ACC Power Rankings Tiers Week 13: Florida State Stands Alone
TJ Inman
Host · Writer
Tier V: Wake Forest, Virginia & Pittsburgh
Wake Forest probably has the best defense of this bottom tier but in a major surprise, Dave Clawson's Demon Deacons have a dreadful offense with no answers in sight. Pittsburgh has been terrible, socring just 223 points on the season but they do have a win over Louisville. The Virginia Cavaliers are improving and have done enough to keep head coach Tony Elliott around for another. They close the year with an important rivalry clash against Virginia Tech.
Tier I: Florida State Seminoles
The unbeaten Seminoles sit alone at the top of the ACC. They are ranked fourth in the country and are perhaps the conference's only hope to make the College Football Playoff. There are suddenly major question marks about the offense though as quarterback Jordan Travis suffered a gruesome leg injury that has ended his collegiate career. The injury pushes redshirt junior Tate Rodemaker into the starting lineup as they close the season against Florida and Louisville in the ACC Championship Game.
Tier II: Louisville
The Louisville Cardinals are now ranked 11th. Despite doubts about the strength of their schedule and overall quality, the Cardinals keep winning and are sitting at 10-1. It's impossible to call Jeff Brohm's first season anything but a smashing success thus far. They now sit alone in Tier 2 and the injury to Travis opens the door for the Cardinals to win the ACC.
Tier III: North Carolina State, North Carolina & Clemson
North Carolina State leads the way in Tier 3. MJ Morris opted to redshirt so the Wolfpack turned back to Brennan Armstrong at quarterback, but it makes no difference as the defense continues to excel. NC State now sits at 8-3 after knocking off Virginia Tech 35-28. Clemson is having a great November and appears to be playing as well as anyone in the conference. They beat Notre Dame, hammered Georgia Tech, and comfortably dispatched North Carolina. UNC drops down to Tier 3 after losing at Clemson by double-digits. The Tar Heels have not looked great recently and despite continued great production from the offense, the defense has not been near as good as it was to begin the campaign.
Tier IV: Boston College, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Duke & Miami
This tier is crowded but none of these teams have distinguished themselves from the pack. Georgia Tech is 5-3 in the league but they will likely finish at 6-6 overall and have failed to beat any of the top tier teams. Virginia Tech is just 5-6 and they need a win over Virginia to reach a bowl game. Boston College, Duke, and Miami will be bowling but neither is above average. BC and Miami play each other to close the regular season so one of them will have a winning record in 2023.
Tier VI: Syracuse
The Syracuse Orange have lost six of seven games and must beat Wake Forest to earn a trip to a bowl game. The losing skid and major inconsistency resulted in the Orange firing head coach Dino Babers after another frustrating loss to Georgia Tech this past weekend.
Tier V: Wake Forest, Virginia & Pittsburgh
Wake Forest probably has the best defense of this bottom tier but in a major surprise, Dave Clawson's Demon Deacons have a dreadful offense with no answers in sight. Pittsburgh has been terrible, socring just 223 points on the season but they do have a win over Louisville. The Virginia Cavaliers are improving and have done enough to keep head coach Tony Elliott around for another. They close the year with an important rivalry clash against Virginia Tech.
Tier I: Florida State Seminoles
The unbeaten Seminoles sit alone at the top of the ACC. They are ranked fourth in the country and are perhaps the conference's only hope to make the College Football Playoff. There are suddenly major question marks about the offense though as quarterback Jordan Travis suffered a gruesome leg injury that has ended his collegiate career. The injury pushes redshirt junior Tate Rodemaker into the starting lineup as they close the season against Florida and Louisville in the ACC Championship Game.
