ACC Football Week Nine Power Rankings
Only four games were on the ACC schedule this weekend, but there was plenty of intrigue about what was going in the conference.
Clemson and Syracuse were facing off in the de-facto ACC Atlantic championship game and it was much closer than many expected. Syracuse led 21-10 going into the fourth quarter of the game, but a strong running game from the Tigers and a great effort from the defense in the second half made it all but certain that Clemson is going to be in Charlotte for the ACC Championship game.
Elsewhere around the league, Duke blew out Miami and forced EIGHT turnovers, Wake Forest looked good coming out of the bye week and beat Boston College, Pitt had four turnovers in a loss to Louisville, and Georgia Tech's winning streak was snapped in the loss to Virginia.
Here are the ACC Power rankings heading into week nine.
14. Miami (3-4, L vs Duke 45-21)
A nightmare first season for Mario Cristobal got worse on Saturday when his Hurricane team got demolished by Duke and the offense had eight turnovers. To make things worse, quarterback Tyler Van Dyke was injured and his status is unknown going forward.
This might be a longer rebuild than most thought and there is a real chance the Hurricanes miss a bowl game. Miami travels to Virginia next week.
13. Boston College (2-5, L vs Wake Forest 43-15)-
The Eagles had to take a trip to Winston-Salem to face a great Wake offense and Boston College could not keep the game close, despite another great performance from wide receiver Zay Flowers. Flowers had 10 catches for 135 yards and one touchdown and is the only source of offense for Boston College right now.
The Eagles have a winnable game on the road at UConn next week.
12. Virginia Tech (2-5, Bye week)-
Virginia Tech was off this past weekend and will have a Thursday night road trip to Raleigh to face NC State.
11. Georgia Tech (3-4, L vs Virginia 16-9)
Georgia Tech had to insert backup quarterback Zach Gibson on Thursday night vs Virginia
Georgia Tech had been 2-0 since interim coach Brent Key took over, but suffered an ugly loss to Virginia on Thursday night. Starting quarterback Jeff Sims suffered an injury in the game and was replaced by backup quarterback Zach Gibson. Gibson was sacked seven times and the Georgia Tech offense could be in for an ugly few weeks if Sims can't play.
All of the momentum that Tech had is gone and now the Yellow Jackets must face a Florida State team on the road that is looking to snap their three-game losing streak.
10. Virginia (3-4, W vs Georgia Tech 16-9)
The Cavaliers were reeling heading into their matchup with Georgia Tech, but they found a way to get a win on the road. The offense turned the ball over four times, but UVA was able to take advantage of an overmatched Georgia Tech offensive line and get eight sacks.
This team still has a long way to go, but they are finally in the ACC win column under Tony Elliott. Virginia has a chance for another ACC win this week against Miami.
9. Pittsburgh (4-3, L vs Louisville 24-10)
The Panthers had a very disappointing loss to Louisville on Saturday and now are 4-3. The thought of repeating as Coastal division champions is slipping away and is due in large part to turnovers. Pitt had four last night and had three in an earlier loss to Georgia Tech. The defense played well enough to win, but the passing game has been subpar for the Panthers. Running back Israel Abanikanda had 129 yards and one touchdown and continues to be the main source of offense.
Pitt travels to North Carolina next week.
8. Louisville (4-3, W vs Pitt 24-10)
Louisville got a nice home win vs Pitt on Saturday
The Cardinal's defense forced four turnovers and the offense did just enough to secure a win over Pitt. All of the talk in recent weeks has been about Scott Satterfield being on the hot seat, but he kept that at bay with another win.
This team will still have to battle to make a bowl game. Wake Forest and their explosive offense will travel to Louisville to face Malik Cunningham and the rest of the Cardinals next week.
7. Florida State (4-3, Bye week)
Florida State was on a bye week and will look to end its three-game win streak this weekend against Georgia Tech.
6. Duke (5-3, W vs Miami 45-21)
Duke quarterback Riley Leonard had three rushing touchdowns against Miami
Duke had lost two games in a row but bounced back in a big way on Saturday against Miami. The defense forced eight turnovers and quarterback Riley Leonard had four total touchdowns.
The win is the largest ever for Duke over Miami and snaps a two-game losing streak to the Hurricanes. The Blue Devils are one win away from bowl eligibility and have a bye week coming up.
5. NC State (5-2, Bye week)
NC State was on a bye week and will have a Thursday night game against Virginia Tech on Thursday night.
4. North Carolina (6-1, Bye week)
North Carolina was on a bye week and will return for a home game against Pittsburgh next week. North Carolina is undefeated in conference play and has a commanding lead in the Coastal division.
3. Syracuse (6-1, L vs Clemson 27-21)
There is no shame in losing a close game to Clemson on the road, but for running back Sean Tucker not to have more touches in the game than he did is a head-scratcher. The play calling by the Orange in the second half was questionable and the run defense was not good enough against Will Shipley and the rest of the Tigers.
Syracuse has a non-conference home game against Notre Dame this week.
2. Wake Forest (6-1, W vs Boston College 43-15)
Wake Forest came out of its bye week and looked like it had not missed a beat. Quarterback Sam Hartman was fantastic and accounted for six total touchdowns. The real story this season has been about how much better Wake Forest looks on defense. The Demon Deacons have been much improved on that side of the ball and it is just as big of a reason this team is playing so well as its offense. If they keep winning, a spot in a New Year's Six Bowl Game is possible, even likely.
Wake Forest travels to Louisville next week.
1. Clemson (8-0, W vs Syracuse 27-21)
Clemson remains on top of the ACC standings after Saturday
It was not pretty, but the Tigers remain unbeaten heading into the final month of the regular season. While the quarterback change will get the headlines, the real reason the Tigers won this game is because of the running game and Will Shipley in particular.
Shipley had 172 yards and two touchdowns in the game and Clemson's defensive line took over in the second half. This team is steadily moving along and remains squarely in the playoff hunt.
Clemson has a bye week coming up before a road trip to Notre Dame.
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