ACC Power Rankings: Week 11
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The Atlantic Coast Conference is by far the most chaotic conference this season. Multiple teams have looked great at certain points. It seemed possible three teams could make it to the CFP. Now, the ACC might be a one-bid league depending on how the rest of the season shakes out. Today’s college football is a crazy sport. I’m not sure how much I like it.
Without further ado, let’s get to the rankings.
1. Georgia Tech – 8-1 overall, 5-1 conference
The Yellow Jackets are at the top pretty much by default. They were off last week, while Virginia and Louisville both lost. GT still has plenty to play for though. They can get to Charlotte and the CFP if they keep winning. With GT falling behind Miami in the latest CFP rankings, the season finale at Georgia is even bigger now. Brent Key’s squad has a warmup game at Boston College this Saturday afternoon, then they get Pitt at home to finish conference play before the Georgia matchup. Huge next three weeks for the Yellow Jackets.
2. Virginia – 8-2, 5-1
The Cavaliers lost at home to Wake Forest last Saturday night. With how Virginia had escaped the previous two weeks, people saw it coming. Yet another game I should have bet on. Ugh! Anyway, Tony Elliott’s squad travels to Duke this Saturday to play yet another ACC team with only one conference loss. If they lose to the Blue Devils, that’s it for their CFP chances. The bigger ‘if’ is the availability of Virginia quarterback Chandler Morris. If he can’t play, I don’t like their chances.
3. Pitt – 7-2, 5-1
The Panthers are coming off a bye and must be feeling great. Everyone who talks college football has said it in one way or another, “Pitt can affect this season’s CFP more than any other team in the country”. It’s undoubtedly true. ESPN’s College GameDay will be at Pitt for the Notre Dame game this Saturday at noon. I’ll probably be driving home from Orlando during the game. Catching the end of a close game before the Miami NC State matchup would be nice.
4. Louisville – 7-2, 4-2
I saw Louisville being favored by 19.5 points at home vs Cal. It seemed like way too many points. Then I thought about how disrespected the Cardinals must have felt after the first CFP rankings. I also thought about the travel for Cal and how they haven’t played consistently well on the road this season, so I stayed away from betting them with the points. Big mistake, huge. The Golden Bears looked great. Meanwhile, Louisville might have blown its shot at getting to Charlotte and into the CFP.
5. SMU – 7-3, 5-1
Rhett Lashlee’s squad took care of business at Boston College last week. SMU has a bye this week, then hosts Louisville and travels to Cal to close out the season. There’s not much I would like more than to see the Mustangs losing their last two conference games. Still, after an up-and-down season, SMU still has plenty to play for. That’s all coach Lashlee could ask for.
6. Miami – 7-2, 3-2
The Canes looked good for the most part against Syracuse last week. The running game seemed more diverse. Girard Pringle Jr. helped with that in a big way with this speed and explosiveness out of the backfield. Carson Beck was okay. I just wish he would throw downfield more often, but I think that’s more of a coaching choice than his own. The defense gave up a few runs, but created turnovers and got stops when it mattered. With CJ Bailey and his weapons coming to town on Saturday afternoon, the defense will need to show up again in a big way.
7. Wake Forest – 6-3, 3-3
The Demon Deacons are back! After a blowout loss at FSU the previous week, Jake Dickert’s squad bounced back in a big way with their win at Virginia. Wake Forest is now bowl eligible. Pretty cool. They close the season with UNC, Delaware, and Duke. Wake should be 8-3 going into their road finale against the Blue Devils. That would be an incredibly successful season in Winston-Salem.
8. Duke – 5-4, 4-1
Oh Manny. The Blue Devils came up short at UConn last Saturday. Duke now has three non-conference losses this season. That’s tough. Their defense can’t stop anyone, which is weird for a Manny Diaz-coached team. His defenses thrive on causing pressure, especially behind the line of scrimmage. Giving up 82 points in the last two games is the antithesis of that. Still, Duke can make it to Charlotte if they win out. Crazy, but true.
9. Cal – 6-4, 3-3
What a win by the Golden Bears last Saturday night. They came out swinging and grabbed the early lead at Louisville. Cal wasn’t phased by the Cardinals’ comeback or having to go to overtime. They held Louisville to a field goal, then went for the win on fourth down. I loved the decision. I loved the play call. Just great overall stuff from Justin Wilcox’s squad. Hopefully Cal can pull off another upset in a few weeks against SMU.
10. NC State – 5-4, 2-3
Here come the Wolfpack. Quarterback CJ Bailey is getting better and better. There are even rumors of him coming to Miami for next season. As a Canes fan, I don’t like that. NC State doesn’t need any extra motivation going into its game at Hard Rock this Saturday for Miami’s Senior Day. The Wolfpack are going to be fired up. (Sigh). I’m already nervous.
11. Clemson – 4-5, 3-4
The Tigers beat rival FSU last Saturday night in Death Valley Lite. Clemson must win two of their next three games to be bowl eligible. I hope one of the wins is over Louisville on Friday night. That would be a nice one for Miami fans. As far as coach Dabo, I think he comes back to Clemson in 2026. If they have another four or five-loss season, then he’s in serious trouble. I’m not there yet though.
12. Virginia Tech – 3-6, 2-3
The Hokies were on a bye last week. They face FSU in Tallahassee on Saturday night, before coming home to play Miami the following week. Two Florida teams in a row for Va Tech. I could see them being 3-8 going into their finale against rival Virginia. That’s a rough end to the season after a little bit of hope that arose in October. Oh well. I’m still wildly curious as to who will be coaching the Hokies in 2026.
13. UNC – 4-5, 2-3
The Tar Heels are playing better, though the competition has not been great. I want to see what UNC will do at Wake Forest this Saturday afternoon. Oooohh, it’s the 4:30 PM EST CW game. Yeah! Those CW announcers are..interesting. Back to the game. This would be a nice victory for UNC in 2025. A road win over Wake Forest being “nice” is not something I thought I would write before this season.
14. Stanford – 3-7, 2-5
The Cardinal fell to UNC in Chapel Hill last Saturday. It’s been a long season for Frank Reich’s squad. Still, they continue to play hard and aren’t giving up on the season. Good for them. I am curious to know the future of the Stanford football program. I just don’t see them staying in the ACC long term. They don’t seem like a fit. And that’s not a knock on Stanford. It’s just a fact.
15. FSU – 4-5, 1-5
The Seminoles lost at Clemson last Saturday night, 24-10. I then saw some college football talking heads saying FSU should fire Mike Norvell now and get it over with. With the other open jobs, along with the good candidates that will be taking those jobs, I understand the sentiment. Still, it’s so much money. I could see why the administration would wait until the end of next season. The Seminoles have a tough schedule in 2026. It might be better to keep Norvell for another year, then start over in 2027.
16. Syracuse – 3-7, 1-6
‘Cuse coach Fran Brown is an intense guy to say the least. He apparently thought he had his team ready to make Miami quit last Saturday. That’s not what I, or many others saw, but okay. Then he’s talking smack while shaking hands with the much-bigger Michael Irvin after the game. I appreciate the confidence, but it seemed like a bit much. Syracuse needs a quarterback to make all this bravado believable.
17. Boston College – 1-9, 0-6
There isn’t much to say about Boston College football this season. They have a chance at a second victory with their game against Syracuse to end the year. Other than that, it’s on to 2026 for BC.
See you next week!
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