ACC Power Rankings - Week 5

1. Clemson (4-0, won over Notre Dame 24-22)

Clemson held off a furious fourth quarter rally to edge Notre Dame in what was a gigantic win for the ACC. The Tigers look like the ACC’s best shot at a playoff contender as of now. They should be favored in every remaining game and, assuming they don’t slip up against an inferior opponent, they’re a home win against FSU away from going into the ACC title game at 12-0.

2. Florida State (4-0, won at Wake Forest 24-16)

Dalvin Cook is reportedly day-to-day, and the Seminoles need him badly, as they still appear to be having some issues offensively. They gutted out a win on the road against an improving Wake Forest team, but FSU looks comfortably behind Clemson to this point.

3. Duke (4-1, won over Boston College 9-7)

Scoring zero touchdowns and beating a team that did score a touchdown is not a common occurrence, but if it were to happen, it would happen against Boston College. Duke averaged 0.9 yards per carry in this game and mustered only 228 yards of offense. Luckily, they have a good defense that got to matchup against a bad offense, and Duke continues to find ways to win.

4. UNC (4-1, won at Georgia Tech 38-31)

Big jump for UNC this week following the egg laying of the teams in front of them and their subsequent road win. Marquise Williams led the team in rushing, passing, and receiving, and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Is UNC the second best team in the Coastal?

5. Pittsburgh (3-1, won at Virginia Tech 17-13)

Qadree Ollison, who had shown some things in replacement of James Conner before, had a strong game rushing for 122 yards. That’s 22 more yards the Hokies could gain on Pitt’s defense. The Panthers are beneficiaries of terrible performances from the teams ahead of them, and they slide all the way up to number five.

6. Louisville (2-3, won at NC State 20-13)

Louisville held on to beat the Pack in what was probably a must win for them (2-3 is a lot different than 1-4). The offense did just enough to get by while the defense stifled NC State’s potent rushing attack. Good teams take advantage of good breaks and that’s exactly what the Cards did on Saturday.

7. NC State (4-1, lost to Louisville and themselves 13-20)

Not great, Bob!

8. Boston College (3-2, lost at Duke 7-9)

Boston College scored 41 points the first quarter against Howard. They’ve scored 48 points in all four other games combined. This BC offense cannot score, but the defense is a brick wall that has only given up two touchdowns all year. They didn’t give one up to Duke, but still couldn’t get the win. Had they won they could’ve climbed a couple more spots.

9. Georgia Tech (2-3, lost to UNC 31-38)

Interesting how many people still dont want to buy in to Georgia Tech as the ACC's best team. I got some advice for ya'll: BUY!

— Alec Lower (@AlecLower) September 8, 2015

Whoever this idiot is, I wouldn’t listen to a word he says.

Georgia Tech was projected by oh so many people as a playoff contending 10+ win team. Week five just ended and they haven’t beaten a power-five school. They blew a 21-0 lead at home on Saturday and could only manage ten points in final three quarters. Picking the Jackets to win the ACC was somewhat going out on a limb and the limb appears to have broken. Clemson, Pitt, and FSU are their next three games, none of which are easy wins.

10. Miami (3-1, lost at Cincinnati 23-34)

Terrible week for the Hurricanes. They had a chance to enter ACC play with some real momentum if they could’ve taken care of a mediocre Cincinnati team. They did not. To add insult to injury their only good win now looks like a joke as Nebraska got beat by lowly Illinois. The #FireAlGolden movement is only going to get stronger

11a. Virginia Tech (2-3, lost to Pitt 13-17)

Virginia Tech’s offense is riding first class on the struggle bus. They lost more yards to sacks than they had rushing yards, significantly more. Their attempt at a game winning drive pretty much summed up their offensive performance this week, which was a 4 play drive that went sack, sack, incomplete, interception. Michael Brewer’s return could help, and that could possibly happen this week.

11b. Syracuse (3-1, Bye)

Syracuse was off this week but still moved into a tie with Virginia Tech. They play South Florida next week and oddly opened up an underdog.

13. Wake Forest (2-3, lost to Florida State 16-24)

This was a good week for the Demon Deacons. They hung around with Florida State (albeit, without Dalvin Cook) deep into the fourth quarter and actually had the ball with a chance to tie with a minute to go. They go to Boston College next week in a game that might be the "first team to one wins." The Deacs might be moving up if they can find a way to win.

14. Virginia (1-3, Bye)

Virginia was off this week and they travel to Pitt next week.