ACC Football: Owen Hillman’s Power Rankings after Week 2

Week 2 of the college football season came and went with the stakes ramped up. Fans got to see some truly great matchups (see: Texas vs. Ohio State) and, on top of that, conference play started for a few teams, including some in the ACC. It gave me a lot more clarity in my rankings this week, although there’s still a lot of the season left to go.

Owen Hillman’s ACC Power Rankings after Week 2

My top four remains the same: Miami at No. 1, SMU at No. 2, Louisville at No. 3, and Virginia at No. 4. Miami defeated FAMU 77-7, scoring on all but the final drive in both halves. SMU won 56-10 against UC Davis, with Kevin Jennings having five touchdown passes. Louisville and Virginia also won big against Football Championship Subdivision opponents, with Louisville winning 59-13 against Villanova and Virginia beating Norfolk State 59-3. All of them stay the same, and they stay there for the same reason.

However, teams 5-7 has a bit of motion. Pitt falls to no. 7 on my list after barely squeaking by with a win against the lowly UCF Knights. Pitt was leading 12-0 at halftime, but they punted on all of their second-half drives and won 12-7. The game was a monsoon the entire way through, but their running game could only muster up 103 yards on 43 carries. Ja’Kyrian Turner missed the game, so his return will be huge against Syracuse, their first ACC test.

As a result of the Panthers falling, Virginia Tech moves up a spot to No. 5. Their 44-21 win against Old Dominion was another great sign of progress in the Franklin era, since the Monarchs have given them trouble in recent matchups. The Duke Blue Devils, meanwhile, move up to No. 6 from No. 10, the highest any team moved up this week.

The Blue Devils won a close game against the Big Ten’s Illinois Fighting Illini, and now they’ve won two games they lost last season. I didn’t think they looked super impressive against Tulane, but their offense played much better against Illinois, and Nathan Sheppard is the early frontrunner for the first All-ACC running back.

Cal and NC State stay put at No. 8 and No. 9. The Wolfpack got a nice 73-0 win over Richmond to wash off the disappointing loss to the Virginia Cavaliers in the first game.  The Golden Bears won 21-18 against the Syracuse Orange, but I wasn’t impressed with their offensive output until the fourth quarter. They were down 12-0 by the second quarter, and they had just 14 offensive points the entire game. If it weren’t for a pick-six by safety Kingston Lopa, the Orange would’ve completed the upset.

Bottom Half

Speaking of Syracuse, they slide up to No. 11 after their performance against Cal. They need to get more disciplined; they had 26 penalties in the first two games, and Steve Angeli had three interceptions. The Wake Forest Demon Deacons rise up to No. 10, slightly ahead of the Orange again. Their 38-36 win against the Purdue Boilermakers was gutsy, and yeah, it’s not great to have a defensive-minded coach like Jake Dickert give up 36 points to Purdue, but Gio Lopez looking great gives me more confidence in Wake Forest.

That’s where we get to the biggest droppers: the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. They fall to No. 12 from No. 8 after their blowout loss to the Tennessee Volunteers. Sure, Tennessee could be a playoff team this season, and their offense is otherworldly, but it feels like Georgia Tech struggled in the trenches much more than you’d like out of a Brent Key-coached team. They play Mercer this upcoming Saturday before facing Stanford in an early spoiler game.

The Florida State Seminoles drop a spot to No. 13, due to Syracuse and Wake Forest rising up. North Carolina rises up a spot ot No. 14 after their 35-3 win against East Tennessee State. I don’t know if TCU is good or not this season, so it’s a hard barometer to gauge the Tar Heels on, but they play Clemson next week, who I have at No. 15. If they win in blowout fashion, they could easily rise further.

Stanford and Boston College stay at the bottom at No. 16 and No. 17. Stanford had a bye, and Boston College beat Rutgers, which is the equivalent of a bye.

Week 3 Matchups to Watch

Next week, there are a ton of matchups that could shake up my rankings. Syracuse travels to Pitt to play the Panthers on Thursday, Sept. 17, Wake Forest and Miami duke it out on Friday, Sept. 18, and North Carolina plays Clemson in a hot-seat battle at noon on Sept. 19.

There are also some great non-conference matchups, like N.C. State playing Vanderbilt, FSU looking to win against Alabama again, West Virginia taking on Virginia, and Virginia Tech traveling to Maryland. The most important game of the bunch is SMU vs. Louisville. I’m glad we get to see these teams at full strength, unlike last season, and this could be an early determinant on who makes the ACC title game.

Owen’s ACC Rankings After Week 2

1. Miami Hurricanes (2-0, at Wake Forest)
2. SMU Mustangs (2-0, at Louisville)
3. Louisville Cardinals (1-1, vs. SMU)
4. Virginia Cavaliers (2-0, vs. West Virginia)
5. Virginia Tech Hokies (2-0, at Maryland) +1
6. Duke Blue Devils (2-0, vs. Stanford) +4
7. Pitt Panthers (2-0, vs. Syracuse) -1
8. Cal Golden Bears (1-1, vs. Wagner)
9. N.C. State Wolfpack (1-1, at Vanderbilt)
10. Syracuse Orange (1-1, at Pitt) +3
11. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (2-0, vs. Miami) +3
12. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (0-2, vs. Mercer) -4
13. Florida State Seminoles (1-1, at Alabama) -1
14. North Carolina Tar Heels (2-0, at Clemson) +1
15. Clemson Tigers (1-1, vs. North Carolina)
16. Stanford Cardinal (1-1, @ Duke)
17. Boston College Eagles (1-1, at Maine)