ACC Football October 1 Power Rankings: Miami at the top and then a big mess follows

The college football season is a month old, making this a good time to do a full check-in with the ACC power rankings. Our preseason power rankings were nothing more than a guess, and things definitely haven’t gone according to plan. After each team has played three or four games, we know the conference a little better. On October 1, here is how we view the ACC football hierarchy.

1. Miami

There’s little doubt that the Hurricanes are the team to beat in the ACC. Perhaps the disappointing part for the league is that the gap seems to be so big. Bringing in Darian Mensah has helped give Miami one of the best offenses in the country. Meanwhile, the Hurricanes have been elite defensively, albeit against a rather mediocre schedule that will get a little tougher over the next month with Clemson and Pitt on the schedule.

2. Wake Forest

When all is said and done, Wake Forest probably won’t finish second in the ACC. However, they are fresh off a road win over Louisville, a week after giving Miami its toughest game of the season. The Demon Deacons overachieved last season in Jake Dickert’s first season, and they seem to be doing so again. With wins over both Purdue and Louisville, the Demon Deacons have a more impressive resume than virtually every ACC team through the first month.

3. Louisville

We’re not ready to sell our stock on the Cardinals. After all, Louisville went toe to toe with Ole Miss the first week of the season. With a home win over SMU, there’s no doubt the Cards will have a say in who wins the ACC title this year. However, following up that SMU win with a home loss to Wake Forest is tough to swallow, and it could end up coming back to haunt the Cardinals later in the year.

4. Duke

It might be time to stop ignoring Duke’s eight-game winning streak, which dates back to last season and includes the ACC Championship Game. Obviously, the Blue Devils have yet to hit the difficult part of their schedule. But don’t scoff at wins over Tulane and Illinois, or a comfortable win over Stanford. On paper, Manny Diaz has one of the best defenses in the country, and at least for now, the Blue Devils get the benefit of the doubt.

5. Pittsburgh

The schedule hasn’t been particularly challenging, but the Panthers have taken care of business. They’re off to a 4-0 start, giving up just 34 total points. Again, games with Miami (Ohio), Bucknell and a lackluster Syracuse offense contributed to that. But Pitt looks to be one of the best teams in the ACC when it comes to winning at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. If that continues and Mason Heintschel can limit his mistakes, the Panthers have a chance to keep things rolling.

6. Clemson

The first month of the season has been downright ugly at times for Dabo Swinney and Clemson. But the fact of the matter is that the Tigers have two ACC wins on their resume. They’re not earning any style points, but wins are wins, and the teams below them in our power rankings haven’t necessarily found ways to win games against good teams.

7. Virginia

It’s hard to get over Virginia’s disappointing loss to West Virginia a couple of weeks ago. The Cavaliers have otherwise taken care of business. But all three wins have come at home, and NC State is their best win. That makes us hesitant to rank them too highly, even if they got off to an impressive start this season by blowing out the Wolfpack.

8. Virginia Tech

Of course, the Hokies get credit for being 4-0, especially with two wins coming on the road. But they barely beat Boston College last week, needing to come from behind. Also, a road win over Maryland doesn’t look as impressive after the Terps lost 54-3 to UCLA last week. James Franklin is off to a good start, but we’re still skeptical about just how good the Hokies are.

9. SMU

Talent-wise, SMU should be among the best teams in the ACC. But the Mustangs just haven’t looked the part. They didn’t get the job done against Louisville, which was admittedly a tough game. But close wins over Florida State and Missouri State haven’t impressed anyone. They aren’t winning comfortably in games they should be dominating, which is why they have been banished to the middle of the pack at this point.

10. North Carolina

It’s not that the Tar Heels don’t get credit for beating TCU the first week of the season; it’s that beating TCU doesn’t look that impressive. The Horned Frogs look atrocious offensively and just lost to UCF, which hurts North Carolina’s standing. Also, the Tar Heels failed to seal the deal when they had Clemson on the ropes. Bill Belichick’s team doesn’t look nearly as bad as the Tar Heels were last season. However, we’re still not convinced that they’re particularly good.

11. Florida State

The Seminoles have had a tough schedule thus far, suffering early-season losses to SMU and Alabama. In both games, Florida State was competitive and showed signs of encouragement. However, a 34-7 win over Central Arkansas just isn’t good enough, neither was a 34-17 win over New Mexico State to open the season. Upcoming games against Louisville and Virginia will be more telling, but we’re not holding out hope for Mike Norvell and the Seminoles this year.

12. Stanford

Just when you’re certain the Cardinal is the worst team in the ACC, Stanford wins a conference game. Beating Georgia Tech this past week catapults Stanford out of the ACC basement. We can’t promise they’ll be able to stay out of there, but things are looking up, at least for now.

13. California

We know that Cal didn’t beat Syracuse as much as the Orange beat themselves. That means Cal’s only win of the season came against Wagner. Even with Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, the Bears have been atrocious offensively this season. Unless that improves, it’ll be tough for Cal to get out of the bottom third of our ACC power rankings.

14. NC State

If only the Wolfpack could have held on against Vanderbilt. If that had been a win, we’d have a completely different perception of NC State. Instead of seeing a team that’s 3-1, we see a team that got crushed by Virginia and couldn’t hold a lead against Appalachian State. Every FBS team they’ve played has scored over 30 points against the Wolfpack, which doesn’t bode well for them moving forward.

15. Syracuse

Defensively, the Orange have looked good this season. It’s too soon to give up on a team with a defense that can keep them competitive in every game they play. However, at some point, Fran Brown’s team will have to win some games. Otherwise, Syracuse will be struggling to stay out of the ACC basement yet again.

16. Boston College

The Eagles were painfully close to knocking off Virginia Tech last week. Normally, that would be enough to bump them up a spot or two. But this is also a team that barely beat Maine, 22-16, and didn’t look overly convincing against an abysmal Rutgers team. Even at 2-2, there are reasons to be skeptical that Boston College can win another game this season.

17. Georgia Tech

The Yellow Jackets didn’t do themselves any favors by scheduling Colorado and Tennessee, both losses, to open the season. Those types of losses can be forgiven, but not a loss to Stanford. Georgia Tech looks like a gigantic mess following that loss. The Yellow Jackets now have a lot to prove and a lot of ground to make up because they are officially at the bottom of the ACC.

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