Wake Forest's Rank Does Not Change in Weekly ACC Power Rankings

Welcome back to our weekly ACC Football Power Rankings. Each week, our staff ranks the 17 teams in the ACC to determine that week's rankings. More specifically, as the season progresses, we will be watching the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (2-2, 0-2 ACC) progress (or regress) each week.

In our inaugural rankings in Week Five, the Deacs debuted at No. 13. After the heartbreaking loss to Georgia Tech, the good news for Deacs fans is that the ranking remained the same in Week Six—No. 13. In fact, of the 17 teams in the ACC, only the Miami Hurricanes (No. 1) and Wake Forest remained the same. All other schools changed positions.

Virginia Tech (this week's opponent), North Carolina, Boston College, and Stanford all rank lower than the Deacs this week.

Wake Forest heads to Blacksburg with a 2-2 overall record, but 0-2 in conference play, with losses to NC State and a nationally-ranked Georgia Tech. A win over a revitalized Hokies team would most likely move the Deacs up in next week's rankings.

As for the rest of the ACC, Miami is the unanimous No. 1 team. They were No. 1 last week, but were not unanimously in that position. They are followed by Louisville, Virginia, Florida State, and Georgia Tech.

Deacs don't have to look too far up the rankings to find some hope. Once nationally-ranked Clemson dropped down one spot to No. 12, and the gap between them and the Deacs is very narrow.

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 6

Here are our Week 6 ACC Football Power Rankings, as voted on by our group of sports journalists. What did this week tell us? It told us that, as of right now, Miami is in the driver's seat for a spot in the ACC Championship. But the race for the other spot is a close one.

The Wake Forest defense makes a stop during the game with Georgia Tech. | Evan Harris - Wake Forest On SI

Week 6 Power Rankings Highlights

Miami once again holds the top spot in our ACC Football Power Rankings.
No other team received first-place votes.
Stanford dropped one spot to get the honor of being No. 17 (last) this week.
Virginia Tech, last week's No. 17 team, moved up three spots to No. 14.
Boston College, Cal, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest also received last-place votes.
Seven teams had six or more spots between their highest and lowest ranking; Cal had the most, with a 12-point spread.
Other teams with at least six spots between the highest and lowest rankings are Clemson (10), Florida State (6), SMU (8), Syracuse (6), and Wake Forest (7)
Since Miami was a unanimous No. 1, it had no fluctuation between its highest and lowest rankings.

17. Stanford (2-3, 1-1)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 16
Highest Ranking: #11
Lowest Ranking: #17
Last Week: Beat San Jose State 30-29
This Week: Bye Week

16. Boston College (1-3, 0-2)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 15
Highest Ranking: #12
Lowest Ranking: #16
Last Week: Lost to California 24-28
This Week: at Pittsburgh

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

Last Week's Power Ranking: 14
Highest Ranking: #11
Lowest Ranking: #16
Last Week: Bye Week
This Week: vs. Clemson

14. Virginia Tech (2-3, 1-0)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 17
Highest Ranking: #12
Lowest Ranking: #17
Last Week: Beat NC State 23-21
This Week: vs. Wake Forest

13. Wake Forest (2-2, 0-2)

Wake Forest quarterback Robby Ashford with his teammates during the game against Georgia Tech. | Evan Harris - Wake Forest On SI

Last Week's Power Ranking: 13
Highest Ranking: #10
Lowest Ranking: #17
Last Week: lost to Georgia Tech 29-30
This Week: at Virginia Tech

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

Last Week's Power Ranking: 11
Highest Ranking: #6
Lowest Ranking: #16
Last Week: Bye Week
This Week: at North Carolina

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

Last Week's Power Ranking: 10
Highest Ranking: #8
Lowest Ranking: #13
Last Week: Lost to Louisville 27-34
This Week: vs. Boston College

10. California (4-1, 1-0)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 12
Highest Ranking: #5
Lowest Ranking: #17
Last Week: Beat Boston College 28-24
This Week: vs. Duke

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

Last Week's Power Ranking: 8
Highest Ranking: #6
Lowest Ranking: #15
Last Week: Bye Week
This Week: vs. Syracuse

8. Syracuse (3-2, 1-1)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 5
Highest Ranking: #6
Lowest Ranking: #12
Last Week: Lost to Duke 3-38
This Week: at SMU

7. NC State (3-2, 1-2)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 6
Highest Ranking: #6
Lowest Ranking: #11
Last Week: Lost to Virginia Tech 21-23
This Week: vs. Campbell

6. Duke (3-2, 2-0)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 9
Highest Ranking: #6
Lowest Ranking: #11
Last Week: Beat Syracuse 38-3
This Week: at California

5. #17 Georgia Tech (5-0, 2-0)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 3
Highest Ranking: #2
Lowest Ranking: #7
Last Week: Beat Wake Forest 30-29
This Week: Bye Week

4. #18 Florida State (3-1, 0-1)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 2
Highest Ranking: #2
Lowest Ranking: #8
Last Week: Lost at Virginia 38-46 (2OT)
This Week: vs. Miami

3. #24 Virginia (4-1, 2-0)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 7
Highest Ranking: #2
Lowest Ranking: #5
Last Week: Beat Florida State 46-38 (2OT)
This Week: at Louisville

2. Louisville (4-0, 1-0)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 4
Highest Ranking: #2
Lowest Ranking: #5
Last Week: Beat Pittsburgh 34-27
This Week: vs. Virginia

1. #3 Miami (4-0, 0-0)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 1
Highest Ranking: #1
Lowest Ranking: #1
Last Week: Bye Week
This Week: at Florida State

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

What's Next

Wake Forest hits the road for the first time this season. They will play Virginia Tech in Blacksburg on Saturday, October 4 at 1 p.m ET. The game can be seen on the CW. A win might move the Deacs up next week, but with Virginia Tech right behind them, it may not. A loss most certainly sees the two team flip spaces, at the very least.