Miami’s first loss of the season didn’t shake up the top of the ACC power rankings, and that says plenty about how the conference is stacking up entering Week 11. The Hurricanes are still No. 1, while Wake Forest, Duke, SMU and Louisville continue to fill out the group chasing them.
With no undefeated teams left after Miami fell in a close one to Notre Dame in South Bend on Saturday, the league suddenly has a clearer picture of who’s still standing. That result won’t knock the Hurricanes out of the College Football Playoff conversation, but it does give the rest of the ACC something to study if they want to figure out how to beat Mario Cristobal’s team.
Wake Forest keeps grinding, Duke has been flattening opponents, and SMU and Louisville are still hanging around with hopes of reaching the ACC title game. The meeting between SMU and Wake Forest this weekend looms large enough to be treated as an elimination game for the conference championship race.
- Miami (8-1, 6-0 ACC)
The Hurricanes took their first loss of the season, but it doesn’t really change their position in the playoff picture.
- Wake Forest (8-1, 5-1)
The Demon Deacons keep getting overlooked, even as they keep winning.
- Duke (7-2, 4-2)
Duke has outscored its last two opponents 88-5, and now the Blue Devils head to Miami for a much stiffer test.
- SMU (7-2, 5-2)
SMU gets Wake Forest at home on Saturday in what amounts to an elimination game for the ACC title.
- Louisville (6-3, 5-2)
The Cardinals have won four in a row and are on track to carry a six-game winning streak into their final-week matchup against Kentucky.
- Clemson (6-3, 4-2)
It wasn’t a clean performance, but Clemson still walked out with an 18-13 win over Syracuse.
- Virginia Tech (6-3, 3-3)
The Hokies were handled by SMU on Friday night.
- Pittsburgh (6-3, 3-3)
Pittsburgh was off last week and now heads to Florida State, which has been struggling.
- North Carolina (5-4, 2-3)
The Tar Heels draw a hot Louisville team this weekend.
- Florida State (4-5, 2-4)
The Seminoles picked up their first win without Mike Norvell, and it took some trickery to get there.
- Virginia (4-5, 2-4)
Virginia’s bye came at the right time after three straight losses.
- Stanford (4-5, 2-4)
Stanford’s two-game winning streak ended in a lopsided loss to Louisville.
- NC State (4-5, 2-4)
NC State needed just one carry to find out how dangerous Duke running back Nate Sheppard is, and the rest of the afternoon didn’t get any better.
- Boston College (4-5, 2-4)
Bill O’Brien’s team has a rough finish ahead, with Notre Dame and Miami both still on the schedule over the next three weeks.
- Syracuse (4-5, 2-5)
Syracuse still has a path to bowl eligibility with NC State and Boston College coming up in the next two weeks.
- California (3-6, 2-4)
The Golden Bears have dropped five of their last six.
- Georgia Tech (2-7, 1-5)
Duke’s loss to Georgia Tech remains one of the stranger results of the season.
In Other News...
Manny Diaz Weighs In On A CFP Change Duke Fans Should Watch
As the College Football Playoff moves toward a 24-team format, Manny Diaz is already thinking about what the change could mean for the sport beyond just the bracket itself. The Duke coach said he does not support eliminating conference championships, arguing that a playoff should still begin inside the leagues and reward teams for what they do on the field rather than leave so much to committee judgment.
Diaz also pointed to a likely side effect Duke fans should keep an eye on: the growing uncertainty around bowl games in an expanded playoff era. If more teams are pulled into the postseason picture, those traditional December matchups could lose some of the relevance they have carried for years, even as the postseason itself gets bigger and more inclusive. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Needs One More Scoring Threat To Take Down Duke
Michigan State heads into the Championship Classic with a clear formula in mind: lean on Jeremy Fears to steady the offense, get enough production from the center spot, and keep Duke from dictating the game with its defense. The Spartans have the kind of structure that can make a high-profile nonconference matchup interesting, especially if their key pieces hold up against the pressure that comes with facing a team like Duke.
What Michigan State still needs, though, is one more scorer it can count on when the Blue Devils start taking away the primary options. An additional double-digit threat would go a long way toward making this a real test for Duke, because the margin for error shrinks quickly when the defense is this good. The question now is whether the Spartans can find that extra punch in time to make the matchup far more competitive than it looks on paper. [Read more 🡒]
Mia Minestrella's Winner Put Duke On The Verge Of History
Mia Minestrella delivered the kind of moment Duke womens soccer has built its reputation on, stepping to an overtime penalty kick and burying it in a 5-4 comeback win over Wake Forest. The seniors finish tied the programs career goal record at 47 and sent Duke into the ACC Championship semifinals, while also helping the Blue Devils reach their 500th program victory.
For a team that had to climb all the way back in one of the biggest comeback wins in ACC Championship history, the night carried more than one layer of significance. Minestrellas latest goal added to a career already packed with big moments, and it left Duke on the verge of history with the tournament still ahead. [Read more 🡒]