ACC Football Power Rankings: Week Five

Week 4 in college football is officially over, and it is time to turn the page to Week 5. Let’s take a look at the ACC Power Rankings and how the 17 teams across the ACC fared in Week 4. The conference is very top-heavy, and four undefeated teams remain in the ACC: Miami, Louisville, Georgia Tech, and Florida State. There will be some big matchups this weekend, which can affect the power rankings moving forward in the ACC. Let’s take a look at how the teams rank going into the week.

17. Stanford (1-3, 1-1)

Stanford struggled mightily on the road against Virginia in a 48-20 loss. Their rushing game was shut down for the Cardinals, and they couldn’t stop the Cavaliers on the ground. It doesn’t get any easier for the Cardinals, who will have SMU, Florida State, Miami, and Notre Dame still on the schedule. Fortunately, they have a winnable game coming up against San Jose State and should be able to win that game before enjoying a bye week.

16. Virginia Tech (1-3, 0-0)

The Hokies are off the snide and picked up their first victory of the season in a 38-6 win over Wofford. Virginia Tech QB Kyron Drones had his best game of the season, throwing for 307 yards and two touchdowns in a dominant victory at home. After firing their head coach, Brent Pry, the Hokies answered the call and had their highest scoring output of the season. It doesn’t get any easier for Virginia Tech, which will face NC State on Saturday night, who will be looking to avenge their loss to Duke last week.

15. Boston College (1-2, 0-1)

Boston College got a much-needed bye week after losing on the road to Stanford and will face probably one of the fastest-rising teams in the ACC, the California Golden Bears. The game will be at home, which bodes in the Eagles' favor, but they will need a better performance from their offense.

14. Wake Forest (2-1, 0-1)

Latest — Sep 11, 2025; Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack quarterback CJ Bailey (11) throws a pass in first half against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Luke Jamroz-Imagn Images | Luke Jamroz-Imagn Images

Wake Forest had a bye week and will face the Yellow Jackets on Saturday in a game that will be featured by ACC Huddle and on ESPN.

13. North Carolina (2-2, 0-0)

It has been a tough start to the season for the Tar Heels in the Bill Belichick regime, and it is clear there is a talent deficiency for North Carolina. They were dominated by UCF this past weekend in a 34-9 loss. They will have to turn the page quickly and look forward to a bye week before facing off against Clemson in two weeks.

12. SMU (2-2, 0-0)

Sep 20, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; SMU Mustangs quarterback Kevin Jennings (7) and wide receiver Jordan Hudson (2) celebrate after scoring a touchdown against the TCU Horned Frogs during the second half at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Mustangs are a team that has been struggling, especially on the defensive side of the ball. They give up a lot of points, and it is affecting this team in their pursuit of winning games. They lost on Saturday against TCU 35-24 and gave up 517 yards of total offense. After a stellar showing from Josh Hoover, who threw for 379 yards and five touchdowns, the Horned Frogs are now ranked in the AP Poll. SMU looks like a shell of last year’s team and will have a bye week before hosting Syracuse on October 4th.

11. Duke (2-2, 1-0)

Duke handed NC State their first loss of the season after an impressive showing on offense, scoring 45 points against the Wolfpack defense. Darrian Mensah was one of the most impressive, going 19-28 for 269 yards and three touchdowns. The Blue Devils finished with 418 yards of total offense in the win. Duke will face a red-hot Syracuse team on the road on Saturday.

10. Pittsburgh (2-1, 0-0)

Pittsburgh has a good chance to shake things up on Saturday when it hosts undefeated Louisville at home this weekend. The Panthers are coming off a bye week, and before the bye, had a narrow loss to West Virginia on the road. It will be the ACC opener for the Panthers, who will look to start ACC play at 1-0 against ACC contender Louisville.

9. California (3-1, 0-0)

California was one of the hottest teams in the ACC after the season, 3-0, but the offense had its worst performance of the season and was shut down by San Diego State. Their true freshman QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele struggled on the road, throwing two interceptions, and the offense continued to stall out, having to punt the ball six times in the game. The Golden Bears will face Boston College on the road.

