ACC Power Rankings Week 6: Louisville’s statement win, ACC’s strong national stand 

Six weeks of college football is now in the books, and the battle for the top spots in the ACC is heating up.

The conference still sports three undefeated teams: Florida State, UNC and Louisville.

The Cardinals took center stage this past weekend and took full advantage, defeating Notre Dame. Five ACC teams are ranked in the AP Top 25, which includes Duke, which suffered its only loss last weekend against the Irish.

What a wild weekend around the league.

Early Saturday, all appeared like a normal Saturday in the ACC. But later, everything changed.

Miami, despite playing poorly against Georgia Tech, appeared to have survived a huge upset. But then, Miami went to sleep. In the closing seconds of the game, nursing a three-point lead, the ‘Canes only had to take a knee to win.

Instead, Miami elected to run the ball and, you guessed it, fumbled. Tech scored with one second left on a long TD pass to pull off an improbable win.

Meanwhile, Louisville got a huge win, defeating Notre Dame soundly, 33-20. Louisville moves to 6-0 under first year coach Jeff Brohm, and is a serious contender in the ACC.

Here’s a peek at how things look at the halfway point in the season.

1. FSU (5-0, 3-0 ACC) ,FSU took care of business on Saturday, beating Virgina Tech 39-22. The Seminoles ran the ball well, and the defense never allowed the Hokies much momentum.
2. Louisville (6-0, 3-0 ACC) Jeff Brohm continues to pay dividends for Louisville. The first-year Cardinals coach has Louisville at 6-0 after a dominating win over Notre Dame Saturday night. The Cardinals defense shut down the Irish offense, and UL running back Jawhar Jordan had an outstanding game.
3. UNC (5-0, 2-0 ACC) The Tar Heels dropped a spot this week, despite dominating Syracuse. Drake Maye threw for 450 yards and continues to play his way up the NFL Draft charts.
4. Duke (4-1, 1-0 ACC) Duke had a bye this week, and will host NC State this weekend.
5. Clemson (4-2, 2-2 ACC) It was not pretty against Wake Forest, but the Tigers posted their second consecutive conference win. The Tigers offense was uneven, but the defense continues to improve.
6. NC State (4-2, 1-1 ACC) The Wolfpack made a QB change, and it paid off. MJ Morris got the starting nod for the first time this season. Morris paced NC State to a 48-41 win over Marshall.
7. Wake Forest (3-2, 0-2 ACC) The Demon Deacons played well defensively against Clemson, but the offense sputtered for most of the game, losing 17-12.
8. Georgia Tech (3-3, 2-1 ACC) The Yellow Jackets took full advantage of the Miami meltdown, and escaped Miami with one of the most improbable wins in college football history.
9. Boston College (3-3, 1-2 ACC) BC survived a strong test from Army. Eagle QB Thomas Castellanos had a great day running the ball. The Eagles are slowly showing improvement this season.
10. Syracuse (4-2, 0-2 ACC) The Orange dropped their second straight game, getting crushed by UNC. After a 4-0 start, Syracuse is now facing the reality of a stronger schedule. The Orange faces FSU next.
11. Miami (4-1, 0-1 ACC) Miami dropped six spots this week, all because of a mental lapse near the end of the game against GT. You simply can’tmake that mistake and be considered an upper-tier ACC team.
12. Virginia Tech (2-4,1-1 ACC) The Hokies fought hard against FSU, but a hapless rush defense did them in. Seminoles running back Trey Benson rushed for 200 yards.
13. Pitt (1-4, 0-2 ACC) Pitt had a bye week, and hosts Louisville this weekend.
14. Virginia (1-5, 0-2 ACC) Virginia is no longer winless, beating William & Mary Saturday. After a slow start, UVA was able to post the win over FCS W&M.