What a CRAZY weekend in the ACC!!! N.C State knocked off FSU, Virginia and BC got upset wins for their first wins in the ACC this year, UNC almost lost to an FCS team, and Wake Forest got absolutely humiliated again.
Also, in this weekend's serious WTF game, Duke was up 24-0 on Navy, and held on to win 34-31.
Here we go!
1. Florida State Seminoles (6-2, 4-1 in the ACC) (LW #1 --)Despite a loss to N.C. State on Thursday night, I still have the Seminoles at #1 in my power rankings. If Virginia Tech had played a game this past weekend and done well, I may have bumped the Hokies up to #1. I still think that FSU is the best team in the conference. They really need to cut down on mistakes, particularly the penalties, and they will be just fine. FSU will probably still win the division, but with Maryland and State at 3-1, it will make for an interesting rest of the year.
2. Virginia Tech (6-2, 4-0) (LW #2 --)
Tech had a bye this past weekend, so they hold on to the #2 spot this week. After 3 straight weeks of byes (Wake, Duke, Bye), VT starts the meat of their schedule this week. The next three games against GT, Miami and UNC will decide whether or not the Hokies go to Charlotte. Winning 2 out of 3 should do the trick for them.
3. N.C State (6-2, 3-1) (LW #4, up 1)
As I predicted, the Wolfpack knocked off the Seminoles this week to move to 3-1 in the conference, as well as get their elusive 6th win to make them bowl eligible. State moves up to #3 this week because of that. I am pretty excited to see how the rest of the Atlantic Division plays out. N.C. State has fate in their own hands...if they win out, they go to Charlotte. It may be a long shot, but it's exactly where Tom O'Brien wants his team right now. Big game against Clemson this weekend.
4. Miami Hurricanes (5-3, 3-2) (LW #3, down 1)
I figured that UVA would get a conference win eventually, I just didn't expect it to be against the Miami Hurricanes. I thought after the performance against UNC, Randy Shannon had gotten the Canes headed in the right direction. They can blame the loss on the injury of Jacory Harris all they want, but every team has injuries, and good teams should not lose to UVA. The Canes get bumped down to #4 this week.
5. Maryland (6-2, 3-1) (LW #8, up 3)
Another game against Wake Forest, another huge win by an opponent. Despite Wake Forest being very, very bad, Maryland was clicking on all cylinders this weekend. I have underestimated the Terps all year, but am finally giving them their due. It is extremely impressive to go from 2-10 one year, to 6-2 the following year, no matter how front loaded the schedule is. I don't expect the Terps to go to Charlotte, but I think they could go 2-2 the rest of the year and get to 8-4. Certainly nothing to hang their heads over at all.
6.Clemson (4-4, 2-3) (LW #7, down 1)
Just when everybody thinks the Tigers are putting everything together, they go out and lose to Boston College. BC is not as bad as their record indicates, but Clemson should have beaten them. To make things worse, Andre Ellington is expected to be out for two weeks. Really big game for the Tigers to stay above, or fall below .500. If they lose this week, bowl eligibility could be a huge stretch with South Carolina and FSU still on the schedule. Clemson only drops a spot, because most of the teams behind them didn't do anything to impress.
7. Georgia Tech (5-3, 3-2) (LW #4, down 1)
The Yellow Jackets had a bye this week to prepare for Virginia Tech this Thursday. If Paul Johnson wants to have any chance to go back to Charlotte this year, this game is a must-win. The game is in Blacksburg, and honestly I don't give GT much of a chance at all, but you never know. Jackets fall a spot due to a huge jump by Maryland this week.
8. North Carolina (5-3, 2-2) (LW #5, down 1)
LOL at UNC. Mike Paulus almost led the William and Mary Tribe to a victory over UNC in Chapel Hill on Saturday. The Tribe were up 17-7, and what really saved UNC-CH was the fact that they had 22 more scholarship players, and that the Tribe were really banged up this past weekend. UNC has to play better than they did on Saturday or they may not win another game this year.
9. Virginia (4-4, 1-3) (LW #9 --)
Mike London got his first signature win, as well as his first win in the ACC this weekend against Miami. It was a hard fought game, and the Cavaliers managed to intercept Miami a whopping 5 times en route to the victory. Virginia will stay at #9 because there is still a gap between #8 and the bottom 4, but with another ACC win, expect to see Virginia move up. They are at 4-4 and have Duke coming up this weekend. Bowl eligibility is not out of the question yet for the Wahoo's.
10. Boston College (3-5, 1-4) (LW #10 --)
Big win for Frank Spaziani over the Clemson Tigers on Saturday. Boston College got their first conference win of the year, and snapped a 5 game losing streak. With games against Wake Forest, Duke, UVA, and Syracuse, the Eagles need to win 3 out of 4 to become bowl eligible. Just like UVA, they could sneak a bowl bid out here.
11. Duke (2-6, 0-4) (LW #12, up 1)
In the shocker of the week, Duke sprinted out front of Navy to a 24-0 lead before winning 34-31. Big win for David Cutcliffe and the Blue Devils. Sean Renfree went a phenomenal 28-30 in passing to lead Duke to the victory. Duke has a pretty easy schedule the rest of the year, and certainly a couple of winnable games. If they can get two wins, a 4-8 year would have to be considered a success after starting out 1-6.
12. Wake Forest (2-6, 1-4) (LW #11, dwn 1)
I was going to put Wake Forest and Duke in a tie for last this week, but that was before I saw Duke take Navy behind the woodshed. Despite the Deacs beating Duke in the second week of the season, there is no doubt in my mind now that Wake Forest is the worst team in the ACC. Another humiliating and embarrassing performance by Wake Forest. I don't care if this is a rebuilding year or not, to lose by 7 touchdowns to a team that went 2-10 last year is completely UNACCEPTABLE. Things have to change this offseason internally (particularly the DC and OC), and if Jim Grobe is unwilling to make these changes, it may put the decision in the hands of Ron Wellman.
That's it for this week's PR's. Let me know how you feel about them, as well as how you think the rest of the year will shape up. Hope you enjoyed it!