ACC Power Rankings: Week One

One full week of the college football season is now in the books. This past weekend saw North Carolina and every other ACC team open up their 2023 season. From a UNC perspective, it’s hard to have any complains with what they did against South Carolina. Elsewhere in the conference, there was some differing results.

Let’s check in on how things are looking in the ACC after Week One.

1. Florida State (1-0)

Last Week: beat LSU 45-24

FSU came into this season as the highest ranked ACC team, and they more than looked the part in their opener. They scored 31 unanswered points after halftime as they looked like the team to beat in the conference this season

Next Week: Saturday vs. Southern Miss

2. North Carolina (1-0)

Last Week: beat South Carolina 31-17

The Tar Heels came into this season with some questions, and the answers were pretty good, at least in their first game. UNC’s defense came up with nine sacks in their opener against South Carolina, looking solid for the first time in a long while. It remains to be seen how much was them and how much was the Gamecocks’ offensive line, but you couldn’t ask for a better start to the season.

Next Week: Saturday vs. Appalachian State

3. Duke (1-0, 1-0 ACC)

Last Week: beat Clemson 28-7

This may be a little too high for just one win over Clemson, considering how the Tigers looked on Monday night. However, it was an pretty good effort on their part, coming on the back of a good year in Mike Elko’s first season as head coach.

Next Week: vs. Lafayette

4. Miami (1-0)

Last Week: beat Miami (OH) 38-3

The other Miami is hardly the toughest test the Hurricanes will have this year, but they pretty much aced it.

Next Week: Saturday vs. Texas A&M

5. Pitt (1-0)

Last Week: beat Wofford 45-7

It was a similar story for the Panthers, who cruised past FCS Wofford.

Next Week: Saturday vs. Cincinnati

6. NC State (1-0)

Last Week: beat UConn 24-14

It wasn’t a dominant effort, but the Wolfpack did come away with a win on the road at UConn. We’ll know more about them after their game this coming weekend.

Next Week: Saturday vs. Notre Dame

7. Wake Forest (1-0)

Last Week: beat Elon 37-17

Mitch Griffis threw for 329 yards and three touchdowns as Wake beat FCS Elon. The final margin isn’t the most impressive, but Elon got all of their points after halftime, which the Demon Deacons went into up 24-0.

Next Week: Saturday vs. Vanderbilt

8. Louisville (1-0)

Last Week: beat Georgia Tech 39-34

The Jeff Brohm era got off to a winning start, as the Cardinals beats Georgia Tech. That being said, it required a comeback as Louisville trailed by 15 at halftime.

Next Week: Thursday vs. Murray State

9. Clemson (0-1, 0-1 ACC)

Last Week: lost to Duke 28-7

For the Tigers’ sake, they better hope Duke is actually pretty good, because that was not a great performance. Like Duke on the flipside of that game, this maybe too low for them, as there was definitely some back luck there, and they’ll probably be better as the season goes along.

Next Week: Saturday vs. Charleston Southern

10. Virginia Tech (1-0)

Last Week: beat Old Dominion 36-17

The Hokies didn’t put away Old Dominion until the fourth quarter, but that is an improvement considering that they lost to the Monarchs in 2022.

Next Week: Saturday vs. Purdue

11. Syracuse (1-0)

Last Week: beat Colgate 65-0

The Orange had no issues in dispatching FCS opponent Colgate over the weekend, and do currently lead the ACC in point differential.

Next Week: Saturday vs. Western Michigan

12. Georgia Tech (0-1, 0-1 ACC)

Last Week: lost to Louisville 39-34

The Yellow Jackets are technically tied for last place in the ACC, with their lone game being a conference loss, but they played the Cardinals tough in Brent Key’s first official game as head coach.

Next Week: Saturday vs. South Carolina State

13. Virginia (0-1)

Last Week: lost to Tennessee 49-13

It wasn’t pretty, but the Cavaliers did lose to a Tennessee team that was good last year and could be again this season.

Next Week: Saturday vs. James Madison

14. Boston College (0-1)

Last Week: lost to Northern Illinois 27-24

Whew, boy. BC lost at home to a Northern Illinois team that was picked to be middle of the pack in the MAC.

Next Week: Saturday vs. Holy Cross