ACC Power Rankings updated after Week 13 of college football

Rivalry week took place over the weekend and there were plenty of exciting matchups. Some ACC teams faced off against each other in rivalry games, while others played in-state opponents from the SEC.

After the dust settled, Florida State remained unbeaten, pulling away to beat rival Florida, despite being without star quarterback Jordan Travis. The other team that will be playing in the ACC Championship Game this weekend — Louisville — wasn’t as fortunate.

The Cardinals suffered only their second loss of the year, falling 38-31 to rival Kentucky. Still, overall, it was an excellent regular season for Louisville. Here’s a look at the ACC Power Rankings after Week 13, as well as a breakdown of this past weekend’s action.

1. Florida State (12-0)

The Seminoles got off to a slow start against rival Florida and trailed 12-0 late in the second quarter. However, Florida State eventually settled in and earned a hard-fought win.

Trey Benson rushed for three touchdowns in the victory, while FSU held Florida to only 232 yards of offense. Florida State kept its College Football Playoff hopes alive and now has a huge game coming up against Louisville for the ACC title.

2. Louisville (10-2)

Louisville’s magical regular season came to a disappointing end on Saturday as the Cardinals lost 38-31 at home to rival Kentucky. Louisville outgained the Wildcats by more than 100 yards but turned the ball over three times, compared to one for Kentucky.

Still, it’s been a great season for Louisville, and it can get even better with a win on Saturday. It would be quite the accomplishment for Jeff Brohm to win the ACC in Year 1 back at Louisville.

3. NC State (9-3)

NC State continued its incredible second half of the season by blasting rival North Carolina 39-20. The Wolfpack ended the regular season on a five-game winning streak and are in line to get a solid bowl game.

Dave Doeren did an excellent job with his team down the stretch after a 4-3 start to the year. Beating North Carolina had to feel good for Doeren, who hasn’t been shy about how much it means to him to beat the Tar Heels.

4. Clemson (8-4)

Speaking of teams playing well down the stretch, Clemson earned its fourth straight win by beating rival South Carolina on Saturday. The Tigers defense was lights out, giving up only seven points in the victory.

Clemson went from 4-4 to 8-4 and has some momentum heading into its bowl game. If the Tigers can carry their defensive momentum into next season and get more consistent play on offense, they could get back to playing at an elite level next in 2024.

5. North Carolina (8-4)

North Carolina’s once promising season continued to head in the wrong direction on Saturday as the Tar Heels dropped to 2-4 in their past six games. North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye accounted for 360 yards of offense and three touchdowns, but he didn’t get much help.

The defense also continued to regress, giving up over 500 yards of offense to an NC State team that has struggled offensively for much of the year. It will be interesting to see if Maye plays in the bowl game or if he has played the final game of his college career.

6. Duke (7-5) (+1)

Duke beat Pitt 30-19 on Saturday to finish off a 7-5 regular season for the Blue Devils. It was quite the year for Duke, which opened the season with a win over Clemson and looked like a true ACC contender until quarterback Riley Leonard got banged up.

Unfortunately for the program, Mike Elko left for Texas A&M after turning the Blue Devils program around in a short amount of time. This is an important hire for the Blue Devils to keep the momentum going that Elko created.

7. Miami (7-5) (+1)

Miami proved this season that it can play with anybody in the ACC, but the Hurricanes also played down to their competition too often. With that said, Miami finished off its season in impressive fashion, blasting Boston College on Saturday.

The Hurricanes have already started losing some notable players to the transfer portal, including quarterback Tyler Van Dyke. But there is plenty of talent remaining on the Hurricanes roster, and Miami is expected to be active in the transfer portal.

8. Georgia Tech (6-6) (-2)

Georgia Tech played Georgia tougher than most people expected and even led the Bulldogs early on, before falling 31-23. Despite the loss, it was still an encouraging season for the Yellow Jackets.

Georgia Tech finished the regular season 6-6 to clinch a bowl berth for the first time since 2018. There’s no doubt Year 1 was a success for Brent Key.

9. Virginia Tech (6-6)

Virginia Tech had its way with rival Virginia on Saturday, blasting the Hokies 55-17 in a game that was expected to be competitive. Brent Pry‘s squad finished the regular season at 6-6 and clinched a bowl berth with the victory.

Virginia Tech seemed to get better and better as the season went along, going 4-2 in its final six games after a 2-4 start. The Hokies outgained Virginia 500-286 in Saturday’s win.

10. Syracuse (6-6) (+1)

Syracuse played well after Dino Babers was fired, beating Wake Forest 35-31 to clinch a bowl berth. Quarterback Garrett Shrader has had an up-and-down year, but he accounted for four touchdowns against the Demon Deacons.

Syracuse started the season 4-0, before limping to the finish line and eventually firing Babers. But reaching a bowl game is always an accomplishment for the Orange.

11. Boston College (6-6) (-1)

Jeff Hafley‘s squad had some bright spots this season, but Saturday wasn’t one of them. The Eagles were dominated by Miami, while suffering their third straight loss.

Boston College surrendered 532 yards of offense in the loss. The Eagles had a five-game winning streak in the middle of the season, but were inconsistent outside of that. Thomas Castellanos seems like a quarterback the Eagles can build around, though.

12. Wake Forest (4-8)

From the moment Sam Hartman entered the transfer portal it seemed likely that this season was going to be a struggle for Wake Forest. That certainly turned out to be the case.

The Demon Deacons lost to Syracuse on Saturday to finish the year 4-8. After a 3-0 start, Wake Forest went 1-8 in its final nine games. There were some close contests along the way, including against Clemson and Duke, but overall it was a tough season for Dave Clawson‘s squad.

13. Pitt (13) (+1)

Pitt was picked to finish in the middle of the pack in the ACC during the preseason, but the Panthers never got it going in 2023. Pitt finished the year 3-9, earning only two wins over FBS opponents.

Pitt was at least competitive late in the season, beating Boston College and playing Duke tough in its final two games. But the Panthers also lost seven games by double digits.

14. Virginia (3-9) (-1)

Virginia seemed to be making progress heading into its rivalry game against Virginia Tech, but the Cavaliers played arguably their worst game of the year against the Hokies. Coming off of a close loss to Louisville and an upset win over Duke, Virginia was completely dominated in a 55-17 loss to Virginia Tech.

Virginia trailed 24-0 at the half and was down 38-3 at one point midway through the third quarter. It’s back to the drawing board for Tony Elliott heading into the offseason.

The ACC has been entertaining from start to finish this season. It will be fun to see how the ACC title game unfolds. Florida State has a chance to continue its perfect season and potentially earn a spot in the College Football Playoff with a victory.