ACC (#goacc) Power Rankings Week 7

1. Florida State (5-0, 3-0 ACC) Last Week 1
Result: (W 63-0 vs. Maryland)
This Week: BYE

Oh. My. Goodness. I'm tired of hearing, "Well Florida State hasn't played anyone. They're just beating up on bad teams." Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I present to you exhibit A, a 63-0 thrashing of #25 Maryland, and with that the defense rests.  Jameis Winston continues to be one of the most fun players to watch in all of college football. Winston had another spectacular play this week, which made him look like some combination of Johnny Manziel, Ben Roethlisberger and Houdini. 393 passing yards and 5 touchdowns earned Winston this week's Walter Camp National Player of the Week award. The Seminoles now have a bye week before their showdown with Clemson on October 19th in a game could quite possibly have national championship implications for both teams.

2. Clemson (5-0, 3-0 ACC) Last Week 2
Result: (W 49-14 at Syracuse)
This Week: vs. Boston College

Clemson apparently doesn't believe in southern hospitality when it comes to welcoming Syracuse to the ACC. Clemson went up 21-0 in the first quarter and did not look back. Tajh Boyd threw for 455 yards and also had 5 touchdown passes on the afternoon. Clemson will now face Boston College before their matchup with Florida State. Clemson better not overlook Boston College, because they can score enough to frustrate their opponents. If Andre Williams can help Boston College control tempo, then Clemson's hurry-up offense could become very frustrated when they are on the sidelines.

3. Miami (5-0, 1-0 ACC) Last Week 3
Result: (W 45-30 vs. Georgia Tech)
This Week: BYE

Miami won by two touchdowns, and that didn't even do it justice considering Georgia Tech scored a meaningless touchdown with 10 seconds remaining. Miami was down by 10 points with one minute to go in the first quarter, but then outscored Georgia Tech 38-6 over the next 45 minutes of action. Duke Johnson continues to be a monster as he racked up 184 rushing yards on just 22 carries. Miami will have the week off before taking on North Carolina in a Thursday night contest. I don't anticipate them having too much trouble in that one.

4. Virginia Tech (5-1, 2-0 ACC) Last Week 5
Result: (W 27-17 vs. North Carolina)
This Week: vs. Pittsburgh

I think we need to reevaluate Alabama's "so-so" 35-10 win over Virginia Tech during the opening weekend of the season. In hindsight, what a dominant performance it was to put up 35 points against this stout Virginia Tech defense. Virginia Tech hasn't lost a game since Labor Day weekend and it looks like they could easily win another 5 games this season. I'm not sure if I would make them the favorite to win the Coastal, but they do get a serious break by not having to play Florida State like Miami does.

5. Georgia Tech (3-2, 2-2 ACC) Last Week 6
Result: (L 45-30 at Miami)
This Week: at BYU

Several weeks ago I was talking about Georgia Tech as a legitimate contender for the Coastal, but now they appears there is a legitimate chance that they do not make a bowl game. They started off very strong against Miami when they went up 17-7 in the first quarter, but then they just fell apart and never recovered. They now travel to BYU where they open up as a 7 point underdog. The Yellow Jackets still have games remaining against Clemson, Georgia and Alabama A&M (second FCS opponent), so it's not a lock for them to be going bowling after they looked like world beaters just a month ago.

6. Maryland (4-1, 0-1 ACC) Last Week 4
Result: (L 63-0 at Florida State)
This Week: vs. Virginia

At least Maryland still does crab cakes well. Last week Maryland made the AP top 25 for the first time since 2011. To absolutely no one's surprise Maryland was no longer in the poll this week after getting trounced 63-0 by Florida State. The Florida State secondary treated Stefon Diggs like the government and shut him down. The Maryland offense were averaging 40 points per game prior to this contest. Fortunately for Maryland, a home game against Virginia should help heal their wounds and get their offense on track.

7. Pittsburgh (3-1, 2-1 ACC) Last Week 8
Result: BYE
This Week: at Virginia Tech

Tom Savage and that Pittsburgh offense will have their hands full when they take on an excellent Virginia Tech defense on Saturday. Which Pittsburgh offense will show up? Will it be the one who scored 58 on Duke or will it be the one who scored 14 on Virginia? We'll know a lot more about this Pittsburgh team after this Saturday.

