ACC Power Poll Week 8: Clemson and Miami Looking Good.

The big notes that came out of Week 8 are that a couple of teams, Clemson and Miami, are rebounding and appear ready to make a late season run.

The Tigers and Canes disposed of Georgia Tech and North Carolina in fairly easy fashion, and looked good doing it.

Previous Rankings at All About Sports

Preseason | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7

1) Florida State Seminoles 6-1 (4-0) Last Week - 1

Florida State goes to NC State in a critical ACC game for both teams. A win by the Noles would virtually wrap up the ACC Atlantic Division as both Clemson and NC State would be two full games in loss column behind.

2) Virginia Tech  Hokies  6-2 (4-0) Last Week - 2

Lose your first two games, the run off six wins in a row. The Hokies go into their bye fresh off of a 44-7 pounding of Duke. What's really scary is that the Hokies are complementing their talented backfield with a pretty good passing attack.

Tyrod Taylor was 13-of-17 for 280 yards passing. The Hokies have a bye week to get ready for Georgia Tech's triple option offense for a Thursday night matchup in Blacksburg Nov. 4. I see no reason why the Hokies won't make in seven in row after that one.

3) Miami Hurricanes 5-2 (3-1) Last Week - 3

When Hurricanes quarterback Jacory Harris plays well, Miami is as good as any team in the ACC. The problem is, Harris can be pretty inconsistent. Saturday against North Carolina, Harris had a strong game. He had 3 touchdown throws on 21-of-32 passing for 217 yards.

The running game looked strong too, gaining 225 yards in the 33-10 win over North Carolina. The Canes control their own destiny in the Coastal Division. They play at Virginia next. If they run the table, the division is theirs.

4) Clemson Tigers  4-3 (2-2) Last Week - 6

Time to give Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney  a little credit. A couple of weeks ago, he replaced his starting WRs with his more talented but inexperienced guys. Guys like DeAndre Hopkins are young, but they make plays. Against Georgia Tech he finally fed the ball to Clemson's best offensive player, Andre Ellington, and kept feeding him. Ellington had 20 carries for 166 yards in a dominating 27-13 win.

The Tigers head to Boston College Saturday looking to improve their bowl position.

5) NC State Wolfpack  5-2 (2-1) Last Week - 7

NC State has a huge game Thursday night with Florida State in Raleigh. They can't win the ACC Atlantic without beating the Noles.  

6) North Carolina Tar Heels  4-3 (2-2) Last Week - 4

The Tar Heels' lack of depth finally caught up with them in a 33-10 loss at Miami. They were outscored 20-0 in the 2nd half. Any chance they had at a Coastal Division died in the loss.

Time reset the goals for the Tar Heels. Win at least two more games maybe pull an upset or two and get to a nice bowl game. With all the Heels have been through a 7 or 8 win season isn't what they wanted, but would be a decent year. A tune up is next week against William & Mary, which should be a win.

7) Georgia Tech  Yellow Jackets  5-3 (3-2) Last Week - 5

The 27-13 loss at Clemson is not what really bothers me. What does is that the Jackets are still making the same mistakes they made at the beginning season. Against Clemson there were more untimely penalties, more dropped passes, and more poor tackling.

Paul Johnson has his toughest job ever since he's been at Georgia Tech. With games at Virginia Tech on Nov 4th, then Miami, Duke and at Georgia left, where's he going to get a seventh win from?  The Jackets haven't won fewer than seven regular season games since 1996.

8) Maryland Terrapins  5-2 (2-1) Last Week - 8

The Terps are getting real close to getting bowl eligible after a 24-21 at Boston College. It wasn't a thing of beauty as Maryland nearly blew a 24-7 lead, but the win is what counts.

QB Danny O'Brien had three touchdown passes in the victory. Maryland gets a struggling Wake Forest  team at home Saturday. The Terrapins are one of the ACC's more surprising teams so far this year.

9) Virginia Cavaliers 3-4 (0-3) Last Week - 10

Virginia is only 3-4 on the season, but Mike London has made the Cavs better in his first year. They've overwhelmed their inferior opponents, and were competitive earlier in the year at USC. This weekend they rolled 48-21 over Eastern Michigan.

The Cavs have some winnable games the next few weeks with Duke, Maryland and Boston College on the schedule. A bowl game would be a great to finish to the 2010 season for UVA. Miami comes to Charlottesville Oct. 30, and that is game you wouldn't expect Virginia to win.

10) Boston College Eagles 2-5 (0-4) Last Week - 9

Simply put there hasn't been much to cheer about at Boston College this year. They dropped their fifth game in row in a 24-21 loss to Maryland. That's not a good sign when 21 points is the most points your offense has scored since week 2.

That's been the problem all year at BC, no offense. When you have a running back like Montel Harris and can muster only 96 total yards on the ground you got problems. It doesn't get any easier for Boston College, which faces an improving Clemson team next.

11) Wake Forest Demon Deacons 2-5 (1-4) Last Week - 11

Wake Forest didn't lose this weekend. That's the good news. Well, they didn't play, either.

When your defense ranks 117th in the nation out of 119 teams you're in trouble. Wake Forest plays at Maryland Saturday. The Deacs have to win there, if there is any chance to salvage the season.

12) Duke Blue Devils  1-6 (0-4) Last Week - 12

The Blue Devils are just playing out the season now. They went down again, this time by a 44-7 drubbing at the hands of Virginia Tech. Nobody expected Duke to win seven or eight games, but this season has to be considered a letdown so far.

The defense is giving up nearly 40 points a game, and the offense in not bad, but it can't score enough to make up for that statistic. Now the Blue Devils must play a Navy team that's coming off of a blowout of Notre Dame.