8. Clemson (1-3, 0-2)

Lates — Sep 20, 2025; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Clemson Tigers cornerback Avieon Terrell (8) stands with head coach Dabo Swinney after losing to the Syracuse Orange at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Ruinard/GREENVILLE NEWS-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images | GREENVILLE NEWS-USA TODAY Networ

How the mighty have fallen. The Tigers were expected to be a national championship contender are already staring at three losses on the season and are struggling in countless ways. 1-3 is the worst start in the Dabo Swinney era, and it is a team that is searching for answers and needs to find them quickly. The team is talented and has everything they need to right the ship, but Clemson is not executing at a high level. Their quarterback, Cade Klubnik, looks like he has regressed, and their defense is not getting consistent stops as they should be. Clemson will be on a bye week and will look to fix things when it comes out of the bye, and will face UNC on the road.

7. NC State (3-1, 1-1)

NC State's defense struggled to keep the Duke offense from scoring points on Saturday. Their sophomore quarterback, CJ Bailey, also struggled with taking care of the football, finishing with three interceptions. Simply put, they have to be better on both sides of the ball if they want to contend for an ACC crown. It was a strong start to the season as they started 3-0, but how will they deal with adversity? The Wolfpack will be at home against Virginia Tech on Saturday.

6. Virginia (3-1, 1-0)

Virginia is another team that has been a pleasant surprise in 2025. They blew out Stanford at home in a 48-20 victory. Their only loss of the season was to NC State, a game they lost by four points. The biggest question is if the Cavaliers are for real. Well, they have their biggest test of the season on Friday night when they host No. 8 Florida State at home.

5. Syracuse (3-1, 1-0)

The Orange, unfortunately, received bad news on Sunday that Notre Dame transfer QB Steve Angeli was ruled out for the season after suffering a torn Achilles tendon. Head coach Fran Brown will now turn to Rickie Collins to lead the team the rest of the year. Syracuse picked up an impressive 34-21 win over Clemson on Saturday as the defense made it tough for the Tigers' offense to get it going until it let in the game. The key stat of the game is that Clemson was 3-13 on third downs and just 1-5 on fourth down conversions. They were aggressive and attacked Clemson, showing they wouldn’t back down to the reigning ACC champion. The Orange will host Duke this week.

4. Louisville (3-0, 0-0)

Louisville defeated Bowling Green at home 40-17 in their second-highest scoring output of the year. Louisville, coming into the season, was one of the dark-horse teams to contend for an ACC crown. So far, they have handled business and beaten inferior opponents. We will find out soon how real the Cardinals are. This weekend they will face Pittsburgh, a team looking to get back on track after a loss a few weeks ago to West Virginia. The Cardinals also have Virginia and Miami on the schedule in the next few weeks.

3. Florida State (3-0, 0-0)

Latrst — Sep 20, 2025; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles quarterback Thomas Castellanos (1) during the first half against the Kent State Golden Flashes at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images | Melina Myers-Imagn Images

Florida State has been a pleasant surprise this season in the ACC and in the country. Their offense has looked sharp under the stewardship of Tommy Castellanos. In a 66-10 win over Kent State, Florida State put up 775 yards of total offense and nearly 500 yards on the ground. They can beat you on the ground or through the air. The Seminoles will go on the road to face Virginia in a trap game on Friday night. Florida State will face the Miami Hurricanes in two weeks and must make sure they don’t overlook the Cavaliers, or they could be upset.

2. Georgia Tech (4-0, 1-0)

The Yellow Jackets have faced several early tests to begin the year and have continued to pass them with flying colors. Despite facing an inferior opponent on Saturday, going on the road to Wake Forest, the Yellow Jackets must stay focused and handle business against the Demon Deacons before they enjoy a bye week and face Virginia Tech coming out of the bye.

1. Miami (4-0, 0-0)

Miami is clearly the best team in the ACC and has one of the best teams in the trenches this year. It wasn’t the best win against Florida last weekend, but they showed the ability to finish games and leaned on the rushing attack to put away Florida in a 26-7 win. It wasn’t even a good game from Carson Beck, and they still found a way to win. The Hurricanes also received a bump in the AP Poll rankings to the No. 2 spot, their highest ranking since 2017. The Hurricanes will be on a bye week before facing Florida State in two weeks.