The Atlantic Coast Conference’s Week 6 was highlighted by two big matchups: Miami at FSU and Virginia at Louisville. The Cavaliers pulled out a win on the road, robbing the Canes of another potential top 25 matchup with the Cardinals in a couple weeks. Oh well. As for the middle to bottom of the conference, I could be talked into about a million different combination of rankings.
Without further ado, let’s get to the rankings.
1. Miami – 5-0 overall, 1-0 conference
Whoa. That was a beatdown for three quarters in Tallahassee last Saturday
night. I’ve watched Malachi Toney’s second touchdown catch approximately 147 times in the last two-and-a-half days. I know, the fourth quarter happened. Cam wrote how mad he was in his G/B/U article. I saw Kirk Herbstreit bring it up in his Sunday recap show. I then saw other college football prognosticators say it wasn’t concerning, and that the scoreboard and stats were misleading. I hate to be a fence-sitter, but I fall in between. The fourth quarter performance was absolutely concerning as far as the lack of execution. At the same time, I am pretty sure every person in Doak Campbell Stadium knew the game was over after Miami went up 28-3. Either way, I am going to enjoy the bye and get ready for Louisville on Friday night, 10/17.
2. Georgia Tech – 5-0, 2-0
The Yellow Jackets had a bye after their come-from-behind victory at Wake Forest in Week 5. GT did not look good until the second half. Luckily, they gave themselves enough time to come back and get the win in overtime. Brent Key has to be feeling good about his position right now. The Seminoles lost again, Louisville did too, and GT has the easiest remaining conference schedule. As a Canes fan, I would love to see the Yellow Jackets in this year’s ACC Championship game for some revenge.
3. Virginia – 5-1, 3-0
The Cavaliers held on in overtime at Louisville last weekend. Virginia scored two defensive touchdowns, but then gave up a ten-point fourth quarter lead. Tony Elliott’s squad goes into their first bye ranked #19 and only one of two ACC teams (Duke) with three conference wins and no losses. Pretty impressive. Their remaining schedule isn’t a gauntlet, but they do have two big road games in November: at Cal and at Duke. Still, Virginia football has more momentum now than its had in a long, long time.
4. Duke – 4-2, 3-0
The Blue Devils are starting to hit their stride in conference play. They fell behind 21-7 at Cal late last Saturday night, then scored 38 points in a row for the convincing road win. The four total turnovers forced definitely helped, with three being interceptions from Cal’s freshman quarterback. Manny Diaz has himself an opportune defense. Those can be good, but if the turnovers don’t come, it can get dicey quick. Duke has a bye before their huge home matchup with Georgia Tech. Even I’m looking forward to that one.
5. FSU – 3-2, 0-2
Despite the 0-2 start in conference play, I genuinely believe the Seminoles are still one of the five best teams in the ACC, and can get back into the top three if they get back to their winning ways. After the rivalry victory last Saturday, it really is the best of both worlds for Canes fans. If FSU starts piling up ACC wins, Miami’s win looks better. If FSU falters and drops three or four more conference games, we can enjoy the misery of our biggest rivals’ fans. Win-win! The Seminoles host Pitt, go to Stanford, have a bye, then host Wake Forest before playing at Clemson. The Noles better be 3-3 in conference play going into Death Valley Lite or that fanbase is going to be unhappy to say the least.
6. SMU – 3-2, 1-0
The Mustangs got back on track last weekend with a 31-18 home win over Syracuse. Rhett Lashlee’s squad jumped out to a 31-3 lead, then took their foot of the gas. Hmm. That sounds like another team I know and root for. Anyway, the win has to feel good for SMU, despite it being against a backup quarterback that has not looked good so far. The Mustangs host Stanford this Saturday at noon EST, (advantage SMU) before traveling to Clemson for a matchup of two 2024 CFP teams.
7. Louisville – 4-1, 1-1
The Cardinals couldn’t come all the way back against Virginia last weekend. The two defensive touchdowns allowed certainly didn’t help. New Louisville quarterback Miller Moss has been underwhelming so far, and that’s with the two best skill players putting up good numbers: running back Isaac Brown and wide receiver Chris Bell. Chris Bell is a beast. I would bet Miami’s defensive coaching staff is focusing a lot of time and energy on him. The Cardinals have a bye to regroup before their trip to Coral Gables. They won’t have a rest advantage however, as the Canes will be coming off a bye as well.
8. Cal – 4-2, 1-1
The Golden Bears came out of the gate quick against Duke, but couldn’t keep the good times going. Turnovers and the complete absence of a running game doomed Cal and kept them from their second conference win. Freshman quarterback JKS is struggling, throwing six interceptions in his last three games. The Golden Bears are yet another ACC team with a bye this week. After that, it’s vs UNC, at Va Tech, vs Virginia, at Louisville. That is A LOT of travel.
