This is getting depressing
1. Clemson (last week: 49-14 W @ Wake Forest)
The Fightin’ Dabos continue to look incredibly impressive since the season opening loss to Georgia. Cade Klubnik has been sensational since then, too, with a 17:1 TD:INT ratio over the last five games. The Tigers offense tallied 566 yards in the win over Wake while playing turnover free ball. Now at 4-0 in ACC play, Clemson will host Virginia before getting their bye week in.
2. SMU (last week: Bye)
No reason to lose ground during the bye week. The Mustangs head to a reeling Stanford this week, then play at Duke. Piling on those frequent flier miles.
3. Miami (last week: Bye)
No reason to move up during the bye week. The Hurricanes head to Louisville this week for a massive Big East ACC showdown.
4. Pittsburgh (last week: 17-15 W vs California)
The other ACC school aside from Miami that is both bowl eligible and still without a mark in the Loss column this year. Pitt moved to 3-0 in one-possession games, as well as 2-0 in conference play, by staving off a late rally from Cal. The offense didn’t click like it had so far this year, which aligns with Eli Holstein having by far his worse college game (50% completions, 2 INT). There’s a lot to be said for surviving a game like that. The Panthers hit the bye week now before hosting Syracuse.
5. Louisville (last week: 24-20 W @ Virginia)
The Cards were up 17-7 early in the 3rd quarter and then the offense just disappeared while Virginia mounted a rally to take the lead just 15 minutes later. Louisville managed to put together one last TD drive with under 2:00 to play to take the lead back before forcing four straight incompletions at the tail end of Virginia’s final drive to seal the win. It wasn’t pretty or easy, but the Cardinals kept alive their ACC title hopes with the win. This week is when those hopes will really be tested with a noon home tilt against Miami.
6. California (last week: 15-17 L @ Pittsburgh)
Gotta kinda feel bad for the Golden Bears. They’re sitting at 3-3 overall and 0-3 in ACC play with those three losses coming by a combined 8 points. They are this close to being an undefeated Top 15 team. Well, sympathy will be in short supply this week as Cal hosts NC State on Saturday afternoon. The Bears defense is legit, having held Pitt to 1-of-12 on 3rd downs and just 277 total yards in the game.
7. Syracuse (last week: 24-17 W @ NC State)
Credit to Fran Brown’s team for going into Carter-Finley and getting the win. The Orange took care of the ball, and that was the difference in the game as all over facets were pretty even. Cuse dominated 3rd downs on offense and the defense came up with a trio of takeaways. Sitting at 2-1 in conference, Orange fans can dream of an ACC title run if they can get past Pitt on the road after their bye week. It’s not easy sledding, but Brown & Co. have done a tremendous job in Year 1 at Syracuse.
8. Georgia Tech (last week: 41-34 W @ North Carolina)
Haynes King certainly didn’t have his A-game passing the ball, but GT’s offense ran roughshod over, through, and around the Tar Heels defense, gashing the home team for 371 yards and 5 TDs on the ground. Jamal Haynes accounted for 170 yards and 2 TDs of those totals, including a 68-yard TD run with 16 seconds to play on a rather vanilla “we’re playing for overtime” play. Ah, that was amazing. The Yellow Jackets are 3-2 in conference now and just a single win away from bowl eligibility. They’ll look to reach that this weekend while hosting a Notre Dame team that has been pretty great since a Week 2 loss to Northern Illinois.
9. Virginia Tech (last week: Bye)
The Hokies host Boston College this week. Still with just a single loss in conference play, the Hokies could make some serious ACC noise over the next few weeks (vs BC, vs GT, @ Syracuse) before hosting Clemson.
10. Duke (last week: Bye)
I still don’t trust this Duke team. They’ll host FSU this week, then get back-to-back games against SMU and Miami. That could well mean the Blue Devils host NC State in November on a 4-game losing streak. We’ll see…
11. Virginia (last week: 20-24 L vs Louisville)
The Wahoos scored a touchdown on the opening drive of the game and then didn’t score against until just over 5:00 left in the 3rd quarter. Despite that long scoring drought, three straight scoring drives (FG, FG, TD) put the Cavs in front. Unfortunately for UVA, the defense faltered late as Louisville marched 67 yards in 11 plays while only facing a single 3rd down. That drive ended in a touchdown, and ultimately a loss for the Cavs. An impressive performance nonetheless. No time to lick wounds, though, with a trip to Clemson on the books for this weekend.
12. Boston College (last week: Bye)
Good timing for a bye week for the Eagles after having played four straight one-possession games. The off week also provides some extra time for Thomas Castellanos to get back to better health; he definitely didn’t look himself the last time out. Unfortunately for BC, they’ll be without their top corner, Amari Jackson, when they suit up for VT this week as Jackson tore his ACL in their last game.
13. Florida State (last week: Bye)
Did FSU use the bye week well? Guess we’ll find out on Friday night in Durham. It’s unlikely the Seminoles will have D.J. Uiagalelei back for this week. It’s unclear if that’s a good or bad thing.
14. Stanford (last week: 7-49 L @ Notre Dame)
The giant tree thing got completely smoked by the Fighting Irish in a complete laugher. Stanford actually scored first with just under 7:00 to play in the opening quarter… and then got outscored 49-0 the rest of the way. Notre Dame scored touchdowns on 7 of their final 8 full drives of the game before running out the clock at the end of the game. Brutal. The Cardinal managed just 200 yards of total offense. That won’t do against their next opponent either: SMU.
15. Wake Forest (last week: 14-49 L vs Clemson)
Gotta give Wake some credit for hanging with the Tigers early, but the game was over as soon as Clemson came out for the 2nd half. Wake surrendered touchdowns on 3 of 4 full Clemson 2nd half drives. This Wake offense – a unit that managed just 233 total yards – just can’t compete with that. The Deacs have back-to-back winnable games coming up, although this week’s game at UConn is a heck of a lot tougher than it originally looked now that the Huskies have reeled off three straight wins since a narrow loss at Duke.
16. NC State (last week: 17-24 L vs Syracuse)
Hey, you can’t be -3 in the turnover department and expect to win games. It’s that simple. On one hand, NC State is 3-4 overall and all hope seems lost. On the other hand, the Wolfpack are just a couple turnovers away from being 5-2 and 2-1 in ACC play. That’s how it goes sometimes. As injuries pile up, the Pack will hit the road for a game at Cal before getting a much needed bye week.
17. North Carolina (last week: 34-41 L vs Georgia Tech)
Oof. Talk about a tough way to lose. The other team just runs one last play up the gut just to see if they can break one… and they do. Ouch. Omarion Hampton continues to be incredibly gifted at running the ball, now at 901 yards on the year. With the Tar Heels having lost four straight, I think it’s best that he just sit it out from here. You know, protect that NFL stock. A bye week descends upon Chapel Hill this week before heading to Charlottesville the next.