After four weeks, Duke has climbed into a spot few people saw coming: right behind Miami in the ACC pecking order.
That’s the headline out of this week’s conference power rankings, and it says plenty about how Manny Diaz’s team has started the season. Duke was one of the schools plenty of people slotted into the middle of the league before kickoff, but the Blue Devils are 4-0 and keep stacking wins in a way that looks real, not lucky. With ACC play now front and center, they’ve become the clearest threat to Miami in the race to Charlotte.
Miami still holds the top spot after rolling Central Michigan 52-3. The Hurricanes also got a little extra value out of their earlier win over Wake Forest, since the Demon Deacons followed that up by beating Louisville. Miami’s next test is a road trip to Clemson, which has recovered from its ugly Week 1 loss to LSU and is starting to steady itself.
Duke’s rise to No. 2 comes after a 62-7 demolition of William & Mary in its last non-conference game of the regular season. The Blue Devils enter their bye with nothing left on the schedule but ACC games, and they’re doing what good teams do early in the year: controlling the line of scrimmage and finding a little more rhythm in the passing game.
Wake Forest made the week’s biggest jump after going into Louisville and coming out with a road win. The Demon Deacons are 3-1, with their only loss coming in a competitive game against Miami, and Jake Dickert’s team is starting to look like a legitimate factor in the push to Charlotte.
Virginia Tech sits at No. 4 after surviving rough weather in Chestnut Hill during the nor’easter and rallying past Boston College. The Hokies were down 14-6 in the fourth quarter before Ethan Grunkmeyer hit a touchdown pass and Jeffery Overton Jr. broke loose for an explosive scoring run to turn the game.
Louisville drops to No. 5, and the mood around the Cardinals is much less comfortable now. Their win over SMU still matters, but the loss to Wake Forest knocked a big chunk out of their at-large playoff hopes. At this point, they probably need to win the ACC to get into the CFP.
SMU checks in at No. 6 after needing to dig out of an early 10-0 hole against Missouri State before pulling away 34-24. Kevin Jennings is still piling up numbers and remains one of the country’s most productive quarterbacks, but the Mustangs have enough concerns to keep them from climbing higher.
Pittsburgh is 4-0 and sitting at No. 7 after Mason Heintschel delivered his second six-plus-touchdown passing day of the season in a 59-0 win over Bucknell. That score didn’t tell the full story, but it did keep the Panthers unbeaten. Their Friday night trip to Blacksburg for a showdown with Virginia Tech now looms large.
Virginia is next at No. 8 after rebounding from a shocking loss to West Virginia with a 42-3 win over Delaware. The Cavaliers may be better than this slot suggests, and they get a chance to show it quickly with a road game at Florida State this week.
Clemson comes in at No. 9 after winning its third straight since the LSU loss, including a two-touchdown road victory at Cal on Friday night. The Tigers are still shaky on offense, though, and this weekend’s game against Miami could end up feeling a lot like that LSU opener.
North Carolina is off this week and slides into No. 10, with Notre Dame waiting on Saturday.
Florida State is No. 11 after beating Central Arkansas 34-7. The Seminoles now face a game at home against Virginia that could go a long way in determining Mike Norvell’s future.
The schedule gets even rougher after that, with road games at Louisville and Miami back-to-back after Louisville. If Florida State can’t beat the Cardinals, a three-game losing streak could be next.
California lands at No. 12 after letting a prime chance slip away against Clemson. The Golden Bears now head to UNLV for a difficult road game against one of the stronger Group-of-Six teams. Sophomore quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele has had a tough start, but he’s still a talented player, and if it all clicks, Cal could turn into a tough out.
NC State is No. 13 after bouncing back from its baffling loss at Vanderbilt with a 41-31 win over App State. This is still one of the hardest teams in the country to figure out. The Wolfpack would look a whole lot different if not for CJ Bailey’s game-losing fumble against Vandy, and now they get a home shot at Louisville in Week 5.
Stanford gets a bump to No. 14 after responding to last week’s four-touchdown loss to Duke with a comeback win over Georgia Tech. It was a huge result for first-year coach Tavita Pritchard, especially with road games at Wake Forest and Notre Dame coming up in back-to-back weeks.
Boston College drops to No. 15 after nearly pulling off an upset but blowing a 14-6 fourth-quarter lead against Virginia Tech in its conference opener. The Eagles head to SMU next.
Georgia Tech is No. 16 after another rough night, this time coughing up a second-half lead in a loss to Stanford. Brent Key’s team is 1-3 now after last season’s nine-win campaign, and the loss of OC Buster Faulkner to Florida has clearly hurt. Alberto Mendoza is no Fernando, and the Yellow Jackets have been stuck in a difficult stretch.
Syracuse rounds out the list at No. 17.
The Orange were idle, but they still slipped a spot thanks to Stanford’s win over Georgia Tech. They’ll go on the road to face UConn after the bye with plenty of ground to make up.
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