Welcome to The Athletic’s ACC power rankings. Each week, Grace Raynor and Manny Navarro take turns drafting teams based on how they performed the previous week (and all season). Grace has the first pick. Manny will pick first next week.
1. SMU (previous ranking: 2): Wheels up to Charlotte! The Mustangs are headed to the ACC Championship Game in their first season in the league. What a debut for coach Rhett Lashlee, whose team clinched its spot with a 33-7 win against Virginia and has been one of the best stories in college football this year. — Raynor
2. Miami (1): The Hurricanes rebounded from their first loss of the season at Georgia Tech by beating Wake Forest at home by four touchdowns. But don’t let the final score fool you. Miami scored 22 points over the final eight minutes and is still playing with its food too much. If the Canes lose at Syracuse on Saturday, they’ll miss out on the league championship game for the 20th time in 21 seasons. — Navarro
The leader behind the nation’s #1 offense is a nominee for the Broyles Award 🙌
Congratulations, Coach Shannon Dawson!
🔗: https://t.co/cPdQ9yMEw4 pic.twitter.com/ZBVN4ro6ZC
— Miami Hurricanes Football (@CanesFootball) November 26, 2024
3. Clemson (3): Don’t look now, but Clemson may have an argument for the College Football Playoff if the Tigers can beat South Carolina in what will be among the biggest rivalry games of Dabo Swinney’s career. The Tigers offense versus the Gamecocks defense, specifically up front, will be must-see TV. — Raynor
4. Louisville (4): If not for a bad loss at Stanford two weeks ago, Jeff Brohm’s team might have a decent argument to be a three-loss Playoff bubble team. The blowout of Pitt last week at home at least sets up the Cardinals (7-4) to hit the preseason over/under mark of eight wins. — Navarro
5. Georgia Tech (5): The Yellow Jackets won a wild one against NC State last week, 30-29, and have now won seven games for the second consecutive season under Brent Key. It’ll be tough to beat Georgia this week, but the Yellow Jackets have nothing to lose and are playing with confidence after beating Miami and NC State. — Raynor
6. Duke (6): Here’s a stat to chew on: Clemson (29) and SMU (28) are the only teams in the ACC that have won more games than the Blue Devils (25) since the start of the 2022 season. Florida State and Louisville are tied with Duke for third. North Carolina (23), Miami (22) and NC State (22) are next. — Navarro
7. Syracuse (9): The Orange have the chance to create chaos this week with a win against Miami — a result that would send Clemson to the ACC title game. The Hurricanes are favored and Syracuse’s defense will have its hands full with the nation’s No. 1 offense, but quarterback Kyle McCord has rebounded nicely after his disastrous five-interception outing against Pitt and has thrown seven touchdowns against just one interception in the last four games. — Raynor
8. Boston College (15): We’ve reached the Spider-Man meme portion of the conference rankings where a team like Boston College can be ranked 15th one week or eighth the next. The Eagles crushed North Carolina by 20 points at home last week, so we jumped them up to one spot behind a team they beat on Nov. 9 and ahead of two teams they beat (Virginia and Virginia Tech) earlier this season. — Navarro
9. Pittsburgh (7): The Panthers started hot with a 7-0 record but have lost four in a row heading into Saturday’s game against Boston College. Starting quarterback Eli Holstein did not play against Clemson and was injured again early last week versus Louisville. Coach Pat Narduzzi told local reporters that Holstein’s injury was “not season-ending,” which leaves open the possibility he could play against Boston College and/or in the bowl game. — Raynor
10. Cal (16): Miami native Fernando Mendoza tapped into his inner Aaron Rodgers and engineered a game-winning drive to lead the Bears over rival Stanford. Cal is bowl-bound for the second year in a row and for the fourth time under Justin Wilcox. — Navarro
“THAT WAS AN AMAZING COMEBACK … I LOVE MY BOYS … GO BEARS FOREVER!”
Fernando Mendoza overcome with emotion after his game-winning drive vs. Stanford 🥹@CalFootball | @qb_fernando pic.twitter.com/yYZvGQDhPY
— ACC Network (@accnetwork) November 24, 2024
11. North Carolina (8): After an uninspiring loss to Boston College, Mack Brown is on his way out at UNC. Brown will coach this week against NC State, but it’s time to start thinking about the future. The biggest question for the Tar Heels now turns to recruiting — can they keep four-star quarterback Bryce Baker? Athletic director Bubba Cunningham has a huge hiring decision on his hands. — Raynor
12. Virginia (10): There’s only one ACC team with fewer wins since Tony Elliott took over the program in 2022. That would be Stanford. The disheartening part is Elliott is an offensive coach and his offense stinks. Virginia is averaging an ACC-worst 15 points and 271 yards per game in November. That’s worse than bleeping Florida State. — Navarro
13. Virginia Tech (11): The Hokies are on a three-game losing streak and haven’t met the lofty preseason expectations. This week’s rivalry game against Virginia is crucial for Brent Pry, who needs a win to become bowl-eligible … and possibly save his job. — Raynor
14. Wake Forest (12): Life just hasn’t been the same since Sam Hartman bolted for Notre Dame. The Demon Deacons completed only one of their five pass attempts in the second half of the loss at Miami. If that doesn’t define a quarterback problem, I’m not sure what does. — Navarro
15. NC State (13): Freshman quarterback CJ Bailey has been a bright spot, but NC State’s defense has been a disappointment and is the primary reason the Pack have just five wins heading into the rivalry game against North Carolina. — Raynor
16. Stanford (14): Yes, it was heartbreaking to lose to rival Cal for the fourth straight time in the Big Game. Stanford is stuck on three wins and will need to pull off an upset at San Jose State — yes, the Spartans are favored — to get to four. — Navarro
17. Florida State (17): The Seminoles finally picked up their second win last week, a 41-7 victory over Charleston Southern. Everything has gone wrong for Mike Norvell’s team this year and it doesn’t get any easier this week against a scrappy, on-the-rise Florida team. — Raynor
Bonus question
You are the decision-maker at North Carolina. Who is your pick to be the next head coach?
Navarro: He’s not on Bruce Feldman’s list of candidates, but Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden would be an interesting selection for a lot of reasons. He coached previously in the ACC at Miami from 2011 to 2015, and now at age 55, he has turned the Irish defense into one of the best in the country. Yes, he has a career record of 59-59 between his stops at Temple and Coral Gables. But sometimes, guys learn a lot when they’re able to take a step back and review their mistakes. I think Golden is ready to have success as a head coach.
Raynor: I’m not sure how he’d feel about it, but I perked up when I saw Iowa State’s Matt Campbell on Bruce’s list. UNC needs a builder and Campbell is one of the best. The Tar Heels have plenty of access to talent but haven’t been able to field a consistent defense in years and need someone who can develop talent. He’s not flashy, which is a bonus in my opinion. The Tar Heels need consistency.
(Photo of Kevin Jennings: Jerome Miron / Imagn Images)