ACC Football Power Rankings: Louisville Rises As Virginia, NC State Fall After Week 3

The wild results in the ACC continued into Week 3 of the 2026 college football season.

Virginia and NC State both fell to non-conference opponents, with the Wolfpack throwing the game away in embarrassing fashion. Louisville knocked off a top-25 squad, while Duke also continues to impress.

From top to bottom, there's plenty of movement across the conference in our weekly ACC Power Rankings.

ACC Power Rankings After Week 2

1. Miami Hurricanes (3-0, 2-0 ACC)

Last week: No. 1 (no change)

Miami looked like it was going to roll over Wake Forest, building a 24-7 lead in the first half. However, the Hurricanes fizzled out in the final two quarters, scoring 1 touchdown over the rest of the game.

The Hurricanes survived, and that's all that matters for now. They should be able to get back into rhythm against Central Michigan, but have a road game against Clemson and the annual rivalry game against Florida State coming up.

2. Louisville Cardinals (2-1, 1-0 ACC)

Last week: No. 3 (+1)

Louisville pulled off a major victory on Saturday, knocking SMU from the ranks of the undefeated in a top-25 conference game. The pair of high-scoring offenses put 72 combined points on the board, but it was the Cardinals who came out on top with a strong second half.

The Cardinals outscored the Mustangs 27-14 over the final two quarters. Defensively, Louisville forced 3 turnovers, and a turnover on downs. Running back Keyjuan Brown carried the load with 163 yards and 2 touchdowns.

There's no time to ease off the pedal with Wake Forest coming to town this weekend.

3. SMU Mustangs (2-1, 1-1 ACC)

Last week: No. 2 (-1)

The Mustangs barely beat Florida State in Tallahassee and were handled in the second half in the loss to Louisville. Star quarterback Kevin Jennings is up to 4 interceptions in two conference games. That's simply not good enough.

For now, SMU only drops a spot, but the turnover woes need to get cleaned up, or the Mustangs won't achieve their ceiling, no matter how much firepower they have to work with offensively.

SMU hosts Missouri State before getting into the thick of conference play.

4. Duke Blue Devils (3-0, 1-0 ACC)

Last week: No. 5 (+1)

Duke wiped the floor with Stanford in its conference opener, winning 35-7. The Blue Devils held the Cardinal to a mere 237 yards and 2/11 on third down.

Manny Diaz should have his team at 4-0 going into October, as the reigning ACC Champions keep moving up.

5. Pittsburgh Panthers (3-0, 1-0 ACC)

Last week: No. 6 (+1)

It wasn't pretty, but Pittsburgh got the job done on a short week against a conference opponent, defeating Syracuse 27-13. Mason Heintschel struggled for the second straight game, though the Panthers racked up 245 yards and 3 scores on the ground.

Defensively, the Panthers forced 2 interceptions and held Syracuse to 0 points in two different quarters.

Pittsburgh needs to work out its passing woes against Bucknell before a trip to Virginia Tech.

6. Virginia Tech Hokies (3-0, 0-0 ACC)

Last week: No. 7 (+1)

Speaking of Virginia Tech, the Hokies wrapped up their non-conference slate with an impressive 35-26 road victory against Maryland. For the most part, James Franklin's squad controlled the evening, building a 35-14 lead in the second half. The Terrapins scored twice in the fourth quarter, but the deficit was too much to climb back from.

Ethan Grunkemeyer threw for 300+ yards for the second straight game and didn't turn the ball. The Hokies also rushed for 131 yards after a disappointing performance in that aspect last week.

Virginia Tech opens ACC play on the road against Boston College.

7. Virginia Cavaliers (2-1, 1-0 ACC)

Last week: No. 4 (-3)

Virginia dips after suffering its first defeat, coming up short at home against West Virginia. The Cavaliers put up 14 points in the opening frame, then only scored 2 touchdowns the rest of the way.

