It was another lackluster week for most of the ACC, with only a couple of teams turning in solid performances, while most of the conference looked rather bad during the week.
With that being said, here are my ACC Power Rankings for Week 5 of the college football season.
Florida State (4-0, 2-0 ACC, defeated NC State 56-41, Last Week’s Ranking 1)
It wasn’t pretty, but FSU doesn’t have a whole lot of obstacles between them and winning the conference. The defending champs have been far from dominant and haven’t played that great in three of their four wins, but the Seminoles are still winning and are clearly the class of the ACC. Up Next: Saturday vs. Wake Forest
2. Clemson (2-2, 1-1, defeated North Carolina 50-35, Last week 2)
The Tigers have something with Deshaun Watson, who got off to a good start by throwing six touchdowns against UNC. It was a nice bounce back for Dabo Swinney’s team after a tough loss to FSU. Up Next: Saturday vs. North Carolina State
3. Georgia Tech (4-0, 1-0, BYE last week, Last Week 4)
Who knows what can happen in the ACC, so the safest way to move up in the rankings is to have a week off. The Yellow Jackets are 4-0 and although they beat Virginia Tech, their other three wins came against less than desirable opponents. But with games against Miami and Duke upcoming, GT could stake their claim for best team in the Coastal Division within the next two weeks. Miami can’t stop the run and the Yellow Jackets will look to run all day long. Up Next: Saturday vs. Miami
4. Virginia (3-2, 1-1, defeated Kent State 45-13, Last Week 6)
The Cavs get a struggling Pitt team on Saturday as they look to put themselves in the middle of the Coastal Division race. While both of their losses came to ranked teams and the Cavs are in a good spot right now, I do have some concerns going forward about QB Matt Johns turnover problems while he is filling in for injured starter Greyson Lambert. Up Next: Saturday vs. Pitt
5. Louisville (4-1, 2-1, defeated Wake Forest 20-10, Last Week 8)
The Cardinals keep winning behind what might be the best defense in the country. Despite a lackluster offense and playing without starting QB Will Gardner, Louisville’s ceiling is very high. But if they don’t get that offense fixed quickly, they could be in some trouble. Up Next: Friday at Syracuse
6. North Carolina State (4-1, 0-1. Lost to Florida State 56-41, Last Week 9)
The Wolfpack lost by 15 points to Florida State, but Jacoby Brissett was outstanding and they showed that they can hang with pretty much any team in the conference. They scored 41 points on the Seminoles and have shown that as a program they are way further ahead of where they probably should be at this point. Up Next: Saturday at Clemson
7. Miami (3-2, 1-1, defeated Duke 22-10, Last Week 11)
That was more like it for the struggling Canes. QB Brad Kaaya looked impressive again, Duke Johnson finally ran for 100 yards and the defense made some big plays. Now if they could only do that every week. Up Next: Saturday at Georgia Tech
8. Duke (4-1, 0-1, Lost 22-10 to Miami, Last Week 3)
The Blue Devils showed what happens when you schedule four weak opponents to start the season. After looking impressive in their first four weeks, Duke showed that they weren’t tested early on and the result is a loss to an average football team. Up Next: BYE
9. Virginia Tech (3-2, 0-1, defeated Western Michigan 35-17, Last Week 10)
QB Michael Brewer completed just 44 percent of his throws and tossed two more interceptions, as the Hokies continue to turn the ball over at an alarming rate. But the problems get even worse as freshman tailback Shai McKenzie, a kid I have a lot of respect for, tore his ACL after a promising start to his college career. That’s heartbreaking news, but the Hokies have to get things figured out with seven straight conference games on the schedule. Up Next: Saturday at North Carolina
10. Pitt (3-2, 1-0, lost to Akron 21-10, Last Week 5)
Akron? The Zips? At home? Really?
So much for that promising start to the season that had people talking about the Panthers as a legit contender for the Coastal Division crown. Up Next: Saturday at Virginia
11. Boston College (3-2, 0-1, lost to Colorado State 24-21, Last Week 7)
Speaking of bad non-conference losses, the Eagles lost to Colorado State at home. So much for beating USC. Up Next: BYE
12. Syracuse (2-2, 0-0, lost to Notre Dame 31-15, Last Week 12)
The Syracuse defense creates turnovers and their offense generally takes care of the football. That’s about the only things this team does well though. Up Next: Friday vs. Louisville
13. Wake Forest (2-3, 0-1, lost to Louisville 20-10, Last Week 13)
The Deamon Deacons defense really isn’t that bad. But their offense is maybe the worst in the entire nation, failing to eclipse 100 yards of total offense for the second time this season. Up Next: Saturday at Florida State
14. North Carolina (2-2, 0-1, lost to Clemson 50-35, Last Week 14)
One week after allowing 70 points to East Carolina, the Tar Heels let Clemson hang 50 on them. The last two QBs UNC has faced are a combined 60-of-90 for 882 yards and 10 touchdowns. The sad part is that as bad as UNC has been, they could still be very much in the Coastal Division race. Up Next: Saturday vs. Virginia Tech
Photo Credit: USA Today Sports
