ACC Power Rankings

I am really having a hard time coming up with these rankings thanks to Georgia Tech. The nightmare situation of an unbreakable three-way tie between GT, VT, and Miami became a reality this weekend and unless one of them loses another ACC game, it will be the mess that was the Big XII South last year. Each team lost on the road to each other, so there is even less separating them...

1. #10 Miami 5-1 (2-1 ACC)- With an OOC win over Oklahoma, a win over GT, and having only 1 loss, Miami takes the top spot in the rankings. Miami got to the soft part of their schedule, with games against FAMU and UCF, the last two weeks and their offense still makes opposing defenses look completely lost. They are also #10 in the BCS standings...unless I am mistaken, the highest BCS ranking among the three teams is the eventual tiebreaker should all of them win out. They play a great defense in Clemson, but I fully expect the Canes to roll. Too bad the game is in Miami, Clemson could have worn the purple jerseys and they could have had a swag-off.

Last Weekend- W 27-7 over UCF
This Weekend- Clemson

2. #12 Georgia Tech 6-1 (4-1 ACC)- Coming off a win against VT, GT leapfrogs the Hokies in the rankings. Like Miami, GT only has one loss. Their offense really seems to be rolling and the defense has been significantly better since their debacle in Miami. I'd be intrigued to see a rematch between the Jackets and the Canes now that GT has switched up their D. Josh Nesbitt, who I don't consider a QB anymore...he is a glorified RB, has been on fire and is most likely near the top for ACC Offensive Player of the Year. He completed as many passes to his receivers as he did the VT DBs (1), but he rushed for 122 yards and three TDs. GT rolled up over 300 yards rushing against a very good VT defense. The head to C-Ville this week, a place where they haven't won since 1990...hmmm I think that streak might end.

Last Weekend- W 28-23 over VT
This Weekend- @ UVA

3. #14 Virginia Tech 5-2 (3-1 ACC)- The loss to GT pretty much ended any talk of VT being a National Title contender. After watching the BC game, I was convinced that this team had the focus necessary to take care of business the rest of the season. Not only has VT played itself out of the MNC game, they could be on the losing end of a potential tiebreaker between them, Miami, and GT. They are currently #14 in the BCS standings, behind both Miami and GT. They have a short bye-week coming up, playing UNC next Thursday night. That gives the Hokies a long time to think about what could have been.

Last Weekend- L 23-28 to GT
This Weekend- Bye

4. Boston College 5-2 (3-2 ACC)- I think its pretty clear that the top 3 in the ACC are significantly better than the rest of the ACC, but BC is pretty much in the driver's seat for another trip to Tampa. They still need Clemson to lose, which looks likely considering Clemson is playing at Miami this weekend. They bounced back from the VT loss in a big way, putting half a hundred on TOB and his Wolfpack. Montel Harris had a monster day, setting two BC single game records. He just vaulted into the discussion for the Doak Walker Semi-Finalist List. The offense needs to find the rhythm they have at home games on the road with them. They won't play another ACC game for a month, with games against ND, Central Michigan, and a bye the next three weeks.

Last Weekend- W 52-20 over NC State
This Weekend- @ ND

5. Clemson 3-2 (2-2 ACC)- Clemson jumped back into the ACC Atlantic Division discussion, if only for a week. They demolished Wake Forest last week and will have the test of the year down at Dolphin Stadium against Miami. They finally found some offense to complement their stingy defense this weekend and it will be interesting to see if they can find that scoring touch the rest of the season. CJ Spiller is pretty much the only source of offense on this team, and it will be up to the coaches to figure out how to get him the ball more frequently. Dabo Swinney is already drawing comparisons to choke-artist 100 dollar handshake Tommy Bowden, however, and I don't expect Clemson to hold on to their precious tiebreaker against BC.

Last Weekend- W 38-3 over Wake Forest
This Weekend- @ Miami

6. Wake Forest 4-3 (2-2 ACC)- The Deacons got whooped this weekend and now are falling victim to the tiebreaker that BC holds over them. Their offense had been averaging 426 yards per game prior to the Clemson game...they had 178 yards against Clemson. While it appeared as though Wake had overcome some of the problems that had plagued them at the start of the season, it is clear that there are still some issues in Winston-Salem. They head to Navy next weekend, a team they split 1-1 with last year. While the game won't factor into the ACC race, they need a good showing as Miami is coming to town the weekend after.

Last Weekend- L 3-38 to Clemson
This Weekend- @ Navy

7. UNC 4-2 (0-2 ACC)- They had a bye so there isn't a whole lot to talk about. They need to find offense in a hurry. The Thursday Night game against FSU should be a showcase in futility...FSU's defense is terrible, yet so is UNC's offense, FSU's offense is good while so is UNC's defense. UNC is already out of the race so they are playing for pride and a bowl bid at this point, although they could also just be playing to give fans something to do now that Midnight Madness happened for basketball on Friday.

Last Weekend- Bye
This Weekend- FSU

8. Duke 3-3 (1-1 ACC)- NC State's futility cheapens their win, but Duke is one of the best of the worst in the ACC. They were also on a bye so I can't really say much. They take on Maryland this weekend, a team that just lost the battle of the losers against UVA. Thaddeus Lewis is starting to prove why Heather Dinich has a crush on him, but career days seem to be the motif of NC State's defense.

Last Weekend- Bye
This Weekend- Maryland

9. FSU 2-4 (0-3 ACC)- They move up only because NC State sucks so bad. They were on a bye as well. They play UNC on Thursday night, which could end up being an epic yawner, a 2008 Auburn-Mississippi State caliber yawner. Nole fans can't throw Bobby Bowden any further under the bus...ask him who caused the recession, it was Bobby Bowden. They must have forgotten what FSU's program was like before Bowden showed up. How many down year is a program allowed to have before they become regular years?

Last Weekend- Bye
This Weekend- @ UNC

10. UVA 3-3 (2-0 ACC)- Once upon a time I felt bad for UVA, not anymore. They think they deserve their technical top spot in the Coastal. And I hate them even more after seeing this piece of shit. I hope they lose every single game for the rest of the season. They beat Maryland, who established that they are the worst team in the ACC with the loss. UVA is going to get a wake up call this weekend and will nosedive down the standings with perfect 10 form. They play GT this weekend in their biggest ACC test to date.

Last Weekend- W 20-9 over Maryland
This Weekend- GT

11. NC State 3-3 (0-3 ACC)- Looking back, its almost funny that this team was a "smart" pick for the Atlantic Division...durr but Tom O'Brien teams are so disciplined...fuck that, TOB is an asshat that is the king of excuses. "My defense didn't tackle well...teach them to fucking tackle moron". They got pounded by BC and lost to Duke the last two weeks and have done the impossible, let UVA out of the bottom 2. The only good thing about this team is Russell Wilson, and he looked like shit last weekend. They are on a bye this weekend, TOB must be looking forward to it.

Last Weekend- L 20-52 to BC
This Weekend- Bye

12. Maryland 2-4 (1-2 ACC)- I said this last week, the loser of UVA-UMD will have essentially punched their ticket to the very bottom of this ranking for the rest of the season. Maryland will have their shot at redemption, they play NC State in three weeks and could get a reprieve from the bottom. PS, don't tell Ralph Friedgen that Maryland is 12th: "I don't think the teams we are playing are better than us but we just keep shooting ourselves in the foot. Until that gets corrected, it's not going to happen." That's as dumb as him saying he weighs less than all the coaches he has faced so far.

Last Weekend- L 9-20 to UVA
This Weekend- @ Duke