ACC Football Power Rankings: Wake Forest Climbing, SMU And Louisville Trending Down

The ACC delivered one of the surprises of Week 4 of the 2026 college football season, as Wake Forest walked out of Louisville with a 30-27 upset victory over the Cardinals.

With the midway point of the campaign right around the corner, only two teams in the conference are currently ranked in the top-25: No. 4 Miami and No. 21 SMU.

Following another competitive weekend, we've seen a ton of changes in the weekly ACC Power Rankings.

ACC Power Rankings After Week 2

1. Miami Hurricanes (4-0, 2-0 ACC)

Sep 26, 2026; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Hurricanes quarterback Darian Mensah (10) looks on from the field against the Central Michigan Chippewas during the third quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Last week: No. 1 (no change)

Miami is undefeated coming out of September, though the Hurricanes haven't faced much competition outside of a road trip to Wake Forest. It'll be interesting to see how they look in Death Valley against Clemson this weekend.

The Hurricanes dodge SMU and Louisville this year, and won't play a ranked opponent until a trip to Notre Dame on November 7.

2. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (3-1, 1-1 ACC)

Last week: 8 (+6)

Welcome to the party, Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons deserved a bump after giving Miami plenty of trouble and then outlasting Louisville on the road. Jake Dickert has his squad punching up a level in year 2.

Gio Lopez is playing much better than he did at North Carolina last year. Wake has a real chance to win its next five games, starting with a home matchup against Stanford.

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

Sep 5, 2026; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Manny Diaz reacts during the second half against the Tulane Green Wave at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Last week: No. 4 (+1)

Duke took care of business in a 62-7 victory against William & Mary. The Blue Devils have allowed fewer than 10 points in three of their four wins.

Manny Diaz is proving himself each week, and will likely get some calls this offseason from teams searching for a new head coach.

Duke is off this week before a trip to Georgia Tech.

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

Last week: No. 2 (-2)

One weekend after a huge win over SMU, the Cardinals fell flat on their face at home. Lincoln Kienholz produced through the air, but Louisville was held to 75 rushing yards on two yards per carry, as the dynamic duo of Keyjuan Brown and Isaac Brown couldn't get it going.

Louisville better regroup quickly with a road game against NC State coming up this weekend.

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

Sep 26, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; SMU Mustangs quarterback Kevin Jennings (7) runs with the ball against the Missouri State Bears during the first half at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Last week: No. 3 (-2)

SMU struggled to defeat Missouri State for the second straight year. The Mustangs trailed 10-0 in the first quarter before turning things around in the middle frames. The final score was still only 34-24.

This Missouri State team lost 50-0 to Texas A&M and is 1-3. I just don't like the way the Mustangs are playing right now. They barely beat Florida State and Missouri State, and dropped a top-25 matchup to Louisville.

SMU isn't reaching its potential at the moment.

6. Pittsburgh Panthers (4-0, 1-0 ACC)

Last week: No. 5 (-1)

The Panthers didn't do anything wrong in their 59-0 victory over Bucknell. I just had Wake Forest behind them last week, and the Demon Deacons had the better win.

Pittsburgh went undefeated during its nonconference slate. Quarterback Mason Heintschel needs to be more consistent from week to week as the Panthers begin a stretch of 8 straight ACC games, starting with a road trip against Virginia Tech.

7. Virginia Cavaliers (3-1, 1-0 ACC)

Sep 19, 2026; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Virginia Cavaliers quarterback Beau Pribula (7) rolls out to pass during the third quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Last week: No. 7 (no change)

Virginia got back on the right track with a 42-3 crushing of Delaware. Despite losing to West Virginia, the Cavaliers are still 1-0 in ACC play and have everything ahead of them.

It's worth noting that Virginia play its first true road game this weekend, traveling to Florida State.

8. Virginia Tech Hokies (4-0, 1-0 ACC)

Last week: No. 6 (-2)

Virginia Tech only beat Boston College 21-14 in Chestnut Hill last weekend. However, the inclement weather should probably be considered, as a Nor'easter brought rain and wind to the area, which had an impact on the game.

Either way, the Hokies trailed 14-6 in the fourth quarter and had to storm back with 2 touchdowns in the final 8 minutes.

Hopefully, it won't be raining in Blacksburg when Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh meet on Saturday night in a battle of undefeated teams.

