ACC Power Rankings
By: will-vandervort September 16, 2015

This is a big week for the ACC’s top three teams.

Ninth-ranked Clemson will visit Louisville on Thursday night. The Cardinals come into the ACC opener for both schools with an unexpected 0-2 record after being upset by Houston last week at home. This will be Clemson’s first road game of the season.

Sixth-ranked Florida State also hits the road for the first time with a road trip to Chestnut Hill, Mass. They will face a Boston College team that leads the nation in total defense and has outscored its first two opponents 100-3. The Eagles have nearly upset the Seminoles in each of the last two seasons.

Georgia Tech, ranked No. 15 this week, travels to No. 10 Notre Dame to play an Irish team that has lost five starters for the season including quarterback Malik Zeier. The Yellow Jackets are a three-point favorite heading up to South Bend, Ind.

The ACC also has four non-conference games vs. teams from the Big Ten Conference.

  1. Clemson (2-0, 0-0 ACC), Last week No. 1: The Tigers held App. State to 95 passing yards and 298 overall in a 41-10 victory. It marked Clemson’s 11th straight win at home, dating back to the 2013 season. The Tigers have outscored their first two opponents, 86-20. After losing nine of its first 10 appearances on ESPN’s Thursday Night package, Clemson, under Dabo Swinney, has turned that number around and has now won four straight games on Thursdays when televised by ESPN. That streak began in 2012. The Tigers travel to Louisville this Thursday night for a nationally televised game on ESPN. Who is next: at Louisville, Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
  2. Georgia Tech (2-0, 0-0 ACC), Last week No. 3: Georgia Tech has scored 134 points in its first two games of the year, the most in ACC history in the first two games of any season. Florida State held the previous standard, scoring 124 in the first two contests of 2012. Who is next: at No. 10 Notre Dame, Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
  3. Florida State (2-0, 0-0 ACC), Last week No. 2: After rushing for a career-high 266 yards and three touchdowns in FSU’s 34-14 win over South Florida, running back Dalvin Cook was named the Walter Camp National Player of the Week. Cook is 2nd in the nation in rushing this week–first among the Power Five–averaging 211 yards a game and his 266-yard total against USF is the highest single-game performance in the nation and the 11thbest in ACC history. FSU has won 24 straight ACC games. Who is next: at Boston College, Friday, 8 p.m.
  4. Duke (2-0, 0-0 ACC), Last week No. 6: Duke senior PK Ross Martin, who is the active career leader among all ACC kickers and ranks 2nd nationally with 57 career field goals. Martin, who has made all five of his FG attempts this year, has made 57 of his 68 career attempts, an .838 percentage. Who is next: vs. Northwestern, Saturday, 12:30 p.m.
  5. NC State (2-0, 0-0 ACC), Last week No. 7: NC State running back Matt Dayes has topped 100 yards rushing in back-to-back games to open the season. Who is next: at Old Dominion, Saturday, 7 p.m.
  6. Boston College (2-0, 0-0 ACC), Last week No. 8: The Eagles led the nation in fi ve major defensive categories, including total defense (51.0) and rushing defense (7.0) after holding Howard to just 11 total yards of offense, the fewest yards allowed in ACC history. Who is next: vs. No. 6 Florida State, Friday, 8 p.m.
  7. Miami (2-0, 0-0 ACC), Last week No. 9: Miami’s Joe Yearby rushed for 146 yards and had 97 receiving yards in the Hurricanes’ 44-20 win at Florida Atlantic, totaling 243 yards rushing and receiving. Who is next: vs. Nebraska, Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
  8. Virginia Tech (1-1, 0-0 ACC), Last week No. 6: Virginia Tech quarterback Brenden Motley threw two touchdown passes and rushed for a touchdown vs. Furman in his first collegiate start. Who is next: at Purdue, Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
  9. Pitt (2-0, 0-0 ACC), Last week No. 10: Pitt quarterback Nate Peterman completed 12 of 17 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown in last Saturday’s road win at Akron. Who is next: at Iowa, Saturday, 8 p.m.
  10. Louisville (0-2, 0-0 ACC), Last week No. 5: Louisville has opened the season with two losses for the first time since 1998. The Cardinals ranks 96th nationally in turnover margin and have turned the ball over six times in the first two games. Who is next: vs. No. 9 Clemson, Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
  11. North Carolina (1-1, 0-0 ACC), Last week No. 11: UNC linebacker Shakeel Rashad forced a fumble, intercepted a pass, broke up another and made two tackles – one for a 10-yard tackle for loss against NC A&T last week. Who is next: vs. Illinois, Saturday, Noon.
  12. Syracuse (2-0, 1-0 ACC), Last week No. 14: Syracuse true freshman quarterback Eric Dungey has a pass efficiency rating of 197.8 through two games this season. Dungey, who was forced into the lineup due to an injury suffered by Terrel Hunt, has completed 18 of 30 passes for 335 yards and 4 scores and ranks 7th nationally in passing efficiency. Who is next: vs. Central Michigan, Saturday, 12:30 p.m.
  13. Virginia (0-2, 0-0 ACC), Last week No. 12: Virginia wide receiver Canaan Severin caught 11 passes against 10th-ranked Notre Dame last week. Severin recorded a career high against the Irish, totaling 153 receiving yards. Who is next: vs. William & Mary, Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
  14. Wake Forest (1-1, 0-1 ACC), Last week No. 13: For the second week in a row, Wake Forest quarterback John Wolford topped a career high when he threw for 373 yards against Syracuse. Wolford threw for a previous career high of 323 yards in a season-opening win over Elon. He leads the ACC with 696 passing yards. Who is next: at Army, Saturday, Noon.