ACC power rankings: Miami, Clemson remain on top after Week 8

The top of the ACC held serve in Week 8 of the 2024 college football season.
Miami remained undefeated with another close win. Clemson continued to roll. SMU picked up yet another impressive win in what has been a strong debut season in the ACC. Pitt and Syracuse enjoyed hard-earned weeks off in advance of their Thursday night matchup in the Steel City.
With those results in mind, here’s how the ACC’s 17 teams stack up after Week 8:
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The Hurricanes are no longer untested — with its past three victories coming by a combined 12 points — but they remain undefeated. In a 52-45 win at Louisville, Cam Ward bolstered his Heisman candidacy with 319 passing yards and four touchdowns. If there is an area of concern, it’s Miami’s defense, which has surrendered an average of 39 points per game in its past three victories.
The Tigers’ Week 1 loss to Georgia raised questions about whether there was something fundamentally broken with Garrett Riley’s offense, with just three points and 188 total yards. Consider those answered. Clemson has averaged 48.5 points per game in its past six contests and has only once failed to score at least 40. Miami, with its undefeated record, remains on top, but there’s a persuasive case to be made that this is the ACC’s best team.
After being idle over the weekend, the Panthers — and their secondary, in particular — will get a tough test Thursday with a game against Kyle McCord and Syracuse.
The Mustangs’ 40-10 rout of Stanford on Saturday earned coach Rhett Lashlee’s team bowl eligibility. While SMU obviously has much bigger goals this season, that accomplishment can’t be overlooked. For 22 consecutive seasons, the Mustangs failed to make a bowl game, with many of those years spent dealing with the devastating effect of the NCAA’s death penalty. This year will mark the ninth time they’ve made a bowl in the past 16 seasons.
A win Thursday night against Pitt would get the Orange to bowl eligibility. Like with SMU, that can’t be minimized. It would mark the first time since 1995-99 that Syracuse went bowling in at least three consecutive seasons.
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The Blue Devils’ strong start to the 2024 season and coach Manny Diaz’s tenure has now come with a bit of history. Duke’s 23-16 win over Florida State on Friday gave the program its first-ever victory against the Seminoles, who had won the first 22 games in the series.
Offensively, the Cardinals have all the makings of an ACC title contender, but their defense under coordinator Ron English has been dreadful for the better part of a year, going back to its final four games of last season. In a 52-45 loss Saturday to Miami, Louisville gave up 538 yards and 7.5 yards per play while scoring its most points in a non-overtime loss in program history.
With quarterback Haynes King out with an injury, the Yellow Jackets struggled to move the ball, with only 253 total yards before a garbage-time touchdown drive in a 31-13 loss to Notre Dame. Still, due to results affecting teams ranked near it, coach Brent Key’s team manages to move up one spot.
After carrying a 10-3 lead midway through the second quarter, the Cavaliers gave up 35 unanswered points to Clemson on their way to a 48-31 road loss. Virginia allowed 540 total yards and 7.3 yards per play in the setback. It has a chance to bounce back from its two-game losing streak with a matchup against last-place North Carolina.
Since a 26-23 home loss to Rutgers on Sept. 21, the Hokies have looked much more like the team many saw as an ACC dark horse entering the season. Coach Brent Pry’s team nearly dealt Miami its first and only loss of the season, and followed it up with wins over Stanford and Boston College by a combined 45 points. Running back Bhayshul Tuten was unstoppable in the win against the Eagles, rushing for 266 yards and three touchdowns on just 18 carries.
After a 4-1 start, the Eagles have stumbled in recent weeks, with two consecutive losses. Coach Bill O’Brien’s team fought back to get within seven of Virginia Tech after trailing 28-0 at halftime, but gave up a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns in a 42-21 loss. Boston College allowed 532 total yards in the setback, including 368 rushing yards and 9.2 yards per attempt.
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Taylor Morin had 104 receiving yards on six catches to help the Demon Deacons earn a 23-20 out-of-conference win at UConn. After a 1-3 start, coach Dave Clawson’s team has won two of its past three games.
After suffering two losses by a combined 11 points, the Wolfpack was on the right side of a one-score game, rallying with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes from CJ Bailey to knock off Cal 24-23. The freshman quarterback continues to impress with 907 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions in his past three games.
The excruciatingly close losses continue for the Golden Bears after a 24-23 defeat against NC State in which they squandered a 13-point fourth-quarter lead. Cal’s four ACC losses have come by a combined nine points. The story behind the most recent setback was a familiar one, with the Golden Bears missing a go-ahead 28-yard field goal with 1:34 remaining.
The Cardinal’s Sept. 28 win at Syracuse is looking much more like an aberration than a hopeful sign of what the team might be able to accomplish this season. Stanford has lost its past four games and hasn’t been particularly close at any point, dropping those contests by an average of 30.5 points.
A bye week came at an opportune time for the Tar Heels, who are reeling from four consecutive losses after a 3-0 start.
Despite out-gaining Duke by 111 yards, the Seminoles were doomed by four turnovers in a 23-16 loss. The fact that Blue Devils fans didn’t storm the field after beating Florida State for the first time ever speaks volumes about the disastrous state of coach Mike Norvell’s program this season.