ACC Power Rankings: Week 13

After a great start to the season with four consecutive wins, the Miami Hurricanes have lost five of their last seven games. So they find themselves pretty far down the ACC Power Rankings.

The ACC Championship game has officially been locked in with Florida State and Louisville finishing with a combined 15-1 record. The game will be played on December 2 in Charlotte.

It is clear who the top two teams are in the conference, but what about the other 12?

1. Florida State Seminoles (11-0, 8-0 ACC)

Week Twelve Result: Win over North Alabama, 58-13

After finishing their conference schedule, Florida State had just two games against out-of-conference opponents. They started that stretch in maybe the worst way possible. First, they got down 13-0 in the first quarter, then lost starting quarterback Jordan Travis to a season-ending leg injury.

The Seminoles were on their way to a likely College Football Playoff appearance, but now their season is up in the air without their best player. They came back out and scored 58 unanswered points to beat North Alabama, but they have a lot of football to be played this season without Travis. They have Florida next week before they play Louisville for the ACC Championship.

2. Louisville Cardinals (10-1, 7-1 ACC)

Week Twelve Result: Win over Miami, 38-31

A huge fourth quarter for Louisville punched their ticket to the conference title game. Winning the final quarter 15-3 gave the Cardinals a huge win over Miami to finish the ACC season with just one loss and bring home the Howard Schnellenberger Trophy.

They finish their regular season with Kentucky before they play the Seminoles for the ACC Championship, their first time in the ACC Championship Game.

3. NC State Wolfpack (8-3, 5-2 ACC)

Week Twelve Result: Win over Virginia Tech, 35-28

The Wolfpack won their fourth-straight game moving into the season-finale against North Carolina. Brennan Armstrong accounted for four touchdowns for NC State in their win over Virginia Tech, a three-touchdown game until late in the fourth quarter.

4. Clemson Tigers (7-4, 4-4 ACC)

Week Twelve Result: Win over North Carolina, 31-20

After the worst start to a season in over a decade, it seems Dabo Swinney and the Tigers have salvaged the season with three consecutive wins. They lost back-to-back games to fall to 4-4, but have since turned it around.

They have a chance to finish 8-4 if they can beat South Carolina to finish the regular season.

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

Week Twelve Result: Loss to Clemson, 31-20

North Carolina has almost had the opposite season as Clemson. The Tar Heels looked to be one of the teams to beat for the first half of the season until the wheels completely fell off. They began the season 6-0, but have since lost three of five with some horrendous defensive performances. They finish the regular season with NC State on the road.

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

Week Twelve Result: Loss to Virginia, 30-27

After a 4-0 start including a shocking win over Clemson to begin the season, Duke has been inconsistent at best. They’ve lost five of their last seven, but they get to finish their season against Pittsburgh at home for a chance to pick up their seventh win.

7. Boston College Eagles (6-5, 3-4 ACC)

Week Twelve Result: Loss to Pittsburgh, 24-16

After winning five straight games, Boston College has now lost their last two. They host Miami for their final game of the regular season with a chance to finish above .500 for the first time since 2018.

8. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (6-5, 5-3 ACC)

Week Twelve Result: Win over Syracuse, 31-22

A big win over Syracuse moved Georgia Tech to bowl eligible for the first time since 2018. They finish their regular season with the top-ranked team in the country in Georgia, but they get the Bulldogs at home with a chance to spoil a rival’s undefeated season.

9. Miami Hurricanes (6-5, 2-5 ACC)

Week Twelve Result: Loss to Louisville, 38-31

In a season with as many ups and downs as I could imagine, the Miami Hurricanes have spoiled tons of opportunities to take a big step forward. They finally got a good game from Tyler Van Dyke for the first time in close to two months, but the defense had maybe their worst game of the season.

The Canes finish their regular season on the road against Boston College. If they can win, they would match what many of us predicted as a 7-5 record, but this has felt like it should be much better than that all season. To at least match the preseason predictions would at least be nice after some of the missed opportunities.

10. Virginia Tech Hokies (5-6, 4-3 ACC)

Week Twelve Result: Loss to NC State, 35-28

There may not be a more average team in the ACC than Virginia Tech. They have beaten up a lot of the bottom teams in the conference while getting easily handled by the good teams. But in their second season under Brent Pry, they still have a chance to make a bowl game and even have a winning record for the first time since 2019 if they can beat Virginia and then win a bowl game.

11. Syracuse Orange (5-6, 1-6 ACC)

Week Twelve Result: Loss to Georgia Tech, 31-22

There could be 11 teams in the ACC to be bowl-eligible if Virginia Tech and Syracuse close their regular seasons with wins. But Syracuse has had another wild season and still has an opportunity to get a sixth win after losing five in a row. They Wake Forest at home, so that is an extremely winnable game for the Orange.

12. Virginia Cavaliers (3-8, 2-5 ACC)

Week Twelve Result: Win over Duke, 30-27

There can’t be many teams to have as many close games as Virginia this season. They have six games decided by four points or less, losing four of those. They can’t make a bowl game, but they could keep a rival from making one as well with Virginia Tech needing one more win to reach six wins.

13. Pittsburgh Panthers (3-8, 2-5 ACC)

Week Twelve Result: Win over Boston College, 24-16

For the second time this season, Pittsburgh ended a four-game losing streak against an ACC opponent. They are out of the hunt for a bowl appearance, but finish their season on the road against Duke. Their win is also big because the move out of the bottom spot in these rankings since the middle of the season.

14. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (4-7, 1-6 ACC)

Week Twelve Result: Loss to Notre Dame, 45-7

After winning their first three games of the season, Wake Forest has lost seven of their last eight with their only win coming against a bad Pittsburgh team. The only reason the Panthers moved ahead of the Demon Deacons is due to the fact Pittsburgh is the only ACC team to beat Louisville this season.