College Football Rankings - ACC Power Poll Week 3: Still No Clear-Cut Favorite

After last week's out of conference nightmare, the ACC redeemed itself a little this week. NC State came up with a solid Thursday night win over Cincinnati, Florida State crushed BYU, and Virginia Tech avoided an 0-3 start by defeating East Carolina.

Clemson had a chance at a marquee win at Auburn, but squandered a 17-0 first half lead. That one really hurt.

I'm not going to name a number one team until a team actually puts together a performance or two that truly deserves it.

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2) Miami Hurricanes 1-1 (0-0) Last Week - 2

The Canes have had a week off to recover from their 36-24 loss at Ohio State. If the Canes want to truly establish themselves as the team to beat in the ACC, they'll go into Pittsburgh Thursday night and take care of a pretty good Panther squad.

3) Clemson Tigers 2-1 (0-0) Last Week - 2

Dabo Swinney is still looking for that signature non-conference win. Clemson played hard and extremely well at times. QB Kyle Parker despite obviously being in pain gave it everything he had. That being said Clemson had multiple opportunities to win this game, but just didn't make the plays when they were needed. That's the story of the ACC this year.

The Tigers get the BYE week at a good time. It was a very physical game with Auburn. Then the Hurricanes come to Death Valley on October 2nd.

4-T) Florida State Seminoles 2-1 (0-0) Last Week - 5

Now that's the Florida State I was expecting. They went out and crushed BYU 34-10. So is that the true FSU team or is it the one that lost to Oklahoma 47-17 the week before? It's probably somewhere in between. The defense held BYU to 191 yards of total offense. That's a good sign for a defense that has struggled the last couple of years.

The Noles get a Wake Forest team that can't stop anyone from scoring. I'm expecting a monster day from the FSU offense.

4-T) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 2-1 (1-0) Last Week - 6

Paul Johnson doesn't lose two games in a row. He just doesn't. It hasn't happened since he's been at Georgia Tech. The 30-24 victory at North Carolina gives the Jackets a key early season ACC victory. Joshua Nesbitt ran for 104 yards and Anthony Allen had 115 on the ground. A much-maligned defense finally made some plays late to keep UNC from making a rally. 

The Defense is shaky, but as long as Nesbitt is healthy the Jackets are a threat in every game they play. They'll get a test against much improved NC State Saturday. 

5) NC State Wolfpack 3-0 (0-0) Last Week - 10

Break out the Wolfpack! They had a solid 30-19 win over the defending  Big East champions Cincinnati on Thursday night. QB Russell Wilson threw for 333 yards and Pack are off to a stellar 3-0 start. This is the early season surprise team in the ACC.

Saturday they play the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. It's Joshua Nesbitt vs Russell Wilson in a battle of two of the better ACC quarterbacks. The Pack will score on the Jackets, but they haven't seen a rushing attack like Paul Johnson's. This should be a good one.

6) Boston College Eagles 2-0 (0-0) Last Week - 7

The Eagles have had a week off to prepare for Virginia Tech. I've thought all year this was the most important game of the season for BC. This where Boston College needs to prove they'll be a contender in the ACC Atlantic.  

7) North Carolina Tar Heels 0-2 (0-1) Last Week - 3

They don't give awards for moral victories. I know UNC is still missing a ton of players, but when you have a 24-17 late in the 3rd quarter like they did against Georgia Tech, you need to come out with a win. The defense struggled all game giving up 372 yards on the ground.

The season is slowly slipping away from the Tar Heels. They head to Rutgers Saturday in a tricky non-conference game. If the Heels fall to 0-3 that might be all she wrote on the season.

8) Maryland Terrapins 2-1 (0-0) Last Week - 4

Well it was fun while it lasted. Maryland lost at West Virginia 31-17, in a game their defense gave up 469 yards of offense. Terp WR Torrey Smith had a huge game with 149 yards receiving and 2 TDs, but the ground game was held to 10 yards.

The Terps get a Florida International team that lost by 5 to Rutgers and 7 to Texas A&M. Maryland can't look past FIU.

9) Virginia Tech Hokies  1-2 (0-0) Last Week - 9

In the 3rd quarter Virginia Tech trailed East Carolina 27-21, and the Hokie season was literally about to go down in flames. Virginia Tech rallied and scored 28 straight points. That's the good news.

That bad news is that Ryan Williams may have hurt his hamstring, and is listed as day to day. The defense isn't a vintage Hokie unit either. The Hokies next face Boston College in a big ACC matchup.

10) Virginia Cavaliers 1-1 (0-0) Last Week - 11

The Cavaliers were off this weekend. They get VMI Saturday, in what should be a cake walk, before they get into the meat of their ACC schedule.

11) Wake Forest Demon Deacons 2-1 (1-0) Last Week - 8

I know Stanford is good, but 68 points given up to the Cardinals is ridiculous. That's more than 100 points scored against the Deac defense in their last two games. Wake Forest has major defensive issues.

Florida State heads to Winston Salem Saturday. The Deacs have success in recent years with the Noles, but FSU QB Christian Ponder can expect to pad those stats.

12) Duke Blue Devils  1-2 (0-1) Last Week - 12

I never thought Duke had a real shot at Alabama, but I did think they might be able to move the ball on the Tide a little. They couldn't and this was a total mis-match from the get go in the 62-13 loss. The talent gap was unbelievable.

Duke faces Army next weekend. That's a must win if the Blue Devils want a legit shot at a bowl game.