The Wolfpacker's ACC Power Rankings: Week 3

NC State blew out Charleston Southern, Duke defeated a B1G opponent on the road, UVA did not, and Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman returned to the field. Following an exciting weekend of college football nationwide, our ACC power rankings moved quite a bit.

Every Tuesday, The Wolfpacker will rank each of the 14 ACC football programs using the past week’s results, the momentum around the respective programs and what we are hearing from around the conference to inform our decisions. 

Here are our ACC Power rankings for week three of the college football season:

1) Clemson (2-0)

Last week’s result: A 35-12 win over Furman

Clemson remains somewhat of an unknown in the ACC this year and likely will remain one until Sept. 24 when the team travels to Wake Forest. The Tigers took care of business against Furman, and the defense continued to look incredible, but the offense was still unable to put up impressive numbers against its FCS foe. It is still super early in the season, and Clemson will likely remain in the top spot of these ACC rankings until someone is able to poke holes in the Tigers’ defense.

2) Florida State (2-0)

Last week’s result: Bye week

Thanks to a missed extra point with no time remaining, Florida State avoided overtime and defeated LSU two weeks ago. Quarterback Jordan Travis had an outstanding day, completing 20 of 33 passes for 260 yards and two touchdowns. Wide receiver Ontaria Wilson caught both of his touchdowns, racking up 102 total yards on 7 catches. The Seminoles had a bye week last week, giving them extra time to prepare for an intriguing ACC matchup with Louisville.

3) Miami (2-0)

Last week’s result: A 30-7 win over Southern Miss

Miami started slow and went into halftime leading 10-7. The Hurricanes then shut out Southern Miss in the second half to secure the comfortable win. It’s probably not the dominant result that Miami hoped for but, if last week proved anything, all that matters is the win. The Hurricanes receive their first ranked test of the season this Saturday against a motivated Texas A&M team.

T-4) NC State (2-0)

Last week’s result: A 55-3 win over Charleston Southern

After escaping Greenville with a one-point win over East Carolina, NC State responded with a nearly-flawless performance against Charleston Southern. Devin Leary tied the program record for total touchdowns in one game, and the offense put together a complete and explosive half before the backups were put in. The defense continued to excel, and Charleston Southern’s only points came after a fumble by the Pack. Texas Tech travels to Carter-Finley next week for the program’s first power-five showdown.

T-4) Wake Forest (2-0)

Last week’s result: A 45-25 win over Vanderbilt

Sam Hartman is back and wasted no time in showing why he is one of the top quarterbacks in the country, leading Wake Forest to a win over an SEC program with 300 passing yards and 4 touchdowns. The Demon Deacons have tough tests against Liberty, Clemson and Florida State in the next few weeks and could assert themselves as ACC contenders once again.

T-6) Pittsburgh (1-1)

Last week’s result: A 34-27 loss to Tennessee

Pittsburgh‘s top-two quarterback’s both went down with injuries last week, and the uncertainty surrounding that position is the only reason the program fell in the power rankings this week. The Panthers still took Tennessee to overtime and easily could have defeated a ranked SEC foe at home.

T-6) Syracuse (2-0)

Last week’s result: A 48-14 win over UConn

Syracuse continued its impressive start to the year with a blowout of former Big East rival UConn. The Orange defense allowed a combined 21 points through two games. Quarterback Garrett Shrader continued his hot start to the year as well, completing 20 of 23 passes for 287 yards and 3 touchdowns.

8) North Carolina (3-0)

Last week’s result: A 35-28 win over Georgia Southern

For the second-consecutive week, North Carolina defeated a Sun Belt opponent by one score. While the margins of victory are concerning, and the defense does not look drastically improved from last year, the Tar Heels are still 3-0, which keeps them steady at No. 8 in this week’s rankings. Freshman Omarion Hampton rushed for 110 yards and 2 touchdowns to pace UNC.

9) Duke (2-0)

Last week’s result: A 31-23 win over Northwestern

The Mike Elko era at Duke is off to a tremendous start. After recording a shutout in his coaching debut, Elko led the Blue Devils to a win on the road over Northwestern. Duke has a chance to go 4-0 by the time ACC play begins if it can defeat North Carolina A&T and Kansas.

10) Louisville (1-1)

Last week’s result: A 20-14 win over UCF

Louisville bounced back from a surprising blowout loss to Syracuse two weeks ago with a close win over UCF. Quarterback Malik Cunningham rushed for 121 yards in the victory. The Cardinals have an ideal opportunity to get their season back on track with a matchup against a red-hot Florida State team Friday.

11) Virginia Tech (1-1)

Last week’s result: A 27-10 win over Boston College

In one of the more surprising results from the weekend, Virginia Tech rebounded from its tough loss to Old Dominion and held Boston College to just 155 yards of total offense. The Hokies’ offense still left a lot to be desired at times, but Brent Pry won his ACC debut.

12) Boston College (0-2)

Last week’s result: A 27-10 loss to Virginia Tech

Rutgers defeated Boston College last week, and the Eagles responded with a worse performance against Virginia Tech. The offensive line is a major concern for this group after allowing 9 sacks through 2 games. Boston College has a chance to regroup against Maine this week.

T-13) Virginia

Last week’s result: A 24-3 loss to Illinois

In probably the worst loss by an ACC team this week, Virginia finds itself tied for last in this week’s power rankings. Despite having a one of the most talented quarterbacks in the ACC, Brennan Armstrong, the Cavaliers only scored three points. The UVA offensive line also allowed five sacks.

T-13) Georgia Tech

Last week’s result: A 35-17 win over Western Carolina

Georgia Tech survived a first-quarter scare against Western Carolina and pulled away to win comfortably. There is not a whole lot to take away from the FCS win, so the Yellow Jackets remain at the bottom of the ACC power rankings headed into a matchup with No. 20 Ole Miss.