ACC Football Power Rankings: 2024 Week 4

An update on the Atlantic Coast Conference landscape through three weeks of the season.

Pittsburgh Panthers Bub Means (0) reacts after gaining the first down during the first half against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, WV on September 16, 2023. / Michael Longo/For USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - We're not even a month into the 2024 college football season, and choas is already reigning supreme in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Last week's top three teams in the conference are unchanged, but after that, good luck navigating these waters. There are a few teams jockeying for position in the second tier, and most of them are surprises. The league's preseason favorite is in absolute free fall. With half the ACC, it's hard to get a feel for their ceiling and how good they truly are.

So... where do things currently stand in the conference following three weeks of football? Check out our week four ACC power rankings below:

1. Miami Hurricanes

• Record: 3-0, 0-0 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 1
• Week 3 Result: W, 62-0 vs. Ball State

I still would like to see what Miami looks like against a team who has a pulse, but it's undeniable that the Canes look like a conference - and potentially national - title contender. QB Cam Ward has Heisman Trophy potential written all over him, and that defense has allowed just 26 points in three games. Again, the competition hasn't been great, but I digress.

2. Louisville Cardinals

• Record: 2-0, 0-0 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 2
• Week 3 Result: Bye Week

Louisville is in the same boat at Miami is. They've looked suffocating beyond belief, but also have played a pair of nobodies: an FCS team and a low end G5 team. Their battle with Georgia Tech this weekend should answer some early questions, but regardless, the Cardinals seem to be one of the three top teams in the league.

3. Clemson Tigers

• Record: 1-1, 0-0 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 3
• Week 3 Result: Bye Week

Another team where it's hard to determine what they're actually capable of. On one hand, they got their teeth kicked in against Georgia (although Georgia tends to do that). On the other, they did the teeth-kicking against one of the better G5 programs in App State. Will the real Clemson please stand up?

4. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

• Record: 3-1, 1-1 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 5
• Week 3 Result: W, 59-7 vs. VMI

The classic get-right game for Georgia Tech. On the heels of their first loss of the season, the Yellow Jackets didn't let that beat them twice and went full blown Cobra Kai on VMI. two questions though: will they continue to try and use Haynes King as a pocket passer, and can they generate some pass rush?

5. Boston College Eagles

• Record: 2-1, 1-0 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 4
• Week 3 Result: L, 27-21 at Missouri

Sure, Boston College lost this game, but they put up a very good fight against a very good team on the road. While Thomas Castellanos wasn't perfect, he made some incredible plays in the process. If the Eagles can continue to progress him as a passer, and make strides on the defensive end, Bill O'Brien could have them be an ACC dark horse.

6. Cal Golden Bears

• Record: 3-0, 0-0 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 8
• Week 3 Result: W, 31-10 vs. San Diego State

Here I thought that SMU would be the ACC newcomers most well equipped to have immediate success in the league. QB Fernado Mendoza has looked good, LB Teddye Buchanan and that defense has looked great, and this is all coming with their best player in RB Jadyn Ott still on the sideline banged up. With FSU looking terrible, the Golden Bears are staring 4-0 right in the face.

7. Syracuse Orange

• Record: 2-0, 1-0 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 10
• Week 3 Result: Bye Week

It will be interesting to see how Syracuse fairs in the AP Poll over the next couple weeks. Their defense hasn't been super impressive at times, but that offense? Incredible. QB Kyle McCord has found his confidence, and he has plenty of weapons around him. With Stanford and Holy Cross coming up, is 4-0 also on the horizon?

8. Pitt Panthers

• Record: 3-0, 0-0 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 14
• Week 3 Result: W, 38-34 vs. West Virginia

Hand up, I wrote Pitt off after their ghastly 2023 season and subsequent offseason. But while Pitt still has plenty of question marks, you can't questions their grit and determination after mounting back-to-back fourth quarter comebacks to remain unbeaten. Side note: QB Eli Holstein looks like the real deal.

9. SMU Mustangs

• Record: 2-1, 0-0 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 7
• Week 3 Result: Bye Week

I for one had high hopes for QB Preston Stone entering the 2024 season. But watching him play, and more importantly watching that SMU offense whenever Kevin Jennings is in, it's clear that a switch had to be made. How much will it mean for the team moving forward? Time will tell.

10. NC State Wolfpack

• Record: 2-1, 0-0 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 9
• Week 3 Result: W, 30-20 vs. Louisiana Tech

NC State sure does love to play with their food, don't they? First they had to rally to take down Western Carolina, and now they had to do the same against Louisiana Tech. It's early, but add in the beatdown by Tennessee, but the Wolfpack don't seem ready to face top half ACC teams. Especially with Grayson McCall now on the mend.

11. North Carolina Tar Heels

• Record: 3-0, 0-0 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 11
• Week 3 Result: W, 45-10 vs. NC Central

I don't have a firm opinion regarding North Carolina. Yes, they're undefeated, but their two wins over FBS foes weren't super convincing. RB Omarion Hampton is fantastic, but he can't do everything for the offense, and new starting QB Jacolby Criswell will have to step up. teh defense looks fine, but we'll see how they fair against tougher teams.

12. Virginia Tech Hokies

• Record: 2-1, 0-0 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 12
• Week 3 Result: W, 37-17 vs. Old Dominion

Once again, Virginia Tech is a team where I can't make out what their ceiling is. QB Kyron Drones and RB Bhaysul Tutan are a deadly combination and the defense seems to have gotten better since their opener, but they've also not played a power conference team since losing to Vanderbilt. We should know over the next two weeks what this team is capable of.

13. Duke Blue Devils

• Record: 3-0, 0-0 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 13
• Week 3 Result: W, 26-21 vs. UConn

Yes, Duke won this game, but don't get it twisted. The Blue Devils were a three-score favorite in this game, and had to rally in the fourth quarter - at home - to beat one of the worst teams in the FBS. Manny Diaz is a defensive minded coach, but it didn't seem like it at times. Thank god that QB Maalik Murphy and RB Star Thomas balled out.

14. Virginia Cavaliers

• Record: 2-1, 1-0 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 15
• Week 3 Result: L, 27-12 vs. Maryland

This is the Virginia team we're accustomed to seeing in the Tony Elliott era: build up a halftime lead, and then promptly squander it. The defense fell apart in the second half, and QB Anthony Colandrea can't seem to properly harness his potential. I still hold firm in my belief that the Elliott era comes to an end after this season.

15. Wake Forest Demon Deacons

• Record: 1-2, 0-1 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 16
• Week 3 Result: L, 40-6 vs. Ole Miss

Speaking of coaching tenures that could come to an end, is it time to start having those discussions regarding Dave Clawson? Wake Forest was non-competitive from the jump against Ole Miss, and their defense was absolutely eviscerated. The Demon Deacons are now 5-10 since the start of the 2022 season.

16. Stanford Cardinal

• Record: 1-1, 0-0 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 17
• Week 3 Result: Bye Week

Looking at Stanford's schedule over the next month, and well... I don't think we'll see tangible signs of progress with Troy Taylor's rebuild in Palo Alto for a while. I'll just leave it at that.

17. Florida State Seminoles

• Record: 0-3, 0-2 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 6
• Week 3 Result: L, 20-12 vs. Memphis

I mean... my god. What else is there to say at this point? Florida State had such high hopes for this season. Now? Calling the Seminoles trash would be an insult to trash. QB DJ Uiagalelei looks completely lost, they can't get anything going on the ground, and that defense is getting zero push. Will FSU even make a bowl this year?

(Photo of Bub Means: Michael Longo - For USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK)

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