The ACC has struggled for much of the last decade. Aside from Clemson, the league’s last national champion was Florida State in 2013. Last season, only Clemson and newcomer SMU reached the playoff. But the national picture feels different this year, with several ACC teams emerging as legitimate contenders. Here is a look at the conference from top to bottom, who is shining, who is struggling, and what to expect in the weeks ahead.
1. Miami
Miami opened with a win over rival Notre Dame and followed it up with a 49–12 rout of South Florida. Transfer quarterback Carson Beck has delivered exactly what the Hurricanes hoped for and more. They did labor through stretches of the Florida game but pulled it out with a 13-point fourth quarter to reach 4-0. As the highest-ranked ACC team (#2!), they look like contenders for both the league title and a playoff spot.
2. Florida State
The Seminoles stunned Alabama in week one and then cruised past East Texas A&M and Kent State. Quarterback Thomas Castellanos has thrown just 38 passes, completing 27 of them for 594 yards and three touchdowns. They have climbed to No. 8 in the AP poll, though their resume outside of the Alabama win remains thin.
3. Georgia Tech
The Yellow Jackets upset Clemson two weeks ago to stay unbeaten and now sit at No. 16 in the AP poll. At 4-0, the path ahead is favorable, with the toughest remaining games at home against Syracuse and Georgia.
4. Syracuse
Quarterback Steve Angeli leads the nation in passing yards with 1,316 and has thrown 10 touchdowns. His season-ending injury is a crushing blow since he was the driving force behind the Orange offense. Their defense has been porous, giving up 455 yards per game, which ranks 128th nationally. Still, a decisive win over Clemson has pushed their winning streak to three after a season-opening loss to Tennessee. They’ll need strong quarterback play from backup Rickie Collins going forward to keep their place in this ranking.
5. Louisville
Jeff Brohm has his team unbeaten through two weeks for the third straight year. The Cardinals are averaging 403 yards per game and boast a top-10 defense. Idle this weekend, they remain 3–0 and face Bowling Green and Pittsburgh to close September.
6. NC State
The Wolfpack are 3–1 with two conference wins already in hand. Their offense has been productive, but the defense has struggled, giving up nearly 284 passing yards and 414 total yards per game.
7. California
Cal sits at 3–1 behind a strong passing game led by quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele. The Bears were blanked by San Diego State in a baffling 34-point loss, surrendering 321 yards in the process. Sagapolutele threw two interceptions and no touchdowns that day. But we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt from their earlier season games to land here and chalk this one up to a mysterious clunker.
8. Pittsburgh
The Panthers are 2–1 after dropping a rivalry game to West Virginia in overtime two weeks ago. They were idle this weekend and now turn to their first conference matchup against Louisville.
9. North Carolina
The Tar Heels opened with one of the most embarrassing losses of the season, but have since rebounded to 2–2. Their victories came against Richmond and Charlotte, both lower-level opponents. A 34-9 defeat to UCF exposed more issues and knocked them down the rankings.
10. Virginia
The Cavaliers have only 14 wins under Tony Elliott, but they are 3–1 this season, with the lone loss to NC State. This is one of the more interesting teams to watch as they could launch upward as evidenced by some of their early success. Or that could all be a mirage and perhaps they remain near the bottom of the league standings. We’ll soon find out but this feels like the right place to put them this week.
11. SMU
In their first year in the ACC last season, SMU reached both the conference title game and the playoff. This fall they are 2–2, with both victories coming against FCS teams. Losses to Big 12 teams TCU and Baylor show they have ground to make up.
12. Wake Forest
Wake Forest fell to NC State for their first loss and then had a bye this weekend. Their offense averages 400 yards per game, ranking 67th nationally. Senior quarterback Robby Ashford has thrown one touchdown against three interceptions and added 129 rushing yards. Georgia Tech awaits next and we should find out plenty about this Demon Deacons squad in that matchup.
13. Duke
The Blue Devils are 2-2 after scoring 45 points in a win over NC State. They played Illinois close for most of the game but gave up 31 points in the second half. Their defense is surrendering 413 yards per game while their offense is piling up 464. Quarterback Darian Mensah is second nationally in passing yards with 1,305 and could soon lead the country with Angeli sidelined. In a month I may look back and think this was woefully too low a rating, but I’d like to see at least one more impressive win before moving them upward.
14. Stanford
The Cardinal are 1-3 heading into a matchup with San Jose State before facing a brutal October stretch of SMU, Florida State, and Miami. Their lone victory was a conference win over Boston College, which keeps them above the Eagles.
15. Boston College
The Eagles lost Thomas Castellanos to the transfer portal, but Dylan Lonergan has stepped in and thrown for 991 yards. That has the offense averaging 385 passing yards per game, tops in the country. They are 1–2, had a bye this week, and next face California. I have a sneaky feeling this team is better than this ranking and will move up in future weeks.
16. Clemson
Clemson’s 13-point loss to Syracuse dropped them into a tie for the worst record in the ACC. The roster still has top-tier talent of course, but results have not matched the expectations. Cade Klubnik entered the season as a Heisman front-runner and a projected NFL first-round pick, but his early season struggles have badly damaged his stock. I just haven’t seen anything to indicate things are going to turn around any time soon either.
17. Virginia Tech
The Hokies began 0–3 for the first time since 1987, leading to a coaching change. Interim coach Philip Montgomery guided them to a 38–6 win over Wofford, but at 1–3 they land squarely in the conference cellar.
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