ACC Power Rankings - After Week 13

[Horizontal red lines indicate tiers]

1. Clemson (last week: BYE); season record: 11-0 (8-0)

Previous Rankings: 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1

Had a week off before playing South Carolina this week, where Dabo will be looking to get Will Muschamp fired mid-game.

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2. Virginia Tech (last week: 28-0 W vs Pittsburgh); season record: 8-3 (5-2)

Previous Rankings: 7, 11, 11, 12, 13, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 2

In his last game coaching in Blacksburg, Bud Foster strangled Pitt’s OC at midfield and everyone cheered. Okay, maybe he didn’t, but he might as well have. The Panthers were held to 177 total yards and Pitt QB Kenny Pickett had a QBR of 3.3... THREE-POINT-THREE! Va Tech managed just 263 yards of their own and still won by four scores thanks to a defense that held Pitt to less than 10 yards on seven drives, including forcing the Pitt O into negative yards on five of those drives.

3. Louisville (last week: 56-34 W vs Syracuse); season record: 7-4 (5-3)

Previous Rankings: 11, 7, 10, 11, 11, 6, 2, 6, 4, 3, 6, 4

608 total yards. 9.97 yards per play. 5 TDs of 20+ yards. I know Syracuse is bad, but those numbers... by gawd! Micale Cunningham had a 94.0 QBR in the game as 5 of his 11 completions went for TDs. Freshman RB Javian Hawkins went for 233 yards while averaging 10.1 yards per carry.

4. Wake Forest (last week: 39-27 W vs Duke); season record: 8-3 (4-3)

Previous Rankings: 5, 3, 3, 2, 3, 2, 3, 2, 2, 2, 4, 5

Jamie Newman accounted for 428 total yards - including 144 rushing - and a pair of TDs as Wake steadily beat down Duke for the victory. As a team, the Deacs put up 618 yards of offense. Former QB Kendall Hinton has made the adjustment to WR nicely, and is now in prime position to break the 1,000 yard mark on the season.

5. Virginia (last week: 55-27 W vs Liberty); season record: 8-3 (5-2)

Previous Rankings: 3, 2, 2, 5, 5, 3, 13, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7

This week is a de facto Coastal Division championship game with the rival Hokies thanks to VT curb-stomping...

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6. Pittsburgh (last week: 0-28 L @ Virginia Tech); season record: 7-4 (4-3)

Previous Rankings: 12, 9, 7, 3, 10, 7, 8, 3, 8, 8, 5, 6

The fact that this team is still up this high is only because the rest of the league sucks so much... and because their defense is really that good.

7. Florida State (last week: BYE); season record: 6-5 (4-4)

Previous Rankings: 10, 12, 9, 7, 9, 5, 4, 5, 3, 9, 8, 8

If FSU can pull off the upset against Florida, you have to wonder if interim coach Odell Haggins will get the full-time gig, especially since a few coaches - most notably Bob Stoops and Mark Stoops - have reportedly turned down the job already.

8. North Carolina (last week: 56-7 W vs Mercer); season record: 5-6 (3-4)

Previous Rankings: 8, 6, 4, 9, 4, 4, 9, 10, 9, 10, 10, 10

If UNC were a person, it would be the “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)” dude.

9. Boston College (last week: 7-40 L @ Notre Dame); season record; 5-6 (3-4)

Previous Rankings: 4, 5, 13, 10, 8, 11, 7, 7, 11, 7, 9, 9

The Eagles actually led 7-6 just before halftime, but then gave up 10 points to the Fighting Irish in the last 2:48 of the half and never found the end zone again in a second half rout. A.J. Dillon had 14 carries for just 56 yards and now needs 399 yards to break Ted Brown’s ACC Career Rushing Yardage record (although Brown’s total doesn’t include the 399 yards he amassed in his three bowl games).

10. Miami (last week: 24-30 L @ Florida International); season record: 6-5 (4-3)

Previous Rankings: 9, 10, 6, 13, 6, 13, 12, 14, 7, 5, 3, 3

Nick Saban’s first year at Alabama, he lost to Louisiana-Monroe... so, you know, Manny Diaz is definitely Saban 2.0... just saying.

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11. Syracuse (last week: 34-56 L @ Louisville); season record: 4-7 (1-6)

Previous Ranking: 6, 14, 12, 6, 7, 9, 6, 12, 14, 14, 14, 11

The ‘Cuse offense actually had a better game than a week ago when they blew out Duke, but this time the defense was atrocious and they got saddled with another ‘L’ for the effort. Moe Neal, a senior RB from Gastonia, NC, had himself an excellent game with 163 yards and a TD on 20 totes.

12. Duke (last week: 27-39 L @ Wake Forest); season record: 4-7 (2-5)

Previous Rankings: 13, 8, 5, 4, 2, 8, 11, 9, 10, 11, 11, 12

The D was awful and the O was sloppy, putting the ball on the ground five times while Quentin Harris also tossed a pick. The Blue Devils are now one of four ACC teams guaranteed to not be bowling.

13. Georgia Tech (last week: 28-26 W vs NC State); season record: 3-8 (2-6)

Previous Ranking: 14, 13, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 13, 13, 13, 12, 14

Pulled out their second conference win of the season against...

14. NC State (last week: 26-28 L @ Georgia Tech); season record: 4-7 (1-6)

Previous Rankings: 2, 4, 8, 8, 12, 10, 5, 11, 12, 12, 13, 13