The Atlantic Coast Conference comes with friction out of Clemson this week. Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney has his coaching seat heating up after a 1-3 start. We'll see if the Syracuse win over Clemson catapults the Orange into the top 10 of the power rankings this week, plus if Miami and Florida State stay neutral.
1. Miami (-)
Carson Beck is fueling Heisman Trophy hype with eight combined touchdowns during the undefeated start. But same with edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. — who's looked dominating on an improved defense. Plus Bain relentlessly attacked Florida after the Saturday romp.
2. Florida State (-)
Tommy Castellanos handed FSU fans a brief scare. But the Seminoles steamrolled to a 66-10 rout of Kent State. Now they have a big road trip Friday against a surging Virginia team.
3. Georgia Tech (-)
The Yellow Jackets continue to gash teams via the ground game — hitting 307 yards in the rout of Temple. Haynes King combined for three touchdowns at quarterback while Jamal Haynes added 107 rushing yards.
4. Louisville (-)
Miller Moss delivered his first-ever 300-yard passing day with the Cardinals on Saturday. That's the Moss UL needs with the ACC gauntlet next.
5. Duke (+3)
The Blue Devils reappear in the top five here — by virtue of beating last week's No. 5 North Carolina State. Darian Mensah lit up the previous unbeaten Wolfpack with three passing touchdowns.
6. Syracuse (+8)
The Orange take the biggest leap up eight spots, and into the top 10 here. Syracuse now only must deal with the meat of its schedule in late October — with No. 16 Georgia Tech, No. 2 Miami and No. 22 Notre Dame all on the road.
7. Virginia (+5)
The Cavaliers are looking in stronger shape under Tony Elliott. They'll spark top 25 chatter if UVA stuns Florida State in Charlottesville Friday.
8. North Carolina State (-3)
The Wolfpack surrendered 45 points and 418 total yards to the Blue Devils. NC State can rebound by hosting Virginia Tech and Campbell before the road trip to Notre Dame.
9. Pittsburgh (-)
The Panthers needed a week to recover from the Backyard Brawl. Now they have undefeated Louisville, but a win rekindles top five talk.
10. Wake Forest (+1)
The Demon Deacons should expect a good size crowd for No. 16 Georgia Tech. A win over the Yellow Jackets will signal Jake Dickert has really turned the culture around right away.
11. SMU (-5)
The Mustangs boasted one of the ACC's best defenses a year ago. But they've surrendered too many points to in-state rivals Baylor and TCU. Now they get Syracuse in two weeks.
12. Cal (-5)
The Golden Bears looked literally lifeless down in San Diego after a very strong start. This is unfortunately where past Justin Wilcox teams take a tumble — which Cal must avoid starting with Boston College Saturday.
13. North Carolina (-)
Bill Belichick and the Tar Heels are teetering towards this title: Most overhyped ACC team, perhaps even the most overhyped team across the nation. UCF simply embarrassed then trolled UNC.
14. Clemson (-4)
The Tigers officially are gone from the top 10. There's already chatter of where Swinney should go if Clemson goes another direction. A loss to North Carolina could really intensify the firing idea.
15. Stanford (-)
Bryce Farrell looked explosive with 135 receiving yards, but Stanford didn't have much highlights in Charlottesville. Now the Cardinal have the Bill Walsh Game against San Jose State.
16. Boston College (-)
The Eagles can avoid the Bay Area sweep against Cal. But must recapture their defensive prowess, which went non-existent against the Cardinal.
17. Virginia Tech (-)
At least Phillip Montgomery got the Hokies into the win column. Though it was against winless Wofford. The interim head coach Montgomery and the Hokies now have a tough one versus NC State next.
