Some ACC football fans may be starting to think about basketball season, but football fans know it’s just time for mid-term grades in the conference.
Historically, October is the time of year when ACC fans start to turn their attention from football to basketball. The conference’s work on the gridiron has been pretty decent this year though. That leaves a lot of teams with a lot to play for down the stretch.
Clemson is clearly the class of the ACC and they look destined for another College Football Playoff berth. The field behind them is wide open. Quite a few teams could emerge as the conference’s No. 2 team by the time the year is done. Read on discover mid-term grades for every ACC team.
Boston College Eagles – D
Boston College entered the year with pretty high expectations and has instead, been one of the ACC’s most disappointing teams through six games. The Eagles sit at 3-3 and 1-2 in the league. That’s not good enough considering the schedule they’ve played. Losing to Kansas at home by 24 points was completely inexcusable. Fans in the Heights aren’t too enthused with a narrow loss to Wake Forest at home either. Even the season-opening win against Virginia Tech has been cheapened by the Hokies’ struggles. There’s still plenty of time for Boston College to earn a quality bowl bid, but they’ve missed a ton of opportunities already. They should feel fortune with their D.
Clemson Tigers – B+
Defenders of Dabo Swinney‘s team will cry foul at giving a team that’s undefeated a B+ grade. More should be expected from a team with this much talent. There’s a reason national voters dropped the Tigers to No. 2 after their ugly win at North Carolina. Clemson now sits at No. 3 after LSU passed them in the polls.
Nothing the team has done on the young season is really going to prove harmful if they run the table though. Trips to Louisville and South Carolina are likely the only obstacles standing between Clemson and a perfect regular season. In other words, Trevor Lawrence and his teammates can easily pull this grade up. It helps that Lawrence looked like the Lawrence we expected to see all year in the lopsided win vs. Florida State last week.
That doesn’t change the fact the Tigers have been decidedly uninspiring in the early going. The B+ may feel harsh, but you can be sure Swinney is even more critical of his team internally.
Duke Blue Devils – A-
The Blue Devils currently sit at 2-1 in the ACC which puts them in a three-way tie for first in the wide-open ACC Coastal division. Fans in Durham understand they should appreciate 4-2 overall starts even if the loss to Pittsburgh was a little disappointing. The best news for Duke is that they have even more winnable games down the stretch. Only their home game against Notre Dame looks like a likely loss at this point. That doesn’t mean David Cutcliffe’s team is going to finish at 9-3, but an eight-win season looks pretty likely. That’s a great position for this program to be in.
Florida State Seminoles – C
This year is going better for Willie Taggart than last, but that still doesn’t mean the Seminoles are any good. At best, they’ve done what they’ve supposed to do early in the year. Avoiding a potential nightmare loss to UL-Monroe has literally saved Florida State’s campaign. That would have been a crushing loss for the program. Losing at Virginia the following week wasn’t great. To Florida State’s credit, they did bounce back with solid home victories against Louisville and NC State. Then reality struck with a blowout loss at Clemson which illustrated just how far FSU has to go before they can compete for an ACC title. Their schedule the rest of the way is pretty soft, which should allow the ‘Noles to go back to a bowl this offseason.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets – D
No one in Atlanta is satisfied with this team’s 1-5 start. However, everyone associated with Georgia Tech knows what a big rebuild Geoff Collins and his staff have on their hands. The Yellow Jackets’ ugly start isn’t exactly a surprise. That doesn’t mean losing at home to the Citadel is acceptable. That competes with scoring just two points in a loss to Temple for the “honor” of being the team’s low point of the season. Only a surprising win over South Florida keeps Georgia Tech away from an F.
Louisville Cardinals – A-
The Cardinals sit at 4-2 and 2-1 in the ACC after waltzing into Winston-Salem and ending Wake Forest’s unbeaten run on Saturday night. Scott Satterfield has instituted a whole new era for Louisville football in the aftermath of the circus that was Bobby Petrino.
Louisville can score with anyone, but we’ve yet to see if their defense can hold up their end of the bargain. Giving up 59 points to Wake Forest wasn’t a great sign. The team’s ability to get stops could easily prevent the Cardinals from competing with some of their better foes down the stretch. Next week’s home game against Clemson should give Louisville a strong understanding of where they are as a program.
