2009 ACC Power Rankings (Week 5)

By clemsoncannon  |   Thursday, October 01, 2009  |  Comments( 0 )

College Football
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The hierarchy of the conference is starting to take shape after 4 weeks of action. The Coastal division is clearly superior to the Atlantic Division with four teams still legitimate contenders for the ACC title out of that division. Florida State is clearly not the team we thought they were after a wildly inconsistent first month of the season that has them sitting at 2-2. Virginia Tech showed that they are still the class of the conference with a resounding 31-7 beat down of an upstart Miami Hurricanes team. There was plenty of movement between #2 and #9 in this week's power rankings and here is how they shake out this week.

1. Virginia Tech 3-1 (1-0) beat Miami 31-7

Ryan Williams rushed for 150 yards and the Hokies defense harassed Jacory Harris into a 9 of 25 performance as Virginia Tech showed they are still the team to beat in the ACC.

Next game: @ Duke (10-3)

2. Georgia Tech 3-1 (2-1) beat UNC 24-7

The Yellow Jackets switched to a 4-3 look on defense and simplified their play book and made it look easy against UNC. Jonathan Dwyer rushed for 158 of Georgia Tech's 317 yards on the ground.

Next game: @ Miss. St. (10-3)

3. Miami 2-1 (2-1) lost to VA Tech 31-7

The Hurricanes showed that they are not quite ready to reside atop the ACC's Coastal Division in an ugly loss to Virginia Tech. Jacory Harris had a tough day completing only 9 of 25 passes and getting sacked 3 times. This team needs to shake off this loss in a hurry with the Sooners coming to town.

Next game: vs. Oklahoma (10-3)

4. NC State 3-1 (0-0) beat Pitt 38-31

The Wolfpack erased a 14 point deficit to defeat a highly regarded Pitt Panthers team. Russell Wilson threw for 322 yards and four touchdowns. It's all conference games from here on out for the Wolfpack.

Next game: @ Wake Forest (10-3)

5. UNC 3-1 (0-1) lost to Georgia Tech 24-7

The Tar Heels had a top 10 defense entering this game but got torched for 317 yards on the ground while only gaining 17 themselves. They should be able to bounce back with a win this week.

Next game: vs. Virginia (10-3)

6. Clemson 2-2 (1-1) lost to TCU 14-10

This was a defensive struggle that Clemson could have won. They drove inside the TCU 20 twice down the stretch but could not punch it in. The Tigers just don't quite seem to have it offensively this year.

Next game: @ Maryland (10-3)

7. Florida State 2-2 (0-1) lost to South Florida 17-7

The Seminoles have been maddeningly inconsistent this year, struggling with Jacksonville State and South Florida but blowing out BYU. South Florida freshman QB BJ Daniels threw for 215 yards and rushed for 126 yards making you wonder why Florida State wasn't interested in recruiting him out of high school.

Next game: @ Boston College (10-3)

8. Boston College 3-1 (1-1) beat Wake Forest 27-24 in OT

The Eagles bounced back from an embarrassing loss at Clemson to beat a shaky Wake Forest team. Dave Shinskie probably established himself as the starting quarterback with his 3 touchdown performance.

Next game: vs. Florida State (10-3)

9. Wake Forest 2-2 (0-1) lost to Boston College 27-24 in OT

A fumble on the BC 4 yard line in overtime stopped what might have been the winning touchdown drive for the Deacons. Riley Skinner threw 2 touchdowns in the final 3:44 of regulation to force the overtime period.

Next game: vs. NC State (10-3)

10. Duke 2-2 (0-0) beat NC Central 49-14

Who would have thought the Blue Devils would be 2-2 at this point in the season? The party is over this week.

Next game: vs. VA Tech (10-3)

11. Maryland 1-3 (0-0) lost to Rutgers 34-13

Ralph Friedgen's chair is probably getting a little warm as Maryland is one play away from being 0-4 going into conference play.

Next game: vs. Clemson (10-3)

12. Virginia 0-3 (0-0) was idle.

Virginia has had two weeks to make adjustments to their spread offense and finally start producing yards and points consistently. They face a Tar Heel team that is reeling after being dominated by Georgia Tech last week.

Next game: @ UNC (10-3)
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