Week 7 only sharpened the picture at the top of the ACC: Miami has pulled away, while Wake Forest and SMU remain in the next tier, still chasing the standard the Hurricanes have set. After seven weeks, the league’s hierarchy is starting to take shape, and the latest set of results shuffled a few teams while reinforcing a bigger truth about the conference.
At the bottom, Syracuse makes its first appearance in the last spot of these rankings this season. The Orange are now the only ACC team without a conference win through seven weeks, and they’re still trying to survive a rough stretch with third-string quarterback Malachi Nelson in the lineup.
Nelson has kept Syracuse competitive in every game he has played, but it still wasn’t enough to finish the job in a 34-26 loss to Louisville. The defense also came up short late.
Louisville, meanwhile, did enough to walk away with that 34-26 win over Syracuse. The Cardinals moved the ball for 425 yards and averaged an eye-catching seven yards per play.
Quarterback Lincoln Kienholz piled up 363 total yards and accounted for three touchdowns. Louisville now gets a bye before hosting Stanford.
Stanford also comes off a win, and it was a convincing one against Elon. The Cardinal rolled to a 34-7 victory behind more than 500 total yards on offense.
Given the two 50-plus point losses that came before it, any win had to feel like a lift, even against an FCS opponent. Stanford now gets a real chance to chase a second conference win with NC State coming to town Friday.
NC State enters that matchup off a bye, and the Wolfpack still feel like one of the more up-and-down teams in the league. They’ll head to Stanford in Week 8 looking for their second conference win.
Georgia Tech’s ranking takes a hit after its 34-24 loss to Virginia Tech in the TechMo Bowl. Alberto Mendoza helped cut what had been a 21-point deficit down to a touchdown, but the Hokies steadied themselves and closed the door in the second half. The Yellow Jackets now turn to a key conference game at home against Boston College this week.
Boston College, on the other hand, is headed the other way after its biggest boost of the season. The Eagles upset Pitt 27-21 for their first conference win, jumping to their highest spot in these rankings so far.
Mason McKenzie threw for nearly 300 yards and two touchdowns, while the defense forced three turnovers and held Pitt to 21 points. Another road test comes next, with Georgia Tech waiting Saturday.
Pitt has now dropped two straight, and the latest setback only deepened the concern around the program. Mason Heintschel’s injury has taken a real toll, and in the loss to Boston College, freshman quarterback Corey Dailey completed only 44% of his passes and threw two interceptions. The Panthers head to Miami this week needing something dramatic.
Virginia Tech’s win over Georgia Tech was one of the louder statements of the week. The Hokies snapped a two-game skid with a 34-24 victory, powered by four touchdown passes from Ethan Grunkemeyer and a career-best day from Que'Sean Brown. The reward is a major trip to Clemson in a primetime game at Death Valley, where Virginia Tech has not won since 2007.
Clemson, for its part, handled Charleston Southern 37-0 and now shifts full attention to the Hokies. Freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds and Dabo Swinney will try to defend home field against a Virginia Tech team that has been stuck in that building for nearly two decades.
North Carolina has climbed into a strong position after back-to-back wins over Pitt and Duke. Bill Belichek’s team is finding enough from Billy Edwards Jr. to keep winning, and the defense has looked solid through six games. Syracuse visits Chapel Hill this weekend.
Duke started 4-0, but the Blue Devils have now lost two in a row, including Saturday against in-state rival North Carolina. The offense has been limited outside of Nate Sheppard, and the defense hasn’t been able to carry its weight. Virginia is up next in Charlottesville.
Virginia’s own offense continues to sputter. The Cavaliers produced just 258 total yards in a 23-13 loss to SMU, and the defense had no real answer as the Mustangs rolled up 404 yards and nearly six yards per play. Virginia gets a chance to bounce back Friday when Duke comes to town in an ACC Championship rematch.
SMU keeps doing just enough, and that’s been the formula all season. The Mustangs beat Virginia 23-13 behind Kevin Jennings, who threw for 246 yards and two touchdowns.
It wasn’t flashy, but it was effective. SMU hosts Cal this weekend in what looms as a must-win conference game.
Wake Forest continues to look like the ACC’s No. 2 team. The Demon Deacons crushed Cal 41-7 on the road, a result that stood out because visiting that place has tripped up plenty of teams before, including Virginia Tech. Gio Lopez stayed hot with 267 passing yards and four touchdowns.
Cal had little to celebrate in that loss to Wake Forest after coming off its upset of Virginia Tech. The Golden Bears had very few positives in the 41-7 defeat, and the result raises more questions for the program.
Florida State came up just short in a wild 43-35 double-overtime loss to Miami, and the finish left the Seminoles with plenty to stew over. A touchdown was wiped out by a holding penalty, and on the next play Ashton Daniels threw a hail mary that ended in a controversial interception call rather than a simultaneous catch or touchdown. Daniels still finished with four passing touchdowns.
And at the top, Miami looks like the clear leader in the conference. The new No. 1 team in the country beat Florida State 43-35 in double overtime, and even Darian Mensah’s “worst game of the season” still produced 326 passing yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Right now, the question hanging over the league is simple: can anybody catch this Miami team?
In Other News...
Virginia Tech's Win Came With A Warning Before Clemson
Virginia Techs 34-24 win over Georgia Tech at Lane Stadium gave the Hokies a needed boost and moved them to 5-2, with Ethan Grunkemeyer delivering a clean outing and Que'Sean Brown turning in the kind of performance that can change a game in a hurry. Brown piled up a career-high 182 receiving yards and a touchdown, giving the offense a big-play spark while Grunkemeyer threw for 250 yards and three scores without an interception.
Still, the scoreboard only told part of the story, and the second half offered a reminder that the Hokies have some tightening up to do before Clemson arrives. Virginia Tech built a 24-3 halftime lead, then watched Georgia Tech settle in behind Alberto Mendoza, who threw for 335 yards, leaving the Hokies with a win and a warning in the same afternoon. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Tech Faces A Defining Test For James Franklin's Rebuild
Virginia Techs trip to Clemson brings a different kind of pressure to James Franklins rebuild, one that comes with a familiar backdrop and a lot more at stake than just another ACC road game. The Hokies have climbed to five wins after last years 3-9 finish, and they head into Memorial Stadium with a chance to turn that progress into something more tangible against a program that has long had their number.
Clemsons offense has not been especially sharp this season, but Virginia Techs own defensive issues make this a revealing matchup for both sides. For the Hokies, the setting matters as much as the opponent, because a strong showing in a place they have not visited since 2012 would say plenty about how far the program has come under Franklin, and how quickly it might be ready for the next step. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Tech Still Has One Problem Clemson Could Expose
Virginia Tech is trying to clean up the kind of issues that have cost it after halftime, and James Franklin spent part of the week acknowledging the problem while offering a practical fix. The Hokies coach said the team has been adjusting its practice schedule to better mirror game conditions, a sign that the staff knows the recent performance dip is not something it can ignore as the schedule tightens.
There is also some upside inside the roster, with Franklin pointing to the growth of Stevens along with freshmen Terry Wiggins and Benjamin Eziuka. Still, Clemson is the next test, and Virginia Tech will have to sort through a familiar defensive challenge with Tom Allen calling the Tigers' defense, a coach Franklin knows well. [Read more 🡒]