ACC Power Rankings updated after Week 11 of college football

The ACC Championship race continues to come into focus after Week 11 of the college football season. Florida State has clinched a spot in the ACC title game, and Louisville is a win over Miami this coming weekend away from joining the Seminoles in Charlotte.

Elsewhere in the ACC, there continues to be plenty of movement. North Carolina earned a hard-fought 47-45 win over Duke over the weekend to stay in contention in the ACC title race and improve to 8-3 on the year.

NC State also continues to find ways to win, despite starting quarterback MJ Morris making the decision to redshirt for the rest of the season. The Wolfpack have now won three straight games. Finally, don’t look now, but Clemson has won two straight and is favored by 7 over North Carolina entering this weekend. Here’s a look at the updated ACC Power Rankings after Week 11 of the college football season:

1. Florida State (10-0)

Florida State has been dominant at times this season, but the Seminoles have also let some teams hang around while being big favorites. The latter was the case this past weekend as FSU escaped with a 27-20 win over Miami.

FSU was far from its best on Saturday, but the Seminoles did enough to stay unbeaten and clinch a perfect 8-0 mark in ACC play. Florida State hosts North Alabama this weekend, before finishing off the regular season Nov. 25 at Florida.

2. Louisville (9-1)

Speaking of wins that were far from pretty, Louisville was nearly upset by Virginia last week. The Cardinals trailed 21-14 entering the fourth quarter, before rallying for a 31-24 victory.

It’s understandable that Louisville had a bit of a let down after blasting Duke and Virginia Tech by a combined score of 57-3 the previous two weeks. Still, it’s a little bit concerning that Louisville has played down to its competition at times this season, including when it lost 38-21 at Pitt last month.

3. North Carolina (8-2)

North Carolina has played as well as anyone in the ACC at times this season, but the Tar Heels seem to have taken a step back defensively as of late. UNC really struggled on that side of the ball over the weekend against Duke, as the Tar Heels had to survive for a 47-45 double-overtime win.

Duke was without its top two quarterbacks on Saturday but still put up 36 points in regulation, including 22 in the fourth quarter. Things won’t get any easier for the Tar Heels this weekend against a Clemson team that has played well as of late, particularly at home.

4. NC State (7-3) (+1)

NC State has turned its season around after a 4-3 start. The Wolfpack have won three straight games, beating Clemson, Miami and most recently Wake Forest.

The NC State quarterback situation has gotten a lot of attention this season. Brennan Armstrong opened the year as the starting QB, before being replaced by MJ Morris. Armstrong is once again the starter after Morris made the decision to redshirt. However, it’s the defense that has been the key to NC State turning its season around. NC State has allowed 29 total points over its past three games.

5. Duke (6-4) (-1)

Injuries have turned a once promising Duke season into a bit of a struggle. The Blue Devils have now lost three of four games after a heartbreaking double overtime defeat by North Carolina over the weekend.

The good news is that Duke has clinched a bowl berth and has games it will be favored in coming up against Virginia and Pitt. The disappointing news is the Blue Devils opened the season 5-1 and seemed to be true threats to win the ACC.

6. Clemson (6-4)

Clemson continues to trend in the right direction after getting off to a 4-4 start to the year. The Tigers have now won back-to-back games after pounding Georgia Tech on Saturday.

The defense is playing like one of the best in the country at the moment as they shut down Haynes King and the Yellow Jackets offense for much of Saturday’s game, until it eventually got out of hand. Four Clemson freshmen picked off King on Saturday. Clemson will look to push its winning streak to three straight games when it hosts North Carolina this weekend.

7. Georgia Tech (5-5)

The Yellow Jackets had won back-to-back games while scoring 40-plus points, before getting destroyed by Clemson on Saturday. Georgia Tech trailed 42-7 in the fourth quarter, before adding a couple of touchdowns late.

Texas A&M transfer Haynes King has been excellent for much of the year, but he really struggled against the Tigers. Georgia Tech will look to get back on track this weekend against Syracuse, before closing out the year against No. 2 Georgia on Nov. 25

8. Miami (6-4)

Saturday was tough for Miami. The Hurricanes played well against a really good Florida State team, before coming up just short. Miami not only lost the rivalry game but it also lost quarterback Emory Williams for the season. The freshman made his second career start against the Seminoles.

With Williams now hurt, Miami will turn back to Tyler Van Dyke moving forward. Van Dyke and the Hurricanes will host Louisville this Saturday at Noon.

9. Virginia Tech (5-5) (+1)

The Virginia Tech offense exploded against Boston College, scoring 48 points and putting up 600 yards of offense in the impressive victory. Kyron Drones continues to be a difference maker for the Hokies. Drones passed for 219 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 135 yards in the win.

As a team, the Hokies had 363 rushing yards and averaged 7.1 yards per carry. Virginia Tech needs one more win to become bowl eligible. The Hokies have matchups coming up against NC State and Virginia to close out the season.

10. Boston College (6-4) (-1)

Boston College had been playing well, before getting pounded by Virginia Tech at home over the weekend. The Eagles had won five straight games, prior to suffering a 26-point defeat on Saturday.

BC head coach Jeff Hafley is a defensive-minded coach, but his unit struggled mightily against Virginia Tech. Boston College will look to get back on track on Friday when it faces arguably the worst team in the ACC in Pitt.

11. Syracuse (5-5) (+1)

Syracuse earned its first ACC win of the season over the weekend, pulling away from Pitt for a 28-3 home victory. The Orange attempted only eight passes in the win, while piling up 382 yards on the ground.

Syracuse opened the season 4-0, before dropping five straight games once conference play got underway. The Orange need one more win to reach a bowl game and have matchups coming up against Georgia Tech and Wake Forest to close out the regular season.

12. Wake Forest (4-6) (-1)

It has been a struggle for the Wake Forest offense for much of the season. That continued on Saturday as the Demon Deacons managed only six points in a loss to NC State.

Wake Forest is now 1-6 in its past seven games and has some ugly losses during that stretch. It doesn’t get any easier for the Demon Deacons this weekend as they have to play at Notre Dame.

13. Virginia (2-8) (+1)

It seems as though Virginia has been oh so close all year. The Cavaliers nearly upset No. 11 Louisville on Thursday, before being outscored 17-3 in the fourth quarter to lose by seven.

Virginia is just 2-8 on the season, but of those eight losses, five are by a touchdown or less. The Cavaliers close out the season with back-to-back home games, hosting Duke on Saturday, before ending the season against rival Virginia Tech.

14. Pitt (2-8) (-1)

It has been an incredibly difficult season for the Panthers. Pitt lost again on Saturday to fall to 2-8 (1-5) on the year. The Panthers have only one win over an FBS team this season as they beat Louisville 38-21 last month.

Pitt was picked to finish tied for sixth in the ACC but is currently at the bottom of the league. The Panthers will try to climb out from the bottom over the next two weeks with games against Boston College and Duke coming up.

There are only two weeks left in the ACC, before the conference championship game on Dec. 2. Florida State is already locked into the matchup in Charlotte, and Louisville has a chance to clinch its spot with a win over Miami on Saturday. Other interesting matchups this weekend include North Carolina playing at Clemson and Virginia Tech hosting NC State. It will be fun to see how this week’s action unfolds and what the ACC Power Rankings look like after Week 12.