2024 ACC Football Power Rankings: Week Two

Who is on top of the ACC After the First Week of the Season?

Aug 31, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets running back Jamal Haynes (11) celebrates after a touchdown run against Georgia State Panthers in the first quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Week one of ACC Football is now in the books.

It was not the best week in the ACC. Clemson laid an egg against Georgia, NC State struggled against Western Carolina, and Virginia Tech lost to Vanderbilt. Some other teams won but were not very inspiring in doing so. We are just one week in and it is tough to get a read on how things are going to play out in the confernece this season.

Here are my ACC Power Rankings heading into week two.

17. Florida State (0-2, 0-2). Preseason Ranking: 2

It is pretty jarring to see how bad Florida State has been. After losing a close game to Georgia Tech, they followed it up with a lifeless performance vs Boston College. The offense looks miserable and the defense has not come close to meeting the lofty expectations that were put on them. Last night's loss made Florida State look like a team that is going to struggle to make a bowl game.

16. Virginia Tech (0-1, 0-0). Preaseason Ranking: 5

Do I think Virginia Tech is the second-worst team in the ACC? No, but they had one of the worst performances when you consider their opponent, and losing to Vanderbilt gets you ranked dead last. There is still time for them to have a good season, but Saturday was an awful start for the Hokies.

15. Stanford (0-1, 0-0): Preseason Ranking: 15

Credit to Troy Taylor's team, they fought hard against TCU on Friday night and had chances to potentially pull off the upset against the Horned Frogs. The Cardinal should get their first win on Saturday when they host Cal Poly.

14. Cal (1-0, 0-0). Preseason Ranking: 10

When you are outgained by UC Davis and play a closer-than-expected game, this is where you end up in the early season power rankings. The Golden Bears could have been looking ahead to their trip to Auburn this week, but it was not a great first performance of the year for them. Star running back Jaydn Ott was held to 49 yards rushing.

13. Duke (1-0, 0-0). Preseason Ranking: 16

Duke was facing Elon this week and while they did get the win, it was not the prettiest. The Blue Devils won 26-3 and Maalik Murphy had a solid debut at quarterback, but now Duke finds themselves as underdogs when they go to Northwestern this weekend.

12. Wake Forest (1-0, 0-0). Preseason Ranking:17

I had ranked the Demon Deacons last heading into the season, but they did get a win vs NC A&T and it was more impressive than what Duke did. The Demon Deacons face Virginia this Saturday and while this might not be on every fans radar, both teams could use this win to try and get to a bowl game.

11. Pitt (1-0, 0-0). Preseason Ranking: 13

There are a couple of ways to look at Pitt's 55-24 win over Kent State. On one hand, the Panthers offense did look explosive, but the defense gave up 24 points to Kent State, who will likely be one of the worst teams in the country. 24 might not seem like a lot, but allowing a caliber of team like Kent State to score that many could spell trouble. Let's see how the Panthers look on Saturday vs Cincinnati.

10. Virginia (1-0, 0-0). Preseason Ranking: 14

Virginia is another team near the projected bottom of the ACC who had a non-convincing victory on Saturday. A win is a win though and after beating Richmond, the Cavaliers take on Wake Forest this Saturday in a big game for their bowl hopes.

9. SMU (2-0, 0-0). Preseason Rankning: 8

After a lackluster season opener vs Nevada, SMU blew out Houston Christian to get their second win of the year. SMU has an interesting trip this Friday night when they go to BYU and we might learn even more about the Mustangs on Saturday.

8. Syracuse (1-0, 0-0). Preseason Ranking: 11

It was a pretty good debut for Ohio State transfer Kyle McCord, who threw for over 350 yards against Ohio and Oronde Gadsden looked good in his return. The bad thing for Syracuse is that their run defense did not look good on Saturday and with arguably the ACC's best rushing team (Georgia Tech) coming to town this week, that is a hole that could be exposed in a big way.

7. North Carolina (1-0, 0-0). Preseason Ranking: 9

North Carolina got the win on the road vs Minnesota, but it came at a cost. Starting quarterback Max Johnson went down with an injury and is out for the season, leaving plenty of questions at that position for North Carolina. The defense performed pretty well (although against a horrible Minnesota offense) and the running game still looked strong. UNC should reach 2-0 after the play Charlotte this weekend.

6. NC State (1-0, 0-0). Preseason Ranking: 4

A win is a win, but it was close to being an embarrassing disaster. NC State struggled all game with Western Carolina and while there is a chance we look back on that and wonder how that was possible, it could be a sign of things to come. We are going to learn a lot about the Wolfpack in the next few weeks when they play Tennessee and Clemson.

5. Boston College (1-0, 1-0). Preseason Ranking: 12

What a debut for Eagles head coach Bill O'Brien. The Eagles went on the road and beat Florida State and while it might that the Seminoles are just a bad football team, getting a win on the road against the defending conference champion is a good way to start your season. The running game was strong and the defensive line looked good last night and this could be a competitive team in the ACC.

4. Louisville (1-0, 0-0). Preseason Ranking: 6

Louisville looked really good on Saturday, but their opponent was Austin Peay. Still, several ACC teams struggled with what appeared to be easy games so credit to the Cardinals for getting the job done. They won't have a real challenge until they face Georgia Tech on the 21st.

3. Clemson (0-1, 0-0). Preseason Ranking: 3

I debated on what to do with the Tigers because they looked really bad though. Still, I don't think many teams in the ACC were impressive and Clemson was tasked with playing Georgia. I still think the Tigers can win the ACC, but they are no longer a national title contender. Their defense is as good as anyone's in the ACC and should keep them in every ACC game.

2. Georgia Tech (2-0, 1-0). Preseason Ranking: 7

While the win over Florida State does not look as impressive now, the Yellow Jackets have been one of the only consistent teams in the league to start the year. The defense looks improved, the running attack is still dominant, and the Yellow Jackets were able to avoid the letdown on Saturday and beat Georgia State. If they can win at Syracuse this weekend, they should be 4-0 heading into a big matchup against Louisville.

1. Miami (1-0, 0-0). Preseason Ranking: 1

Miami started the year No. 1 and there was no reason to knock them out of it after how they looked on Saturday. Cam Ward looked fantastic in his Miami debut and the Hurricanes made easy work of their in-state rival Florida. The Hurricanes have the most talented roster in the ACC and if they play up to their potential like they did on Saturday, it will be tough for anyone to beat them.