Week Seven ACC Power Rankings: Where is Georgia Tech After Beating Duke?

Week six is in the books and the ACC remains as wide open as ever.

Georgia Tech pulled off what might have been the surprise win of the weekend in the conference, beating the undefeated Duke Blue Devils at home and earning their first ACC win of the season. There is a lot of the season left, but this could be the shot in the arm that the Yellow Jackets needed going forward.

But how did the rest of the conference shake out?

17. Stanford (2-4, 1-3). Last week: 16

With Georgia Tech winning, the Cardinal move back into the basement in the ACC after their performance against Notre Dame. The Cardinal were clearly overmatched, but it was still a pretty lifeless showing from Stanford. They should get their third win of the season next week vs Elon before they resume ACC play.

16. Syracuse (2-3, 0-3). Last week: 13

Credit to Syracuse, who is seemingly always on their third or fourth quarterback under Fran Brown, for going on the road and playing a tight game against Virginia. The Orange had their backs up against the walls, but at some point, Brown needs to start winning these games consistently and not losing them. The Orange host Louisville next weekend.

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

Boston College was off this weekend and they return to the field next weekend vs Pittsburgh.

14. Georgia Tech (2-3, 1-1). Last week: 17

I am going to need to see more consistency from Georgia Tech before I move them up further in the rankings. But the Yellow Jackets played well on Saturday and took down Duke after the Blue Devils missed a game-tying field goal at the end of the game. The running game was better, Georgia Tech held Duke in check for the most part, aside from third down conversions, and Alberto Mendoza led a composed drive at the end of the game to give Georgia Tech a win.

13. NC State (3-3, 1-2). Last week: 11

After beating Louisville last week, NC State returned home to a rainy atmosphere and was blown out by Wake Forest. There was not a lot of good things to say about the Wolfpack's performance and things could start to spiral for NC State now that they have their second conference loss. They have a bye week next week.

12. Florida State (3-3, 1-2). Last week: 7

After FSU went up 14-0 over Louisville on Friday night, it looked like Mike Norvell and the Seminoles were going to be 4-2 heading into their rivalry week matchup vs Miami. Instead, FSU let Louisville control the rest of the game and dropped another road game under Mike Norvell. The Hurricanes are waiting on FSU next week in Miami.

11. Virginia Tech (4-2, 1-2). Last week: 5

The Hokies had a really bad loss on the road against Cal on Saturday. The Golden Bears were missing their two best players and were coming off a loss to UNLV last week, and has not looked good at all this season. They had no problem against Virginia Tech though and the 4-0 start under Franklin seems like a distant memory. Can they rebound next week vs Georgia Tech.

10. California (3-3, 2-1). Last week: 15

Last week, Cal went on the road and lost to UNLV and things could not have looked worse for Tosh Lupoi and the Golden Bears. When their star quarterback and ball hawking safety were ruled out before today's game against Virginia Tech, it seemed like things would get worse. But Cal fought and fought all afternoon long to get a big win at home against the Hokies to cool things down a little bit. If they can do the same thing next week to Wake Forest, Cal could become a player in the ACC race.

9. North Carolina (3-2, 1-1). Last week: 12

North Carolina got their first ranked win under Bill Belichick with a win over the Pitt Panthers on Saturday. It was a similar script for UNC, as they played solid defense againt the new Pitt QB and did just enough on offense to get a win. North Carolina could be a factor in the ACC race down the stretch and have a chance to win next week vs Duke.

8. Duke (4-1, 1-1). Last week: 3

Duke had a lot of good feelings heading into October, but a loss to a Georgia Tech team that had just lost to Stanford two weeks before has sent the Blue Devils back down to Earth a little bit. Duke could not disrupt the Georgia Tech offense enough, only collecting four TFLs and zero sacks. This team could still make noise in the ACC, but they need to win next week vs North Carolina.

7. Virginia (4-2, 2-1). Last week: 10

A win is a win, but having to come back from down double digits against a Syracuse team that was down to their 3rd and 4th quarterback in this game does not leave a great feeling considering how this team was playing. Can UVA finally play well away from Charlottesville when they head to SMU next week? The Cavaliers ACC Championship hopes might depend on winning that game.

6. Pittsburgh (5-1, 2-1). Last week: 2

The Panthers were in a tough position without quarterback Mason Heintschel, but they still had a chance to beat North Carolina at home, but could not. Can this team avoid a free fall without Heintschel? They face Boston College next week before traveling to Miami.

5. Louisville (3-3, 2-2). Last week: 9

Louisville moving back to the top five has a lot to do with the shuffling going on around them and also them running away from Florida State in the second half. The offense remains lethal, but the Cardinals defense is still showing plenty of problems. They travel to Syracuse next weekend to try and get another win.

4. Clemson (3-2, 2-1). Last week: 8

Clemson was off this weekend and will be back in action next week vs Charleston Southern.

3. SMU (4-1, 2-1). Last week: 6

SMU was off this weekend and will host Virginia next weekend.

2. Wake Forest (5-1, 3-1). Last week: 4

Jake Dickert's team continues to roll through their schedule and after falling behind in the first half, they crushed NC State on the road and are now just one win away from getting bowl eligible for the second straight season under his leadership. But with the way the ACC looks right now, the Demon Deacons have their sights set on something bigger than just a bowl game.

1. Miami (5-0, 3-0). Last week: 1

Miami was off this weekend and will be back in action next Saturday vs Florida State.

Add us as a preferred source on Google