ACC Football Power Rankings, Week 6: Can someone wake Clemson up, please?

Duke flips spots with Pitt here. The Duke win was far more impressive than Pitt’s but all will be settled when they play one another next week.

It took the Blue Devils a bit to get started against the Hokies last Friday night, but when they got going, they didn’t look back. Quentin Harris ran the “new-look” Duke offense to perfection throwing for two touchdowns and running for another. They were faster, and more physical than Virginia Tech. Most left them for dead after the Alabama game, but they just had “Alabama is that good” amnesia.

It was shocking how they handled the Hokies in Blacksburg. Outside of Deshawn McClease, the Hokie offense is in shambles, and Duke took full advantage forcing two turnovers, and limiting Virginia Tech to 4-of-13 on third downs. This power offense Duke is running is going to be an interesting watch when they take on the Pitt Panthers at Wallace Wade Saturday night.

It was a tale of two halves in South Bend for the Cavaliers, but the game went as expected. Bronco Mendenhall had the ‘Hoos were ready to play, but they were outmatched by the Irish.

Wide receivers Joe Reed and Hasise Dubois had big first halves, but were limited in the second half by the Irish defense. The Cavaliers had a great game plan, and it showed in the first half. However, a letdown was expected after a game the magnitude of the one the Irish played last week in Athens. Notre Dame defensive coordinator Clark Lea did a masterful job of making halftime adjustments against the Virginia offense.

No, this isn’t a Notre Dame power ranking, but Mendenhall and the Wahoos got to see where they need to build and improve. They definitely need to build upfront, the Virginia offensive line surrendered eight sacks.

The good news? This is the best defense they’ll face this season. The bad news? They face the second-best defense they’ll see this season next week when they travel to Miami Gardens to face the Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium.

The Deacons flipped spots with Virginia because they won. This is the first time since their Orange Bowl season of 2007 the Demon Deacons are 5-0. They aren’t doing it with smoke and mirrors.

Jamie Newman is proving he’s the absolute right choice at quarterback for Wake Forest. Sam Hartman is a try-hard with moxie and a good head for the game, but in Dave Clawson’s run-centered offense, they needed a quarterback that can make plays with his legs as well as his arm. Newman can push the ball down field with his big arm in ways that Hartman can’t.

They have a big game against Louisville after their bye week, and the Cardinals are capable of defeating the Deacons and spoiling their undefeated season.

Trevor Lawrence and the Tigers did finally wake up, after the game. They slept through a 21-20 win against the North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday. The Tigers are fine; the Tar Heels didn’t expose anything about Clemson except the fact that they are playing themselves and boredom as much as they are playing the opposition every week.

However, Dabo Swinney has some good coaching points that just might wake his boys up this week going into their bye.

Everyone is talking about what Alabama’s doing to their opponents this season, especially their offense. Gas bags and prognosticators are all pontificating on how Clemson is getting exposed and Lawrence isn’t as advertised. You can hear him in practice now, “They’re putting us on the ROY bus again boys.”

What better statement to make coming off a bye week than against Florida State at home at Death Valley East. I can almost guarantee that Clemson plays mean and ornery on Oct. 12.