ACC Power Rankings 2016: Week 3

Here’s a look at how the 14 ACC teams rank entering after Week Three’s results in the 2016 season.

Don’t look now, fans of the ACC and its member schools,  but we may have had a new changing of the guard in the 14-team conference. It all took place on a Kentucky afternoon, where I am pretty sure that Lamar Jackson just scored again on the Florida State Seminoles’ defense.

The 43-point victory by the Cardinals –part of a day where FSU gave up more points than ever before in program history– gives the conference a new top dog and the possibility for an absolute nightmare when it comes playoff time for the 14 team league.

Here’s a look at our power rankings following week three’s action.

At the start of the season, there was so much hope that the Cavaliers might actually be a bowl team when the year was over. Now, the question is if they will get at least one win this season. First, a loss to an FCS team, now a missed chance at a late field goal against UConn? Ouch.

The worst part of it all is that the Wahoos actually outgained the Huskies by over 100 yards, led by quarterback Kurt Benkurt going for 254 in the air. It’s not as if Virginia is a bad team, but they are clearly the most underachieving team through the first quarter of the season.

Saturday’s loss on the road to Northwestern would have been admirable had we been talking about a Jeopardy championship or some other form of academic competition. But when you lose to a team that lost to an FCS opponent just a week ago, you stay at the bottom of the list.

If the Blue Devils want to do anything the rest of the way, the running game has to improve. The duo of Jela Duncan and Daniel Jones averaged just over four yards per carry in their loss. If that’s not going to do the trick against Northwestern, do they think it will against teams like Miami?

The number is now up to double digits for the Eagles when it comes to conference losses. A shutout at the hands of longtime foe Virginia Tech makes it 10 straight defeats (and 12 of 13 dating back to November of 2014). With Clemson next, I hear 11.

We’re not just talking about a bad game – we’re talking about a combined 124 yards of total offense in the game. Quarterback transfer Patrick Towles had a total of 80 yards on the day…and this is supposed to be an improved team over 2015? It’s going to be a long year in the commonwealth at this point.

It’s one thing to get blown out at home to Louisville and get leaped over by their star quarterback, Lamar Jackson. It’s another thing to have eight days to prepare for a middle of the road AAC team after having a 17 point lead. Enjoy the lower tier, gentlemen!

Syracuse actually outgained the Bulls on the day, but also gave up 28 points in the second quarter along to turn what looked to be a blowout win into a sure fire loss. Head coach Dino Babers has a short window as a first year coach before losses like this will demand answers.

The first team on the list this week who actually won a game are the men from Winston-Salem after a solid win over…FCS opponent Delaware. It would have been more respectable if Joe Flacco still had some eligibility for the Blue Hens, but without him, it’s an average win at best.

In true Wake Forest fashion, they allowed 21 points on a total of 94 yards of offense for their opponents. That’s the kind of stuff that will get them blown out of the water against teams like Florida State, Louisville and Clemson.