ACC Football Rankings: October 22, 2012
This is particularly complex with Pitt and Syracuse not yet in the ACC, but it can still be done. This is how the Confidential ranks the ACC football teams as of October 22, 2012:
1. Florida State (7-1)–With a win over Miami, the Seminoles stay comfortably ahead of Clemson for the best overall record in the ACC. Florida State cannot look ahead to the Florida game and MUST continue to take care of business.
2. Clemson (6-1)–Clemson defeated Virginia Tech, maintaining its safe spot at #2 in the conference. The Tigers did what they needed to do against a struggling Hokies team.
3. Duke (6-2)–The Blue Devils rebounded from a loss at Virginia Tech to defeat North Carolina at home. The Blue Devils are bowl-eligible for the first time in nearly 20 years. Congratulations!
4. North Carolina State (5-2)–The Wolfpack moved to 5-2 by defeating Maryland in College Park. NC State is now one win away from bowl eligibility with 5 games left.
5. North Carolina (5-3)–The Tar Heels had a chance to get to bowl-eligibility, but lost to rival Duke. One wonders if the sanctions take some of the juice out of the thrill of getting that 6th win.
6. Miami (4-4)–The Hurricanes have lost to some pretty good teams this year. They have lost ugly though.
7. Virginia Tech (4-4)–This is just not the Hokies’ year. Really, Virginia Tech could be a few slots lower too.
8. Maryland (4-3)–The Terps get the nod over Wake Forest here as they won the head-to-head matchup. What great character this team has shown in being above .500 this late in the season.
9. Wake Forest (4-3)—The Demon Deacons took care of Virginia–a nice road win. A bowl is still readily in sight.
10. Syracuse (3-4)–Syracuse salvaged its chances for a bowl game by defeating UConn handily over the weekend. They’ll need to win 3 out of the 5 remaining, but all opponents look somewhat vulnerable.
11. Pittsburgh (3-4)—Pitt gets the edge over Georgia Tech by virtue of beating Virginia Tech. Pitt’s wins over Buffalo and Gardner-Webb are not all that impressive otherwise.
12. Georgia Tech (3-4)–Georgia Tech is half-way to bowl eligibility with a convincing win over Boston College. The Yellow Jackets are still searching for a good win though.
13. Virginia (2-6)–At 2-6, Virginia really needs a bye week. Fortunately, they’ll get one this week.
14. Boston College (1-6)–After losing yet again, the Eagles don’t need a bye week–they might STILL lose. Gotta figure a coaching change is an inevitability.
Do you agree with these rankings? If not, let us know.
The Confidential 