ACC Week 9 Power Rankings: There is a new king in the conference

Find out about all of the shakeups in the Week 9 ACC power rankings, including where Syracuse football resides after a loss.
Find out about all of the shakeups in the Week 9 ACC power rankings, including where Syracuse football resides after a loss. | Alex Halloway/GettyImages

Just when we thought we had everything figured out at the top of the ACC, things get thrown for a loop. There was a major shakeup in the conference power rankings at the top, which led to changes all the way down. The good news is that the stretch run of the season looks like it’ll be a lot of fun. At least for now, here is where things stand in the ACC.

1. Georgia Tech (last week: 2)

The Yellow Jackets have earned the top spot after their convincing road win over Duke. They limited the Blue Devils to just 17 points after Duke scored at least 38 points in every other conference game this season. Despite an uneven performance by the offense, Haynes King stepped up and was the closer in the fourth quarter. With King and a solid defense, the ceiling is high for the now 7-0 Yellow Jackets.

2. Louisville (last week: 5)

The Cardinals have to be kicking themselves about letting that game with Virginia a couple of weeks ago get away from them. That loss is all that’s keeping Louisville from still being unbeaten and having the inside track on reaching the ACC Championship Game. Nevertheless, Friday’s win over Miami makes the Cardinals a contender. They have two quality road wins on their resume and a rather manageable schedule over the next few weeks, making them a dangerous team.

3. Miami (last week: 1)

Georgia Tech’s triumph aside, Miami deserves to fall from the top spot after an utterly disappointing performance on Friday. Carson Beck’s four interceptions got in the way of the Hurricanes finding a way to overcome a lackluster effort. While it doesn’t kill their season, the loss lowers Miami’s margin for error with three tricky road games still left to play.

4. Virginia (last week: 3)

That win over Louisville looks even more impressive now than it did a week ago. However, the Cavs needed a late safety to beat Washington State 22-20. It was not a convincing performance for Virginia, which has won five of its six victories at home. The good news is the Cavs have a manageable schedule. The bad news is that they don’t have a lot of opportunities to prove themselves.

5. SMU (last week: 8)

The Mustangs caught a break by playing Clemson without its starting quarterback. But a win in Death Valley is still a great feat. As long as SMU doesn’t sleep on a trip to Wake Forest next week, the Mustangs will have some interesting games down the stretch.

6. Duke (last week: 4)

It’s hard to punish the Blue Devils too much for losing to Georgia Tech. However, Duke hasn’t held up well against quality competition this season. A bowl game is still likely, but they need to do something at Clemson next week to prove that they are more than just a middle-of-the-pack ACC team.

7. Pittsburgh (last week: 6)

The Panthers more or less backed into a win against Syracuse on Saturday. They gained just 260 total yards, while having 114 yards of penalties. Pitt also allowed seven sacks, which isn’t a good sign. Even with two road conference wins, the Panthers don’t have that impressive a resume for a 5-2 team.

8. Clemson (last week: 7)

With Cade Klubnik hurt, the Tigers needed their (allegedly star-studded) defense to step up. But that didn’t happen in the loss to SMU. It’s hard to figure out where the Tigers fit, because they’ve taken care of business against bad teams but have otherwise struggled to match up with quality opponents.

9. California (last week: 10)

We’re probably making a little too much of Cal’s two ACC wins, which have both been close games against the league’s two worst teams. On the other hand, they’re 5-2 overall and have found ways to win games, and there’s something to be said about that.

10. Wake Forest (last week: 11)

Hopefully, the shockingly 4-2 Demon Deacons enjoyed their bye week. After nearly knocking off Georgia Tech earlier this season, can Wake Forest use the extra week of prep to pull off a stunner over SMU this week?

11. Syracuse (last week: 12)

The Syracuse defense played its best game of the season against Pitt. Unfortunately, the Orange doesn’t have a solution at quarterback, which is going to make things a struggle for the rest of the season, even if the Syracuse defense can keep them in games.

12. Virginia Tech (last week: 13)

The Hokies had to endure a bye week coming off back-to-back losses. Upcoming home games against Cal and Louisville won’t be much easier, especially since Virginia Tech needs to win four of its five remaining games to become bowl eligible.

13. NC State (last week: 14)

That home loss to Virginia Tech a few weeks ago is still haunting the Wolfpack and keeping them behind the Hokies in our power rankings. NC State’s upcoming schedule also doesn’t produce much hope for progress coming out of an off week.

14. Stanford (last week: 15)

The Cardinal has to be rewarded after knocking off Florida State. But they can’t move up too much because their two ACC wins are against teams that are a combined 0-8 in conference play. Nevertheless, that win was a nice step in the right direction for a rebuilding program.

15. Florida State (last week: 9)

How in the world did this team beat Alabama? The Seminoles had another sloppy, mistake-filled loss, doing so as a 17.5-point favorite. FSU was the more talented team, but it didn’t show. Until they win a conference game, we have to drop the Seminoles toward the bottom of the ACC power rankings along with the other two teams that remain winless in league play.

16. North Carolina (last week: 17)

Fumbling the go-ahead touchdown at the goal line late in the fourth quarter is a microcosm of Bill Belichick’s tenure in Chapel Hill. Perhaps the Tar Heels deserve some credit because their defense played well enough to win. But it’s still hard to ignore another ugly loss.

17. Boston College (last week: 16)

The Eagles have undoubtedly hit rock bottom after a 38-23 loss to UConn. In fairness, the Huskies aren’t a bad team. But a two-touchdown home loss is unacceptable from BC’s perspective. The second half of their schedule is even more difficult than the first half, so the Eagles figure to be heavy underdogs the rest of the way and could easily go winless for the rest of 2025.

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