MY NEW ACC FOOTBALL POWER RANKINGS FROM WEEK 11

PITT VS. CLEMSON IN THE WORKS?

ACC football had a few marquee matchups this past weekend. Clemson traveled to Chestnut Hill to face Boston College in a fierce battle.

Our ACC football power rankings this week had a few results that could decide bowl positions within the conference. Wake Forest picked up a very surprising win and the major news out of the conference was the firing of Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino.

How will Louisville get back to relevancy in the ACC conference? Jeff Brohm is the leading candidate after leading Purdue to a 5-5 record this season.

Here’s a look at our updated ACC football power rankings as we get ready for Week 12.

14: LOUISVILLE CARDINALS

RECORD: (2-8)

LAST WEEK: 13

For the past couple of weeks, you could flip-flop North Carolina and Louisville as to which team is the worst in the conference. After giving up 50 points for the third straight game it was clear that the team had given up on Petrino. The Cardinals have lost seven in a row and should finish the season 2-10.

13: NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS

RECORD: (1-8)

LAST WEEK: 14

Head coach Larry Fedora could be right behind Petrino getting a boot out the door. North Carolina has just one win this season, and although they played pretty good against the Blue Devils they still couldn’t come up with the victory. Their implosion makes it even more surprising that they were able to win against Pittsburgh earlier this season as they have given up 30 or more points in five games during their six-game losing streak.

12: VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES

RECORD: (4-5)

LAST WEEK: 10

Another major coaching change that could shape the outlook of the ACC going forward is in Blacksburg Virginia. Longtime defensive coordinator Bud Foster’s defense has not played as good as you expect them to towards the end of the regular season. After being gashed by Georgia Tech and BC the past two weeks the Hokies couldn’t slowdown Pitts running game. Virginia Tech faces Miami this weekend in a battle of two underachieving  ACC teams.

11: FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES

RECORD: (4-6) 

LAST WEEK: 12

The Seminoles’ offense had another inconsistent game this week as they fell to Notre Dame 42-13. Deondre Francois continues to be a former shell of himself as he finished the game 23-for-47 with just 216 yards passing. Excellent sophomore Cam Akers scored two touchdowns but with the defense playing poorly, there wasn’t really any hope to upset the Irish.

10: MIAMI HURRICANES

RECORD: (5-5)

LAST WEEK: 8

The Miami Hurricanes were a top 10 team before the season started and this is clearly not how fans expected the season to go. It was very surprising to see the Yellow Jackets attempt more than one pass, but that still did not stop Miami from giving up over 200 rushing yards in the 27-21 loss.

9: NORTH CAROLINA STATE WOLFPACK

RECORD: (6-3)

LAST WEEK: 4

The Wolfpack fell to Wake Forest this weekend and will probably drop out of the top 25 after being ranked 14th. Ryan Finley put up impressive passing yards but it wasn’t enough as the defense could not stop Wake Forest in the fourth quarter. He finished the game 35-for-52 for 374 yards passing through the air. The Wolfpack travel to Louisville this weekend and should turn things around as the Cardinals are the worst defensive team in the conference by a long shot.

8: WAKE FOREST DEMON DEACONS

RECORD: (5-5)

LAST WEEK: 11

The Demon Deacons had one of the most surprising victories of the weekend in the ACC, as they pulled off the upset over North Carolina State. Jamie Newman finished the game with three touchdown passes in nearly 300 yards through the air to help Wake Forest get back to .500. The Demon Deacons face Pittsburgh next week in what will be a very tough matchup against the potential winner of the ACC Coastal division.

7: DUKE BLUE DEVILS

RECORD: (7-3)

LAST WEEK: 7

The Blue Devils finally turn things around last week by beating Miami and now have a two-game winning streak heading into Happy Valley to face off against No. 2 ranked Clemson. Daniel Jones had a phenomenal game as he finished with 547 total yards (361 yards passing, 186 yards rushing) and four total touchdowns. With their offense rolling they could provide a scare to Clemson next week.

6: GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS

RECORD (6-4)

LAST WEEK: 9

The Yellow Jackets running game is rolling and they showed that again in the big win over Miami. Georgia Tech is now 6-4 on the season as they ran the ball 53 times for 231 yards and two scores. TaQuon Marshall had two touchdowns and the Yellow Jackets host Virginia this weekend before facing Georgia in their annual rivalry game.

5: VIRGINIA CAVALIERS

RECORD: (7-3)

LAST WEEK: 6

An easy victory over Liberty should’ve been expected for the Cavaliers fan base. Bryce Perkins had three total touchdowns for the game and Jordan Ellis ran for over 100 yards. The run defense will have to figure things out before facing Georgia Tech as they gave up three rushing touchdowns to the Flames.

4: BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES

RECORD: (7-3)

LAST WEEK: 3

Just six plays into the game Boston College lost starting quarterback Anthony Brown and had to run the offense through AJ Dillon to lead them to victory. The star running back couldn’t do anything against Clemson’s talented defense as he ran the ball 16 times for just 39 yards. Boston College should stay in the top 25 even with the loss and face Florida State in Tallahassee this weekend.

3: PITTSBURGH PANTHERS

RECORD: (6-4)

LAST WEEK: 5

The Panthers rolled all over Virginia Tech as Qadree Ollison had 235 yards on 16 carries and three touchdowns, including a 97-yarder. Darrin Hall also broke the 100 yard mark as he had seven carries for 186 yards and a score. The Panthers nearly ran for 500 yards and will look to keep their running game going against Wake Forest this weekend. Winning this game should secure them in the ACC Coastal division and the matchup against Clemson in the title game.

2: SYRACUSE ORANGE

RECORD: (8-2)

LAST WEEK: 2

If Syracuse is able to pull off the upset against Clemson in October would the Orange be in the top five? Giving up three touchdowns to Travis Etienne in that game was heartbreaking, but Syracuse has bounced back and won every game since. They blew out Louisville this weekend and face Notre Dame in a battle of top 15 teams. Look for the Orange to use Eric Dungey and Mo Neal in read option plays to keep the Irish defense honest. If they pull off this upset they could still sneak into a New Year’s Six bowl.

1: CLEMSON TIGERS

RECORD: (10-0)

LAST WEEK: 1

Even if Anthony Brown had been healthy I didn’t see Boston College pulling off the upset in the primetime ACC matchup. Trevor Lawrence finished the game with 295 yards passing and Travis Etienne had 78 yards rushing on the ground. Clemson is still the No. 2 team in the country and with Duke and South Carolina left on the regular season slate they should run the table. Stopping the run will be the focus until bowl season as each of their remaining opponents all has major rushing threats in their backfield. So those are our ACC football power rankings after Week 11 slate of games. Are you happy with where your team is ranked? Comment below and let’s get ready for Week 12 action.