ACC Football Power Rankings 2017: Week 1 edition

The Syracuse Orange are another team looking to turn a corner in the ACC. They went 2-6 in conference play last season, stealing victories against Virginia Tech and Boston College in back-to-back weeks.

Their offense is nothing to scoff at, as it ranked second last season in passing yards per game (321.3). It’s everywhere else where the Orange need to improve. Defensively, they allowed 38.6 points per game, 120th in the FBS.

In year two under head coach Dino Babers, the Orange will look to improve upon their mistakes. They return 19 starters on both sides of the ball.

The Duke Blue Devils took a few steps back in 2016 after going 8-5 in 2015. The Blue Devils went 4-8 (1-7 ACC) a season ago under head coach David Cutcliffe.

Inexperienced quarterback play and holes on defense left the Blue Devils exposed on many fronts. They hope the 2017 season ends a bit better but there’s still room for improvement for the Duke football program.

Quarterback Daniel Jones will use his first-year as starter as a stepping stone in 2017 with experienced receivers Johnathan Lloyd and T.J. Rahming on the field. Expect the Blue Devils to climb the rankings sooner rather than later.

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are another team that struggled mightily in 2016, at least in ACC play. The Yellow Jackets won nine games to finish the season, but won just four games in conference play.

Their defense didn’t have the strength up front to put much pressure on quarterbacks and as a result, the outcome didn’t go in Georgia Tech’s favor.

Quarterback Justin Thomas is now gone and now enters Matthew Jordan. Jordan gave fans a preview of his abilities in the Yellow Jackets upset victory of the Hokies 30-20 in Blacksburg. Jordan ran for 121 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 32 rushing attempts in the game.