Ranking the ACC After Week 12 of College Football Action

Congratulations to the Clemson Tigers. They won the ACC's Atlantic Division Saturday. They will face the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the ACC Championship game. I can't wait for that one!

North Carolina continues to play the best football in the conference outside of the two division winners. They went to Boston College and ended the Eagles faint hopes of winning the Atlantic Division.

Previous All About Sports Blog Rankings
Pre-season |Wk 1 |Wk 2 |Wk 3  |Wk 4 |Wk 5 |Wk 6 |Wk 7  |Wk 8 |Wk 9 |Wk 10 |Wk 11

1) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (10-1, 7-1) - Last Week 1

The Jackets were off this week getting some much needed rest. Next week is the showdown with in-state rival the Georgia Bulldogs.

The Dawgs will be coming in off a embarrassing home loss to a mediocre Kentucky team. If the Yellow Jackets are truly an elite team, they'll beat UGA.

2) Clemson Tigers (8-3, 6-2) - Last Week 2

Time for Tiger fans to make the trip to Tampa and the ACCCG! Clemson didn't play especially well against a bad Virginia team. In particular, the defense gave up 21 points in the first half.

It's nothing to be too worried about, though. The Tigers didn't need their A game, and knowing that Boston College had already lost clinching the division for Clemson probably took the edge off. They'll be ready for their in-state rival South Carolina next week.

3) North Carolina Tar Heels (8-3, 4-3) - Last Week 3

Is North Carolina playing well or what? They went on the road and hammered a decent Boston College team 31-13. The UNC defense held BC to under 200 yards, forced 6 turnovers, and scored 2 touchdowns.

The Tar Heels' recent play has moved them into the upper tier of ACC Bowls. They face a reeling NC State team next week.

4) Virginia Tech Hokies (8-3, 5-2) - Last Week 4

The Hokies pounded NC State 38-10 on Senior Day in Blacksburg. Running back Ryan Williams had another big day. He had 120 yards rushing and four touchdowns.

The defense was solid. NC State only had 259 yards of total offense and just 14 yards on the ground. Virginia Tech gets to put Al Groh and Virginia out of their misery next week.

5) Miami Hurricanes (8-3, 5-3) - Last Week 5

Miami beat Duke 34-16, but the game was much closer than the score indicates. Duke led 16-13 going into the 4th quarter before the Canes had a 21-point final period. The Hurricanes did have nearly 500 yards of total offense.

Hey, city of Miami, why don't you support the best Hurricanes team in years? There were only 38,200 in attendance. It's clear the top five ACC teams have really separated themselves from the rest of the conference.

6) Boston College Eagles (7-4, 4-3) - Last Week 6

For Boston College to even be in the discussion for an ACC Division title this late into the season is a testament to the job Frank Spaziani and his staff this year. They ran into red-hot North Carolina team today, and were just overmatched in the 31-13 loss.

Montel Harris had yet another 100 yard game. Ryan Williams, Jonathan Dwyer, and C.J Spiller are the ACC backs that get most of the publicity, but Harris is a fine running back in his own right.

If the Eagles can go into College Park and beat Maryland, they would have a remarkable eight-win regular season with a chance at nine total wins.

7) Florida State Seminoles (6-5, 4-4) - Last Week 7

The Noles were 32 seconds away from what would have been humiliating defeat at the hands of the Maryland Terrapins, but they pulled out a 29-26 victory. The good news is that Florida State locked up a bowl bid.

The bad news is they play the Florida Gators next week. The Seminoles won, but this is not a good team.

Oddly enough they have won four of their last five games, but does anyone really feel this is a team that's improved over the course of the year? I don't.

I can't remember when I saw a worse Florida State defense. They gave up over 400 yards of offense today to Maryland.

8) Duke Blue Devils (5-6, 3-4) - Last Week 8

Sadly Duke's shot a bowl is over. Asking them to defeat Georgia Tech or Miami was just too much to ask. Thaddeus Lewis had over 300 yards passing in the losing effort.

What's next for the Dukies? The face Wake Forest next week, and a 6-6 season would still be a nice accomplishment.

9) Wake Forest Demon Deacons (4-7, 2-5) - Last Week 10

Wake Forest had a week off to think about what could have been this season. There have been five losses by three points or less.

The Deacs will try finish the season on a positive note, and hope the Virginia Cavaliers don't try to make a run at Jim Grobe. Wake plays the Duke Blue Devils next week.

10) North Carolina State Wolfpack (4-7, 1-6) - Last Week 9

The Wolfpack have won one$ game since September, and are one of the most disappointing teams in the ACC. Today they lost by four touchdowns in the 38-10 loss to Virginia Tech. I think NC State fans need to start questioning the direction of this program.

That's three straight losing seasons by head coach Tom O'Brien. Coaches like Dabo Swinney and Paul Johnson have their teams in the Championship game in only their second seasons, while the NC State appears to be gradually getting worse.

11) Virginia Cavaliers (3-8, 2-5) - Last Week 11

The Cavaliers gave it their all. QB Jameel Sewell in particular played his heart out. He spent the entire second half running for his life; often extending plays far beyond what they should have went.

In the end, Clemson was just to good for the Cavs. I spoke with a Virginia fan at the game that said he expected the game at Virginia to be half-full of Hokie fans. ouch...

12) Maryland Terrapins (2-9, 1-6) - Last Week 12

The Terrapins nearly pulled out a tremendous win at Florida State, but at the end of the day it was just their sixth straight loss.

They try to salvage something out of the season when Boston College comes to College Park for the Terps' final game of the season.