Week 11 of the College Football season is in the books, and while most conferences have a clear pecking order, the ACC is the opposite. The past two weeks in the ACC have been filled with shocking upsets, leaving no unbeaten teams in league play, and a wide-open race for the ACC Championship Game.
As we head down the final stretch of the season, the race for Charlotte is still up in the air and impossible to predict based on what we've seen this season. The next few weeks will determine whether or not this team can find a way to get two teams into the playoffs, or if disaster leaves the ACC out of the race completely.
ACC Power Rankings: Upsets run wild in consecutive weeks
Fran Brown's team has been derailed by their injuries at the quarterback position as Rickie Collins returned this week, but the offense still wasn't nearly good enough. The rest of this season is going to be rough, and Brown's going to need to make sure he builds this team with a backup plan going forward, as Collins hasn't been nearly good enough filling in for Steve Angeli.
Bill O'Brien's team has been a disaster as the Boston College Eagles dropped their 9th game in a row on Saturday. The offense picked up plenty of yards, but when facing a team like SMU, you can't afford to turn the ball over 3 times. The defense struggled the entire game as SMU picked up 18.5 yards per completion and 7.2 yards per rush allowing them to do whatever they wanted. This team now has an uphill battle of facing a motivated Georgia Tech team coming off the bye before their last real chance to win an ACC game against Syracuse.
The Stanford Cardinal lost what was likely their last chance at a win on Saturday, falling to Bill Belichick's North Carolina Tar Heels. This season was always going to be difficult given the transition in the spring, but this team has shown encouraging signs for the future. Elijah Brown looks like an exciting player for the future at quarterback, while Micah Ford is a great running back for this offense to run through.
The Florida State Seminoles have truly reached disaster level under Mike Norvell as they dropped another game in league play. On Saturday, they faced the Clemson team that has also been a massive failure and only managed to score 10 points in the loss. The future of the program will be determined over the next few weeks, but it’s becoming clear that Florida State needs to change a ton this offseason.
Bill Belichick's team is quietly improving as they've picked up back-to-back wins in ACC play. This weekend's 20-15 win over Stanford wasn't pretty, but it was important that they avoided losing to Stanford. Gio Lopez had an impressive game, passing for 203 yards and a pair of scores, and as he keeps improving, this team will only be better next season.
The Virginia Tech Hokies spent the weekend on the bye as they prepare for the final stretch of what is ultimately a lost season. Even though the Hokies fired Brent Pry early in the season, and players entered the Transfer Portal, this team hasn't quit on the season, and they could play spoiler down the stretch.
Wake Forest continues to be a confusing team, as a weekend after getting demolished by Florida State, they bounced back with an upset win over Virginia handing the Cavaliers their first loss in league play. The defense was dominant, holding Virginia out of the endzone through the final play to secure the win. The offense was very ineffective, taking advantage of a punt return touchdown and short field position, but they also took care of the football, allowing the defense to win the game. Jake Dickert's done an excellent job in Year 1 on the job, making the future even more exciting.
NC State spent the weekend on the bye after its upset win over Georgia Tech, which shook the entire conference. The bye week was much needed, and it hopefully will give this team some of its biggest stars back for the final stretch as they'll face Miami, Florida State, and North Carolina, needing one more win to make a bowl game.
The Duke Blue Devils continue to be one of the most frustrating teams in the Country as they dropped another game, this time to UConn. The defense allowed 37 points while Darian Mensah's two interceptions directly set up a pair of UConn field goals. The Blue Devils still have just 1 loss in ACC play giving them a chance at the conference championship, but they've been so inconsistent it's impossible to imagine they won't take another loss.
On Saturday, Cal looked determined to pull off an upset, bringing Louisville into a battle and never letting up. In overtime, Justin Wilcox trusted his team to go for the win instead of forcing overtime, and it panned out, giving Cal a massive win. The Golden Bears have a quarterback to build around in Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, and if they can hold onto him, they'll be a factor in the ACC for years to come.
While Dabo Swinney’s team has been a disappointment, they still have all the talent to show up and win any game. The defense, a week after giving up 46 points to Duke, shut down the Florida State offense, holding them to just 10 points. The offense played a clean game, scoring 24 points to bring home the win. This game is just another example of why this Clemson season is so disappointing, as they clearly have the talent needed to win the ACC.
While everything broke Virginia's way in the ACC, they were playing with fire the past few weeks, and it finally caught up to them. Chandler Morris left the game with an injury, and Daniel Kaelin couldn't get the offense in the end zone to cap off the win. Virginia's still in a great place to play in the ACC Championship Game, but their hopes of getting an At-Large bid likely died this weekend.
Louisville found itself in a battle with Cal the entire game on Saturday, needing a 4th quarter field goal to force overtime. In overtime, the Cardinals were only able to kick a field goal, and Cal went with a big gamble, going for it on 4th and Goal, cashing in to upset the Cardinals. The Cardinals are still in the hunt for the playoffs, but without Isaac Brown, this team is very vulnerable, as the offense isn't nearly as effective.
The SMU Mustangs are starting to hit their stride as they cruised to a 45-13 win over Boston College to move to 5-1 in league play. Kevin Jennings Jr only completed 50% of his passes, but threw for 326 yards and 3 touchdowns, picking up chunk play after chunk play. T.J. Harden had his best game of the season, rushing for 130 yards, powering this offense on the ground. Rhett Lashlee's team now goes on the bye before a pivotal game in the ACC race against Louisville.
Pittsburgh spent the weekend on the bye, and its surge in the ACC was only helped by some of the losses we saw from teams in contention for the Conference Championship. The final 3 games of the season for Pitt will have a massive impact on the Playoff race as they face Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, and Miami.
After taking the 2nd loss of the season, Miami had a much easier challenge as they got to face a reeling Syracuse team. The Hurricanes' offense outpowered the Orange to the point where Francis Mauigoa scored a rushing touchdown and Carson Beck caught a touchdown pass. This is still the most talented team in the ACC, and while they'll need a ton of help to win the league, they'll have a great chance to make the Playoff if they keep winning games.
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets spent the weekend on the bye after blowing a golden opportunity to win the ACC, and they'll return to action right back at the top of the conference. All of the chaos in the conference has Georgia Tech back with a chance to win the ACC, and this week will bring an easier game against Boston College before a game that could determine the league against Pitt.