Virginia football shook up the college football world last Friday, topping Florida State 46-38. Where do the No. 24 ranked Cavaliers rank here? They rearrange the week 6 Atlantic Coast Conference power rankings while we find out how far the Seminoles tumble.
1. Miami (-)
The Hurricanes will need their rising potential first rounder Rueben Bain Jr. and the rest of a reignited defense Saturday. Tommy Castellanos has the potential to become the fastest quarterback Miami will face — even after bottling Byrum Brown and DJ Lagway.
2. Virginia (+5)
Time to put some respect on the Cavaliers and head coach Tony Elliott. The nation can also acknowledge QB Chandler Morris as a underrated College Football Transfer Portal addition after shredding FSU by land and air (combined five touchdowns with three rushing).
3. Georgia Tech (-)
The Yellow Jackets needed overtime to avoid their first loss of the season against Wake Forest. Seems like every other week Brent Fry's team gets a close one.
4. Louisville (-)
The undefeated Cardinals now welcome their first ranked foe at home — in the form of new top 25 entry Virginia. A victory can finally get UL nationally ranked.
5. Duke (-)
Intriguing passers take the field in the East Bay Area Saturday. Duke brings out dual-threat Darian Mensah while Cal features prized freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele.
6. Syracuse (-)
The Orange will aim for a huge bounce back after their debacle against Duke. Syracuse happens to get another team seeking to reestablish momentum in SMU.
7. Florida State (-5)
Call it a swap between FSU and Virginia. The ‘Noles drop five spots after the eight-point upset loss. But can spark No. 1 in the ACC conversations by toppling No. 3 Miami at Doak S. Campbell Stadium.
8. Cal (+4)
The true freshman QB Sagapolutele faced one of the better secondaries in the conference. And still delivered 254 yards in the 28-24 emotional road win for the Golden Bears, placing them back in the top 10 here.
9. Pittsburgh (-)
The Panthers stay neutral at No. 9 and host a struggling Boston College team Saturday. They'll need to create momentum this weekend before pulling into Tallahassee next week.
10. North Carolina State (-2)
NC State is trekking backwards after its 3-0 start. They failed to complete a fourth-and-short throw in falling to the previous last ranked Virginia Tech Hokies.
11. Wake forest (-)
Jake Dickert's team handed one of the conference's best teams quite the scare. Suddenly the Saturday road trip to Blacksburg, though, involves a red-hot opponent.
12. SMU (-)
October will determine if SMU gets back into ACC contention. The Mustangs have nothing but unranked or struggling opponents (Syracuse, Stanford, Clemson and Wake Forest) before hosting Miami in Dallas to start November.
13. North Carolina (-)
One month ago Bill Belichick versus Dabo Swinney would've been a widely watched coaching battle. Now online jokesters petitioned for Clemson vs. North Carolina to be aired on Comedy Central or Cartoon Network — considering how bad both teams are.
14. Virginia Tech (+3)
Maybe Phillip Montgomery is the guy moving forward for Virginia Tech. He's guided consecutive wins since taking over as interim head coach.
15. Stanford (-)
Frank Reich got the Cardinal to knock off their Bill Walsh Legacy game rival San Jose State. Stanford has a bye before an intriguing slate featuring SMU, Florida State and Miami — with FSU coming to Palo Alto.
16. Clemson (-2)
At least Swinney can try to get this 2025 highlight: Beating the six-time Super Bowl winning head coach on the same college football field. But it feels like someone's season is on the line here.
17. Boston College (-1)
Cal beat an experienced defense with a QB who was in high school just last year. Now the Eagles are sliding backwards with their three-game losing streak.
