#2 Georgia Tech wins an instant classic vs. #6 Virginia Tech 47-45

We are now 1/4th through the Fake College Football Season. We are now almost at the point where we can disregard Season 2 in favor of the data points we now have as teams start to separate themselves from the rest of the field in both good and bad ways. Now let’s get to ranking these teams.

1.) Georgia Tech, 3-0 (2-0), 0 from last week, defeated #6 Virginia Tech 47-45– In what was one of the best games of the season to date, the Top 10 showdown between GT and VT lived up to the hype as these teams traded blows on the offensive side as they combined for 915 yards of offense while GT’s coach got revenge as this time they were the ones to end an undefeated season on a walk-off field goal as they hit a 38 yard FG as time expired to remain undefeated and be the last team in the ACC to be so. They must head up to Massachusetts this week to take on National Runner-Up UMass in the final leg of the Murder’s Row they have had to face in the first four weeks of the season.

2.) Syracuse, 2-1 (2-0), +8, defeated North Carolina 31-20– Syracuse moves to 2-0 in ACC Play after taking down formally undefeated North Carolina lead by a 2nd half defensive shutout as they share that 2-0 ACC record with only Georgia Tech. They must hit the road again this week; however, it is in-state as they take on in-state rival Buffalo in an Arizona Bowl rematch in which Syracuse dominated 28-7 and looks to repeat that type of performance this week.

3.) NC State, 2-1 (0-1), +3, defeated South Carolina 38-21– NC State bounced back from their loss to Georgia Tech as they beat South Carolina comfortably as they controlled the game from the start finished the 1st quarter up 14-0 and never looking back. They return home this week as they face their first team in the Atlantic in Florida State.

4.) Virginia Tech, 2-1 (0-1), -2, lost to #2 Georgia Tech 47-45– Virginia Tech’s perfect season came to an end this week as they were on the wrong side of a close game as their defense imploded this week giving up 47 points and over 450 yards. Too many mistakes on that side of the ball cost the Hokies the game such as giving up a long touchdown on the final play of the 1st half. This week is the final week of a 3 game road stand as they travel to face off against Duke.

5.) Duke, 2-1 (1-0), -2, lost to Washington State 49-34- Duke’s excuse for a defense finally got them killed this week as they took their first loss of the season to formally winless Washington State. The offense still put up numbers with 475 yards of offense but they made too many mistakes as well as Duke threw four interceptions on the day and Duke got absolutely murdered in the 2nd half by a 28-3 margin. If Duke wants to contend for the Coastal Title they have to fix that defense. They return home in a pivotal showdown against the Hokies this week.

6.) Virginia, 2-1 (1-0), +2, defeated #13 Boston College 56-27– Virginia came back with a vengeance this week as they demolished the 13th Ranked Eagles in a game that was never in question; however, that loss to Wyoming a week ago may be the type of loss that screws UVA over down the line. They travel to Chapel Hill to face off against UNC in the South’s Oldest Rivalry.

7.) Boston College, 2-1 (1-1), -2, lost to Virginia 56-27– Speaking of Boston College, what a disaster last week was for them. They got dominated in every faucet of the game. Yes they had over 300 yards of offense but lots of that was in garbage time. They travel to Happy Valley this week in a Northeast showdown between Boston College and Penn State.

8.) North Carolina, 2-1 (1-1), -4, lost to Syracuse 31-20– UNC was trading punches with Syracuse early as they were only down a point at the half. The offensive decided to not do anything the rest of the game as they did not score in the second half leading to their 1st defeat of the season. They return home to face off against Virginia in the South’s Oldest Rivalry.

9.) Wake Forest, 1-2 (0-1), 0, lost to #12 Texas State 17-14– Wake Forest’s season already has had 2 very close losses to some solid teams in Boston College Week 1 and now this week against #12 Texas State. Wake’s defense came to play they held Texas State to only 212 yard of offense. The problem though…Wake’s offense only managed 104 yards, turned it over twice, and only had possession for just over 6 minutes of game time. Those types of numbers will never win you football games. They return to ACC play this week as they travel to Kentucky to take on Louisville.

10.) Pittsburgh, 1-2 (0-2), +2, defeated Fresno State 23-0– Pitt kicked off OOC play with a 23-0 victory over what the metrics consider the worst team in the Nation in Fresno State. This week they take on bitter rival West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl in what is a pivotal game as the winner moves to .500 while the loser moves to 1-3.

11.) Louisville, 1-2 (1-0), +3, defeated Clemson 48-41– At long last…we will have a new coach in last place for the 1st time since Week 5 of last season. Louisville’s offense exploded in the 2nd half as they put up 38 points in the 2nd half and start off ACC play with a win. They travel back home this week to take on Wake Forest.

12.) Clemson, 1-2 (0-1), -5, lost to Louisville 48-41– Clemson…what was that. The bad side of Clemson showed their ugly face again as they gave up 28 4th quarter points to a coach that had been at the bottom of the ACC for nearly an entire year. That’s one of the worst quarters of football I’ve seen from any team this season. Also, can we all agree that Clemson #1 in the rankings just…never happened.

13.) Miami, 1-2 (1-1), 0, defeated Florida State 35-24– Miami moves into the win column this week as they take down in-state rivals FSU. Miami finally decided to do some offense this week as they had over 350 yards of offense. They remain at home this week as they take on a very solid Cal team.

14. Florida State, 1-2 (0-1), -3, lost to Miami 35-24- Hello FSU, you cap off both ends of the GT/UL run here at the bottom of the ACC Power Rankings. Last time you were here you defeated Louisville 33-6 so you should thank me. Back to this week, they go down to Miami in Miami in their 1st ACC Game and USF is looking like one of the worst teams in the nation and FSU needed last second heroics to win that game. They being a brutal stretch of games this week as their next 3 games are: @NC State, vs. Duke, and vs. Boston College. They will have a difficult time winning just one of those games.