9. Clemson Tigers (3-1, 2-0 ACC)

Sep 19, 2026; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney looks on the field prior to the game against University of North Carolina Tar Heels at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ashley Tumlin-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Last week: No. 11 (+2)

Clemson is moving up for the second straight week after another conference victory. The sky looked like it was falling in Baton Rouge earlier this month, but now the Tigers are 2-0 in ACC play.

Dabo Swinney's squad handled Cal in the second half, and picked off star quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele twice.

The Tigers host No. 4 Miami on Saturday evening. Death Valley should be rocking. Will that be enough to power Clemson to an upset?

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

Last week: No.10 (no change)

North Carolina was off this past weekend, recovering from a loss to Clemson, where the Tar Heels let the game slip away.

Nothing is going to get any easier for Bill Belichick with No. 3 Notre Dame coming to town.

11. Cal Golden Bears (2-2, 1-1 ACC)

JKS — Sep 25, 2026; Berkeley, California, USA; California Golden Bears quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele (3) looks downfield for an open man during the second quarter against the Clemson Tigers at California Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Last week: No. 9 (-2)

Cal has looked iffy in both of its conference games so far, and fell apart down the stretch in a loss to UCLA.

After two games with an interception, Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele was picked off twice against Clemson. He threw for a season-low 119 yards and was held without a touchdown for the first time in 2026.

Cal's only touchdown came on a fumble return for a score.

The Golden Bears are inching back to where I had them in the preseason (No. 13). The next four weeks will be telling. Following a trip to UNLV, Cal hosts Virginia Tech and Wake Forest, then hits the road to face SMU.

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

Last week: No. 12 (no change)

Florida State beat Central Arkansas 34-7 to get back to .500. With that being said, the Seminoles were favored by nearly 45 points and couldn't even break 40 against a vastly overmatched opponent.

The Bears held a massive advantage in time of possession despite recording fewer than 300 yards. It wasn't necessarily the blowout that Florida State was expecting going into the contest.

7 straight ACC games are awaiting the Seminoles, and they might fall apart in October with games against Virginia, Louisville, Miami, and Clemson coming up.

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

Last week: No. 13 (no change)

North Carolina State won the football game against Appalachian State, as Dave Doeren was kind enough to remind us all during his postgame press conference. That doesn't mean it felt good, as the Wolfpack only won 41-31, and were outscored 21-13 in the second half.

I guess it's better than last week, but now NC State has back-to-back games against Louisville and Wake Forest, two of the better teams in the conference.

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

Last week: No. 14 (no change)

Syracuse had the week off after opening conference play 0-2, falling to Cal and Pittsburgh. The Orange have only scored 11 touchdowns in 3 games, with quarterback Steve Angeli tossing 5 interceptions and giving up 8 sacks over that period.

The program's three-game road trip continues with UConn and Virginia on the docket over the next two weekends.

15. Stanford Cardinal (2-2, 1-2 ACC)

Sep 26, 2026; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal quarterback Davis Warren (8) reacts after a touchdown during the third quarter against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Last week: No. 16 (+1)

For the first time this season, Stanford has jumped up a spot. The Cardinal scored 13 points in their first two conference games. They put up 34 points in a surprising victory against Georgia Tech on Saturday.

Quarterback Davis Warren led the way with 396 passing yards and 3 touchdowns. Stanford also forced 2 turnovers, with both of those coming on Georgia Tech's final 2 drives.

16. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (1-3, 0-1 ACC)

Last week: No. 12 (-4)

Disappointing. That's all you can really say about the Yellow Jackets. I'm one week away from dropping them to the bottom of the ACC.

The loss of Buster Faulkner has been highlighted in each defeat and the defense isn't any better.

Georgia Tech has a week off to get right before Duke comes to Atlanta.

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

Sep 26, 2026; Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA; Boston College Eagles head coach Bill O'Brien walks onto the field before a game against the Virginia Tech Hokies at Alumni Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Edward Finan-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Last week: No. 17 (no change)

Boston College's two-game winning streak was snapped in a heartbreaking loss to Virginia Tech. The Eagles led 14-6 in the fourth quarter but let the win slip out of their grasp, losing 21-14.

The Eagles travel to No. 21 SMU on Saturday afternoon.

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