College Football ACC power rankings entering Week 4
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The ACC: The Always Chaos Conference! And boy, was that epitomized in Week 3 of college football! We had NC State losing a literal one-in-a-million scenario after failing to properly take a safety against Vanderbilt.
We had lightning delays that caused second-half heartbreaks for North Carolina and Florida State. And we had a showdown in Louisville that may have decided a participant in the ACC Championship game.
Here’s where the ACC stands after Week 3.
MORE:College Football risers & fallers after Week 3
10. Wake Forest
The Deacs don’t deserve to be punished too much after a respectable loss at home against Miami. A 33-20 final score was a proud showing for Wake, and Gio Lopez continues to look dynamic at QB.
9. Cal
The Golden Bears beat Wagner 49-7 in Week 3, as Jaron Keawe-Sagapolutele threw for over 400 yards. It feels almost unfair for Cal to ask Wagner to fly all the way across the country for that game. Either way, expect the Golden Bears to cause some chaos down the stretch in the ACC title race.
8. Clemson
I’m amazed we didn’t get an iconic quote from Dabo Swinney after his team’s comeback win over North Carolina in Week 3. After trailing 17-6 at the half, the gap had closed to 17-15 when there was a two-and-a-half-hour lightning delay. Credit to the Tigers for maintaining focus in the moment and pulling out a season-saving win.
7. Virginia
No ACC team had a bigger drop this week than Virginia. What was THAT? The ‘Hoos just could not stop the zone-read run game of West Virginia’s Michael Hawkins and Cam Cook, and Beau Pribula did not look how he did against NC State in Week Zero. The good news? It was a non-conference loss, and it will have no bearing on Virginia’s ACC positioning.
MORE: College Football Big 12 power rankings entering Week 4
6. Virginia Tech
Ethan Grunkemeyer might actually be really good. He threw for 314 yards and 3 TDs in a 35-26 victory over Maryland. There is reason to believe that the James Franklin era is going to be a good one.
5. Pitt
The Pitt Panthers were the first victors of Week 3, as they beat Syracuse 27-13 on Thursday night. And they did it without star running back Ja’Kyrian Turner. Mason Heintschel has cooled off, relatively speaking, but the Panthers stand at 3-0 heading into Week 4.
4. Duke
Nate Sheppard has been the best running back in college football through three weeks. 156 total yards and 3 total TDs against Stanford continue to add to his incredible game log this season. Can he carry the team on his back all the way to Charlotte?
3. SMU
It’s hard to knock SMU too much for a close loss at Louisville in Week 3. The only negative for SMU is that, since the loss was to Louisville, the Cardinals would hold the tiebreaker if the two teams finish with the same ACC record. They will be favored in every remaining ACC game, so they will need some help to reach the ACC Championship.
2. Louisville
The Cardinals were one of the biggest winners of the week with their 41-31 victory over SMU. Lincoln Kienholz continues to impress at quarterback. Can this team beat Miami? They’re going to have to be smarter — they were fortunate that their 11 penalties against SMU did not cost them the game.
1. Miami
The Hurricanes had a rather ho-hum 33-20 victory at Wake Forest Friday night. Darian Mensah seemingly never throws an incompletion. But I do feel like the rest of the roster is down compared to last season. It’s natural to wonder — how would 2025 Miami have fared if they had Darian Mensah instead of Carson Beck?
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