9. Pittsburgh – 3-2, 1-1
In what I thought would be a close, hard-fought matchup, Pitt demolished Boston College at home last weekend, 48-7. Wow. Panthers coach Pat Narduzzi benched quarterback Eli Holstein in favor of true freshman Mason Heintschel. And boy did Heintschel deliver. He went 30-41 for 323 yards, with 4 touchdowns and no interceptions. Not bad, even against a struggling team in BC. Pitt plays at FSU, at Syracuse, vs NC State, and at Stanford the next four weeks. If they can go 3-1, they’ll be feeling good going into their second bye.
10. Clemson – 2-3, 1-2
Man, I should’ve bet Clemson last weekend. The -14.5 spread had me a little nervous, but it shouldn’t have. I watched the first play from scrimmage live where the Tigers threw a wide receiver pass for a 75-yard touchdown. Audible laughter ensued. UNC is a total mess. This paragraph is about Clemson though. That team needed a win in the worst way. They play at BC this Saturday night, in what looks like another road trip against an overmatched team. Then comes a home game against SMU. That’s the inflection point for Dabo and his 2025 team. Clemson can be 3-2 in conference play with some momentum going into its second bye, or they can be 2-3 and having to answer the same questions they faced in September.
11. Wake Forest – 3-2, 1-2
The Demon Deacs! I should’ve bet them too. I did not understand why the Hokies were favored at home. Wake was a missed call from beating Georgia Tech, while Va Tech had a couple hollow wins after their coach was fired. Jake Dickert’s squad has to travel all the way to Corvallis this weekend to take on Oregon State. That’s no fun. If Wake can avoid the upset, they have a bye before playing vs SMU, at FSU, at Virginia. Dickert will know what his team is truly made of after that three-game stretch.
12. NC State – 4-2, 1-2
The Wolfpack got back to their winning ways against Campbell last weekend, 56-10. That is exactly what coach Dave Doeren wanted after two straight conference losses to Duke and Virginia Tech. The competition takes a big step up with a trip to Notre Dame this Saturday. NC State still has to play Georgia Tech, FSU, and Miami as well. Wolfpack quarterback CJ Bailey will have to put the entire team on his back if they have a chance in any of those games.
13. Syracuse – 3-3, 1-2
The injury to starting quarterback Steve Angeli may have tanked Syracuse’s season. They couldn’t get anything going on offense until garbage time last weekend at SMU. The Orange have three remaining road games on their schedule: Georgia Tech, Miami, and Notre Dame. Those teams are all ranked and more importantly, have good defenses that can feast on a bad quarterback. ‘Cuse head coach Fran Brown needs to do coach like he never has before the rest of the year.
14. Stanford – 2-3, 1-1
The Cardinal had a bye last week. Their record isn’t as bad as I thought it would be at this point. Stanford’s home win over BC isn’t that good with how the Eagles have played since, but it’s a conference win nonetheless! It’s a good thing Stanford tasted victory, because their next three games are against SMU, FSU, and Miami. I don’t see a win in there. But hey, if UCLA can upset Penn State, maybe the Cardinal can pull off something similar.
15. Virginia Tech – 2-4, 1-1
And it’s back to the loss column for the Hokies. It was a close game with Wake, but Va Tech just couldn’t get in the end zone. They got to Wake’s 15-yard line, 21-yard line, and 17-yard line in the second half, settling for field goals each time. That is not how you win conference games. The Hokies need to keep it together as best they can, then hit the reset button in the offseason. Four of their six remaining games are against the four ranked ACC teams, with three of them on the road: #13 Georgia Tech, #25 FSU, #2 Miami, and #19 Virginia. That’s rough.
16. UNC – 2-3, 0-1
If it wasn’t for the team in the state where Bill Belichick used to coach in the NFL, the Tar Heels would easily be in last place. I changed the channel after they gave up the second first-quarter touchdown to Clemson. As I’m writing this, I saw Cam retweet that UNC has ended their in-season documentary series with Hulu. Hahaha. What a surprise. After a bye this week, the Tar Heels play at Cal, then host Virginia. Bill Belichick will probably be 2-5 after his first seven games in college football. Yikes.
17. Boston College – 1-4, 0-3
Didn’t Bill O’Brien coach under Belichick? Damn. These New England Patriot guys are having a rough 2025. Not a conference win between them. Hold on, (checking their schedules) neither has a win over a Power 4 team. (Deep sigh). BC beat Fordham in the opener, and has now lost four in a row against true competition. What a nightmare of a season. It doesn’t get any easier either, as the Eagles face a tough remaining slate. The only good thing is they play the next five of six games at home.
See you next week!
