Heading into Week 6 of the 2026 college football season, the ACC has a distinct pecking order: Miami, and then everyone else.
The Hurricanes, led by Duke transfer quarterback Darian Mensah, are clearly the cream of the conference, and nothing short of a disaster would keep them out of the ACC title game. But who will join them? A few surprise contenders have risen, including Duke, Pittsburgh and Wake Forest.
Here are our ACC Power Rankings heading after Week 5:
1. Miami
The Hurricanes took care of Clemson in style on Saturday in Death Valley. The matchup against Notre Dame in South Bend on Nov. 7 is shaping up to be huge.
2. Pittsburgh
The Panthers will have a shot at taking down Miami in three weeks. Pat Narduzzi’s teams are always interesting to watch.
3. Duke
If Duke keeps
the edge they played the last two games, the Blue Devils should be able to take care of Georgia Tech.
4. Wake Forest
Jake Dickert’s Demon Deacons are for real.
5. SMU
The Mustangs came into the season full of hopes for another College Football Playoff appearance. That is almost out the window.
6. Florida State
A massive win over Virginia can keep the haters off of Mike Norvell’s shoulders for at least this week.
7. Virginia Tech
The Hokies are better than they have been over the past several seasons, but James Franklin still has a lot of work to do in Blacksburg.
8. Virginia
That blowout loss to Florida State was not something many saw coming.
9. Louisville
The Cardinals are 2-3 and 1-2 in ACC play. That close loss to Ole Miss to start the season seems a long time ago.
10. Clemson
The Tigers continue to fall. So does Dabo Swinney’s legacy.
11. NC State
Funny enough, if CJ Bailey hadn’t executed one of the worst ways in college football history to lose a game, we would be talking about a Wolfpack team that was 4-1.
12. Stanford
That win against Georgia Tech is looking even worse for the Yellow Jackets. In their three other ACC matchups, the Cardinal have scored 16 total points.
13. North Carolina
Bill Belichick’s team has improved, but will it be enough to save his job after this season?
14. California
Meh…
15. Georgia Tech
Bad…
16. Boston College
Awful…
17. Syracuse
Horrendous!
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This article originally appeared on Duke Wire: ACC Football Power Rankings after Week 5: Miami and the others