West Virginia outgained Virginia by nearly 100 yards, and rushed for 247 yards on 5.1 yards per attempt.

The Cavaliers have to bounce back against Delaware as they hit the road for the first time to face Florida State in one week.

8. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (2-1, 0-1 ACC)

Last week: 9 (+1)

Wake Forest dropped its first game of the 2026 season, but it came in a valiant effort against Miami. The Demon Deacons nearly fell apart in the second quarter. However, they were much more diligent after halftime, as the Hurricanes scored just a single touchdown over the final two quarters.

Jake Dickert has his squad playing with a ton of effort and fight. They'll need all of that and more at Louisville this weekend.

9. Cal Golden Bears (2-1, 1-0 ACC)

Last week: No. 10 (+1)

Cal did what it was supposed to do, winning its second straight game over Wagner, 49-7. Star quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele completed 27/33 passes for 413 yards with 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.

The Golden Bears remain on the West Coast to host Clemson in what should be an entertaining matchup.

10. North Carolina Tar Heels (2-1, 0-1 ACC)

Last week: No. 8 (-2)

The Tar Heels looked poised to win their conference opener. However, weather delayed the game, and North Carolina never got it going again after the stoppage, being outscored by Clemson 22-3 in the second half.

The offensive woes are a legitimate issue, and things might not get much better with North Carolina facing Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, and Duke in its next 3 games.

11. Clemson Tigers (2-1, 1-0 ACC)

Last week: No. 15 (+4)

Clemson was down 14-3 after the first quarter. After that, the Tigers found life, outscoring North Carolina 25-6 the rest of the way. Quarterback Tait Reynolds completed 20/29 passes for 215 yards with a touchdown and an interception in his first career start.

The Tigers can't afford to overlook a road game at Cal, before returning to Death Valley to host Miami.

12. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (1-2, 0-0 ACC)

Last week: No. 13 (+1)

Georgia Tech scored more points than in its first two games combined in a 44-11 victory against Mercer. Maybe that performance will help the Yellow Jackets get out of their rut on offense.

If Georgia Tech doesn't beat Stanford this weekend, it might be a long year.

13. Florida State Seminoles (1-2, 0-1 ACC)

Last week: No. 11 (-2)

Credit to Florida State for battling, but a loss is a loss. The Seminoles led 21-6 in the first half, but ended up falling to Alabama 50-36. The Crimson Tide produced points on 9 straight days. Even with big plays in the passing game, it was enough to pull off an upset.

Florida State hosts Central Arkansas before the toughest stretch of its 2026 season.

14. NC State Wolfpack (1-2, 0-1 ACC)

Last week: No. 12 (-2)

There are no words for what happened to North Carolina State last weekend. With the ball and the game in their hands, the Wolfpack fumbled it away as time expired, leading to a game-winning touchdown for Vanderbilt.

North Carolina State led 17-0, but was outscored 28-14 in the second, including 21-7 in the fourth quarter. It's been a disappointing start in Raleigh.

15. Syracuse Orange (1-2, 0-2 ACC)

Last week: No. 14 (-1)

Syracuse dropped its second straight conference game against Pittsburgh, as the Orange have scored less than 20 points in consecutive outings. Quarterback Steve Angeli has thrown 1 touchdown to 5 interceptions over the last two weeks.

The Orange are trending towards another tough season.

16. Stanford Cardinal (1-2, 0-2 ACC)

Last week: No. 16 (no change)

Stanford has been outscored 80-13 in its two conference games. For those wondering at home, that's not great.

It probably won't get much better from here.

17. Boston College Eagles (2-1, 0-0 ACC)

Last week: No. 17 (no change)

Boston College has won two straight, but both of those games were relatively close. The Eagles beat one of the worst teams in the FBS, and followed that up with a 22-16 win against Maine from the FCS ranks.

They'll face four of the better teams in the league over the next month, with home games against Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh, and road contests at SMU and Duke.

ACC Power Rankings After Week 2

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