Home ACC Football Notebook: We didn’t do ourselves any favors in Week 5 in the national polls
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ACC Football Notebook: We didn’t do ourselves any favors in Week 5 in the national polls

Chris Graham
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The ACC had six teams in the Top 25 after Week 4. It was almost certain that the loser of the Wake-Florida State game would drop out this week. Nobody had Pitt joining whoever that would be.

Pitt, ranked 24th going into Week 5, was a 21.5-point favorite at home against Georgia Tech, which fired its head coach, Geoff Collins, on Monday.

Naturally, the Ramblin’ Wreck scored 17 points in the fourth quarter in a 26-21 win that wasn’t that close, with Pitt needing a TD with 16 seconds left to set up a last-ditch onside kick attempt that didn’t go the Panthers’ way.

Pitt (3-2, 0-1 ACC) was beset by three turnovers and 12 penalties, and allowed Georgia Tech (2-3, 1-0 ACC) to run for 232 yards, 157 from Hassan Hall.

FSU (4-1, 2-1 ACC) also dropped out of the polls after the Seminoles’ 31-21 loss to Wake Forest (4-1, 1-1 ACC), which jumped from 22nd to 15th with the win.

Also moving up: Syracuse (5-0, 2-0 ACC), a 59-0 winner over Wagner, from 25th to 22nd.

Clemson (5-0, 3-0 ACC) held at fifth after its 30-20 win over NC State (4-1, 0-1 ACC), which dropped from 10th to 14th.

Looking ahead to Week 6, Clemson will go on the road to Boston College (2-3, 1-2 ACC), a 34-33 winner over Louisville; NC State hosts Florida State; Wake hosts Army (1-3) in a non-conference matchup; and it’s a bye week for Syracuse.

Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019, and Team of Destiny: Inside Virginia Basketball’s Run to the 2019 National Championship, and The Worst Wrestling Pay-Per-View Ever, published in 2018. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, or subscribe to his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].