week to solve the Calgorithim in a Friday night, ACC after-dark matchup.
- Last Week: 28-20 win vs. North Carolina
- This Week: @ California, Fri. Sept. 25th at 10:30pm ET (ESPN)
10. California Golden Bears (2-1, 1-0)
Cal is 1-0 in the ACC and improving every week. The season started with a 45-24 shellacking by UCLA – a game that was tied 24-24 late in the third, against a UCLA opponent that has started 3-0. Cal rebounded by winning a cross-country road game at Syracuse, and then last week comfortably beat their FCS opponent Wagner. This offense is struggling mightily, but the opportunistic defense forced Syracuse into 3 turnovers including a game winning pick-6. Now they have a late-night chance to spoil Clemson’s already meager start to its season.
- Last Week: 49-7 win vs. Wagner
- This Week: vs Clemson, Fri. Sept. 25th at 10:30pm ET (ESPN)
11. Florida State Seminoles (1-2, 0-1)
Frankly, the one-win Seminoles are only this high because they looked ‘good’ at times in losses to better teams. The SMU game was in reach and went down to the wire, and they were leading Bama in the third quarter. But at the end of the day, Alabama and SMU are good, but not great, teams that Florida State is a long ways still from consistently beating. FSU has an FCS tune-up this week before a make-or-break stretch in October for Mike Norvell (vs. Virginia, at Louisville, at Miami, vs. Clemson).
- Last Week: 35-50 loss @ Alabama
- This Week: vs Central Arkansas, Sat. Sept. 26th at 3:00pm ET (ACCN)
12. North Carolina Tarheels (2-1, 0-1)
This year shouldn’t be as bad as last for the Tarheels, but it shouldn’t be great either. The season opening TCU victory was a welcome start, but there are not a whole lot of gimmes on this schedule. This week is a bye, but then they have three straight weeks against 3-0 teams (Notre Dame, at Pitt, at Duke) plus Miami, Louisville, and Virginia on their schedule. If UNC is to go bowling they’ll have to beat at least one of those teams.
- Last Week: 20-28 loss @ Clemson
- This Week: bye week
13. Boston College Eagles (2-1, 0-0)
This is not a good team, but neither are the teams below it and the Eagles at least have a winning record…for now. Despite being a 40pt favorite over Maine, the Eagles had to hold off the mighty Black Bears late into the 4th Quarter. By comparison, Appalachian State beat Maine 55-3 two weeks prior. Boston College also opened the season losing to Cincinnati by three-scores, and beat 0-3 Rutgers by just a touchdown. Still, two-wins already matches last year’s 2-10 season, so if you’re a glass is quarter-full type person you can say that the trajectory is upwards!
- Last Week: 22-16 win vs Maine
- This Week: vs. Virginia Tech, Sat. Sept. 26th at 12:00pm ET (ACCN)
14. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (1-2, 0-0)
An 0-2 start was far from ideal, and their opening week loss to Colorado is starting to look pretty, pretty bad considering that the Buffaloes were blown out by Northwestern. But, the Yellow Jackets got a get-right game last week against their FCS opponent. Now Georgia Tech will have to begin the conference schedule with an ACC after-dark visit to Stanford.
- Last Week: 44-11 win vs Mercer
- This Week: @ Stanford, Sat. Sept. 26th at 10:30pm ET (ESPN)
15. Syracuse Orange (1-2, 0-2)
Syracuse is one of two ACC teams starting 0-2 in conference play, and they’re ranked above the other team only because these losses weren’t blowouts. This team is a far, far cry from Fran Brown’s 10-3 team just two years ago (that spoiled Miami’s playoff berth). Hopefully the Orange can work some things out during the bye week before travelling to UConn next week.
- Last Week: 13-27 loss @ Pittsburgh
- This Week: bye week
16. Stanford Cardinals (1-2, 0-2)
Two ACC games. Two blowouts. The Stanford rebuild project remains a work-in-progress, but the Cardinals will get the west coast advantage hosting Georgia Tech this week. At least Captain Andrew Luck remains on the guard, ever ready for whenever Stanford may return to prominence.
- Last Week: 7-35 loss @ Duke
- This Week: vs Georgia Tech, Sat. Sept. 26th at 10:30pm ET (ESPN)
17. NC State Wolfpack (1-2, 0-1)
If you lose the way the Wolfpack lost, you belong in the deepest, darkest corner of every basement on every ranking this week. Period. End of story. Putting them here is further justified because they’re tied for the worst record in the conference. Things could really spiral if undefeated App State is still undefeated after visiting Raleigh this weekend.
- Last Week: 31-35 loss @ Vanderbilt
- This Week: vs App State, Sat. Sept. 26th at 7:30pm ET (ESPNU)
