ACC Power Rankings: Week 12

After losing their fourth in six games, the Miami Hurricanes football team has an opportunity to finish the season strong with a top-10 opponent visiting South Florida.

Florida State and Louisville are likely to represent the ACC as the top two teams in the Championship game. The rest of the conference is just fighting for a few extra wins.

Eight of the 14 ACC teams are already bowl-eligible with three more sitting one win away and another still having a chance to reach six wins in the final two games.

1. Florida State Seminoles (10-0, 8-0 ACC)

Week Eleven Result: Win over Miami, 27-20

The Florida State continued multiple winning streaks this week. They won their 16th straight game dating back to last season as well as the fourth straight against Miami. Though it was closer than expected, that is how these rivalry games often go.

They finished their season with an undefeated season against the ACC and now just have North Alabama before finishing their regular season against Florida.

2. Louisville Cardinals (9-1, 6-1 ACC)

Week Eleven Result: Win over Virginia, 31-24

After a one-score win over Virginia, Louisville is now in a great position to finish in second place in the ACC. The only programs that could finish in a tie with the Cardinals are North Carolina, NC State, and Virginia Tech as they each have two losses in ACC play. All they have to do to lock up that spot is beat Miami this week. Otherwise, it could get weird if there are more than two teams tied.

3. North Carolina Tar Heels (8-2, 4-2 ACC)

Week Eleven Result: Win over Duke, 47-45

North Carolina picks up a win against their biggest rival, almost putting up college basketball scores. To give themselves a chance at sneaking past Louisville for a spot in the ACC Championship game will take two more wins on the road and hope the Hurricanes can beat the Cardinals this week.

The Tar Heels finish their regular season with games on the road against Clemson and NC State.

4. NC State Wolfpack (7-3, 4-2 ACC)

Week Eleven Result: Win over Wake Forest, 26-6

Like North Carolina, the NC State Wolfpack are in a position where they could technically sneak into the title game if a ton of stuff happened. But they would also still need to win their final two games against Virginia Tech and North Carolina.

5. Duke Blue Devils (6-4, 3-3 ACC)

Week Eleven Result: Loss to North Carolina, 47-45

Duke fell to North Carolina while scoring 45 points. It is their third loss in their last four games. They do finish their regular season with two of the worst teams in the conference who have combined for four wins on the season.

6. Clemson Tigers (6-4, 3-4 ACC)

Week Eleven Result: Win over Georgia Tech, 42-21

After losing two straight games, Clemson has won their last two games. They will have to beat North Carolina if they want to finish with an ACC record at .500. They then close their season against South Carolina like every other year. This is the first time in a long time that we weren’t talking about Clemson at least having a shot at the ACC Championship game this late in the season. Especially since they have been in it for seven of the last eight years.

7. Boston College Eagles (6-4, 3-3 ACC)

Week Eleven Result: Loss to Virginia Tech, 48-22

After winning their last five games, Boston College was blown out by Virginia Tech. Their streak didn’t really include any big wins, but it got them to six wins with a chance for a few more against Pittsburgh and Miami.

8. Miami Hurricanes (6-4, 2-4 ACC)

Week Eleven Result: Loss to Florida State, 27-20

After wins over Clemson and Virginia, Miami has lost their last two games. They can close the season with wins that would at least have the program feeling like it’s moving upward. A win over a top-10 team in Louisville and then a road game against Boston College in late November would put a stamp on an improved team that had a lot of good moments and some tough as well.

With a hearty game from Emory Williams that he literally put his body on the line for, it is back to Tyler Van Dyke for this week. Maybe a week as the backup will set him straight and give the Hurricanes a solid chance at winning the Howard Schnellenberger trophy.

9. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (5-5, 4-3 ACC)

Week Eleven Result: Loss to Clemson, 42-21

After flipping between a win and loss each week for the entire season, Georgia Tech finally had the same decision in back-to-back weeks for the first time last week. But they couldn’t continue a streak for three straight, losing to Clemson in a blowout. They finish their season against Syracuse and Georgia to try and pick up their sixth win and become bowl-eligible.

10. Virginia Tech Hokies (5-5, 4-2 ACC)

Week Eleven Result: Win over Boston College, 48-22

The ACC team with two losses that has the lowest chance of sneaking into the ACC Championship game is Virginia Tech. Especially since they aren’t even bowl-eligible yet. They have NC State and Virginia to close the regular season and pick up that sixth win.

11. Syracuse Orange (5-5, 1-5 ACC)

Week Eleven Result: Win over Pittsburgh, 28-13

After losing their last five games, Syracuse finally won their fifth game of the season. They also were the last team in the conference to win against an ACC team. The Orange can start another streak this season by winning three in a row with Virginia and Wake Forest remaining on the schedule. Reaching seven wins would feel like a miracle after losing five games in a row where they didn’t score more than 14 points in a single game.

12. Virginia Cavaliers (2-8, 1-5 ACC)

Week Eleven Result: Loss to Louisville, 31-24

Virginia played another close game, their fifth one-score loss of the season. With Duke and Virginia Tech remaining, there isn’t much left to play for. But that has kind of been the case for the last few games. It says a lot about this Cavaliers team that they are still pushing teams that are better than them.

13. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (4-6, 1-6 ACC)

Week Eleven Result: Loss to NC State, 26-6

With their sixth loss out of seven games and their second three-game losing streak, Wake Forest has put themselves in a position where they have to win their final two games to reach six wins. With those games being on the road against Notre Dame and Syracuse, it could be very difficult. Especially since they haven’t scored more than 21 points since week three.

14. Pittsburgh Panthers (2-8, 1-5 ACC)

Week Eleven Result: Loss to Syracuse, 28-13

Maybe the weirdest thing to happen this season is Pittsburgh, which has lost eight of their 10 games, is accountable for Louisville’s only ACC loss of the season. Other than that game, their only win came in the season opener against Wofford. They finish their season with games against Boston College and Duke with nothing on the line other than a better bad record.