Football News

ACC Power Rankings — Week 3

Who moved up, who moved down, who stayed the same

By Gabriel Urrutia@GabyUrrutia22 Sep 10, 2019, 12:00pm EDT

1. Clemson Tigers (—)

A top 15 team in Texas A&M came into town and got absolutely shut down by this Clemson team. They are far and away the best team in the conference and they are continuing to prove that week in and week out.

Week 3 — at Syracuse

2. Virginia Cavaliers (+1)

The Cavaliers are the only other ranked team in the entire conference. They handled business against the reigning Coastal champions and dominated their cupcake. Now, they run into a team that has struggled mightily through two weeks, but has the talent to turn it on anytime.

Week 3 — vs. Florida State

3. Boston College Eagles (+2)

We’re starting to see that Boston College is much, much more than just star running back AJ Dillon. They have a legit quarterback and another very capable running back in sophomore David Bailey. Look out for the Eagles.

Week 3 — vs. Kansas

4. North Carolina Tar Heels (+5)

The Tar Heels have now beaten an SEC team in South Carolina and Miami, who many had as the favorite in the Coastal. They aren't 2-0 against any cupcakes. This week, they take part in another big-time conference game. Traveling to Winston-Salem is never easy, especially with the way that offense has performed. UNC also lost a couple of players to injury, so we’ll see how that impacts this matchup.

Week 3 — at Wake Forest

5. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (+1)

The Deacs are led by the nations #7 passer through two weeks in Jaime Newman. He’s thrown for 713 yards in two games with six touchdowns and no interceptions. If Wake can have a clean start to this game, unlike Miami was able to do, I could see Newman having another big game with North Carolina down a starting corner and winning this at home.

Week 3 — vs. North Carolina

6. N.C. State Wolfpack (+1)

Talk about a team that quietly and consistently has a stout defense. They aren't a school that draws any major attention, but the Pack consistently shut things down on their end and compete with anybody. They have a legit quarterback in Matthew McKay, but cupcake season is over. They travel to Morgantown this week to take on a West Virginia team that just got stomped by a bad Missouri team. Let’s see how the handle business on the road.

Week 3 — at West Virginia

7. Virginia Tech Hokies (+1)

Old Dominion is not a terrible program and there is something, even if it is very small, to be said about taking care of business in that game. They kept it close with my #3 BC Eagles and handled an inferior team, which lands them right smack in the middle of the pack. They should get an easy win this weekend.

Week 3 — vs. Furman

8. Miami Hurricanes (-6)

Despite being 0-2, the Hurricanes have lost by a combined seven points in two tough road environments with a new head coach, a new quarterback, and a lot of youth on defense. The talent on this team is unquestionable and they are about to begin a five-game home stand. I’m not writing off the Hurricanes just yet, but they need to drop significantly in these power rankings.

Week 3 — vs. Bethune-Cookman

9. Syracuse Orange (-5)

This was a team that prided themselves on a solid defensive foundation and they were absolutely exposed by a Maryland team that may or may not actually be legit with Mike Locksley at the helm. Giving up 63-points and losing by 43 as a ranked team simply isn't a good look. They don't get any help from their schedule moving forward as Clemson heads into the Carrier Dome on a mission.

Week 3 — vs. Clemson

10. Louisville Cardinals (+2)

I’m going to go out on a whim here and be the first one to talk about Louisville being, at the very least, average in the ACC. This was a team I was told had the worst roster in the power five and I simply don't believe it anymore. They could've give up a couple scores to Eastern Kentucky last week and nobody would've batted an eye. Instead they pitched a shut out and that means something to me. I don't think they’re going to be bringing down any major teams in ‘19, but they’re better than expected.

Week 3 — at Western Kentucky

11. Florida State Seminoles (-1)

I have no words. I simply don't. Blowing the lead to Boise, then allowing UL-Monroe to take you down to the wire is simply humiliating for a program such as Florida State. They are so rich with talent and the fact that this is the state of the program is almost unbelievable. They were an PAT away from going into overtime and who knows what would have happened then. Now the Seminoles kick off ACC play in a tough environment. Maybe getting out of Tallahassee will wake them up. Maybe not.

Week 3 — at Virginia

12. Duke Blue Devils (+1)

Duke didn't get a fair shake when they drew Alabama at the time that they did. Quentin Harris is a very versatile quarterback that could win up being a problem for teams. It is still hard to fairly judge them, but handled the cupcake. This week they travel to take on a G5 team, so we will begin to be able to form an opinion on the Blue Devils.

Week 3 — at Middle Tennessee

13. Pittsburgh Panthers (-2)

Pitt does not look like a good team. They beat Ohio just 20-10 and were actually outscored 7-3 in the second half. The offense seems to be really struggling to score points with the two 1000-yard running backs gone. This week, the Panthers travel to Happy Valley to take on #13 Penn State and that shouldn't help their cause at all.

Week 3 — at Penn State

14. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (—)

Geoff Collins got his first win post triple-option against a truly terrible South Florida team. The idea of passing still seems to be a second option as the Yellow Jackets ran the ball 49 times compared to just 21 pass attempts for a total of 75 yards. It’s going to take time to get this thing going in Atlanta, but getting a win in front of the home crowd was nice.

Week 3 — vs. The Citadel