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The top three in the ACC didn’t change this week, but NC State did move up a handful of spots to 15th in SP+ after blowing out Syracuse over the weekend. The league generally has hovered around three top-15 teams all year, with Clemson and Pitt being there most of the time and cameos from UNC and now State.
It’s possible this is the highest NC State has ever been rated by SP+ in the Dave Doeren era, but as I don’t have an easy way of checking this, it will remain a mystery.
ACC Standings By SP+ Rating
| Team | Wk 12 SP+ (Rk) | Rank Change | Offense Rank | Defense Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Wk 12 SP+ (Rk) | Rank Change | Offense Rank | Defense Rank |
| Clemson | 20.7 (8) | -1 | 54 | 4 |
| Pitt | 17.1 (11) | -2 | 8 | 34 |
| NC State | 16.5 (15) | 5 | 41 | 12 |
| Miami | 11.8 (28) | 4 | 23 | 52 |
| UNC | 11.0 (30) | -5 | 5 | 81 |
| Louisville | 11.0 (31) | 6 | 21 | 58 |
| Wake Forest | 10.0 (39) | -4 | 10 | 91 |
| FSU | 8.4 (44) | 9 | 58 | 44 |
| Virginia | 8.2 (46) | -3 | 7 | 92 |
| Virginia Tech | 6.5 (57) | -13 | 73 | 39 |
| BC | 3.9 (66) | -6 | 65 | 67 |
| Syracuse | 0.8 (79) | -14 | 80 | 59 |
| Georgia Tech | -2.7 (85) | -9 | 72 | 94 |
| Duke | -11.0 (108) | -9 | 91 | 115 |
It was a rough week for the bottom of the league: Duke lost by 40 to Louisville, Georgia Tech was shut out 55-0 by Notre Dame, and Syracuse lost by 24 to the Wolfpack. The Orange can still get bowl eligible, but the other two are playing out the string. And unfortunately for Georgia Tech, they’ve got to play Georgia. That’s a bit rough, having to end the year with Notre Dame and Georgia.
The Jackets and Blue Devils are the only ACC squads mathematically eliminated from reaching bowl eligibility. Louisville, UNC, and Miami hit the six-win mark to join the bowl club, each improving to 6-5 overall. Somehow there are eight ACC teams that are either 6-5 or 5-6, which is kind of impressive when you think about it.
It’s a banner year for being okay-ish! The shame of it is they can’t all play in the Birmingham Bowl.