ACC Football Power Rankings: Week Four

Sep 7, 2013; Clemson, SC, USA; Clemson Tigers wide receiver Adam Humphries (13) carries the ball while being defended by South Carolina State Bulldogs defensive back Kimario McFadden (7) during the second quarter at Clemson Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

Week three is now in the books and some teams are preparing to come off of their bye weeks including the North Carolina Tar Heels. Let’s take at look at this weeks ACC Football power rankings!

1. Clemson Tigers | Clemson is looking strong early on this season and appear to be contenders for the BCS Championship. They’ve got their offensive weapons back this season and with Heisman contenders on board, this isn’t going to be an easy team to beat. Not to mention beating a big SEC powerhouse like Georgia adds to your resume for the BCS bid!
2. Florida State Seminoles | The Seminoles has a rather easy week three, but they still continued to show some progression with new names starting after losing so many players in the draft. One thing to be concerned about is their penalties. They’ve already received 115 yards in penalties in just two games this season.
3. Miami Hurricanes | Miami has emerged after two rough years to be a contender for the ACC Championship. Right now they’re playing the best football in the ACC Coastal Division and they’re coming off of a bye week
4. Maryland Terrapins | Maryland hasn’t played a super tough opponent yet, but they will get a challenge this week against the West Virginia Mountaineers. Despite a weaker schedule thus far, good ball management and being able to put up high numbers against decent and quality opponents is worth noting.
5. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | Georgia Tech has had a stellar year thus far; especially on offense with their unique style of the option. While one would think within the Coastal Division a win over Duke would be somewhat impressive, Duke looked horrible against Georgia Tech and proved that they’re just not as good as some may have thought. Georgia Tech will get a chance to prove they deserve a higher ranking this weekend against the Tar Heels.
6. Virginia Tech Hokies | Virginia Tech looked like lost puppies running around a field against Alabama in week one, but they rebounded well in week two. Saturday brought another victory but some serious doubts about the Hokies who nearly lost the game to the East Carolina Pirates who had dominated much of the game and the first half.
7. North Carolina Tar Heels | Coming off of a bye week, North Carolina looks to revenge their loss against the Yellow Jackets last year. That game last year saw over 100 points combined scored. South Carolina marched past the Tar Heels, and in week two UNC still didn’t look stellar against a mediocre MTSU team that pushed the North Carolina defense to the edge.
8. North Carolina State Wolfpack | The Wolfpack is at the bottom of the barrel on this list in my opinion. If these were based solely on performance, the Wolfpack would be near the bottom, but the power rankings are based on performance and results. I get that some say this is a UNC fan site (it’s not, it’s a UNC focused news and editorial site) so therefore State will be ranked low, but there was nothing impressive about running over a sorry Louisiana Tech or barely squeaking by (hold on let me Google them) Richmond!
9. Virginia Cavaliers | Oregon made the Cavs look rather sorry, but was there really any hope for them against the No. 2 team in the country? They did beat the BYU Cougars, but then they went on to beat Texas. Maybe that is a little optimism for them!
10. Duke Blue Devils | Duke had high hopes after a 6-6 season and a bowl game last year, but this year haven’t shown that same energy this season. They lost their new starting quarterback and yet the fans continue to say this will be a better season. It’s nice to see the hope, but this team truly isn’t as good as expectations had them set at in pre-season. And there was nothing pretty about their loss to the Yellow Jackets!
11. Boston College Eagles | Boston College started out 2-0 in two close scoring games against some..let’s face it…sorry teams. Good for the win column, but then when they allowed Southern Cal to run over them, it only proved a small fluke. USC has had a rough start to their season under Lane Kiffin and needed to rebound which they did against the Eagles.
12. Pittsburgh Panthers | Pitt has had some good teams in the past but since firing Dave Wannstedt, they’ve just fallen apart and seen a few new coaches in their time. They kept up with Florida State in week one, but it didn’t take long before the Noles fired on all cylinders and just blew past Pitt.
13. Syracuse Orange | Cuse’ should just stick with basketball, as they have a long way to go in football. They had some potential last year it looked like, but this year has just been a disaster. They kept it close with the Penn State Nittany Lions, but they couldn’t fight back. Their first win of the season looks impressive on paper with the 54-0 score, but it was against Wagner. Not so great looking anymore.
14. Wake Forest Demon Deacons | I’m not sure where to begin with the Deacs besides they’re just pathetic. They’ve allowed their opponents to just run over them and snap the ball one play after another against them without wasting a beat. There has to be some serious game plan changes with Jim Grobe before this team truly falls apart.