The Canes remain on top, with Clemson and SMU right behind them.
The ACC looked pretty good as a whole last weekend. There are still four teams without a conference loss in the Miami Hurricanes, Clemson Tigers, SMU Mustangs, and Pittsburgh Panthers. Virginia Tech had a dominating win over Boston College. Oh, and Duke beat Florida State for the first time in school history. Good stuff.
Without further ado, let’s get to the rankings.
1. Miami – 7-0 overall, 3-0 conference
The Hurricanes won another shootout, this time at Louisville last Saturday afternoon. Miami’s offense looked unstoppable as they moved the ball well on the ground, plus had some explosive pass plays. Miami’s defensive secondary needs work as Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough carved them up. Still, the defense got a big fourth-quarter stop and the offense kept scoring touchdowns. This team knows how to win.
2. Clemson – 6-1, 5-0
The Tigers keep rolling along and looking good. They took care of Virginia last weekend, 48-31. Clemson is now the betting favorite to win the ACC. Some people also have them ranked ahead of Miami. Fine. Clemson’s loss against Georgia looks even better now with how the Bulldogs handled Texas. After their bye this Saturday, Clemson has Louisville, Virginia Tech, and Pitt in a row in what will be the toughest stretch of their season.
3. SMU – 6-1, 3-0
The Mustangs took care of the Cardinal last Saturday, going up 21-0 in the first quarter. If Lashlee can get his team past Duke this weekend, a matchup against potentially undefeated Pitt looms on November 2nd. If SMU can keep getting out to big leads and playing from ahead, they have a real shot of making it to Charlotte for the ACC Championship.
4. Pittsburgh – 6-0, 2-0
The Panthers are coming off a bye and feeling great. They welcome Syracuse this Thursday night for the biggest ACC matchup of Week 9. I can’t imagine the Pitt crowd being anything less than completely insane for that game. With SMU and Clemson coming down the road, the Panthers really do control their own destiny.
5. Syracuse – 5-1, 2-1
The Orange aren’t done yet. They are also coming off a bye, so the travel to Pitt on Thursday night isn’t as bad. Syracuse doesn’t play SMU or Clemson, but if they can run the table for the next five weeks in order to set up a season-ending game with Miami at home, that would be huge. Don’t rule it out!
6. Duke – 6-1, 2-1
Manny Diaz and the Blue Devils are having quite the season in 2024. They came back to beat rival UNC and they defeated FSU last Friday night for the first time in school history. Pretty cool, despite the Seminoles being a complete and utter dumpster fire. As I mentioned earlier, SMU comes to Durham for a primetime matchup this Saturday night. A win against his former offensive coordinator and a ranked-road favorite would give Duke some solid momentum heading into their game at Miami on November 2nd.
7. Virginia Tech – 4-3, 2-1
The Hokies are starting to look like the team many people thought they’d be before the season. They dismantled BC last Saturday, 42-21. VT’s running back Bhayshul Tuten had himself a day: 18 rushes for 266 yards, 3 TDs, 1 catch for 20 yards and a TD. Whoa. With Syracuse and Clemson coming up in back-to-back weeks to begin November, Virginia Tech has a chance to play spoiler more than once.
8. Louisville – 4-3, 2-2
The Cardinals seem better than their record says they are. Their offense looked great against Miami, especially passing the ball (which every ACC team does apparently). Still, Louisville has a lot of talent on that side of the ball. They still have a lot to play for as well and could also be a spoiler with Clemson and Pitt matchups coming in November.
9. Georgia Tech – 5-3, 3-2
The Yellow Jackets are flying under the radar right now. Unfortunately, QB Haynes King is hurt, which makes them a lesser team on offense. It seems like he is going to sit out the Virginia Tech game in a couple weeks, then come back for Miami on November 9th. Georgia Tech has two byes in three weeks with their funky schedule this season. I’d say it was worth it since they got to travel to Ireland and be FSU’s first loss of the season.
10. Virginia – 4-3, 2-2
The Cavaliers had a decent showing at Clemson. They lost by 17 points, but had a 10-3 lead in the second quarter. Also, they didn’t give up, scoring three touchdowns in the fourth quarter instead of allowing the blowout. This is another ACC team that cannot be taken lightly or they will pull the upset.
11. Boston College – 4-3, 1-2
The Eagles have come back down to earth after their hot start to the season. Virginia Tech dominated their matchup last Saturday, going up 28-0 at halftime. BC did score three third-quarter touchdowns to make it interesting, but they couldn’t keep it going. With their next three games against Louisville, Syracuse, and SMU, BC could miss out on a bowl game in 2024.
12. Wake Forest – 3-4, 1-2
The Demon Deacons keep climbing up the rankings! Sandwiched around a blowout loss to Clemson are two wins. Let’s go! Wake Forest traveled to Storrs, CT and took down the 4-2 Huskies last weekend. With Stanford and Cal next up on the schedule, Wake could have a winning record by the middle of November. Not bad considering how they started the season.
13. NC State – 4-4, 1-3
The Wolfpack pulled off a mini Miami comeback at Cal last Saturday. After taking a 10-7 lead in the second quarter, NC State gave up 16 unanswered points. No matter, QB CJ Bailey led the Wolfpack on two fourth-quarter touchdown drives to get the win. NC State has some winnable games left on their schedule.
14. Stanford – 2-5, 1-3
The Cardinal have now lost four games in a row after their win at Syracuse in late September. At least they only have one non-California road game left. I thought Stanford would be a spoiler team this season, but they had their chances and lost all of them. Random thought: Will Stanford vs Cal feel any different now that they are in a new conference? I wouldn’t think so, but maybe.
15. FSU – 1-6, 1-5
What is there left to say about the 2024 Florida State Seminoles? Even in my worst of predictions, I don’t think I would have ever guessed they would only have one win after seven games. I’m going to refrain from writing anything else until after the Miami game. No jinxing!
16. UNC – 3-4, 0-3
The Tar Heels just don’t have it this season. Lucky for them, they don’t face Miami, Clemson, or SMU this year. With remaining games against Virginia, FSU, Wake Forest, Boston College, and NC State, they have a chance for a small turnaround before season’s end.
17. Cal – 3-4, 0-4
Ah, the Golden Bears. I think Miami broke them with that comeback win a few Saturdays ago. Since then, they’ve lost two games they could have, and probably should have won. The loss at Pitt was brutal. The loss to NC State this past weekend was probably worse. Tough first year for the Berkley boys in the ACC.
See you next week!