ACC Rankings By Division

At this point, the ACC is looking like it is a wide-open race.  We’ll go through and rank the teams by division, now that we are getting into conference play.

Atlantic

1)  Maryland: The Terps beat the “best” team in the ACC with a win over Clemson Saturday, and have now beaten two top-20 teams in the past few weeks with wins over Clemson and Cal.  Yes, this is the same team that barely beat Delaware and lost to Middle Tennessee State.  Maryland has proven that they can win or lose to anyone.  If they come out ready to play and get the ball in the hands of playmaker Darrius Heyward-Bey at least once a game, Maryland could easily win their division.

2)  Wake Forest: Wake Forest lost this week, but they have already proven themselves in the division with a win over Florida State.  Turnovers are what killed them against Navy on Saturday. When they protect the football, they are a much better team, and Riley Skinner normally does a better job of that than he did Saturday. 

3)  Clemson: Despite losing to Maryland and going to 1-1 in conference play, Clemson is still considered the favorite to win this division by many.  They have one of the best rushing attacks in the country with C.J. Spiller and James Davis, but they have not utilized them as well as they could.  In the first half against Maryland Saturday, they had to settle for a field goal after an incomplete pass on third-and-two. They chose to throw the ball despite picking up at least two yards on every previous rush of the drive, and Maryland clearly couldn’t stop them on the ground. 

4)   Florida State: FSU had an impressive win over Colorado Saturday, but they already have a loss in conference to Wake Forest.  Florida State has a difficult schedule in conference, having to play the best teams in the coastal division in Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, and Miami.  Florida State needs to have a good rushing attack in order to be successful, as they have multiple quarterbacks already this season, both of whom have struggled and committed turnovers.

5)  Boston College: BC lost in conference to Georgia Tech and their wins come over Kent State, Central Florida, and Rhode Island.  Not that impressive.  They are definitely not the same team without Matt Ryan.  They played two quarterbacks on Saturday against Rhode Island, and both were a combined 3-for-9 for a whopping 27 yards. If teams can shut down their rushing attack, BC is going to have a tough time finding offense.

6)  NC State: NC State already lost in conference to Clemson, and they also got beat down by South Carolina and South Florida.  The Wolfpack are clearly the worst team in this division.  They are giving up an average of 30 points to their opponents, even allowing William and Mary to score 24 on them.  They only average 89 yards rushing a game, and they have thrown more interceptions (10) than they have scored touchdowns, rushing and passing combined (9).

Coastal

1)   Virginia Tech: Already 2-0 in their division with wins against Georgia Tech and North Carolina, and they got a great win over Nebraska Saturday.  Since Frank Beamer made the switch from Sean Glennon to Tyrod Taylor at quarterback, the Hokies have improved.  With a dual-threat quarterback and great play on special teams and defense, V-Tech should easily be able to win this weaker division.

     2)   Georgia Tech: Tech has already beaten Boston College and last week they           easily handled Mississippi State.  Paul Johnson has a quarterback quick enough to be successful running his triple option offense.  As a matter of fact, he has two.  After starter Josh Nesbitt was injured early in the game against MSU, backup Jaybo Shaw came in and led the team to a 38-7 victory.

3) North Carolina: The Heels are ranked ahead of Miami in their division since they just beat them head-to-head.  Carolina’s only loss comes to our top-ranked team in this division, Virginia Tech. UNC’s backup backup quarterback Cameron Sexton came in and threw for 243 yards and two fourth-quarter scores on Saturday to come from behind and beat the 'Canes.  There might be a QB controversy when starter T.J. Yates returns in six weeks from an ankle injury.  Butch Davis has definitely had an impact on Carolina football.

4)   Miami: The Hurricanes boast an impressive win over Texas A&M, but they also blew a 24-14 lead they held halfway through the fourth quarter to lose to North Carolina.  Miami could still improve and make some noise in this division, and they will definitely be a much better team when Javarris James is healthy.

5)   Duke:  They must be celebrating in Durham.  Duke broke their 25-game ACC losing streak Saturday with a win over Virginia.  They didn’t just beat UVA either, they hammered them 31-3.  Last week they beat Navy, who this week turned around and beat Wake Forest.  Coach Cutcliffe should be given a ton of credit for starting to change the culture of losing surrounding this team.  Hey, they already have three times as many wins right now as they did all of last season!

6)  Virginia:  Virginia is the new Duke.  They are definitely the most embarrassing team in the league.  They have the worst record in the entire conference, and their three losses all came by more than 25 points.  Their one win was to Richmond, which is an FCS team.  The departures of quarterbacks Jameel Sewell and Peter Lalich have really hurt this team.