By Will Vandervort.
After Florida State’s dramatic 21-point rally at Louisville last night, we take a look at the ACC power rankings as the conference gets set for the rest of Week 10’s games on Saturday.
1. Florida State (8-0, 5-0 ACC), last week No. 1: Quarterback Jameis Winston threw for 401 yards and three touchdowns—all in the second half—to rally the No. 2 Seminoles from 21-points down to beat Louisville on Thursday night, 42-31. FSU also got 110 yards from Dalvin Cook and two long TD runs. Winston hit Travis Rudolph, Ermon Lane and Freddie Stevenson for TDs of 68, 47 and 35 yards. The win keeps FSU’s hopes for a berth in the College Football Playoff alive.
2. Clemson (6-2, 5-1 ACC), last week No. 2: Thanks to FSU’s rally on Thursday night, the Tigers are still in line to claim the ACC’s automatic berth in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 31, assuming the Tigers finish out the season without another loss. Clemson needs FSU to remain unbeaten and win the ACC and continue winning itself to earn a second consecutive berth in the Orange Bowl.
3. Duke (6-1, 2-1 ACC), last week No. 3: The Blue Devils are coming off a bye week and visit Pittsburgh on Saturday. Last year, Pitt outlasted Duke, 58-55, in Durham. That game kicks off at noon on ESPNU.
4. Louisville (6-3, 4-3 ACC), last week No. 4: Louisville had leads of 21-0 and 24-7 slip away against FSU Thursday night as the Seminoles snapped their 22-game home winning streak under Bobby Petrino. The Cardinals vaunted defense, which led the nation heading into last night’s game, allowed 574 total yards to FSU as well as 35 second half points.
5. Georgia Tech (6-2, 3-2 ACC), last week No. 7: The Yellow Jackets took advantage of five Pitt turnovers in the first quarter and built a 28-0 lead and then they cruised behind their powerful rushing attack in the second half in a 56-28 victory at Pittsburgh. Georgia Tech rushed for 328 yards against Pitt’s No. 2 ranked run defense and totaled 526 yards overall. Pitt was ranked third in the nation prior to that in total defense. Tech will host Virginia Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
6. Miami (5-3, 2-2 ACC), last week No. 10: Running back Duke Johnson rushed for a career-high 249 yards on 29 carries with one touchdown and caught two passes for 37 yards and another score as Miami went into Blacksburg, Va., and dismantled Virginia Tech, 30-6. Miami rushed for 364 yards in the game overall. The Hurricanes host North Carolina this Saturday on the ACC Network starting at 12:30 p.m.
7. Boston College (5-3, 2-2 ACC), last week No. 9: xx
The Eagles, in their second year under coordinator Don Brown’s system, are better in defense against the run, allowing just 69.6 yards per game on the ground, more than 60 yards fewer per game than in 2013. In its five wins this season, Boston College has out-rushed its opponents 1,715 yards to 153, or an average of 343 yards to just 31. BC ranks 8th nationally in total defense. The Eagles travel to Virginia Tech Saturday for a 12:30 p.m. kick (ACC Network) to play a Hokies team that ranks 11th in total offense in the ACC.
8. North Carolina (4-4, 2-2 ACC), last week No. 11: With back-to-back wins against Georgia Tech and Virginia, it appears the Tar Heels might have a chance to turn things around. Quarterback Marquise Williams is one of five players in the country leading his team in both passing yards and rushing yards. The Tar Heels visit Miami on Saturday.
9. Virginia (4-4, 2-2 ACC), last week No. 5: The Cavaliers used to be the hot team in the ACC, but now they are falling back to where most thought they would be in the first place. Virginia has lost two straight games and now travels to Georgia Tech this Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff.
10. Pitt (4-4, 2-2 ACC), last week No. 6: Pitt sophomore running back James Conner leads the ACC and ranks seventh nationally in rushing yards with 1,079. He also tops the ACC and is fifth nationally with 14 rushing touchdowns. Led by Conner, the Panthers are producing 233.9 rushing yards per game to rank 19th nationally and third in the ACC. Duke, in contrast, is giving up an average of 193.4 yards on the ground, which ranks 13th in the ACC and 99th nationally. Pitt hosts the Blue Devils on Saturday at noon.
11. Virginia Tech (4-4, 2-2 ACC), last week No. 8: Virginia Tech is an impressive 63-20 in ACC games since joining the league in 2004. The Hokies are 22-12 against ACC Atlantic Division teams and 31-11 in ACC home games. Tech is also 12-7 in ACC home games against Atlantic Division opponents. The Hokies have posted a 31-6 record in the month of November (29-6 in ACC games) since 2004. The Hokies host BC on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
12. Syracuse (3-5, 1-3 ACC), last week No. 12: The Orange hung tough with Clemson for three quarters but in the end the Tigers defense was too much. Syracuse totaled just 170 yards of total offense against Clemson last week. This week it hosts an NC State squad that has lost 12 straight ACC games under second-year head coach Dave Doeren. That game will be a 3 p.m. kick from the Carrier Dome on the ACC Regional Network.
13. NC State (4-4, 0-4 ACC), last week No. 11: Here is one reason why NC State has lost four straight games overall – seven different true freshmen have earned starts in 2014. That’s the fourth-highest total in the FBS. Only Tulane (12), Tennessee (8) and Southern California (8) have had more freshmen starters.
14. Wake Forest (2-6, 0-4 ACC), last week No. 14: After falling behind early, Wake did show some life offensively in its loss to BC last Saturday – its fourth straight overall. The Demon Deacons are averaging just 9.2 points per game in ACC contests and 14.8 overall. They rank last in the ACC six different offensive categories, including total offense, scoring offense and rushing offense. Wake Forest is off this week as it gets set to host No. 21 Clemson on Thursday.