Another week of college football, another edition of the ACC: The Always Chaos Conference! What happened this week?
We had only one of the craziest endings of the season in the Miami/Florida State game! In double overtime, the Seminoles appeared to score a TD on a 4th-and-21 hail mary, only for a controversial holding penalty to take it off the board.
On the next play, the ball went into a mob of players on both sides and was controversially ruled an interception for Miami. Two consecutive Hail Marys, both appeared to be completed, and neither counted! Always Chaos!
MORE: 4 biggest risers in College Football after Week 7
Ranks 10-6
10. Florida State
How can a team vault its way into the top-10 after a loss? It comes down to the competition for the spot: Pitt and Cal both looked bad, and NC State was on a bye. FSU, meanwhile, went blow-for-blow with conference favorite Miami. This whole “let Ashton Daniels run around and try to make something happen” offense is not only entertaining, but could be effective over the second half of the season.
9. Duke
The Blue Devils couldn’t quite get past rivals North Carolina, losing 24-20. This is a flawed team, but Nate Sheppard covers up a lot of flaws. When Sheppard inevitably gets banged up, like he did for parts of the last two games, those flaws get worse. They must keep him healthy while also giving him 25+ touches every week to win. That’s a tough ask.
8. Virginia
The ‘Hoos didn’t look terrible in a 23-13 loss against a solid SMU squad, so they get to remain in the top-10 for now. Beau Pribula used his legs a little more in this game, running 10 times. As a runner more than a thrower, Pribula’s improved running is a good sign, and they need him to keep it up if they want to finish the season strong.
7. Virginia Tech
Penn State sure wishes they had Ethan Grunkemeyer right about now. He was efficient, 15/22 for 250 yards and 3 TDs through the air, and added another TD on the ground in Virginia Tech’s 34-24 win over Georgia Tech. They’re officially the best “Tech” in the ACC.
6. North Carolina
Are Bill Belichick’s Tar Heels… good? A late TD run sprung the Heels past Duke for a 24-20 victory. Billy Edwards Jr. doesn’t dazzle with stats, but he’s taken care of the football and gotten the job done, and the defense has been stout in conference play. Sitting at 4-2 halfway through the season, this team should certainly get to bowl eligibility.
MORE: 4 biggest fallers in College Football after Week 7
Top 5
5. Clemson
Clemson won 37-0 in Week 7… but it was against FCS Charleston Southern. Tait Reynolds continues to underwhelm as a passer, and they’ll need to improve if they truly want to contend for an ACC Championship. However, when you peek at that remaining schedule, they could certainly win out.
4. Louisville
Between the aforementioned Grunkeyemer, as well as the not-yet-mentioned Lopez, Jennings, and Mensah, and Louisville’s Lincoln Kienholz, the ACC has a really solid crop of QBs this season. Kienholz threw for 310 yards and ran for 2 TDs against Syracuse in Week 7. The Cardinals are still lurking – they will need help, but they could absolutely still make it to Charlotte.
3. Wake Forest
It’s time to acknowledge that the Demon Deacons are a very good football team. Facing a “trap game” on a cross-country road trip to Cal, without star WR Carlos Hernandez, the Deacs responded with a 41-7 thrashing of the Golden Bears that was never close. Gio Lopez was outstanding. Jake Dickert is probably going to get a bag to move somewhere bigger this offseason.
2. SMU
Why does SMU continue to be ranked #2 on this list? Kevin Jennings. Now that he’s more experienced, he’s one of the best QBs in the country, and SMU has the ability to change the game around on one deep completion at any time. That’s precisely what they did against Virginia. The November date against Wake Forest may determine who goes to Charlotte.
1. Miami
Miami almost Miami’d against Florida State. In his time as Miami head coach, Mario Cristobal has made a habit of having his Hurricanes lose an inexplicable game to a team they are more talented than. They almost did it to FSU. But thanks to Darian Mensah finding Malachi Toney in double overtime, the Hurricanes got out unscathed and will now be ranked #1 in the country. For now.
— Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories with The Big Lead Newsletter —