ACC Power Rankings 2016: Clemson returns to the top
By Jason Parker
What wasn’t impressive this week was the comeback by the men from Atlanta after blowing a big halftime lead. The impressive thing is looking at the numbers for quarterback Justin Thomas and realizing it didn’t just run for 195 yards but also threw the ball for 264 yards and two scores.
The schedule does not help out the Jackets with any chance to win the Coastal Division, but there is still plenty of chances to finish the season with a strong note, including ruining the season of teams like Virginia Tech and North Carolina.
Just in time for the bye week, the Orange have made their season relevant again with two straight wins to get back to .500. The bad news for the men from Western New York is that their next three games include Clemson, N.C. State and Florida State.
When Syracuse is playing well, they are a team that can hang with anyone. When the Orange lose their games, it’s by scores of 34, 25, 17 and 19 points this season — not what you want to hear when heading down to Clemson this weekend against the third ranked Tigers.
It was right there for the taking, the Panthers were all set to take the Coastal Division and be in control the rest of the way. Sadly, Pitt let the Hokies back in it and are now needing help if they want to make it to Orlando for the conference title game.
It wasn’t that the Panthers played bad this week; James Conner had a big night in the backfield and tallied three touchdowns. What they need more of is consistency from quarterback Nathan Peterman, who threw for over 260 yards but was inconsistent all night long.