2024 ACC Power Rankings: Week Six

How does the ACC look after the first five weeks of the season?

Sep 27, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward (1) runs with the football against the Virginia Tech Hokies during the fourth quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Septemeber has come and gone and the ACC race is starting to heat up. Conference play is kicking in for every team and the month of October is where we are going to see some seperation in the conference, as well as seeing who the real contenders are.

Miami has been No.1 since the preseason in these power rankings, but they almost lost their first game of the season on Friday night vs Virginia Tech. Clemson continued to roll, Louisville lost on the road vs Notre Dame, and Duke found a way to overcome a big defecit and comeback and beat North Carolina.

So how do the power rankings shake out ahead of week six?

17. Wake Forest (1-3, 0-1). Last week: 17

It is going to be a long season in Winston-Salem. The Demon Deacons lost to Louisiana at home and the defense continued to struggle. A bowl game appears very unlikely for Wake at this point. They travel to NC State next week.

16. Florida State (1-4, 1-3). Last week: 15

Florida State went on the road last night to face SMU in their first ever ACC game and it did not go well. The offense remained a tire fire and the defense could not keep up with the Mustangs. It might get ugly next week when Clemson pays them a visit.

15. NC State (3-2, 0-1). Last week: 16

Credit where it is due, the Wolfpack did win, but it was not pretty. The NC State offense could not muster 200 yards vs Northern Illinois last week, but the defense did just enough for them to win. They have another opportunity to get a win next Saturday when they host Wake.

14. North Carolina (3-2, 0-1). Last week: 13

The Tar Heels looked fine through the first half of the game, but they ended up blowing a 20-point lead to their arch rivals and things seem to be spiraling in Chapel Hill. The defense is going to face a big test on Saturday against Pitt.

13. Virginia Tech (2-3, 0-1). Last week: 14

The Hokies were oh so close to pulling a huge upset vs Miami, but a controversial call played a part in them not being able to do that. Virginia Tech's offense looked the best it had all year and the pass rush gave Miami problems, but poor decision making and time management also played a part in the loss. Virginia Tech makes the long trip to Stanford next week.

12. Stanford (2-2, 1-1). Last week: 11

Stanford acutally played Clemson closer than the score would have you believe, but they could not stop turning the ball over and it resulted in a blowout loss. A bright spot for them was that they were able to run the ball well against Clemson. The Cardinal host Virginia Tech next week.

11. Virginia (3-1, 1-0). Last week: 12

Virginia was on a bye week on Saturday and return to action against Boston College next weekend.

10. Georgia Tech (3-2, 1-2). Last week: 10

Georgia Tech was on a bye week on Saturday and return to action vs Duke next weekend.

9. Syracuse (3-1, 1-1). Last week: 8

Syracuse ended up getting the win vs Holy Cross yesterday, but the Orange were not super impressive from start to finish. Fran Brown and his team have a very tricky road game at UNLV next week.

8. Cal (3-1, 0-1). Last week: 7

Cal was off on Saturday and return to action vs Miami next weekend. It will also mark the first time that Cal has ever hosted College Gameday.

7. Boston College (4-1, 1-0). Last week: 5

Starting quarterback Thomas Castellanos was out on Saturday and the Eagles needed a second half comeback to be able to beat Western Kentucky at home yesterday. A win is a win and the Eagles have a big game next Saturday vs Virginia.

6. SMU (4-1, 1-0). Last week: 9

Are the Mustangs for real? They are starting to look for real. I know it is just Florida State, but SMU looks much better than it did at the beginning of the year. They could take a huge step towards being an ACC contender when they go to Louisville next Saturday.

5. Louisville (3-1, 1-0). Last Week: 3

The Cardinals came up short on the road vs Notre Dame last week, but they are still unbeaten in ACC play and can contend in the conference. They have to get things together quickly though with red hot SMU coming to town.

4. Duke (5-0, 1-0). Last week: 6

It was not pretty, but Duke remained undefeated yesterday by coming back to beat North Carolina and now they head to Atlanta for a primetime showdown with Georgia Tech.

3. Pitt (4-0, 0-0). Last week: 4

Pitt was off on Saturday and they return to action next weekend vs North Carolina.

2. Clemson (3-1, 2-0). Last week: 2

The Tigers had some struggles on Saturday night vs Stanford, but they ended up winning big and looking like one of the top teams in the conference. Clemson is going to have revenge on its mind on Saturday when they travel to Tallahassee to face Florida State.

1. Miami (5-0, 1-0). Last week: 1

I considered dropping Miami from the top spot, but the remain here for the time being. They got the win vs Virginia Tech, but this was the first time that Miami started showing some holes. The run defense and tackling were poor and Cam Ward had a rough night with turnovers. A late night trip to Cal could be tricky for the Hurricanes next week.