ACC Football Power Rankings Shake Up Again After Virginia, Louisville Losses

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - For the second week in a row, chaos reigned supreme in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

A week removed from Georgia Tech and Miami losing to dramatically shake up the conference standings, this past weekend, yet another shakeup struck the league. Virginia and Louisville, the two highest-ranked teams in the AP Poll and CFP Rankings, fell to Wake Forest and Cal, respectively, at home.

As a result, there is now a four-way tie for first place in the ACC. On top of that, three additional teams are still mathematically alive to reach the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte. There might be less than a month left of the regular season, but the top of the league's standings are far from being set.

So where do things currently stand in the conference with three weeks left in the regular season? Check out our week 12 ACC power rankings below:

1. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Record: 8-1, 5-1 ACC
Last Week's Ranking: No. 3
Week 11 Result: Bye Week

And just like that, Georgia Tech is back to controlling their own destiny. As long as the defense can shore up some issues and Haynes King can continue his Heisman Trophy pace, the Yellow Jackets could very well end up in Charlotte.

2. Pitt Panthers

Record: 7-2, 5-1 ACC
Last Week's Ranking: No. 5
Week 11 Result: Bye Week

Don't look now, but Pitt is on a five-game winning streak, and has positioned themselves very well. The Panthers have a very difficult end of season schedule, but if they can take down Notre Dame this weekend, it becomes a lot more doable.

3. SMU Mustangs

Record: 7-3, 5-1 ACC
Last Week's Ranking: No. 6
Week 11 Result: W, 45-23 at Boston College

It's still wild that SMU finds themselves squarely in the ACC title discussion given how their season started. But Rhett Lashlee's Mustangs look like a well-oiled machine (with the exception of the Wake Forest loss), and it wouldn't be surprising at this point if they were able to get back to Charlotte.

4. Virginia Cavaliers

Record: 8-2, 5-1 ACC
Last Week's Ranking: No. 4
Week 11 Result: L, 16-9 vs. Wake Forest

Virginia had been playing with fire over the last month, and it finally came back to burn them. Granted, not having QB Chandler Morris for a large chunk of this game played a role, and the Cavaliers' offense was held out of the endzone in part because of this.

5. Louisville Cardinals

Record: 7-2, 4-2 ACC
Last Week's Ranking: No. 2
Week 11 Result: L/OT, 29-26 vs. Cal

Speaking of playing with fire and getting burnt, Louisville is in the same boat. They've made a habit of falling behind early and mounting second half comebacks, but the Cardinals could not make winning plays against Cal - mainly because of QB Miller Moss.

6. Miami Hurricanes

Record: 7-2, 3-2 ACC
Last Week's Ranking: No. 8
Week 11 Result: W, 38-10 vs. Syracuse

The ACC Championship ship seems to have sailed for Miami, but they're at least still putting up a good effort. Granted, Syracuse is down to their third string QB and were still able to run the ball against the Canes, but this was still a lopsided effort.

7. NC State Wolfpack

Record: 5-4, 2-3 ACC
Last Week's Ranking: No. 7
Week 11 Result: Bye Week

NC State certainly has the offensive capabilities to make some noise down the stretch. But if the Wolfpack don't shore up their porous defense, it could all fall apart, and Dave Doeren might be put on the hot seat.

8. Duke Blue Devils

Record: 5-4, 4-1 ACC
Last Week's Ranking: No. 4
Week 11 Result: L, 37-34 at UConn

Sure, Duke technically still has a chance to win the ACC. But losing to UConn is not something that will give Blue Devils fans much confidence. Especially considering how they end their season.

9. Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Record: 6-3, 3-3 ACC
Last Week's Ranking: No. 12
Week 11 Result: W, 16-9 at Virginia

Jake Dickert had already put together a good first season as the head coach at Wake Forest, and that was before pulling off a road upset over a top-15 team. Not only are the Demon Deacons now bowl eligible, their future continues to get brighter with Dickert at the helm.

10. Clemson Tigers

Record: 4-5, 3-4 ACC
Last Week's Ranking: No. 9
Week 11 Result: W, 24-10 vs. Florida State

Make no mistake, Clemson still has a litany of problems on both sides of the ball. But QB Cade Klubnik has looked much, much better as of late for the Tigers. Perhaps it's something they can lean on to avoid a losing season.

11. Cal Golden Bears

Record: 6-4, 3-3 ACC
Last Week's Ranking: No. 13
Week 11 Result: W/OT, 29-26 at Louisville

It might have taken until November, but Cal was finally able to showcase their potential. QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele had a fantastic day, as did that Golden Bears defense, and it resulted in a top-15 road win against Louisville.

12. Virginia Tech Hokies

Record: 3-6, 2-3 ACC
Last Week's Ranking: No. 11
Week 11 Result: Bye Week

After all that Virginia Tech has been through this season, a bowl is still technically on the table. The Hokies have to take down FSU, Miami and rival Virginia to get there, but hey, it's possible.

13. Florida State Seminoles

Record: 4-5, 1-5 ACC
Last Week's Ranking: No. 10
Week 11 Result: L, 24-10 at Clemson

Death Valley has been far from intimidating this season, and Clemson is a shell of their former selves - and Florida State still couldn't win. Mike Norvell might be a dead man walking.

14. North Carolina Tar Heels

Record: 4-5, 2-3 ACC
Last Week's Ranking: No. 14
Week 11 Result: W, 20-15 at Stanford

It might have taken facing two of the worst teams in the ACC, but Bill Belichick and North Carolina have finally won back-to-back games against power conference teams. Their offense still seems to be stuck in the mud, but their defense has improved a lot since week one.

15. Stanford Cardinal

Record: 3-7, 2-5 ACC
Last Week's Ranking: No. 15
Week 11 Result: L, 20-15 at North Carolina

At least Stanford's passing game looked sort of competant against North Carolina? Then again, their running game and their secondary certainly didn't look stout. The season can't end soon enough for the Cardinal.

16. Syracuse Orange

Record: 3-7, 1-6 ACC
Last Week's Ranking: No. 16
Week 11 Result: L, 38-10 at Miami

On one hand, it's hard to win when you're down to your third string quarterback. However, Syracuse can't seems to do anything right, and the Orange are now riding a six-game losing streak. I'm still high on Fran Brown, but it's a second season rough season for him.

17. Boston College Eagles

Record: 1-9, 0-6 ACC
Last Week's Ranking: No. 17
Week 11 Result: L, 45-13 vs. SMU

Year two of the Bill O'Brien era at Boston College has been a complete disaster. The Eagles are now on a nine-game losing streak, and it's hard to imagine things turning around on Chestnut Hill down the stretch and moving forward under B.O.B.