ACC Football: Week 14 power rankings

Lets make it clear that no one thinks the Cardinals were just the sixth best team in the ACC when you look at the entire season. However, after seeing how they finished the last two weeks of the regular season, an argument can be made that this is a generous spot.

Lamar Jackson is still going to be a Heisman finalist and the Cardinals may end up playing in the Citurs Bowl the way things are playing out. Still, a disgusting loss to Houston followed by an embarrassing defeat to an inferior Wildcats team shows that this team might have been a tad bit overrated after all.

There comes a point where the ‘Canes have to be kicking themselves over the fact that they will be watching the ACC championship game instead of playing in it. Four wins in a row won’t take away from the fact that a one point loss to FSU and a close lost to UNC is keeping Miami from playing for a league crown.

The goal now for Mark Richt’s team is to finish the season strong and convince Brad Kaaya to stay for another season. If, and that’s a big if, they can do that, Miami will easily be the favorite in the Coastal Division for the 2017 campaign.

It doesn’t happen all that often when you are playing someone decent from your conference, so lets take a moment to appreciate the fact that the Panthers put over 70 points on a fellow ACC foe to finish the season on what could generously be called a strong note.

For the Panthers, it’s also a season of what could have been that will have them shaking their heads all offseason. If not for a one point loss to UNC and three point loss to VaTech, the Panthers are in Orlando this weekend. With James Conner leaving after this season, one has to wonder if this was Pitt’s best chance for a while.