ACC Power Rankings updated after Week 1 of college football
The latest ACC Power Rankings are here following Week 1 of college football and a full slate of action, courtesy of the On3 Massey Ratings.
The On3 Massey Ratings – which were officially used during the BCS era and have generated high school sports team rankings since 1995 – rank sports teams by analyzing game outcomes, strength of schedule, and margin of victory.
Let’s dive into the ACC Power Rankings following Week 1 of the college football season.
1. Louisville (1-0)
The Cardinals picked up right where they left off last season. They knocked on the door on the playoff last season but Jeff Brohm had this team firing to begin 2024.
Yes, it’s against Austin Peay in the first week, but transfer Tyler Shough was nearly flawless at quarterback. He had 232 yards and four touchdowns and this could very well be an ACC contender again.
2. Miami (1-0)
It couldn’t have gotten any better for Miami to open the season. When you beat an in-state foe by 24, yeah that’s a great win.
Cam Ward was electric with three touchdowns through the air and nearly 400 yards passing. Heck, Hurricane players were recruiting Florida targets after the game! This could be the ACC’s top dog at some point! They’re very close per the ratings.
3. Clemson (0-1)
Clemson doesn’t get too penalized for that blowout loss Saturday because frankly, Georgia can do that to anyone. That being said, the Tigers are on thin ice.
The defense came to play early, but essentially gassed out. Dabo Swinney’s offense left way more questions than answers after the weekend. Is Cade Klubnik actually the guy? Or was that product of an avalanche against the Bulldogs?
4. NC State (1-0)
The Wolfpack actually trailed in the first quarter but bounced back by the fourth quarter. We’ll chalk this one up to first game jitters.
New QB Grayson McCall threw for 318 yards and three touchdowns in his NC State debut. There’s buzz about this team this year so we’ll let it play out against conference opponents.
5. SMU (2-0)
So far so good in the ACC for SMU. Although the Mustangs have yet to play a new conference opponent but have two wins in their back pocket.
Still, it’s all positive vibes right now for Rhett Lashlee and crew. The ACC portion of the schedule doesn’t open until September 28th, but until then, SMU could be rolling.
6. Florida State (0-2)
The Seminoles are off to a rough start, but the ratings still like them in these power rankings. How can Florida State bounce back?
Well, it’ll have to be about taking care of the football and DJ Uiagalelei settling in. So far, they’re treading in rough waters and it’ll be a tough hole to climb out of after losses to Georgia Tech and Boston College.
7. Georgia Tech (2-0)
The Yellow Jackets are off to a two-game winning streak to begin 2024. They raised a lot of eyebrows with a win over Florida State over in Ireland last week.
But they followed it up with a 35-12 win over Georgia State this weekend. Not the biggest piece of information, but still, there was no letdown following a big win. So far, Georgia Tech looks legit early.
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8. North Carolina (1-0)
The fireworks were for North Carolina not Minnesota! All jokes aside, it was a solid road win for the Tar Heels and Mack Brown, going into Big Ten territory.
Now, it certainly looked like a Big Ten game, since the run game was the dominant force. Unfortunately, UNC lost QB Max Johnson for the season and had to rely on Omarion Hampton to carry the load 30 times for 129 yards. Going forward? We’ll see how Brown manages the most important position.
9. Duke (1-0)
The Manny Diaz era began with a win, but only over Elon, 26-3 Friday. You always have to get the first win and Diaz could very well be a better coach than what he was at Miami.
Coming up, there are winnable games against Northwestern, UConn and Middle Tennessee. Now, Northwestern might be a bit of a challenge, but Duke could certainly improve its spot in the rankings.
10. California
The Golden Bears made their ACC debut with a win over UC Davis. It wasn’t the most inspiring win, but it was a win nonetheless.
Fernando Mendoza threw for just 158 yards and a touchdown while Jaydn Ott ran for just 49 yards, but scored twice. Perhaps Cal needs to fine tune a few things after the first game of the year.
ACC Power Rankings after Week 1, via the On3 Massey Ratings
11. Boston College (1-0
12. Virginia Tech (0-1)
13. Syracuse (1-0)
14. Pitt (1-0)
15. Wake Forest (1-0)
16. Virginia (1-0)
17. Stanford (0-1)
The first ACC Power Rankings are in the books for On3. Next up is Week 2 where there could be a lot of movement. Once you get into the meat of the season, the contenders and pretenders will reveal themselves.