College football conference power rankings: Week 2

ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 02: Bo Scarbrough #9, head coach Nick Saban, and Jalen Hurts #2 of the Alabama Crimson Tide celebrate with the Chick-fil-A Kick-Off Game trophy after defeating the Florida State Seminoles 24-7 in their game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 2, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /

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LANDOVER, MD – SEPTEMBER 03: Quarterback Josh Jackson #17 of the Virginia Tech Hokies drops back to pass against the West Virginia Mountaineers in the first half at FedExField on September 3, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

3. ACC

Week 1 raised a number of questions in the ACC, lessening the gap to the Pac-12 and Big 12 in the process.

Florida State’s defense hung in well enough in the 24-7 loss to Alabama, but the Seminoles were doomed by a stretch of four turnovers in five plays in the third quarter. Of much greater concern for the Seminoles is losing quarterback Deondre Francois for the season with a patellar tendon injury, leaving freshman James Blackman as the likely starter. While Florida State is stacked enough to still reach 10 wins, reaching the College Football Playoff without Francois will be a tall task.

Virginia Tech has to be thrilled with new starting quarterback Josh Jackson’s terrific debut to key the win over West Virginia, although the Hokies’ secondary will need to be a lot better in ACC play. The No. 5 Clemson Tigers allowed all of one passing yard in a 56-3 destruction of Kent State, while the No. 18 Miami Hurricanes overcame a slow first quarter to handily beat FCS Bethune-Cookman.

That was about the end of the positive developments for the conference, as the No. 16 Louisville Cardinals really struggled with a rebuilding Purdue squad in a 35-28 win. A home loss to 13-point underdog California is a bad result for North Carolina even in an expected down year, and a North Carolina State Wolfpack team that had hopes of entering the top 25 soon will be disappointed to lose by a touchdown to the South Carolina Gamecocks.

The Pittsburgh Panthers, one of several teams with hopes of winning the chaotic ACC Coastal, also required overtime to beat Youngstown State, as USC transfer quarterback Max Browne tallied only 140 yards. Four other ACC teams had little trouble with FCS opponents, and the Boston College Eagles picked up a road win against Northern Illinois for what it’s worth.

Monday night will bring another chance for a key nonconference victory when the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets take on the No. 25 Tennessee Volunteers. The defending champions host the No. 12 Auburn Tigers next week, while Pitt will need to be a lot better to beat the No. 6 Penn State Nittany Lions for the second year in a row.

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