No other way to put it, the ACC had another pitiful weekend of out-of-conference games in Week 3.
Louisville gave the conference some hope with a big win at home against the University of Central Florida Thursday night. But ugly losses by Pittsburgh at home against MAC foe Western Michigan and Miami at home to Michigan State quickly dampened the mood in Greensboro.
Meanwhile in Morgantown, Virginia Tech couldn’t complete a huge comeback over West Virginia by failing to score in the final seconds after a first and goal from the three.
Duke restored some order with a win over Big 10 Northwestern, while NC State and Syracuse destroyed overmatched foes.
The conference is simply running out of time to turn things around in non-league games as most schools now head into the conference-heavy part of the season.
Right now, the ACC is clearly at or near the bottom of the Power Five group of conferences.
Week 3 Power Rankings
Atlantic Division
- Clemson (1-0, 3-0): The Tigers don’t retain this spot because of their overall play, but rather because every other team in the division has had an upset loss or lacks a quality win. Clemson’s defense has yet to surrender an offensive touchdown.
- Wake Forest (1-0,3-0): The Demon Deacons have just played solid football. In each of their three wins Wake jumped out to early leads and cruised. The Deacons are well-coached and don’t often beat themselves.
- Louisville (0-0, 2-1): A solid win by the Cardinals against UCF. Louisville’s offense is solid, once their defense catches up, they will be fine.
- Boston College (0-0,3-0): Playing without starting QB Phil Jurkovic, backup Dennis Grosel didn’t do much against Temple, throwing for just 34 yards and an early pick, but a strong BC defense was more than enough to down the Owls.
- NC State (0-0, 2-1): The Wolfpack beat Furman. Not much more to say about that. The Mississippi State loss looks even worse after the Bulldogs were beaten by Memphis Saturday. NC State gets a chance to redeem things hosting Clemson next.
- Syracuse (0-0, 2-1): The Orange dispatched Albany Saturday, and the Syracuse offense is looking more confident each week.
- Florida State (0-1, 0-3): The Seminoles looked lifeless against Wake Forest. The Mike Norvell excitement in Tallahassee is quickly fading. Calling Prime Time.
Coastal Division
- North Carolina (1-1, 2-1): After a dreadful offensive showing against Virginia Tech, the Tar Heels have put back-to-back 59-point games on the board, and this week it was against Coastal foe Virginia. UNC is starting to look much better while the rest of the division flounders.
- Virginia Tech (1-0, 2-1): The Hokies dug a deep hole and came up short this week against West Virginia. The Mountaineers are an above-average team, and Morgantown is no easy trip. QB Baxter Brumeister played solidly, and the win over UNC still is huge for Tech.
- Duke (0-0,2-1): The Blue Devils jumped out early against Northwestern and held on for the win. There was life in the offense, and that should last for a while as Duke host woeful Kansas next.
- Virginia (0-1, 2-1): Brennan Armstrong was magnificent against UNC, throwing for 554 yards. But the Cavalier defense was simply atrocious, allowing nearly 700 total yards of offense.
- Georgia Tech (0-1, 1-2): The Yellow Jackets kept it close with Clemson, but we don’t know the validity of that yet. GT signal caller Yates is looking solid, but the offensive line is not establishing much in the running game.
- Pittsburgh (0-0, 2-1): An ugly loss for the Panthers against Western Michigan. Pitt has been good on offense but horrible defensively, which is opposite of most Pittsburg teams.
- Miami (0-0, 1-2): The Hurricanes did lose to good teams Alabama and Michigan State. Miami still searching to put the pieces together. That search could end next game as they host the Blue Devils of Central Connecticut.
Story by Scott German
Share
