While everyone had their eye on the loaded schedule in the SEC, the ACC quietly provided some of the best storylines of the weekend. This weekend started with the Miami Hurricanes suffering a shocking loss to Louisville changing the dynamic of the league. The only story bigger than Miami losing may have been Florida State losing their 4th ACC game of the season as it's becoming shocking how far this program has fallen.,
After Miami lost this weekend, the race for the ACC is truly wide open with plenty of teams still in contention for the Conference Championship. The final stretch of games in the ACC will be incredible to watch as it'll end up shaping the College Football Playoff race.
Power Ranking the ACC: Miami opened the door for everyone
Bill O'Brien's Boston College Eagles are quietly one of the worst teams at the Power 4 level, as their latest loss drops this team to just 1-6 on the season. Saturday brought an embarrassing 38-23 loss to UConn as the Huskies outscored the Eagles 21-3 in the second half. After winning the first game of the season against Fordham, it's likely this team will lose every other game as this was the last winnable game left on the schedule.
The North Carolina Tar Heels showed signs of improvement on Friday Night, but they have to be kicking themselves for letting a win slip away. A fumble on the first play of the game set Cal up with a short field to take a 7-0 lead, while a fumble at the goal line in the final minutes kept UNC from taking the lead. This team certainly showed improvement, but they still have a long way to go, especially on offense.
It wasn't pretty for Cal on Friday Night, but they picked up another win in league play, knocking off North Carolina. The defense forced two key fumbles, one of which came at the goal line when the game hung in the balance to secure victory. The offense still has several areas it needs to improve in, but with a true freshman under center, the growing pains are expected.
The way the Florida State Seminoles have collapsed in ACC play has been so incredible it's hard to fathom. On Saturday Night, the Seminoles became the first team in College Football history to lose when recording 440 yards of offense while outgaining its opponent by 150 yards and winning the turnover battle. The pressure is ramping up on Mike Norvell to the point where he could get fired before the bye week is even over.
Losing Quarterback Steve Angeli for the season has derailed the Orange as the offense has drastically fallen off. On Saturday, Rickie Collins threw 3 interceptions, which directly led to 10 points, putting this game out of reach. Fran Brown has proven he can still win with a talent disadvantage, and with 3 ranked opponents lingering on the schedule, this team may end up getting an upset win.
Given how this offseason changed everything, the Stanford Cardinal could've quit, yet every week, they continue to fight for Frank Reich. On Saturday, QB Ben Gulbranson and RB Micah Ford left this game in the 1st half, yet the Cardinal still found a way to upset Florida State. This program is rebuilding, but the way this team is fighting has been encouraging for the future.
Wake Forest spent the weekend on the bye after demolishing the Oregon State Beavers to the point that they fired their head coach. Overall, this group is starting to look much improved under Jake Dickert and the final half of this season will be interesting to watch for the future of this program.,
The NC State Wolfpack spent the weekend on the bye after getting demolished by Notre Dame last weekend. The back half of the season is going to be a massive test for this team as they have big games against Georgia Tech and Miami lingering as another season around the .500 mark could lead to some changes.
On Friday Night, Cal escaped against North Carolina in a game where this team easily could’ve lost. If not for forcing a fumble on the opening drive and as North Carolina was about to take the lead Cal would’ve blown an easily winnable game. The offense has to get better at playing more consistently throughout the game otherwise this team is vulnerable every weekend.
Saturday gave the Duke Blue Devils a great chance to help their chances of winning the ACC, as they could've remained unbeaten in league play while handing Georgia Tech its first loss. Instead, the Blue Devils allowed 17 unanswered points in the 4th quarter before Duke finally got on the scoreboard. This team clearly has the pieces to be a factor in the ACC, but falling short in this game is another example of how they're still a long way from being a serious contender.
Dabo Swinney's team was without Cade Klubnik on Saturday, leading to another loss in a lost season. The defense is one of the most disappointing groups, as a front 7 loaded with talent couldn't step up in a game when the offense was compromised. Dabo Swinney's job feels safe, and this group should turn its focus to developing the younger pieces for the 2026 season.
The Pittsburgh Panthers picked up another win with Mason Heintschel at quarterback, but the offense doesn't deserve the credit. The defense came up big for the Panthers forcing Rickie Collins to throw 3 interceptions directly leading to 10 points. The schedule the rest of the way is difficult, but this team has turned a corner since the quarterback change.
While the SMU Mustangs got tripped up twice in Non-Conference play, Rhett Lashlee looks like he has his team rolling in league play. On Saturday, SMU got to beat a Clemson team that was missing Cade Klubnik, avenging their loss in the 2024 ACC Championship. This team finally has its rushing attack clicking, which makes this offense dangerous in a league with volatile quarterbacks.
It wasn't pretty, but Tony Elliott's team escaped with a victory in a game where they trailed by 10 heading into the 4th quarter. The game was won on a game-winning safety, which is always rare to see and never how the team saw the game playing out. The win over Florida State has aged poorly, but this team is still unbeaten in league play with one of the easiest ACC schedules remaining.
With all the attention on this game, the Louisville Cardinals shocked the world on Friday Night, knocking off the unbeaten Miami Hurricanes. The defense was stellar, forcing 4 interceptions, including one in the final moments of the game to seal the win. Isaac Brown and Chris Bell were dominant for the Cardinals, combining for 249 yards and 2 touchdowns on 24 touches to power this team to a win.
Just when everyone thought that the Miami Hurricanes were different this season, they came out and reminded everyone they're still going to get tripped up. Carson Beck had an abysmal game, throwing 4 interceptions, which kept the offense from ever finding a rhythm and cost the Canes the game. This is still one of the most talented teams in the Country, but it's hard to trust that Beck won't cost this team again.
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets have had everything break perfectly for them, especially as Miami suffered its first loss this weekend. On Saturday, Georgia Tech further positioned itself to make the ACC Championship and the College Football Playoff by handing Duke its first loss in league play. Haynes King is arguably the best quarterback in the ACC, and sometimes that's all you need to go on a run in the league and the Playoff.