It was a weird weekend in the ACC. UNC felt the wrath of C-USA. Meanwhile, Troy almost upset Duke and BC put a scare into Florida State.
1. Clemson (1) -- 4-0 (2-0 in ACC) -- Last Week: 56-7 win over Wake Forest
Tajh Boyd, welcome back to the Heisman race. Not that you were ever really gone, Wake Forest was just the recipe to get the offense back on track. The defense shut down the Demon Deacons, but so have most teams. Just your typical 1 vs. 14 matchup.
Clemson faces Maryland on October 26th in College Park.
2. Florida State (2) -- 4-0 (2-0 in ACC) -- LW: 48-34 win over Boston College
Boston College led this game 17-3 at one point. Yeah, I don't know how either guys. Well, hopefully that can keep up another week because this will be Maryland's biggest test of the early season. Boston College was able to move the ball on offense both on the ground and through the air. The Seminoles had three 90-yard receivers on the day, which will be a big test for the Terps secondary.
Florida State hosts Maryland this weekend at noon on ESPN.
3. Miami (4) -- 4-0 (0-0 in ACC) -- LW: 49-21 win over South Florida
South Florida is not a good football team right now. The Bulls got two touchdowns in the 4th quarter when the game was out of reach and the starters were on the bench. It was never close and the Hurricanes cruised to victory even without the services of Stephen Morris for the entire game.
4. Maryland (5) -- 4-0 (0-0 in ACC) -- LW: Bye
Maryland got an extra week to prepare for Florida State and got a preview of how to exploit their defense thanks to Boston College's surprise game. The Terps also found their way in to the polls thanks to West Virginia knocking off #11 Oklahoma State. All-in-all, a good bye week for the Terps.
5. Virginia Tech (6) -- 4-1 (1-0 in ACC) -- LW: 17-10 win over Georgia Tech
The Hokies had the win of the weekend in the ACC. They shut down the triple-option of Georgia Tech and managed to be not inept enough on offense to lose. The running game stalled again, but they managed to move the ball through the air enough to win.
Maryland heads to Lane Stadium on November 16th.
6. Georgia Tech (3) -- 3-1 (2-1 in ACC) -- LW: 17-10 loss to Virginia Tech
Georgia Tech was held to 129 yards on the ground and averaged just 3.1 yards per carry. Vad Lee was forced to throw, and didn't have a good night doing so. He completed just 7-of-24 passes and couldn't get anything going on the ground. A nightmare game for Georgia Tech.
7. North Carolina State (7) -- 3-1 (0-1 in ACC) -- LW: 48-14 win over Central Michigan
The Wolfpack didn't have much trouble with the Chippewas, I'm fairly certain I struggled more spelling Chippewas than the Pack actually had playing them. It was 38-0 at the end of three quarters before both teams added two late scores each in the fourth quarter. NC State rebounded after the loss to Clemson and will get another break next week when they get to face Wake Forest.
Maryland heads to NC State for their final game in the ACC on November 30th.
8. Pitt (8) -- 3-1 (1-1 in ACC) -- LW: 14-3 win over Virginia
I probably should have dropped Pitt for this performance, but who would have taken their place? They didn't crack 200 yards of total offense. I can't even count their average yards per rush on one finger, because a finger obviously can't (willingly) be broken into decimals. They have two very good receivers and a defense that can force turnovers -- and not much else.
9. Boston College (10) -- 2-2 (1-1 in the ACC) -- LW: 48-34 loss to Florida State
This score line shocked me a bit. Actually, everything about this game shocked me a lot. Boston College hung in there with Florida State for two-plus quarters of football and kept the score respectable at the end. They were able to gain 200 yards on the ground against a defense that was only giving up 139 yards through the first three games.
Maryland hosts Boston College on November 23rd.
10. Duke (12) -- 3-2 (0-2 in the ACC) -- LW: 38-31 win over Troy
The Trojans have one win over a FBS opponent and they needed overtime to knock off UAB. Duke was able to move the ball and score, they just couldn't get a ton of stops. They out-gained the Trojans 514-512 overall, but managed to get a late field goal to seal the game with a seven point cushion. And yet there are four teams lower than them. #goacc
11. Syracuse (13) -- 2-2 (0-0 in the ACC) -- LW: Bye
Syracuse manages to rise in this informal poll (done by yours truly) by simply not playing. They get Clemson next week, so this will likely be a short stay at #11 in the rankings.
Maryland hosts Syracuse on November 9th.
12. UNC (9) -- 1-3 (0-1 in the ACC) -- LW: 55-31 loss to ECU
UNC's week summed up in gif form:
13. Virginia (11) -- 2-2 (0-1 in the ACC) -- LW: 14-3 loss to Pitt
Virginia makes Virginia Tech look like Oregon on offense. 3.3 yards per attempt passing. 2.0 yards per carry. They couldn't take advantage of Pittsburgh's three turnovers, and I'm guessing going 3-for-18 on third down played a minor role in that. The farther this team gets from their week one win over BYU, the clearer it becomes that was a fluke.
Virginia will travel to Maryland on October 12th -- we found out today a 3:30 kick, network TBD.
14. Wake Forest (14) -- 2-3 (0-2 in ACC) -- LW: 56-7 loss to Clemson
You're here for the long haul, Wake. At least basketball season is coming soon, right? #goacc
Maryland travels to Wake Forest on October 19th.
Notes:
- West Virginia knocked off #11 Oklahoma State, 30-21, to improve to 3-2.
- UConn fell to 0-4 after losing to Buffalo 41-12. Today they fired coach Paul Pasqualoni. Our own Pete Volk, looks at seven replacements.
- Old Dominion trounced Albany in another of their FCS games. They improved to 3-2, but have yet to defeat an FBS team.
- FIU is 0-4 and likely the worst team Maryland has faced this season -- and will for some time. They face Southern Miss next, who have lost 16 straight games after going 12-2 in 2011. FIU is a 16-point underdog to USM.
What did you think about the rankings? Anyone too high or too low? Leave your rankings in the comments.