Duke upsets #3 Georgia Tech 37-35

After seven weeks of play, the ACC is still wide open with Georgia Tech going down this week to Duke and six of seven teams in the Atlantic at 4-3 or 3-4. Should be a wild race to the finish and with that said let’s get to the Power Rankings.

1.) Georgia Tech– 5-2 (4-1), 0 from last week, lost to Duke 37-35. Georgia Tech finally falls in ACC play as they Blue Devils throw a massive wrench in the ACC Coastal race as now no one controls their destiny to the ACC Title game in the Coastal. The Yellow Jackets head back home this week as they take on an underperforming UNC team.

2.) Virginia Tech– 6-1 (2-1), 0, defeated Miami 41-14. Virginia Tech was on upset alert early on this week as they were tied with 14 at the half against Miami but pulled it together with a 27-0 2nd half to win their ACC Home Opener. VT is the team closest to “controlling” their destiny in the Coastal as if GT, VT, and Duke all win out then the tiebreaker will be Composite and VT has the best Composite of the three right now. VT hits the road this week to take on Clemson. Bit of a revenge game for VT’s coach as they lost on a Hail Mary to them last year and have gone 9-1 since.

3.) Duke– 5-2 (4-1), +1, defeated #3 Georgia Tech 37-35. Duke finally got over that hump and knocked off a top ranked team this week even if they nearly blew it in the 4th. Duke throws themselves right into the heart of the ACC Title race. They hit the road this week as they take on Miami.

4.) Virginia– 4-3 (2-2), +1, defeated #1 Air Force 42-32. In what was a chaotic week in FCFB, Virginia ends Air Forces undefeated run with a dominant 28-15 half and just had to hold off AFA the rest of the way. They go from taking on #1 to taking on one of the worst teams in FBS in Pitt this week as UVA returns home.

5.) Louisville– 4-3 (4-0), -2, lost to UNLV 35-21. Louisville can’t seem to manage to win an OOC game as they move to 0-3 in OOC this week as they fall to UNLV as UL’s short run in the Top 25 will certainly end. They hit the road this week and return to ACC play as they take on FSU.

6.) NC State– 4-3 (1-3), +1, defeated #16 UMass 38-14. NC State has been pretty much the anti-UL this season as they can’t seem to lose in OOC play but are awful in ACC Play. This week they took down #16 UMass as a dominant 24-0 2nd half and 4 forced turnovers lead them to victory this week. They hit the road this week as they take on in-state rival, Wake Forest.

7.) Boston College– 4-3 (2-2), +1, defeated Louisiana-Monroe 28-18. Boston College got a comfortable win this week against ULM holding them under 250 yards. Not a whole lot to say as it doesn’t really affect anything. They finish up OOC play this week as they travel to good ‘ole Rocky Top to face Tennessee.

8.) Clemson– 3-4 (2-2), +2, defeated Syracuse 42-17. Clemson has absolutely dominated Syracuse the past two seasons as Clemson has won by a combined margin of 82-34. This is very reminiscent of last season as Clemson is beginning to heat up again as they have beaten NCSU and Syracuse these last 2 weeks. We will see how hot they can get as they have one of the tougher 2 game stretches in the county as they take on VT and GT these next 2 weeks.

9.) Syracuse– 3-4 (3-2), -3, lost to Clemson 42-17. It didn’t take long for Syracuse to fall out of the top tier of the ACC. Back-to-back not close losses to Louisville and Clemson will do that to you. They try end their struggles in OOC play as they take on ULM this week on the road.

10.) North Carolina– 3-4 (2-3), +2, defeated Pittsburgh 42-38. In one of the most back and forth games all week, UNC comes out on top after a last minute TD with over 500 yards of offense. UNC gets the same challenge that Clemson has these next 2 weeks, just in reverse as they play GT and VT these next 2 weeks.

11.) Miami– 3-4 (2-3), -2, lost to #8 Virginia Tech 41-14. Miami had a good 1st half as they were tied at 14 with VT but they just couldn’t hang for an entire game. They haven’t scored more than 14 points in any of their last 3 games. They are going to need to do more than that to keep up with Duke this week at home.

12.) Florida State– 3-4 (1-3), +1, defeated Arizona State 21-7. Florida State took care of business this week in a safe 14 point win over ASU. Holding ASU to only 121 yards this week. They have now won two games in a row and that is put to the test this week as they take on Atlantic leaders, Louisville.

13.) Pittsburgh– 2-5 (0-3), -2, lost to North Carolina 42-38. Pitt returns to their normal form this week after upsetting Temple the week before as they gave up over 500 yards to UNC this week. That was their best chance for a win until at least week 12. Their next 4 games are against UVA, Louisville, Georgia Tech, and Virginia Tech.

14.) Wake Forest– 1-6 (0-3), 0, lost to BYU 30-6. Wake Forest has gone from a team that kept losing close games to just a bad team that keeps getting blown out. Their bowl hopes are pretty much dead. It is very difficult to see this team pulling out 5 wins in a row. They return home this week as they host in-state rival NC State.