ACC power(less) rankings, Week 9

So last week, we announced that the ACC had earned the right to strip the "less" from the weekly ACC power(less) rankings.

Then I got a look at the conference's record against non-conference teams from the FBS.

Ugh.

Through October 10th, it was 14-14. Add in Virginia's win over Eastern Michigan, Georgia Tech's win over Middle Tennessee, and N.C. State's loss to East Carolina, and it's 16-15.

Ugh.

Take just the games against BCS automatic qualifying conferences (plus Notre Dame), and it's 3-11 with the wins coming over Cincinnati (by N.C. State), Pitt (by Miami), and Rutgers (by North Carolina).

Ugh.

Here's what the rest of the so-called power conferences look like, non-conference wise:

Big 12: 30-7
Big Ten: 26-7
ESSS...EEEE...SEEEE: 14-4
Pac-10: 14-9
Big East: 14-15

The ACC doesn't have many remaining opportunities to salvage respect. The only big non-conference matchups left are South Carolina at Clemson, Florida at Florida State and Georgia Tech at Georgia.

The biggest opportunity might come during the holidays, when the ACC could make a statement in bowl games.

Moving right along to the rankings, which could be heavily influenced by N.C. State this week (vs. Florida State) and next week (at Clemson).

1. Florida State (last week-1)--The Seminoles' pass defense gets its biggest test since Oklahoma, and it will be a formidable one.

2. Virginia Tech (LW-2)--Hokies get a month-long open date to prepare for Georgia Tech (Central Michigan, Wake Forest, Duke, open).

3. Miami (LW-3)--Still a little surprised how much heat Randy Shannon got after the loss to Florida State. The Hurricanes are still in good shape in the Coastal.

4. Clemson (LW-5)--Crazy stat: Since 2002, Tigers are 26-21 before Oct. 15 and 36-13 thereafter.

5. N.C. State (LW-6)--Wolfpack gain a spot without playing, thanks to Tar Heels' blowout loss in South Florida.

6. North Carolina (LW-4)--Tar Heels' rush defense, normally stout, allowed 225 yards on the ground at Miami.

7. Georgia Tech (LW-7)--Jackets hold steady in the pecking order. This ranking is about right.

8. Maryland (LW-8)--Terps tried to give it away against a bad Boston College team.

9. Boston College (LW-9)--Try staying awake through a replay of Maryland-Boston College. I couldn't.

10. Virginia (LW-10)--I know Mike London is Virginia's coach. I know Marc Verica is their quarterback. Other than that, I know nothing about the Cavaliers.

11. Wake Forest (LW-11)--Deacons fans don't have basketball to look forward to, because they'll be bad in that, too. Baseball? Golf?

12. Duke (LW-12)--Really surprised that Sean Renfree has stunk this year. He looked so good early in the season.

On to some Tuesday linkage...

Heather Dinich presents her power rankings, sliding Georgia Tech from fourth to seventh.

Rob Daniels of The ACC Sports Journal offers his rankings, and Clemson fans probably would quibble with his assertion that this week's trip to N.C. State is Florida State's "last major hurdle."

Dinich also notes that Virginia Tech's staff traveled to Iowa during the offseason to get tips on how the Hawkeyes stopped Georgia Tech's flexbone in last year's Orange Bowl.

So clearly, the response to getting gashed by Paul Johnson's offense is to spend more time on it during the offseason. We saw it with Kevin Steele, and now we're seeing it with Bud Foster.

It's a smart approach, given the difficulty of transitioning to it during the regular season.

Should be interesting to watch the game in Blacksburg next week. Jackets haven't suffered back-to-back losses under Paul Johnson yet.

Big problems at Boston College became infinitely bigger with injuries to Alex Albright, Wes Davis and DeLeon Gause.

In Tallahassee, Christian Ponder says his elbow injury could be a blessing in disguise because it helped him improve his mechanics.

In the AJC, Doug Roberson looks at Paul Johnson's passing numbers through the years and says this year's numbers are on pace to be his second-worst ever.

In Raleigh, the Wolfpack prepare for the biggest game of Tom O'Brien's tenure.

Derek Dooley might end up being a good coach, but he does and says some weird stuff.

Case in point: Comparing his team to Nazis.

Stewart Mandel writes about Cam Newton, and lost in another Heisman-worthy performance Saturday was another late-game debacle by Les Miles and Co. Their late fourth-down attempt was a complete mess, and it's inexcusable for a major college offense to be that clueless.

I routinely straddle the line between "Les is good for college football" and "Les is a total clown."

Leaning toward the latter position this week.



LW