ACC power(less) rankings, Week 6

Before the season, ESPN analyst Todd Blackledge told us there wasn't much difference between Miami's talent and Clemson's talent.

"I think overall, my feeling is they're in pretty good shape. They're a very athletic-looking team. I was at Miami the day before I came to Clemson, and I watched them run around and scrimmage. There's not a whole lot of difference in the look of those teams. And I think that's a tribute to Dabo and his staff and recruiting. They're an athletic-looking group. I was impressed with the way their first defense looked. They're solid up front, and they've got some skill guys in the back end that are going to make plays -- some really play-making kind of defensive backs."

No doubt these two teams are similar, but Saturday showed us the Hurricanes are a cut above in the talent department.

Quick, name Miami's biggest weakness.

Offensive line? As was documented last week, the Hurricanes have some issues at right tackle. And their interior line was pillaged against Ohio State. But after watching this line up-close in pre-game warmups ... good gosh. All of them are huge, with long arms. They look like an NFL offensive line.

Weak-side linebacker? Some questions about this position, but I didn't see anything glaring Saturday.

Jacory Harris? He gets them into trouble when he fails to look off the safety, and sometimes he's just flat-out careless. But he also makes up for it with some excellent throws.

Now let's look at Clemson's weaknesses.

Receiver.

Linebacker.

Offensive line depth.

Inconsistent defensive line play.

Poor communication and discipline at LB and DB.

We need to be careful not to make season-long judgments on a mere one game, but to me Miami simply had better players Saturday. That's not the reason the Hurricanes won -- who knows what would've happened had Clemson not been in such a charitable mood? -- but it stood out much more than I anticipated.

This Clemson team will end up being well represented in the NFL. But it's staggering to consider how many of the current Hurricanes will end up playing on Sundays.

Clemson has a lot of NFL talent at DL and DB, but Miami has more of it. Add to that a fleet of receivers that's highlighted by Leonard Hankerson -- Michael Irvin, anyone? -- not to mention an absolute stud linebacker (Sean Spence) and a dynamic tailback (Lamar Miller), plus several offensive linemen who have that NFL look to them, and Coral Gables is becoming a veritable talent factory again.

With that, here are this week's ACC power(less) rankings:

1. Miami (last week-1)--Hurricanes can solidify their ACC supremacy with a win over Florida State this week.

2. Florida State (LW-3)--What's with the Seminoles' defense? Looks like the front four is as good as it's been in a while.

3. Virginia Tech (LW-4)--Some others cast the Hokies down near the ACC cellar after the loss to James Madison. Not us. This team still has too much talent, and too many good coaches.

4. Clemson (LW-2)--Last year, the Tigers followed a crushing loss to TCU with an inexplicable loss at Maryland. North Carolina now is better than the Terps were then. Tigers better be careful.

5. N.C. State (LW-5)--Squandered a 17-point lead at home in the loss to Virginia Tech. Defense is showing its warts.

6. North Carolina (LW-7)--Gotta hand it to Butch Davis and his players for their resilience and spirit amid all the chaos.

7. Georgia Tech (LW-6)--When the Yellow Jackets rush for "just" 209 yards against Wake Forest, something is wrong.

8. Maryland (LW-9)--We're in a charitable mood. So we'll advance the Terps a spot over Boston College.

9. Boston College (LW-8)--Eagles haven't done anything to be ranked this high.

10. Virginia (LW-10)--Concession: I know absolutely nothing about the Cavaliers.

11. Wake Forest (LW-11)--Deacons' defense blew it late against Georgia Tech.

12. Duke (LW-12)--Is it basketball season yet?

Moving on to some Tuesday linkage...

Speaking of power rankings, Heather Dinich reacted pretty harshly to Clemson's loss.

Last week, the Tigers were No. 2 behind Miami. Now they're No. 7 behind Georgia Tech, N.C. State and ... Maryland?

Rob Daniels of The ACC Sports Journal had a more moderate reaction.

In Chapel Hill, Butch Davis says he's sorry he trusted John Blake.

Dwight Jones got his first college touchdown in last week's win over East Carolina.

North Carolina’s Dwight Jones said that before every game, his 3-year old son Cam’ron asks him a simple question.

“He says’ Dada, you going to score a touchdown?’” Jones said. “I always say ‘yeah.’”

As he trotted of the field, helmet in hand, after his first college touchdown Saturday against East Carolina, the former Cummings High School standout was well aware of the value of delivering on that promise.

“I’ve just been working hard ever since training camp,” Jones said. “I felt like it’s my time. I’ve been waiting for a very long time, since high school and all the things that I’ve been through. It’s just time for that.”

Paul Johnson talks about his offensive playmakers -- or lack thereof.

Before the season, many believed that Allen and Hill would be the next big duo in Tech's offense, the guys who would replace Jonathan Dwyer and Demaryius Thomas, both of whom are in the NFL.

Instead, Allen has rushed for 330 yards and has yet to score a touchdown, and Hill has dropped almost as many passes as the eight he has caught. He dropped two more in Tech's 24-20 win at Wake Forest and couldn't catch a third when he slipped while running his route.

Part of the problem, according to Johnson, was unrealistic expectations before the season.

"A lot of those guys got pre-hyped before the thing ever started," Johnson said.

This is the first time since 2006 that both Miami and Florida State enter their game ranked. Wow.

Looks like Jacory Harris and Lamar Miller got banged-up in the game at Clemson.

Speaking of the term "banged-up," a friend recently lamented the cliche and suggested something different such as "clanged-up."

So from this point, it's clanged-up instead of banged-up. Just something different.

Speaking of football cliches, two relatively new ones are "chunk plays" and "putting his foot in the ground."

Did "big" play or "explosive" play just get old?

And how many times lately have you heard a coach or analyst say, "Man, that guy just puts his foot in the ground and he's gone."

Hey, if everyone else is able to move without touching the ground, isn't that the more notable talent?

Of course, you do hear a lot about "guys flying around" these days.



LW