Week 7 in the ACC left the pecking order looking a little less tidy than it did a week ago, but Miami still sits on top and Florida State’s fight against the Hurricanes was enough to keep the Seminoles in place. The chaos around them kept building, though, with several teams sliding, a few rising, and plenty of questions still hanging over the league.
At No. 1, Miami remains unbeaten at 6-0 and stays where it was a week ago.
The Hurricanes have not been displaced, but the overtime battle with Florida State gave this week’s ranking a different feel. The Seminoles made Miami work far harder than expected, and that alone was enough to raise eyebrows.
Florida State checked in at No. 12, unchanged from last week despite the loss. There was no real case to move the Seminoles up or down after they turned what many expected to be a one-sided game into a serious test.
The gap between this loss and the Week 6 defeat to Louisville was obvious: against Louisville, Florida State looked out of sorts from the opening whistle, while against Miami it looked much more composed and prepared. The result still counts, but the effort mattered here.
Wake Forest kept its hold on No. 2 at 6-1 after already pushing Miami once this season in its only loss. The Demon Deacons have clearly proven to be more dangerous than many expected, and the upcoming matchup with SMU gives them another chance to show it.
SMU made one of the week’s biggest jumps, climbing from No. 6 to No. 3 at 5-1. The offense was always going to be a problem for opponents, but the defense was the bigger question. So far, the Mustangs have held Boston College and Virginia under 20 points, although those outings still leave plenty to prove with Wake Forest and Notre Dame still looming.
Virginia Tech also stayed steady, holding at No. 4 after beating Georgia Tech. That win keeps the Hokies in the conversation for a late push toward the top of the conference, especially in a league where, outside the top three, things have been anything but settled.
Pittsburgh dropped from No. 3 to No. 5 after a week in which the absence of a starting quarterback loomed large. That issue could keep dragging the Panthers down as the season goes on. Clemson followed at No. 6, with a crucial Week 8 meeting against Virginia Tech that could end up defining its season.
North Carolina was one of the bigger movers, rising from No. 11 to No. 7 after a ranked upset of Pittsburgh and another strong win over Duke. Duke fell from No. 5 to No. 8 after back-to-back losses to Georgia Tech and North Carolina, a rough turn after the Blue Devils opened 4-0.
Louisville stayed put at No. 9. Beating Florida State and Syracuse is one thing, but the Cardinals still need a win against one of the ACC’s better teams before they can really make a stronger case.
Virginia slid from No. 8 to No. 10 after looking disjointed again in a loss to SMU, undoing some of the progress it had made after the Florida State loss. California dropped one spot to No. 11, with defensive struggles continuing and the offense in trouble without quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele.
After that came the lower half of the rankings. Georgia Tech fell from No. 14 to No. 15 after its loss to Virginia Tech, a result that only added to the confusion around a team whose offense has been among the ACC’s worst.
Boston College moved up one spot to No. 14, while NC State stayed at No. 13 with no game to move it in either direction. The Wolfpack now head into a must-win game against Stanford in Week 8.
Stanford moved up one place to No. 16, and Syracuse fell to No. 17.
Stanford’s defense may be one of the worst in the country, but the Cardinal at least have a win over Georgia Tech, something Syracuse still does not have. For the Orange, the lack of a conference win and the absence of a true starting quarterback make the outlook even bleaker as the 2026 season wears on.
In Other News...
Mike Norvell Couldn't Hide His Anger Over How Miami Ended
Florida States overtime loss to Miami left Mike Norvell visibly frustrated with how the final sequence unfolded, and he did not try to soften his reaction afterward. The Seminoles had a touchdown from Micahi Danzy wiped away by a holding call on left tackle Xavier Chaplin, a play that changed the entire feel of the extra period and kept the game hanging in the balance.
Duce Robinson then appeared to make the next big catch for Florida State, only for the pass to be ruled an interception after review and end the game. Norvell blasted the holding flag as an absolute joke and pushed back on the turnover ruling as well, a postgame flashpoint that added another layer of heat to an already bitter ending against Miami. [Read more 🡒]
Florida State Still Has A Narrow Path To Save This Season
Florida State came out of the double-overtime loss to Miami still searching for traction, and the margin for error is getting thinner by the week. At 3-4 with five games left, the Seminoles do not have much room left to waste, but the schedule still leaves open a path to salvage a respectable finish if they can start putting together the kind of complete performance that has been elusive since conference play tightened up.
The remaining stretch is complicated by a few familiar concerns, including a recent injury to running back Ousmane Kromah and the fact that road games have not been kind. Even so, the way the next opponents have been trending, plus Florida State's past results in some of those matchups, keeps a 7-5 finish in play if the Seminoles can clean up the small mistakes that have been costing them close games. [Read more 🡒]
Alex Steen Can Finally Help Florida State Sooner Than Expected
After spending the offseason in legal limbo, Florida State forward Alex Steen finally has a path back onto the court sooner than expected. A Leon County judge granted him an extra season of eligibility after his challenge to the NCAAs 5-in-5 rule, a ruling that clears up a situation that had kept him in waiting even as he stayed enrolled in classes and continued practicing with the Seminoles.
Now the question shifts from the courtroom to the hardwood, where Steen could make his first game appearance against LSU on Oct. 24. For Florida State, it is a notable boost to a frontcourt that has already had to deal with the uncertainty surrounding his status, and it gives the Seminoles a player they had been able to work with behind the scenes but not yet officially deploy in a game. [Read more 🡒]