Virginia Tech upsets #1 Pittsburgh 49-42 on the road to shake up the Coastal Race

As the season progresses, you expect the path to the conference championship to clear up. This is very true for the ACC Atlantic. It is officially a two-horse race between Boston College and NC State with only Clemson technically alive. HOWEVER, in the ACC Coastal, 4 teams have legit shots at the title: Virginia, Pittsburgh, Duke, and Virginia Tech. Should be an exciting race to the finish.

1. Boston College– BC got a solid 31-14 win over Florida State this week. Their VT win got much more valuable this week. They get one of their biggest test of the season in the biggest Atlantic-Coastal Showdown of the Regular Season as they travel to Pitt.

2. NC State– Survive and advance. NC State survived the trip to Death Valley barely. They remain one of the five remaining undefeated teams along with Boston College. They have one of the biggest games in the young league’s history this week in the first ever 7-0 showdown as they travel to UMass.

3. Pittsburgh– Pitt went down to Virginia Tech this week in what was a dismantling of the Pittsburgh Defense. The rest of the nation will be looking to see what Virginia Tech did right this week. No break for Pitt as they host undefeated Boston College this week.

4. Virginia Tech– Speaking of Virginia Tech, they did what neither Duke or Marshall could do and they beat Pitt. From losing a heartbreaker to UNC to beating Pitt. That’s a heck of a one-week turnaround. They have an OOC game this week as they host Cincinnati who has fallen off after a hot start.

5. Duke- This week was Duke’s turn to have a heartbreaking loss. They had the defending National Champions on the ropes up 1 late and then Marshall does what they did in the Title. Walk. Off. Field. Goal. They host an easier opponent in Syracuse who has won 2 in a row now.

6. Virginia– UVA got a dominate defensive performance this week vs Miami this week in a 14-0 shutout. UVA needs a signature win to get noticed. They most certainly do not get that chance this week as they host Clemson this week.

7. Louisville– Louisville finally won a close game as they beat Wake 35-28 in OT on a walk-off fumble. Michigan State has now won 4 in a row and look like favorites again in a very weak Big 10 and Syracuse has somehow won 2 in a row. They get another tough game as they host 6-1 BYU this week in a rematch of a Season 1 Classic.

8. Miami- Miami drops one spot this week as they fell to UVA 14-0 in a pathetic offensive showing like all season long. They did beat UNC earlier in the season which is how they hold on this high. Miami travels to Tallahassee this week to face bitter rivals, FSU.

9. North Carolina– UNC absolutely demolished GT 42-0 and held GT to negative yards a half into the game. VT win is looking especially nice now. They host in-state rival Wake Forest this week.



10. Clemson– Sooooo close, yet so far. Clemson almost pulled off the major upset vs. NCSU but didn’t. They move up two spot this week with that performance and the fact they have the H2H with Wake and Syracuse. They get another shot to pull off an upset but this time on the road as they face 6-1 UVA.



11. Syracuse– This team makes no sense. 0-4 in ACC Play. 3-0 in OOC Play. Gets killed by Clemson and Louisville. Then goes on to win two in a row the next two weeks. Hard for me to put them above Clemson when they got demolished by them.

12. Wake Forest– Wake lost a closely contested battle with Louisville, 35-28 in OT and now drop from #7 to #12. Now watch out for Wake to make a little run here late. 4 very manageable games coming up starting with a trip to in-state rival UNC.

13. Florida State– FSU went back to their normal ways this week with a 31-14 loss to BC. They fall from 10th to 13th due to, in large part, that H2H loss to Wake. They host in-state rivals Miami this week. A must win if FSU wants to make a bowl

14. Georgia Tech– A staple of these power rankings now. Once again, GT is last. A 41-0 loss to UNC will keep you here along with the fact that they had more yards at the start of the game than they did at halftime. They finally get a break from ACC Play as they travel to Orlando to face a solid UCF team.