ACC Football Power Rankings after Week 1: Duke rises, Clemson falls

Week 1 is officially over, and unlike at Florida State, all of the lights are on here at Duke Wire. 

The first full week of college football featured special performances by Duke running back Nate Sheppard, Miami wide receiver Malachi Toney, and a stinker of an opener by Dabo Swinney and Clemson.

Here’s our ACC rankings heading into Week 2 of the 2026 season. 

1. Miami

With Clemson looking the way they did, the Hurricanes' only challenges this year may be Florida State and Notre Dame. That’s how easy the schedule breaks down.

2. SMU

Kevin Jennings is a problem for the Mustangs, and I mean that in the best possible way. The sophomore threw for 430 yards and three touchdowns in the win against FSU. 

3. Louisville

The Cardinals gave Ole Miss everything and more, coming up just short against a good Rebels team. That’s a positive sign for Jeff Brohm’s team to compete with Miami for the conference title. 

4. Virginia

The Cavaliers dominated NC State in every facet, but I’m not so sure that’s not more about the Wolfpack being bad. 

5. Duke

We'll learn more about the Blue Devils this week against Illinois, but dominating Tulane was a great start to the season. 

6. Florida State

Mike Norvell had a chance on Monday to quiet his critics, and while the Seminoles lost a close game to SMU, you might wonder if things go downhill from here. 

7. Pitt

Meh …

8. Syracuse

The Orange being New Hampshire is nothing to write home about, no matter the score. 

9. UNC

Good news? The Tar Heels won their season opener against TCU in Dublin, Ireland. The bad news? Well, the program is falling apart.

10. Wake Forest

The Demon Deacons came out hot but were sluggish in the second half of a 38-16 win against Akron. 

11. Virginia Tech

Sorry, but I’m not putting much into a win against VMI. 

12. Clemson

Is this the end of Dabo? The Tigers looked overmatched in every single way in Baton Rouge. 

13. Georgia Tech

It was a bad loss for Brent Key and the Yellow Jackets to Colorado to open the season.

14. Cal

As one of the few people on the East Coast who stayed up to watch the second half of the Golden Bears’ loss to UCLA, let’s just say it was not pretty at all. 

15. NC State

If things don’t improve in Raleigh, it might spell the end of the Dave Doeren tenure. 

16. Boston College

There’s only so much time in the day, and watching BC lose to Cincinnati wasn’t at the top of my list. Watching the Eagles might not be a priority for even the biggest BC fans this season.

17. Stanford

Rumors are that Malachi Toney just caught another pass against the Cardinal. 

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This article originally appeared on Duke Wire: ACC Football Power Rankings after Week 1: Duke rises, Clemson falls