ACC Week 5 Power Rankings

Sammy Watkins and the Clemson Tigers were the big winners in the ACC this week.

Pretty much everyone else in the conference were the big losers.

Entering October, our picture of the conference landscape is still changing quite a bit as conference play has not really arrived yet.

However, our view of the top may become crystal clear after the Virginia Tech-vs-Clemson showdown due to happen on Saturday.

Happy October everybody.

12. Boston College

Boston College finally got their first win of the season by crushing UMass 45-17.

The return of Montel Harris should help them improve upon their awful start and will increase their chances of beating Wake Forest this week.

However, even at home they are underdogs against the resurgent Deacons and may find themselves in an 0-2 hole entering a stretch of games where they will play Clemson, Virginia Tech, Maryland and Florida State in order.

This may be their best chance to win in October.

11. Duke

Duke is on a little bit of a roll right now.

After beating Boston College on the road, the Blue Devils smacked Tulane 48-27.

The Blue Devils have a great chance to keep their momentum going this week with a trip to FIU.

If Duke can continue to improve defensively and in their running game, this winning streak could become even longer.

10. NC State

The Wolfpack still have not beaten an FBS team this year.

Their wins have come against Liberty and South Alabama, while they have fallen on the road to Wake Forest and Cincinnati.

Losing to Cincinnati isn't necessarily bad; getting completely dominated was.

Despite Mike Glennon's 334 passing yards, NC State couldn't find a way to score or move the chains.

They finished with -26 rushing yards, 13 first downs and two failed fourth down conversion attempts.

With Mike Glennon finally playing well, the Wolfpack need more playmakers to step up and start making positive things happen.

9. Virginia

Virginia looked like they were moving in the right direction after beating both William and Mary and Indiana and playing well against North Carolina.

They took a major step backwards against Southern Miss.

Southern Miss is a good squad, and a close loss to them actually isn't necessarily a bad sign for the Cavaliers.

It was the play of Michael Rocco that is the concern.

The sophomore signal-caller looked lost at times, and some fans are starting to call for freshman David Watford to get a chance.

With a possible quarterback battle in October, the Cavaliers still have fundamental issues with their team holding them back.

8. Maryland

First came the victory over a Miami team eviscerated by suspensions.

Then the Terrapins came out flat in the first half before nearly coming back against the enigmatic West Virginia Mountaineers.

The warning signs were clearly there in the first two games, but we mostly missed them.

Temple exposed major flaws in Randy Edsall's team, which is now firmly entrenched in the bottom half of the power rankings.

For the second straight week, Danny O'Brien turned in an unexpectedly bad performance.

Temple out-rushed Maryland 285-45 and averaged almost three times as many yards per pass attempt.

Maryland didn't force Chester Stewart to throw one incompletion all day. 

Temple's a good MAC school, but is still a MAC school, and Maryland should at least be able to put up a fight.

They have one game against Towson to get ready for three consecutive ranked opponents.

7. Miami

Miami had the loss of many key players to blame in their loss to Maryland.

That excuse wasn't available after their 28-24 loss to Kansas State.

Bill Snyder is one of the nation's most underrated coaches, and this loss isn't as bad as many are making it out to be.

Still, Miami has failed to be consistent over the past several years and cannot be treated as a contender for the Coastal Division title until they start to be the teams they are supposed to be on a regular basis.

6. Wake Forest

At the beginning of the month, Wake Forest was No. 12 out of 12 in these power rankings.

The Demon Deacons find themselves in the top half of the bracket here at the end of the month.

The Deacs played better than expected in a close loss to Syracuse before beating NC State and crushing Gardner-Webb 48-5.

Tanner Price looks like the real deal at quarterback.

However, Syracuse has struggled this season so far and NC State might be much worse than anyone expected coming into the year.

Before Wake Forest can really be considered a player in the Atlantic Division race, they must beat some higher-quality competition.

Boston College doesn't exactly fit the bill, but the game against Florida State next week will be one to watch.

5. North Carolina

North Carolina had a promising start against some weak teams.

They suffered a very close 35-28 loss to a very good Georgia Tech team this week.

Things are still looking good for the Tar Heels, who have a chance to win their first road game of the season and improve to 4-1 this week against the ever dangerous Pirates of East Carolina.

If UNC can avoid a let down over the next two weeks, they will find themselves in great position to improve upon their eight-win total from 2010.

4. Florida State

All along the way, Florida State has topped the power rankings.

Their reign came to an end when Clemson upended them 35-30 in Death Valley.

FSU's best win is still only against Louisiana-Monroe, and their backup quarterback seems to be playing better than their starter.

While Florida State is still probably the most talented team in the ACC, they can't just expect a spot at the top of the rankings to be reserved for them every week.

Starting this week against Wake Forest, they are going to have to work their way back up.

However, we fully expect the 'Noles to be 9-2 heading into their game against Florida to close the season, meaning Jimbo Fisher's squad still has an excellent chance at winning the Atlantic Division title. 

3. Georgia Tech

Paul Johnson's Yellow Jackets have proven they can beat a good team now with their 35-28 triumph over UNC. 

Expect the nation's highest scoring team to get back to blowing out their opponents for the next three games, where wins over NC State, Maryland and Virginia are going to see them open up with a 7-0 record heading into a Coastal Division showdown against Miami on October 22nd.

Really, I don't see any way that those three teams' defenses are going to offer any resistance to this point-a-minute team.

Somebody is going to have to outscore Georgia Tech to win, and it isn't going to be Mike Glennon, Danny O'Brien minus Torrey Smith, or the Siamese twins sharing quarterback duties for Virginia.

2. Virginia Tech

Unfortunately, due to their schedule and the up-and-down play of Logan Thomas, the Hokies are the perpetual bridesmaids of these power rankings.

Virginia Tech had three consecutive blasé outings against ECU, Arkansas State and Marshall.

Thomas once again had a shaky outing against Marshall after having a pretty bad one against ECU.

He is going to need to bring his game against Clemson on Saturday, a team with an explosive offense and a suspect defense.

If Thomas can have a big day against Clemson, Virginia Tech will finally earn the top spot in the power rankings.

Stay tuned.

1. Clemson

The Tigers started off with a pair of unimpressive victories over Tory and Wofford.

Since then, all they have done is take down the defending national champion and the ACC's top-ranked team.

Clemson may not pan out to be as good as Florida State, Virginia Tech or a couple others in the long run.

Right now, though, they might have the most impressive resume in the country and are a virtual lock to improve on last year's 6-6 regular season.

Now, if Clemson can go and win a road game, they will establish themselves as a favorite for the ACC title.