ACC Football Rankings: November 26, 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 November 26, 2012:
1. Florida State (10-2)–The Seminoles can complain about the computers, the conference, and everything else… but they just do not get it done on the field. Again and again. Still, the win over Clemson makes them the class of the ACC.
2. Clemson (10-2)–The SEC is all about defense. And South Carolina’s defense did to Clemson what no team did all year–keep them under 25 points. So Clemson remains firmly in the #2 spot here.
3. North Carolina (8-4)–The Tar Heels won a shoot out against Maryland. Not sure how impressive it is to give up 38 points to this Maryland team, but a win is a win.
4. Syracuse (7-5)–The Orange defeated Temple, behind yet another solid rushing/passing game. Interestingly, still alive for a Big East co-championship if Louisville beats Rutgers.
5. Miami (7-5)–The Hurricanes are far from back, but 7-5 is a good start. Indeed, this would have been their first appearance in a CCG, but for the looming sanctions. Y
6. North Carolina State (7-5)–The Wolfpack won! That’s the good news. The bad news is that 7-5 was not good enough to keep Tom O’Brien on the payroll. The worse news is that Debbie Yow is in charge of finding the replacement.
7. Georgia Tech (6-6)–At 6-6, the Yellow Jackets “earned” the right to play Florida State in the ACC Conference Championship Game. This is why you need a North/South split. Let the northern schools pillow fight themselves to a point where some team can win 8 games.
8. Duke (6-6)–No doubt about it… going to a bowl is great for Duke. But there is also no dispute that Duke is backing in. When is the last time they actually won? Answer: two Saturdays before Halloween. Wow.
9. Pittsburgh (5-6)–The Panthers rallied to defeat Rutgers in fine fashion, 27-6. If Pitt can beat South Florida, they’ll be bowl eligible.
10. Virginia Tech (6-6)–The Hokies also make it a bowl, albeit riding wins over Boston College and Virginia to get there. Better than missing out though.
11. Wake Forest (5-7)—The Demon Deacons, who the Confidential thought had the best chance of the ACC bottom feeders to make a bowl, missed out. Garden-variety mediocrity here. At best.
12. Virginia (4-8)–Virginia was a tough team to figure out and the end of the season was more of the same. Good enough to beat almost anyone, bad enough to lose to almost anyone. They did a lot of latter too. Onto 2013.
13. Maryland (4-8)–At 4-8, Maryland deserves a lot of credit for improving and “overcoming” challenges. Then again, they are going to be an appetizer for the Big 10 football dinner each week.
14. Boston College (2-10)–At least a new coach will give Boston College fans a reason to be a little optimistic. Beyond that… not sure what else can be said.
Do you agree with these rankings? If not, let us know.
The Confidential 