8. Boston College (3-2, 1-1 ACC) Last Week 11
Result: (W 48-27 vs. Army)
This Week: at Clemson

Andre Williams did his best Miley Cyrus impression and was an absolute wrecking ball on Saturday. Williams ran all over Army and amassed 263 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns. The Eagles were only up 4 by points early in the third after an Army touchdown, but then they scored 17 unanswered points to win by 21. Next Week the Eagles travel to Death Valley to take on Clemson. I'd like to personally wish my friends at Boston College Interruption at better outcome than the Deacs had. Boston College still has a chance to make a bowl in Addazio's first year at the helm. It will all come down to how they perform against North Carolina, North Carolina State and Syracuse.

9. North Carolina State (3-2, 0-2 ACC) Last Week 7
Result: (L 28-13 at Wake Forest)
This Week: vs. Syracuse

Plenty of North Carolina State fans were in Winston-Salem on Saturday for the game and the Dixie Classic Fair, but exactly none of them went home happy. Despite being a 9.5 point favorite, State failed to win in Winston-Salem. I guess that's not that surprising consider that North Carolina State has not won in Winston-Salem since 2001. State will now take on Syracuse at home next week in a game that they will be favored to win, but it's also not a gimme. Each of State's remaining games will be a battle, and if they are going to make a bowl game under Dave Doeren in year one, then they are going to earn it.

10. North Carolina (1-4, 0-3 ACC) Last Week 10
Result: (L 27-17 at Virginia Tech)
This Week: BYE

If Roy Williams wants to punish PJ Hairston, then he should just make him play for Larry Fedora's team for a game. North Carolina has yet to beat a BCS opponent, but their schedule has been pretty front loaded and I do believe in this team's talent. The Tar Heels will now have a week off before they take on the Miami Hurricanes on a Thursday night. At the start of the season I thought this would be a critical game in determining the Coastal champ. Let's just say I no longer think this, but I wouldn't eliminate them from earning a bowl berth even at 1-4.

11. Wake Forest (3-3, 1-2 ACC) Last Week 14
Result: (W 28-13 vs. North Carolina State)
This Week: BYE

Wake Forest needed a win in the absolute worst way and the Deacs got it with a 28-13 victory over in-state rival North Carolina State. A revamped and new look offense was a beautiful sight to see for Wake Forest fans. Wake did an excellent job of utilizing the short to intermediate passing game as well as designed quarterback runs from Tanner Price when he saw something in the defense. Michael Campanaro (Campanaroooo) delivered his usual Wes Welker clone performance as he had 12 receptions for 153 yards and two touchdowns. He now has over 200 receptions in his career and is going to shatter the previous record. The Deacs now have new life and will have two weeks to prepare for a Maryland team coming off an embarrassing 63-0 loss to Florida State. I'm not counting this team out yet.

12. Syracuse (2-3, 0-1 ACC) Last Week 9
Result: (L 49-14 vs. Clemson)
This Week: at North Carolina State

Syracuse and their 2-3 zone defense may not give up 49 points to Clemson's basketball team this upcoming season, but that's exactly what this Syracuse's 4-3 defense gave up to Tajh Boyd and company. Not exactly a warm welcoming to the ACC. But, hey, at least there is this. They now must go on the road for their next two contests. Syracuse threw 4 interceptions against Clemson, and they cannot afford to do that if they are going to be competitive in these upcoming road games. An ACC road game against North Carolina State awaits.

13. Duke (3-2, 0-2 ACC) Last Week 12
Result: BYE
This Week: vs. Navy

I'm not nearly as sold on this Duke team as some people are. Navy is a very real threat to beat them this weekend, and I believe it's a critical game for them to win if they want to go bowling again. They've had extra time to prepare for this triple-option attack, but they've also had some off-field issues that may be a distraction.

14. Virginia (2-3, 0-1 ACC) Last Week 13
Result: (L 48-27 vs. Ball State)
This Week: at Maryland

Good job, good effort. You just lost to Ball State at home by 3 touchdowns. The defense, which had been their relative strength allowed Ball State to score 48 points and have more than 500 yards of total offense. Ball State is a solid MAC team, but this performance was unacceptable. Mike London might need to go back to being a Richmond cop, because I do not believe he will be the head coach in Charlottesville next season. This team has a legitimate chance to lose out and I think that London's seat will be a little too hot after that to survive.

Please feel free to leave comments. I'd love to hear your rankings! The bottom half can really be ranked any number of ways.