ACC Power rankings, Week 5: Virginia Tech suffers upset of the year

Virginia Tech and Boston College both hurt the ACC with bad losses this week. Expect both schools to tumble down our power rankings as a result.

There’s a thin line between bravery and insanity when it comes to college football scheduling. Virginia Tech clearly fell on the wrong side of that line this week. The school’s decision to play a road game at Old Dominion cost the ACC powers dearly on Saturday.

It was just the sort of loss that makes conference officials cringe. The Hokies were the league’s best hope of getting a second team into the College Football Playoff this season. Losing to the Monarchs will end those dreams for Virginia Tech and potentially the entire ACC.

Boston College also were a disappointment. They came off a big road win at Wake Forest with a trip to winless Purdue. The Eagles forgot to show up and handed the Boilermakers a really comfortable win. They’ll fall down our power rankings due to that failure.

Without delay, let’s take a look at this week’s rankings. There’s a new team occupying the basement.

The balance of power in the state of Kentucky is clearly shifted towards Lexington this season. Bobby Petrino’s team falls to the basement of the ACC courtesy of their ugly loss at Virginia.

It’s not so much that the Cardinals lost to the Cavaliers, it’s the way the game went. They were lifeless for most of the game. Jawon Pass finished the game with a grand total of 113 yards passing. Petrino’s offense doesn’t look so dynamic this season without a player like Lamar Jackson to run it.

It’s been an emotional few weeks in North Carolina dealing with the after effects of Hurricane Florence. The Tar Heels put their week off to good use. Larry Fedora’s team got a much-needed victory over Pittsburgh.

North Carolina still can’t stop anyone, but they can outscore some opponents. Antonio Williams was a real star in this one. He had an eye-popping 16 catches for 114 yards and two touchdowns against the Panthers. Expect him to be a top name on opposing scouting reports moving forward.

Don’t look now, but Bronco Mendenhall’s team suddenly finds itself with a record of 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the conference. After last year’s disastrous campaign, there’s real reason for optimism in Charlottesville.

Bryce Perkins was the star again in the win over the Cardinals. He threw for 197 yards and rushed for 78 more. Any defense that can stop Perkins will have a pretty easy time beating Virginia. Of course, that’s much easier said than done.