ACC power rankings: Miami stays on top, FSU plummets after Week 3

Though there were some notable exceptions like Pitt’s thrilling Backyard Brawl victory against West Virginia, it was a relatively quiet Week 3 of the college football season for the ACC, with five of its 17 teams on bye,
Whatever sense of calm or predictability enveloped much of the coast-to-cost league didn’t extend to Tallahassee, Florida.
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Florida State, the conference’s reigning champion and preseason favorite, is enduring a stunning 0-3 start after coming into the season ranked No. 10 in the US LBM Coaches Poll. The Seminoles’ 20-12 loss Saturday at home to Memphis, a game in which they were held to 238 total yards, is the latest and most notable setback in what’s quickly becoming a lost season.
As coach Mike Norvell’s team continues to plummet, where does the rest of the conference stand? Here’s how the ACC stacks up after Week 3:
Another week, another dominant performance from the Hurricanes, with Cam Ward throwing for 346 yards and five touchdowns in a 62-0 win against Ball State. Miami has outscored its three opponents 159-26 heading into what could be a tough game against South Florida.
Saturday’s game against NC State could offer an important and instructive look at which team the No. 19 Tigers are closer to being: the one humiliated by Georgia, or the one capable of blowing out Appalachian State.
The Cardinals have looked impressive, particularly offensively, through two games, but those came against overmatched opponents. That will change Saturday against Georgia Tech.
Coming off a bye, the Orange can get off to a 3-0 start for the third-consecutive season with a win Friday at home against Stanford.
The Eagles got out to a 14-3 lead at No. 8 Missouri before falling 27-21 in a game in which they were outgained by a 440-298 margin. There’s little shame in losing on the road against a top-10 team, so Boston College only falls so far.
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The season-opening win against Florida State in Ireland is looking less impressive by the week, but the Yellow Jackets remain an improved, tough-minded team, as they showed in a 59-7 rout of VMI.
Pat Narduzzi’s Panthers have pulled off statistically improbable wins each of the past two weeks, beating Cincinnati 28-27 after trailing by 21 late in the third quarter and rival West Virginia 38-34 after losing by 10 with about three minutes left.
The Wolfpack is a confounding team three games into the season. After a 41-point loss to Tennessee, it trailed lowly Louisiana Tech by 11 at halftime before backup quarterback CJ Bailey relieved an injured Grayson McCall to rally NC State to a 30-20 victory.
Omarion Hampton was dominant in a 45-10 win against North Carolina Central, helping the Tar Heels overcome a slow start by rushing for 210 yards and matching a career high with three touchdowns while averaging 8.4 yards per carry.
With star running back Jaydn Ott out with an injury, Jaivian Thomas and Kadarius Calloway more than picked up the load, combining for 256 rushing yards and a touchdown on just 26 carries in a 31-10 win against soon-to-be Pac-12 member San Diego State.
The Blue Devils squandered an early 17-point lead and needed a late rally to edge UConn by five, which is a sentence no Power Four conference team should ever hope to have to read about itself.
The Hokies have rebounded effectively after a season-opening loss at Vanderbilt with two consecutive wins. Virginia Tech racked up 465 total yards, including 289 on the ground, in a 37-17 win against Old Dominion.
After three weeks of alternating between Kevin Jennings and Preston Stone at quarterback, Mustangs coach Rhett Lashlee named Jennings the starter ahead of this weekend’s rivalry game against TCU.
After a bye last week, the Cardinal will make its ACC debut Friday at Syracuse — more than 2,800 miles away from the school’s Palo Alto, California campus.
Following an encouraging 2-0 start to a season with low expectations, the Cavaliers were far too sloppy in a 27-13 loss to rival Maryland. They finished the game with four turnovers, three of which (two interceptions and a fumble) came from quarterback Anthony Colandrea.
At a certain point, whatever goodwill a team’s talent, previous results and preseason ranking gave it heading into a season vanishes. For the Seminoles, that point is now. A one-possession loss to Memphis, maybe the best Group of Five team in the country, isn’t damning by itself. But Florida State’s overall body of work through three games certainly is.
The Demon Deacons were gashed by No. 5 Ole Miss in a 40-6 home loss, with the Rebels more than doubling coach Dave Clawson’s team in total yardage, 649-311.