ACC Week 4 Power Rankings: A wild weekend in the conference leads to a major shakeup

The Atlantic Coast Conference brought plenty of crazy to Week 3 of the college football season. The league’s preseason favorite lost again, while multiple teams endured more frustrating non-conference losses. That led to a considerable shakeup in the power rankings. Let’s look at where things stand in the ACC heading into Week 4 of the season.

1. Miami (last week: 1)

At this point, there should be no question that Miami is the best team. The Hurricanes dismantled a USF team that already scored two top-25 wins this season. Of course, Miami has to face two more in-state rivals in the weeks to come, starting with a home date against the Florida Gators this week.

2. Georgia Tech (last week: 4)

The preseason hype surrounding the Yellow Jackets might be real after they took down Clemson on Saturday. Georgia Tech jumped out to an early lead and then responded after Clemson took the lead. One could argue that they are too reliant on Haynes King, but there’s no denying the Yellow Jackets have two good wins and a manageable schedule for the foreseeable future.

3. Florida State (last week: 2)

The Seminoles drop a spot because they were idle this past week. Who needs a week off this early in the season? Did the Seminoles need to rest up before hosting Kent State this week?

4. Clemson (last week: 3)

This is far from the Clemson team we were promised before the season. The Tigers are 1-2, with their only win being a hapless 27-16 victory over Troy. To make the CFP, Dabo Swinney’s team needs to be perfect, starting this week against Syracuse.

5. Louisville (last week: 5)

The Cardinals are another team with a questionable bye this early in the season. They went from playing on a Friday to needing a week off, with a game against Bowling Green this week. But that means Louisville couldn’t hurt itself with a loss, like so many other ACC teams.

6. SMU (last week: 7)

It’s not a good sign for the ACC that SMU actually moves up in our power rankings after an unimpressive 28-10 win over Missouri State. The Mustangs get a little credit for playing a game like this on the road. But it took the SMU offense way too long to get going against a team in its first year playing at the FBS level.

7. Cal (last week: 14)

With a win as a home underdog against a Big Ten team, Cal did the most to boost the ACC’s reputation this past week. The Golden Bears are 3-0, and freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele might be the real deal. Based on the way the first few weeks have unfolded, Cal could be a favorite in most of its remaining games.

8. Pittsburgh (last week: 6)

It’s tough to punish the Panthers too much for losing a rivalry game on the road. But Pitt also held a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter. You have to be able to close out games like that. The Panthers were also beaten in almost every statistical category. The silver lining is that they get a week to recover before facing Louisville.

9. Virginia (last week: 12)

We didn’t learn a ton about Virginia in a 55-16 win over William & Mary. But the Cavs have at least looked good against weaker opponents, which counts for something. Home games against Stanford and Florida State the next two weeks should tell us just how big a step forward Virginia can make this season.

10. NC State (last week: 11)

The Wolfpack got a little bit of a scare from Wake Forest after falling behind 14-0. A pick-six and a strong rushing attack got them back into the game. But it wasn’t the most convincing performance.

11. Duke (last week: 8)

It’s not a good look when you poach a quarterback in the transfer portal and then lose to that quarterback’s old team. But that’s the situation Manny Diaz and the Blue Devils are facing after losing to Tulane. The early part of Duke’s ACC schedule has some challenging games, giving the Blue Devils a lot to prove moving forward.

12. Syracuse (last week: 13)

While the rest of the league struggled, the Orange was able to take care of business against Colgate. It wasn’t exactly a quality win, but the Syracuse offense did put 66 points on the scoreboard ahead of a trip to Clemson.

13. Stanford (last week: 16)

How about Stanford? The Cardinal shook off a couple of non-conference losses and took their ACC opener against a Boston College team that had looked good early in the year. Stanford won this game in the trenches, which could be a sign that they could be competitive in the ACC this season.

14. Boston College (last week: 9)

After losing to Stanford, there’s no doubt the Eagles have to plummet below the Cardinal in the power rankings. In fairness, back-to-back road games, including one to the West Coast, didn't make for the easiest schedule. But those losses have already put the Eagles in a tough position in terms of bowl eligibility.

15. North Carolina (last week: 15)

It’s going to take more than wins over Charlotte and Richmond to make up for that blowout loss to TCU. The good news is that Bill Belichick has an opportunity to make a statement against UCF this week.

16. Wake Forest (last week: 17)

Staying competitive with NC State into the fourth quarter is a nice step in the right direction for Wake Forest. However, rushing for 59 yards while giving up 205 rushing yards is a sign that the Demon Deacons just aren’t good enough in the trenches to keep up with most ACC teams for 60 minutes.

17. Virginia Tech (last week: 10)

The one first-place vote Virginia Tech got in the preseason poll looks more foolish every week. Losing to a pair of SEC teams can get rationalized, but there is no excuse for a 45-26 home loss to Old Dominion. That gives the Hokies a one-way ticket to the bottom of the ACC power rankings. While they may not be the worst team in the league, it feels that way now.