College Football Week 7 Rankings: How the ACC Stacks Up

Wake Forest is the darling of the ACC right now, following their first ever 3-0 start in league play. 

Frank Beamer even said, as of now, he would vote for Jim Grobe to be ACC Coach of the Year.

Two undefeated, nationally ranked teams are in a stranglehold at the top of the power rankings, but Wake Forest is rising fast. 

12. Boston College

Boston College has not yet beaten an FBS team and their only win has come against in-state opponent Massachusetts. 

They have to go 5-1 the rest of the way to even qualify for a bowl game. 

If Frank Spaziani can pull off that miracle, the Vatican might start considering him a candidate for canonization. 

The Jesuit school that brought us Doug Flutie is certainly in need of a few prayers right now. 

11. NC State

NC State has a decent 38-24 win against Central Michigan on their resume. 

Still, yielding 24 points to the offensively challenged Chippewas is not a good sign for a defense that has been beaten up all season. 

Mike Glennon is starting to settle in at quarterback, but he needs the defense to start offering him some fire support.

NC State has a bye week preceding a game against Virginia that will likely serve as an eliminator from postseason contention for the loser. 

10. Virginia

The only positive that Virginia can draw from its offensive performance against Idaho two weeks ago is the fact that Kevin Parks sat out due to injury.

Maybe the return of the dynamic freshman will give this squad a boost.

Then again, maybe nothing can save a team that ranks third in the ACC in both total offense and total defense, yet is somehow fifth in scoring defense and ninth in scoring offense.

The Cavaliers need to limit turnovers, penalties and special teams gaffes if they want to keep their game against 12th-ranked Georgia Tech on Saturday respectable.  

9. Duke

Duke has had a bye week to prepare for Florida State. 

Additionally, the Blue Devils are on a three game win streak, while Florida State is on a three game losing streak. 

After a one-point victory over bottom-feeder Boston College, an unremarkable win against Tulane and a thriller over Sun Belt side FIU, Duke's game against Florida State may tell us a lot about whether the Blue Devils have a legitimate chance at qualifying for a bowl game this year, or whether their favorable early schedule has inflated their record. 

8. Maryland

The Terrapins' defense actually played rather well against Georgia Tech's vaunted triple option.

However, something is terribly, terribly wrong with Maryland's passing game. 

Right now, the Terps have literally no passing game and, while their running game is good, it's not necessarily Georgia Tech good. 

As in, there's no facet of the offense that can reliably carry the team right now. 

Maryland might be facing an uphill battle to bowl qualification, as they must win four of their seven remaining games. By the way, they have Clemson, Florida State, Notre Dame and Wake Forest left on the schedule. 

7. Florida State

From one perspective, the Seminoles' season has been uncooperative. 

They have three nail-biting losses to eminently high-caliber teams. 

On the other hand, they have three straight losses and their offense has made too many mistakes during that time span. 

Don't forget that the defense has allowed 70 points over the last two contests. 

If Florida State stumbles in Wallace Wade Stadium this Saturday, they will officially be in free fall. 

Then again, it's quite possible that the Seminoles will run the table the rest of the way. 

6. Miami

Jacory Harris is finally starting to look like an elite quarterback. 

Lamar Miller has already locked up the title of "elite running back."

This is a very scary combination for opponents. 

Virginia Tech's defense has dominated this year and even shut down Clemson's explosive offense for most of their game. 

Yet Miami absolutely shredded this unit, proving that when they bring their game, their offense can beat any defense in the land. 

Now all the Hurricanes need is consistency, discipline and, oh yeah, a defense. 

5. North Carolina

North Carolina struggled against a subpar team once again.

Rutgers, Virginia and now Louisville have all challenged the Tar Heels this season. 

If North Carolina wants to parlay a 5-1 start into an ACC Championship, they need to step up their offensive game now. 

4. Wake Forest

The Demon Deacons continue to impress more and more every week. 

A strong game in their opener against Syracuse was followed up by several consecutive victories for a team went 3-9 last year. 

Now, a win against Florida State has them at 4-1 and on top of the Atlantic Division with a 3-0 conference record. 

At the beginning of the year, a bowl game looked like it would be a mighty fine accomplishment for this bunch. 

Now, with that goal just about wrapped up, Jim Grobe's historically good bunch has bigger fish to fry, starting with Virginia Tech. 

3. Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech has had a suffocating defense all year. 

Last week, the offense finally got in on the action. 

Things are looking up for the Hokies, but yielding 35 points to Miami is a cause for concern. 

Logan Thomas had to literally be perfect (one of his two incompletions on the day was a dropped pass and the other was essentially a throw-away to avoid a sack) in order to barely eek past a team that has struggled this year.

It reminds me of Sean Renfree's near-perfect game against Navy last year that was supposed to be a stepping stone for Duke, but ended up being just a flash in the pan for a 3-9 team. 

You could easily argue that this bad defensive performance was simply a fluke, whereas their progress on offense is a sign of things to come. 

Unfortunately, you could just as easily argue the exact opposite.

2. Georgia Tech

Tevin Washington was able to carry his team to a victory over the mediocre Terrapins. 

It was a performance that neither helped nor hurt the Yellow Jackets' stock. 

Their defense was great; their offense was okay. 

The most important thing, though, is that Georgia Tech is 6-0, with a 3-0 record in ACC play and have a tiebreaker over North Carolina. 

It looks like the road to the Coastal Division title runs through Atlanta this year. 

1. Clemson

Clemson easily put away Boston College this week. 

They should do the same against Maryland, regardless of whether Tajh Boyd or Cole Stoudt is throwing the ball. 

However, Clemson hasn't been able to create separation from those pesky Demon Deacons yet in the Atlantic Division race. 

The Clemson-Wake Forest game this year could very well end up deciding which team plays the Coastal champion in the ACC title bout. 

Until then, expect the Tigers to keep rolling against their competition.