ACC Football Power Rankings: Week 13
The ACC title game is now set.
With Louisville beating Miami, the Cardinals clinched a spot in the ACC title game and will face Florida State on December 2nd. The Cardinals are also 10-1 and still have a longshot playoff bid.
That was not the biggest news unfortunately in the ACC this week.
Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis suffered a terrible injury in the Seminole's win over North Alabama. Will FSU be able to win the next two games without their most valuable player? We are about to see.
So how do the ACC Power Rankings look going into the last week of the season?
14. Pitt (3-8). Last week: 14
Pitt got back on the winning side this week, beating Boston College on Thursday night, but that is not enough to move them up any spots. The Panthers finish their season off against Duke this week and even with the win against the Eagles, I am sure Panthers fans want this season to be over and forgotten about.
13. Wake Forest (4-7). Last week: 12
It has been a disappointing season for the Demon Deacons and this weekend did not make it any better. Former Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman led Notre Dame to a blowout win over Wake Forest and their bowl streak is now over. They can still get to five wins if they beat Syracuse next week.
12. Syracuse (5-6). Last week: 11
Syracuse Football is officially heading in a new direction after their loss to Georgia Tech. The Orange fired head coach Dino Babers after eight seasons and they are now in the market for a new coach. Syracuse has suffered injuries this year and doesn't have a healthy quarterback at the moment. Despite all of this, they can get to a bowl game if they find a way to beat Wake Forest this weekend.
11. Virginia (3-8). Last week: 13
Tony Elliott deserves a lot of credit for battling this season out and this team looks much better over the course of the past month (outside of a blowout loss to Georgia Tech). The Cavaliers beat Duke this weekend to get their third win and they have a chance to keep Virginia Tech from making a bowl game. There is still a ways to go in this rebuild, but Elliott has gotten this team to play better.
10. Boston College (6-5). Last week: 8
Boston College has already clinched bowl eligibility, but they were looking for their seventh win Thursday against a Pitt team that had only won two games. It was a disappointing night for the Eagles as their poor defense could not stop a bad Pitt offense and they lost on the road. Up next is the season finale on Black Friday against Miami.
9. Miami (6-5). Last week: 10
It felt weird moving Miami up after a loss, but that is how bad Boston College looked. The Hurricanes played a pretty good game against Louisville and was close to beating the Cardinals, but they came up short. This was the best that Tyler Van Dyke had looked since the beginning of the season, but the Miami defense could not get a stop. Miami is better than they were a year ago, but they still have a ways to go. They face Boston College on Friday.
8. Virginia Tech (5-6). Last week: 7
Virginia Tech made a late rally to try and beat NC State, but the Hokies fell short and now their bowl hopes will depend on if they can win their rivalry game with Virginia. They have looked better this season, but they have faltered against some of the better teams in the ACC.
7. Duke (6-5). Last week: 5
The Blue Devils could not rebound from their previous loss to North Carolina and went on the road and lost to Virginia on Saturday. This is not the same team that had such a great start to the season and it is a shame that Riley Leonard got hurt and could not finish the year. Duke faces Pitt to end the season.
6. Georgia Tech (6-5). Last week: 9
Haynes King played a good game vs Syracuse on Saturday
Nathaniel Caudell
Georgia Tech defeated Syracuse on Saturday and clinched their first bowl appearance since 2018. The Yellow Jackets got out to a 24-3 lead and then survived a rally from the Orange. It has been an up and down season for Brent Key's team, but a bowl game is a step in the right direction. They face a massive challenge against No. 1 Georgia this week.
5. North Carolina (8-3). Last week: 3
North Carolina has now lost three of their last five. The Tar Heels went on the road and lost to Clemson and after such a promising start to the year, Mack Brown's team will likely not be ranked at the end of the season. They have a rivalry game with a surging NC State team this week.
4. Clemson (7-4). Last week: 6
Clemson continued their late-season surge with a win over North Carolina and now the Tigers will be out for revenge against rival South Carolina this weekend. The defense has been dominant and quarterback Cade Klubnik is playing his best football of the year. It has not been the season that Clemson fans wanted, but they have found a way to finish strong.
3. NC State (8-3). Last week: 4
All Dave Doeren does is produce seasons of at least eight wins. The Wolfpack have become one of the more underrated teams in the country and their defense is the reason why. They played great for most of Saturday's game against Virginia Tech and if they UNC on Saturday, they will be 9-3.
2. Louisville (10-1). Last week: 2
Louisville quarterback Jack Plummer
The Cardinals are in. It was not easy on Saturday against Miami, but the offense played great and the defense got a goal line stop at the end of the game to seal the victory. With Travis injured for Florida State, the Cardinals winning the ACC is a very real possibility and if enough craziness goes on over the next couple of weeks, this team could find itself with a case to be in the college football playoff.
1. Florida State (11-0). Last week: 1
The Seminoles are going to have to try and win their last two games against Florida and Louisville and get to the playoff, but that is going to be very difficult now without Jordan Travis. This team is still very talented and they can win these two games, but it will be interesting to see if the playoff committee keeps the Seminoles in with their backup quarterback (I think they should if they are 13-0).
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