ACC Power Rankings Week 8: Virginia Tech, N.C. St., Georgia Tech Fall, Florida St. Still No. 1

Saturday Blitz ACC Power Rankings Week 8

We said at the beginning of the season that the Pittsburgh Panthers would be a model of massive inconsistency with such a young team, and boy has that every come through!!! The Panthers teased us with a 3-0 start only to stumble to 3-3 in a slide that included a 21-10 loss to Akron. But the young team is slowly learning how to win, and it showed against Virginia Tech on Saturday.

Pittsburgh turned quarterback Chad Voytik’s dual-threat abilities loose on Saturday, as he had 118 rushing yards but only 92 passing yards. That, combined with defense and James Conner at quarterback, has allowed the Panthers to maybe find an identity. The defense and running game were already there, but quarterback play was suspect. Now, if Voytik can add another element to the run game, that’ll make his passing more effective when it’s needed and improve the offense.

And if the Pitt offense improves, watch out down the road. Getting to 6 wins for this young team isn’t easy with Georgia Tech and Duke up next, but North Carolina and Syracuse are after that, and they close the season against Miami. Are the Panthers good enough to beat two of those teams.

We think so, which is why they are right in the middle of our power rankings.

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