College football conference power rankings: Week 13

Nov 19, 2016; Boulder, CO, USA; Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Sefo Liufau (13) celebrates a rushing touchdown by running back Phillip Lindsay (23) (background) in the fourth quarter against the Washington State Cougars at Folsom Field. The Buffaloes defeated the Cougars 38-24. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA /

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Nov 17, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Louisville Cardinals running back Brandon Radcliff (23) is tackled after making a reception during the third quarter against the Houston Cougars at TDECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /

4. ACC

Two months ago, the ACC had an argument as the best conference in the land with the most realistic shot to send a pair of teams to the playoff. The conference now drops to fourth after Louisville suffered a crushing loss in a nonconference matchup.

Lamar Jackson was sacked an incredible 12 times en route to his worst game of the season, potentially leaving the door open in the Heisman Trophy race. While Houston has plenty of talent and is led by a brilliant head coach, it’s still disappointing for the ACC to have its second-best team be uncompetitive against a Group of Five squad.

That leaves Clemson as the lone ACC title contender after it had no trouble with Wake Forest. The Tigers are far from a lock, as they will face a decent team in either Virginia Tech or North Carolina in the ACC title game.

Virginia Tech avoided a bad loss in South Bend with a come-from-behind 34-31 victory over Notre Dame. No. 17 Florida State also keeps chugging along at 8-3, and could really boost the ACC’s prestige with a win over SEC East champ Florida.

The top tier of the ACC can’t match up to the top three Power Five conferences following the Louisville loss. At the very least, middling squads like Miami, Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh all took care of business to reach seven wins on the season.

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