ACC Rankings Week 12

Atlantic

1. Clemson Tigers: Travis Etienne averaged a ridiculous nine-yards per carry on his way to 81 yards and two touchdowns. That’s all the Tigers needed to beat the Blue Devils, but Trevor Lawrence and Tavien Feaster contributed three more TDs. Clemson is undefeated in regular season ACC play for the first time since 2015.

2. Syracuse Orange: Dino Babers and company took on Notre Dame in Yankees stadium so that ND could wear silly uniforms with a baseball motif. Syracuse starting QB, Eric Dungey, left early with an upper body injury. The Orange aren’t the same without Dungey on the field, and were smashed by the Fighting Irish, 36-3.

3. N.C. State Wolfpack: NCST was the latest ACC foe to defeat Louisville by double digits. The ‘pack next invade Chapel Hill and face arch-rival, UNC.

4. Boston College Eagles: BC fell to FSU, 22-21. A.J. Dillon ran 37 times, collecting 116 yards and two TDs, but it wasn’t enough to stop BC from suffering a let-down after their loss to Clemson last weekend.

5. Florida State Seminoles: With less than two minutes left in regulation Deondre Francois hit Tamorrian Terry for a 74-yard go-ahead touchdown. The surprising upset keeps the ‘Noles bowl hopes alive. Next week Florida State will have a full plate when they host the No. 13 Florida Gators.

6. Wake Forest Demon Deacons: It looked like Wake was going to give Pitt quite a fight after the first half ended with the Panthers trailing the Deacons 10-6. While WF effectively slowed the robust Pitt rushing attack they were unable to account for QB Kenny Picket who threw for 316 yards and three TDs. Wake’s bowl dream remains alive, but they will need to defeat a dangerous Duke squad to get into the postseason.

7. Louisville Cardinals: Pretty much just waiting until the end of the season and who will be the next head coach.

Coastal

1. Pittsburgh Panthers: Witht their win over Wake the Panthers have locked up the Coastal division and will be facing the Clemson Tigers during the ACC Championship game.

2. Duke Blue Devils: Duke put forth a valiant effort, hanging with last year’s ACC Champions for the first half before allowing 35 unanswered points and being held scoreless in the second half. Coming up the Blue Devils will host a hungry Wake Forest team hoping to secure a bowl berth.

3. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: GT scored a safety and a touchdown during the resulting kickoff. The nine-point swing, which occurred over 11 seconds, was enough to carry the Yellow Jackets to a 30-27 victory over UVA. Next week the Jackets face off against the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs.

4. Virginia Cavaliers: Bryce Perkins was held to mortal numbers and the safety-kick return combination allowed by Virginia drastically changed the game. UVA’s defense did a nice job holding the GT triple-option offense to only 305 yards of production, but the Hoo’s ability to win is still shackled to the performance of Perkins. Next week UVA faces off against a desperate VT with realistic hopes of breaking their losing streak against the Hokies.

5. Miami-Florida Hurricanes: Considering the performances that Miami’s offense submitted all season long it seems safe to say that their second half explosion was much more due to VT’s defensive issues than some sort of offensive epiphany by the ‘Canes. The 38-14 bludgeoning ended Miami’s four game skid and qualified the program for bowl eligibility.

6. Virginia Tech Hokies: What else is there to say? Go beat Virginia. If VT beats UVA then there will be a home game against Marshall scheduled. If the Hokies lose there will be no need for an additional game as the Hokies will be mathematically removed from earning bowl eligibility. A lot rides on Friday’s game and the Hoos would love to take it all from VT.

7. North Carolina Tar Heels: Hey! Look at that! They got their second win!

Overall Conference

1. (No. 2 AP / No. 2 Coaches) Clemson Tigers (11-0 / 8-0) – Static

2. (No. 19 / No. 19) Syracuse Orange (8-3 / 5-2) – Static

3. (No. 24 / No. 25) Pittsburgh Panthers (7-4 / 6-1) – Up One

4. N.C. State Wolfpack (7-3 / 4-3) – Up One

5. Boston College Eagles (7-4 / 4-3) – Down Two

6. Duke Blue Devils (7-4 / 3-4) – Up One

7. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (7-4 / 5-3) – Up One

8. Virginia Cavaliers (7-4 / 4-3) – Down Two

9. Miami-Florida Hurricanes (6-5 / 3-4) – Up One

10. Florida State Seminoles (5-6 / 3-5) – Up One

11. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (5-6 / 2-5) – Down Two

12. Virginia Tech Hokies (4-6 / 3-4) – Static

13. North Carolina Tar Heels (2-8 / 1-6) – Static

14. Louisville Cardinals (2-9 / 0-8) – Static