ACC Week 5 Power Rankings: Miami stays on top, Syracuse football enters the chat

As usual, the Atlantic Coast Conference provided some surprises this past weekend. Naturally, not all of them were favorable for the league. That shook up the weekly power rankings, with one team making a big leap and another making a huge drop. There is plenty of the season left to play, but this is where things stand in the ACC after four weeks.

1. Miami (last week: 1)

It wasn’t the smoothest win for Miami on Saturday, although the Hurricanes were exceptional defensively, holding Florida to just seven points. More importantly, Miami has wins over Notre Dame and two of its in-state rivals. That’s a more impressive resume than anyone else in the ACC, giving them a well-deserved week off before a trip to Tallahassee.

2. Georgia Tech (last week: 2)

There was no hangover for the Yellow Jackets after beating Clemson. They took a 21-0 lead in the first quarter against Temple and never looked back. It’s back to ACC play this week when the Yellow Jackets travel to Wake Forest.

3. Florida State (last week: 3)

The Seminoles don’t get a lot of credit for another blowout victory over an overmatched team, no matter how impressive 66-10 looks. Luckily, a weeknight game at Virginia will tell us a lot about Florida State, with a game against Miami on the horizon as well.

4. Syracuse (last week: 12)

Not a lot of ACC teams have won at Clemson over the years, much less win by double digits after controlling the game for 60 minutes. That allows Syracuse to make a huge leap in our power rankings. However, the injury to Steve Angeli puts a damper on things.

5. Louisville (last week: 5)

Even with some injuries, the Cardinals cruised to an easy victory over Bowling Green. However, all Louisville has done this year is win three home games that the Cards were expected to win. A trip to Pittsburgh this week should tell us more about where Louisville belongs in the ACC power rankings.

6. Clemson (last week: 4)

Dabo Swinney and the Tigers are in unfamiliar territory, starting the season 1-3. Opening ACC play with two losses is a disaster for the program, especially with a bye next week. In Clemson’s defense, all three losses have come against quality opponents, so it’s hard to drop the Tigers too far in the power rankings, even with their season in disarray.

7. SMU (last week: 6)

The good news for the Mustangs is that their loss to TCU was far more competitive than North Carolina’s loss to TCU, so they aren’t anywhere near as bad as the Tar Heels. The bad news is that the SMU defense is atrocious, while the offense is not the dynamic unit we expected after last season. After a 2-2 start, the Mustangs get a week to regroup before opening ACC play at home against Syracuse.

8. Pittsburgh (last week: 8)

The Panthers couldn’t help their stock with a bye this past weekend. However, a home game against Louisville this week will be a chance for Pat Narduzzi’s team to make a statement.

9. Virginia (last week: 9)

The Cavaliers join the list of 1-0 teams in ACC play, as their loss to NC State a few weeks ago was officially a non-conference game. They also put on a dominant performance against Stanford, which has to be worth something despite a close road loss to the Wolfpack on their resume.

10. Duke (last week: 11)

Despite being out-gained by over 100 yards, the Blue Devils deserve credit for a bounce-back win and the 45 points that they scored against NC State. They did well to hold serve at home, but the back-to-back ACC road games they have coming up will be a test.

11. NC State (last week: 10)

Committing four turnovers in what looked like a winnable game is a bad look for NC State. As talented as CJ Bailey is, not valuing the football is a problem, as he was responsible for all four turnovers. The NC State defense hasn’t looked too good in recent weeks either. The Wolfpack better hope they have no problems with Virginia Tech or Campbell at home in the upcoming weeks.

12. Stanford (last week: 13)

The Stanford team that lost 48-20 to Virginia was more akin to the team we thought we were getting this season. The Cardinal is just 1-3 on the year, although all three losses have come on the road. That’s just enough to keep them ahead of the BC team they beat two weeks ago.

13. Boston College (last week: 14)

The Eagles got to rest for a week after their trip to the West Coast. They will need that extra rest because Boston College needs to win some of the toss-up games coming up.

14. California (last week: 7)

Yikes! A great start to the season for Cal is all but forgotten after they lost 34-0 to San Diego State as a two-touchdown favorite. The Aztecs had previously been blown out by Washington State, so this qualifies as a bad loss for the Golden Bears, who may not be so good after all.

15. Wake Forest (last week: 16)

The Demon Deacons were off this week, although they benefit from just how bad North Carolina looked. After hosting Georgia Tech this week, Wake might have some winnable games, so the Demon Deacons got to keep their head up.

16. North Carolina (last week: 15)

Nobody was expecting North Carolina to beat Central Florida on the road. But they were not competitive in a 34-9 loss, gaining just 217 yards. Losing starting quarterback Gio Lopez to an injury during the game didn’t help, but it’s also not an excuse for the team's struggles. The silver lining is that they have a bye week to get things figured out. But then they have to host an angry Clemson team.

17. Virginia Tech (last week: 17)

Congratulations to the Hokies for winning their first game of the season, one week after firing head coach Brent Pry. However, Virginia Tech only beat Wofford, meaning the Hokies are still the only ACC team without a win over an FBS opponent, which is why they stay at the bottom of our power rankings.