ACC Power Rankings: Week 2

Week 1 has finally arrived, and Week 0 was eventful to say the least. #10 Florida State was defeated by unranked Georgia Tech in a game that was certainly no fluke. SMU was also in a upset against Nevada and barely beat a lowly Nevada team. The ACC could be shaken up a lot this year, and there are about seven teams that could realistically compete for the ACC Championship.

Here’s how I envision the ACC entering the second week of play.

Last week (week 1): 17

Virginia didn’t do much to stand out in Week 1, winning a game that was never really in question, but they were playing Richmond, a top-15 FCS school that has a lot of questions to answer about the 2024 season. Virginia looked solid, Anthony Colandrea finished with nearly 300 yards passing, but question marks remain. The offensive line needs to improve before Virginia faces conference opponents. Defensively, there wasn’t enough to see from Richmond’s offense to assess how good Hoo’s defensive unit is.

Last week (week 1): 15

Troy Taylor and the Stanford Cardinal let their game against TCU get out of hand. After Stanford took a 24-20 lead, TCU closed the game by scoring 14 unanswered points, and Stanford was unable to contain it, ending the game 34-27. Ashton Daniels had a QB rating of 12.5 and finished the game with 163 yards passing and an interception. Stanford has plenty of room to improve on both ends of the court.

Last week (week 1): 16

Wake Forest opened the 2024 season with the easiest game of their schedule against North Carolina A&T. Wake Forest limited the Aggies’ passing game and won every aspect of the game. Wake Forest finished with 513 total yards and no turnovers. The only area where Wake should improve is generating more turnovers on defense, as North Carolina A&T did not give the ball to the Demon Deacons’ defense.

Last week (week 1): 12

Duke was much less explosive against Elon than it should have been. The Blue Devils averaged just 2.2 yards per carry and had just two plays of more than 17 yards. Maalik Murphy and Duke need to be explosive to beat some high-level teams, but Duke really showed it against Elon. It was an especially rough start and could be a sign of offensive troubles down the road.

Last week (week 1): 11

Against one of the worst teams in the FBS, Syracuse struggled. The Ohio Bobcats ran all over Syracuse, and Anthony Tyus III, a transfer from Northwestern, led the way with 203 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Kyle McCord threw the rock and could be one of the better passing attacks in the ACC.

Last week (week 1): 9

Jaydn Ott was limited against UC Davis and needs to step up for Cal to have a solid season. He is the best player on the Golden Bears roster and Cal will desperately need him up front.

Previous week (week 1): 10

SMU may be questioning the quarterback position. SMU is 2-0, but they struggled against Nevada and then played Houston Christian, a questionable FCS program. Kevin Jennings looked like the answer at quarterback, outperforming Stone in every statistic: pass percentage, yards per pass, yards per attempt, passer rating, touchdown-to-interception ratio, rushing yards and yards per rush. Maybe it’s time for a change at quarterback.

Last week (week 1): 13

Eli Holstein looks really solid. He threw for 333 yards and three touchdowns against Kent State, but Pitt’s defense allowed the Golden Flashes to be very explosive. Pitt has a very tough non-conference schedule, facing Cincinnati and West Virginia in the next two weeks. Expect Brandon George to continue to make a big impact on defense, especially if Pitt looks to confuse some teams on its schedule.

Last week (week 1): 3

Virginia Tech came up short against Vanderbilt, giving Clark Lea his 10th win in his fourth year as Vanderbilt’s head coach. Virginia Tech couldn’t contain Diego Pavia’s offense and couldn’t get out of a 17-0 halftime run. This team is still very talented and has a fairly easy schedule, but this was a very bad debut for Kyron Drones’ team.

Last week (week 1): 7

DJ Uiagalelei looked questionable again. The Seminoles’ offense overall wasn’t great. Florida State’s leading rusher had 11 yards, and the offensive line didn’t live up to expectations against Boston College. Florida State simply couldn’t guard the wheel route on defense and didn’t mix things up enough on defense to challenge Boston College in the middle of the game. Florida State is lucky it has a week off in Week 2, otherwise they could be reeling.

Last week (week 1): 8

North Carolina really rides the strength of their win here. North Carolina found a way to beat Big Ten opponent Minnesota when it looked like Minnesota really had the game. Of course, Max Johnson’s injury is hurting and Conner Harrell is probably not the savior, but if North Carolina can rely on Omarion Hampton, they can certainly sneak away with a few more wins. Mack Brown and North Carolina’s schedule certainly favor them, as they are riding a five-game winning streak against Charlotte, NC Central, James Madison, Duke and Pitt. The Tarheels could be undefeated when they invite Georgia Tech to town on October 12.

Last week (week 1): 14

I predicted that if Boston College won a few games, Thomas Castellanos would be the primary target of the offense. That was certainly the case against conference rival Florida State. Bill O’Brien ran the option pass for only 106 yards in the game. Thomas Castellanos had fourteen carries, Treshaun Ward had twelve, and Kye Robichaux had nineteen carries, helping Boston College rush for 263 yards. Boston College’s defense was fierce, and if they play like that every game, they might have a chance to top the conference.

Last week (week 1): 4

Grayson McCall threw the rock against Western Carolina, but NC State’s defense probably looked weaker than it should have. NC State trailed an FCS opponent early in the fourth quarter. NC State and Jordan Waters pulled away late, but the Wolfpack should be looking to keep their games out of reach rather than having to come back from a deficit against an FCS team in the fourth quarter.

Last week (week 1): 5

If Florida State had easily handled Boston College, Georgia Tech would have landed at No. 2 on this list based solely on its resume. Georgia Tech handled in-state opponent Georgia State in Week 2 as Georgia Tech has developed its offensive attack. Malik Rutherford, Jamal Haynes, and Eric Singleton Jr. all look solid, but Georgia Tech can’t ignore Kyle McCord and the Syracuse Orange to stay high on these rankings.

Last week (week 1): 6

There wasn’t much to learn about Louisville in Week 1, as Louisville dominated FCS opponent Austin Peay 62-0. Louisville controlled every aspect of the game, but I don’t think Austin Peay was an elite opponent, or even close. Issac Brown, Duke Watson, and Keyjuan Brown all looked very good, finishing with 24.6 yards per carry, 14.3 yards per carry, and 7.2 yards per carry, respectively. Louisville probably didn’t show many of its plays, and won’t face its first real test until it faces Georgia Tech at home.

Last week (week 1): 2

Clemson faced its first real test against Georgia in Week 1. The Bulldogs won — decisively. The defense looked decent, especially in the first half, but no one competes with Georgia. Peter Woods looked elite, was the only defensive player to pick off Carson Beck and finished with a team-high 2.5 tackles for loss. The reason Georgia was able to pull away, though, was Clemson’s short-game defense. Georgia completely exploited Clemson’s short-game defense and had its way with the run game. I’d like to see a quicker adjustment and more variety of looks from Wes Goodwin to help Clemson climb the rankings.

Previous week (week 1): 1

Mario Cristobal shows his coaching chops in Week 1 against the Florida Gators. The Hurricanes’ vast talent really showed off. Cam Ward threw one of the best passes of his career, throwing a 23-yard touchdown pass to Jacolby George. He looks like the quarterback Miami needed. Ward will make a huge difference in Miami’s season. The defense also looked great, and if Reuben Bain returns, Miami will have the best defense in the ACC. The only area of ​​improvement for the Hurricanes is the running game, as Martinez finished with 4.3 yards per carry.