No matter what happens against the Tigers, this is a team headed in the right direction. They narrowly missed a straight-A for their surprising start.
Miami Hurricanes – C-
Upsetting Virginia at home last weekend saved the Hurricanes from a much lower grade. No one in South Florida is exactly happy with the team’s 3-3, 1-2 start on the young season. The defense has been good, but the offense has looked disjointed at best. The good news for the ‘Canes is that they don’t have a ranked team remaining on their schedule. They should be favored in plenty of games down the stretch. That gives Miami a chance to build some valuable momentum for their program. An eight-win season would be a great result for the Hurricanes.
North Carolina Tar Heels – B-
Mack Brown‘s storybook return to Chapel Hill started out hot with close victories over South Carolina and Miami. Then reality hit the program with consecutive losses to Wake Forest and Appalachian State. The Tar Heels feel like they’re sitting right where they deserve to be at 3-3, 2-1. Like a lot of teams in the ACC, Carolina is also done with the ranked portion of their schedule. They are still stung by a narrow miss against Clemson, but Brown’s squad is still alive in the Coastal division. Hosting Duke and traveling to NC State in the finale could well define this team’s season. They still deserve a solid mid-term grade for the work they’ve done to date.
NC State Wolfpack – C-
The Wolfpack owns a solid overall record at 4-2, but they are just 1-1 against the ACC. A narrow home win on Thursday night against Syracuse saved Dave Doeren’s team from a pretty ugly conference start. This team’s home games against Louisville and North Carolina late in the year will greatly influence their final grade. NC State is equally capable of challenging for a division title as they are of finishing on the fringes of the Bowl picture at this juncture. There’s a lot of work left to do for Doeren and his staff.
Pittsburgh Panthers – B
The Panthers really like to play close games. In their last three contests, they’ve gone 3-0 with a combined win total of seven points. To say that Pittsburgh’s season has hinged on fine margins to date would be a massive understatement. You can’t fault the team for being 4-2 and 1-1 in the ACC though. Pitt is clearly poised to qualify for a nice bowl game when everything is said and done. That earns their program an above-average grade, but fans should keep a close eye on whether they can sustain their penchant for winning tight games.
Syracuse Orange – D+
Expectations were high for Dino Babers and company heading into the season, but things haven’t gone according to plan. Instead of competing with Clemson for a division title, the Orange are trapped in the Atlantic Division basement with a league mark of 0-2. Their overall record of 3-3 looks much better, but this has not been a great season for Syracuse. Wins over Holy Cross, Liberty and Western Michigan aren’t good enough to impress anyone. The Orange are a soft non-conference schedule away from being in crisis mode.
Virginia Cavaliers – B-
The Cavaliers are another team that is locked in the three-way tie atop the Coastal division at the moment. Things for Virginia would really be looking up if they could’ve found a way to win at Miami last weekend. Instead, the loss to the ‘Canes pushed Bronco Mendenhall’s team back towards the pack. Their home game next weekend against Duke may have big-time implications on where Virginia manages to finish in the ACC this year. A win gives them a legitimate chance to make the ACC Championship Game and a loss puts them back on the bubble to secure a spot in an upper-tier bowl.
Virginia Tech Hokies – D+
The Hokies own an overall record of 4-2 but don’t let that distract you from their ugly conference mark of 1-2. Only a dramatic road win at Miami has cooled the pressure on head coach Justin Fuente temporarily. Otherwise, this resume lacks quality wins. Wins over Old Dominion, Furman and Rhode Island should be easy victories for this program. Going six games without a decent victory is a recipe for a bad grade. Fuente is another loss away from fans in Blacksburg howling about a coaching change.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons – B+
Dave Clawson’s team was flying high with an undefeated record until their lackluster effort at home against Louisville on Saturday night. The loss to the Cardinals doesn’t do all of the Demon Deacons’ good work on the season, but it likely prevents them from having a historic season in Winston-Salem.
Jamie Newman at quarterback has been arguably the most surprising player in the conference. He has been great in the passing game and can also make plays with his legs. He’s the best player no one is talking about on the national level.
The bad news for Wake is that they still have Clemson on the back half of their schedule. Other than the clash with the Tigers, every other match-up is at least winnable. There’s still a lot for the Deacs to play for, but losing to Louisville may come back to haunt them when the season’s said and done.
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