Week 8 of the college football season is in the books. Three teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference were idle this week, but there were still some notable and significant results around the league. Let's catch up on all the action and unveil our week 9 ACC Football Power Rankings
1. Clemson (6-1, 5-0 ACC)
Things were a little iffy early on, as an interception from Cade Klubnik led to Virginia taking a 10-3 lead early in the second quarter. But inevitably, the Tigers seized control of the game behind another solid showing from Klubnik, who accounted for 308 passing yards and three touchdowns to help Dabo Swinney defeat his former assistant Tony Elliott. Clemson is now ranked No. 9 in the country entering the bye week.
Up next: idle
2. SMU (6-1, 3-0 ACC)
The Mustangs continue to roll. Kevin Jennings threw for 322 yards and three touchdowns and SMU stormed past Stanford 40-10 for its fourth-straight victory. The Mustangs' offense is humming, averaging more than 45 points in their last four games. The next two games will be critical, as SMU takes on two teams that are also in the top end of the ACC standings at Duke and then home against Pitt.
Up next: at Duke
3. Miami (7-0, 3-0 ACC)
We don't do ties in these power rankings, but we considered it this week with how close SMU and Miami are. It's a shame we won't see these two teams face each other in the regular season. We had (and continue to have) the Mustangs ahead of the Hurricanes mostly on account of SMU having a more impressive win, a one-touchdown road win at Louisville. Well, now Miami has that too, knocking off the Cardinals 52-45 last weekend. The Canes continue to play and win close games, as this was their third-straight victory by a single-digit margin. Miami has a few potential stumbling blocks left on the schedule, but an undefeated season and a trip to the ACC Championship Game is certainly on the board.
Up next: vs. Florida State
4. Pittsburgh (6-0, 2-0 ACC)
The Panthers were idle last week, but we're moving them up due to Louisville suffering a second conference loss. The second half of the season brings an important stretch of games for Pat Narduzzi's squad, as Pitt hosts Syracuse on Thursday night and has games against SMU, Virginia, and Clemson after that. We're about to learn a lot about how legit this Pittsburgh team is.
Up next: vs. Syracuse
5. Syracuse (5-1, 2-1 ACC)
The Orange are also coming off of a bye heading into their Thursday night matchup at Pittsburgh. And had they not tripped up in week 4 in a bad loss to Stanford, this could be a matchup of undefeated ACC teams. Even so, it's a very important one as both of these teams, who were picked to finish 12th (Syracuse) and 13th (Pittsburgh) in the ACC, are looking to prove they belong in the group above them (Clemson, SMU, Miami) as legit ACC Championship contenders.
Up next: at Pittsburgh
6. Duke (6-1, 2-1 ACC)
A close win over the shockingly-bad Florida State Seminoles did not inspire much confidence, but it did, however, earn the Duke Blue Devils bowl eligibility in their first season under Manny Diaz. The road gets real tough now, as Duke hosts No. 22 SMU on Saturday and then visits No. 6 Miami the week after that. But for now, the Blue Devils are 6-1 and, like Syracuse and Pitt, looking to prove they belong among the class of 2024 ACC Football elites.
Up next: vs. SMU
7. Virginia Tech (4-3, 2-1 ACC)
The path for Virginia Tech to get on a roll in the second half of the season is starting to become very clear. The Hokies have won their last two games and, perhaps more importantly, their previously inconsistent offense has scored 30 or more points in each of their last two games. A very winnable game against Georgia Tech this Saturday at Lane Stadium could have Brent Pry's group sitting at 5-3 and 3-1 in the ACC before they get tested with games at Syracuse, at home against Clemson, and at Duke. But after losing three of their first five games, this is the position the Hokies wanted to be in at this point.
Up next: vs. Georgia Tech
8. Louisville (4-3, 2-2 ACC)
The story of Louisville football in 2024 seems to be that the Cardinals beat the teams they're supposed to (Austin Peay, Jacksonville State, Georgia Tech, Virginia), but lose when faced with tougher competition (Notre Dame, SMU, Miami). That's still a recipe for a decent season, but not at all what the Cards were hoping for as they aspired to return to the ACC Championship Game. A 52-45 shootout loss to Miami has Louisville needing to beat Boston College on the road on Friday night in order to avoid falling to 4-4 before a trip to Clemson in week 10.
Up next: at Boston College
9. Virginia (4-3, 2-2 ACC)
Two things can be argued about Virginia's 48-31 loss at Clemson on Saturday: 1.) the game was not as close as the score would suggest (UVA scored two touchdowns in the last couple of minutes as the two teams' backups battled to cover the spread) and 2.) Virginia played better than the 38-10 score at the end of the third quarter would suggest. The Cavaliers showed they can play with a team of Clemson's caliber, for a brief period at least, and then it became clear the significant gap that still exists between these two programs. Now, Virginia returns home to face 3-4 North Carolina in what is essentially a must-win game for UVA's hopes of reaching bowl eligibility.
Up next: vs. North Carolina
10. Georgia Tech (5-3, 3-2 ACC)
Like Virginia, Georgia Tech also suffered a respectable defeat to a highly-ranked team in week 8, falling to No. 12 Notre Dame 31-13 in Atlanta. The Yellow Jackets are one victory away from bowl eligibility, but they'll have to get there by winning one of the following games: at Virginia Tech, vs. No. 6 Miami, vs. NC State, or at No. 2 Georgia. It might come down to that game against the Wolfpack on November 21st.
Up next: at Virginia Tech
The Rest:
11. Boston College (4-3, 1-2 ACC)
12. Wake Forest (3-4, 1-2 ACC)
13. NC State (4-4, 1-3 ACC)
14. Cal (3-4, 0-4 ACC)
15. Stanford (2-5, 1-3 ACC)
16. North Carolina (3-4, 0-3 ACC)
17. Florida State (1-6, 1-5 ACC)
Read our power rankings from last week here: Virginia Football: ACC Football Week 8 Power Rankings
Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.
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