Wake Forest Continues to Move Up in ACC Week 10 Power Rankings

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (5-2, 2-2 ACC) continue to impress. After a walk-off win over SMU last week, the Deacs are on the verge of bowl eligibility. They need to win one more game of their last five to get to go bowling. Their first chance comes Saturday against Florida State.

That win over SMU catapulted the Deacs up a couple of spots in our Week 10 ACC Football Power Rankings. Wake Forest now sits at No. 6. When our first power rankings came out in Week 5, Wake was at No. 13, and we were talking about the four teams that fell below them. Now, we can look at the six teams ahead of the Deacs and see that they are in good company - Georgia Tech, Miami, Louisville, Virginia, and Pitt.

Each week, our staff ranks the 17 teams in the ACC to determine that week's rankings. More specifically, as the season progresses, we have been watching how the Deacs progress each week.

For the first two weeks of our ACC Power Rankings, the Deacs remained at No. 13. After thatwin in Blacksburg, they moved up to the No. 12 spot. After traveling across the country and taking care of Oregon State, the Deacs moved up to No. 9. Last week, they moved up to No. 8. Now, this week, the Deacs have their highest ranking of the season thus far at No. 6.

For the second consecutive week, Georgia Tech remains at the top spot. Miami, which held the top spot several weeks before losing to Louisville, sits at No. 2, up one spot from last week. At the bottom of the list, North Carolina and Boston College, moving the Tar Heels back to last place, a spot they held in Week 7.

How Power Rankings Are Determined

Each week, our editorial staff of nine writers individually ranks the 17 teams in the ACC. Their votes are tabulated, and final weekly power rankings are determined. Not all of our staff are Wake homers. Our diverse writing staff is based across the country and covers the SEC, Big Ten, and Big 12.

Here's where our staff ranked the teams this week:

2025 ACC Power Rankings – Week 10

Here are our Week 10 ACC Football Power Rankings, as voted on by our group of sports journalists.
What did this week tell us? Currently, several teams have a chance to make the ACC Championship game. It has also been shown that the botched Belichick experiment in Chapel Bill is not working.

Week 10 Power Rankings Highlights

Georgia Tech remains the number one team for the second-straight week.
Miami and Virginia also received first-place votes.
North Carolina and Boston College once again flipped spots. The Tar Heels come in at No. 17, with BC just ahead of them (by one point!) at No. 16
Boston College and Stanford also received last-place votes.
SMU had the most movement this week, dropping four spots after losing to Wake Forest.
No other team moved up or down more than two spots this week. Four teams remained unchanged from last week. Eight teams went up or down one spot. Four teams moved up or down two spots.
Eight teams had six or more spots between their highest and lowest ranking: Boston College (6), Cal (6), Duke (8), Florida State (11), NC State (6), Syracuse (6), Virginia (9), and Wake Forest (6).
Louisville and North Carolina had the lowest fluctuation between their highest and lowest rankings, each having two spots between their highest and lowest.

Wake Forest fans celebrate during the SMU game. Were they participating in the latest trend to hit college football stadiums? Or were they celebrating, knowing that their Deacs would bump up to No. 6 in the ACC Week 10 Football Power Rankings? | Evan Harris - Wake Forest On SI

17. North Carolina (2-5, 0-3)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 16
Highest Ranking: #15
Lowest Ranking: #17
Last Week: Lost to Virginia 16-17 (OT)
This Week: at Syracuse

16. Boston College (1-7, 0-5)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 17
Highest Ranking: #11
Lowest Ranking: #17
Last Week: lost at Louisville 24-38
This Week: vs. Notre Dame

15. Stanford (3-5, 2-3)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 14
Highest Ranking: #12
Lowest Ranking: #17
Last Week: Lost at Miami 7-42
This Week: vs. Pittsburgh

14. Syracuse (3-5, 1-4)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 12
Highest Ranking: #9
Lowest Ranking: #15
Last Week: Lost at Georgia Tech 16-41
This Week: vs. North Carolina

13. Virginia Tech (3-5, 2-2)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 15
Highest Ranking: #10
Lowest Ranking: #15
Last Week: Beat California 42-34
This Week: vs. Louisville

12. Florida State (3-4, 0-4)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 13
Highest Ranking: #4
Lowest Ranking: #15
Last Week: Bye Week
This Week: vs. Wake Forest

11. California (5-3, 2-2)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 11
Highest Ranking: #8
Lowest Ranking: #14
Last Week: Lost at Virginia Tech 34-42
This Week: vs. Virginia

10. NC State (4-4, 1-3)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 10
Highest Ranking: #6
Lowest Ranking: #12
Last Week: Lost at Pittsburgh 34-53
This Week: vs. Georgia Tech

9. SMU (5-3, 3-1)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 5
Highest Ranking: #6
Lowest Ranking: #11
Last Week: Lost at Wake Forest 12-13
This Week: vs. Miami

8. Clemson (3-4, 2-3)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 9
Highest Ranking: #5
Lowest Ranking: #10
Last Week: Bye Week
This Week: vs. Duke

7. Duke (4-3, 3-1)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 7
Highest Ranking: #5
Lowest Ranking: #13
Last Week: Bye Week
This Week: at Clemson

6. Wake Forest (5-2, 2-2)

Wake Forest football players celebrate after defeating SMU 13-12 in Week 9. | Evan Harris - Wake Forest On SI

Last Week's Power Ranking: 8
Highest Ranking: #5
Lowest Ranking: #11
Last Week: Beat SMU 13-12
This Week: at Florida State

5. Pittsburgh (6-2, 4-1)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 6
Highest Ranking: #5
Lowest Ranking: #10
Last Week: Beat NC State 53-34
This Week: at Stanford

4. #15 Virginia (7-1, 4-0)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 2
Highest Ranking: #1
Lowest Ranking: #10
Last Week: Beat North Carolina 17-16 (OT)
This Week: at Cal

3. #16 Louisville (6-1, 3-1)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 4
Highest Ranking: #2
Lowest Ranking: #4
Last Week: Beat Boston College 38-24
This Week: at Virginia Tech

2. #10 Miami (6-1, 2-1)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 3
Highest Ranking: #1
Lowest Ranking: #4
Last Week: Beat Stanford 42-7
This Week: at SMU

1. #8 Georgia Tech (8-0, 5-0)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 1
Highest Ranking: #1
Lowest Ranking: #4
Last Week: Beat Syracuse 41-16
This Week: at NC State

Note: Power Rankings are determined by the Wake Forest Demon Deacons On SI editorial staff.

What's Next

Wake Forest travels to Tallahassee to play Florida State University on Saturday, November 1, at 7:30 pm ET at Doak Campbell Stadium. The game can be seen on the ACC Network.