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Week 5 of ACC action is complete.
Miami retains the No. 1 spot this week despite a scare from Virginia Tech on Saturday night. Meanwhile, Clemson won again in blowout fashion but Louisville suffered a road loss at Notre Dame for its first defeat of the year.
There was plenty movement further down the rankings this week as Duke, SMU, Syracuse all picked up big wins.
Here’s Saturday Down South’s updated ACC Week 5 power rankings:
17. Wake Forest (Previously: 17)
Wake Forest lost at home to Louisiana. The Demon Deacons are still looking for their first FBS win of the season — and I’m not sure they’re ever going to find one.
16. NC State (Previously: 16)
NC State beat Northern Illinois, but was it ugly. The Wolfpack were +4 in the turnover department and still only won by 7. That’s what happens when your offense doesn’t average 4 yards per play vs. a MAC team.
15. Florida State (Previously: 12)
Is this rock bottom for Florida State? It seems like we ask that question every week. Still not sure that we’re there yet. What I am sure of is that it’s time for the Noles to give another QB a chance under center. We’ll see if FSU’s staff agrees next week against Clemson.
14. Stanford (Previously: 10)
Stanford fell to 2-2 on Saturday with a blowout loss vs. Clemson. Micah Ford was one of the lone bright spots as he rushed for 122 yards on 15 carries.
13. North Carolina (Previously: 8)
North Carolina blew a 20-0 lead in the second half against rival Duke. It’s about as bad as it can get in Chapel Hill right now.
12. Virginia Tech (Previously: 15)
Close but no cigar, Virginia Tech. Still, a very admirable effort to go into Hard Rock Stadium and nearly come out with a win. It’s arguably the Hokies’ most inspiring performance of the year, so they move up a few spots this week.
11. Virginia (Previously: 13)
Virginia was idle this week.
10. Georgia Tech (Previously: 11)
Georgia Tech was off this week.
9. Duke (Previously: 14)
I’ve been slow to move Duke up these rankings, but 5-0 is 5-0. A rivalry win for Manny Diaz in his first game in this series is pretty sweet for the Blue Devils, too. Duke can clinch bowl eligibility with a win next weekend against Georgia Tech.
8. Cal (Previously: 7)
Cal was off this week.
7. SMU (Previously 9)
Credit to SMU, who absolutely smashed Florida State at home on Saturday night. The Mustangs forced 3 interceptions from DJ Uiagalelei and have now scored 108 points over their past 2 games since naming Kevin Jennings their starting quarterback.
6. Boston College (Previously: 5)
Boston College survived a serious scare against Western Kentucky this week without Thomas Castellanos. Ideally it wouldn’t have needed a 14-point fourth quarter comeback to beat the Hilltoppers.
5. Syracuse (Previously: 6)
Syracuse crushed Holy Cross in Week 5 to move to 3-0 in nonconference play. The Orange will look for a clean sweep next weekend against UNLV.
4. Pitt (Previously: 4)
Pitt was idle in Week 5.
3. Louisville (Previously: 3)
Yeah, Louisville lost. No, I’m not moving them down this week. The Cardinals played a very even game with Notre Dame in South Bend — which has been tough for ACC teams to do in recent years. I think this is still pretty clearly a top-3 team in the ACC.
2. Clemson (Previously: 2)
Another week, another blowout win for Clemson. How high would the Tigers be ranked in the AP Poll if they played someone other than Georgia in Week 1? Clemson has been as impressive as any team in the country since that season-opening beat down.
1. Miami (Previously: 1)
That was a close one, Miami. But the Hurricanes remain undefeated so I’m not moving them out of the No. 1 spot. Miami will have to play a lot better moving forward though.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
