ACC Football Power Rankings: 2025 Week 8

All things considered, this past weekend was a relatively quiet one for the Atlantic Coast Conference.

For starters, seven of the ACC's 17 teams were on bye weeks. Then of the six games involving league members this past weekend, five of them had the favorite not only winning outright, but covering. The lone outlier was Pitt's stunning upset over Florida State in Tallahassee.

But for as chalky as this past weekend was across the league, the race to determine who gets to go to Charlotte for the ACC Championship Game is far from set. Five teams have yet to take a loss in league play, and three of them are off to a 3-0 to start. Not to mention that four additional teams only have one loss.

So where do things currently stand in the conference following seven weeks of football? Check out our week eight ACC power rankings below:

1. Miami Hurricanes

• Record: 5-0, 1-0 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 1
• Week 7 Result: Bye Week

At this point in time, it's time to start having the conversation that Miami could be the No. 1 team in the entire nation - not just the ACC. The Canes are rolling, and their second half of the season is shaping up to be very manageable.

2. Virginia Cavaliers

• Record: 5-1, 3-0 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 2
• Week 7 Result: Bye Week

Tony Elliott deserves a lot of credit for this season so far. Most people, myself included, thought he could be fired by season's end. Instead, the Cavaliers have a very easy path to getting to Charlotte - although they do need to shore up some things on defense.

3. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

• Record: 6-0, 3-0 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 3
• Week 7 Result: W, 35-20 vs. Virginia Tech

This was a much more convincing performance that the win at Wake Forest in Georgia Tech's last time out. Sure, Virginia Tech is one of the worst teams in the league, but the Yellow Jackets needed a game like this where QB Haynes King goes wild. It also helps to hold you opponent to 95 yards in the first half.

4. Duke Blue Devils

• Record: 4-2, 3-0 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 4
• Week 7 Result: Bye Week

Duke deserves a lot of credit for how they have bounced back. A few weeks ago, they looked dead in the water after decisive losses to Illinois and Tulane. Now, next week's game vs. Georgia Tech carries a ton of repercussions in the ACC title race.

5. Louisville Cardinals

• Record: 4-1, 1-1 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 6
• Week 7 Result: Bye Week

You can tell that this Louisville team has talent and potential, but they just can't seem to get out of their own way - especially on the offensive side of the ball. The Cardinals can still accomplish a lot this season, but they need to do some soul searching during this bye week.

6. Pitt Panthers

• Record: 4-2, 2-1 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 7
• Week 7 Result: W, 34-31 at Florida State

All of a sudden, Pitt looks like an unstoppable force. True freshman Mason Heintschel has been a revelation at QB, and RB Desmond Reid finally made his return to action. Throw in one of the best defenses in the ACC, and the Panthers seem like they could have a strong second half of the season.

7. Clemson Tigers

• Record: 3-3, 2-2 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 9
• Week 7 Result: W, 41-10 at Boston College

An ACC Championship is likely not in the Cards for Clemson this year, but some they deserve some credit for not throwing in the towel completely. The Tigers have out-scored UNC and Boston College 79-20 in back-to-backs, and look a lot more like what we expected them to. Hopefully QB Cade Klubnik isn't seriously hurt.

8. Florida State Seminoles

• Record: 3-3, 0-3 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 5
• Week 7 Result: L, 34-31 vs. Pitt

At this point, Florida State's win over Alabama seems like an outlier. Ever since ACC play started, the Seminoles' defense has taken a tremendous step backwards, and can't capitalize on an offense that can move the ball fairly well. Instead, the 'Noles are now on a three-game skid, and haven't won an ACC game since last season.

9. SMU Mustangs

• Record: 4-2, 2-0 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 11
• Week 7 Result: W, 34-10 vs. Stanford

On one hand, yes, SMU did secure a blowout win over Stanford. QB Kevin Jennings seems to be finding his stride and RB Chris Johnson had a career day (as they should have). But that defense gave up a lot more yards (353) than they probably should have against a bad Stanford team.

10. NC State Wolfpack

• Record: 4-2, 1-2 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 8
• Week 7 Result: L, 36-7 at Notre Dame

Well... I guess last week wasn't the get-right game NC State needed then. Granted, it's hard to win in South Bend against the Irish, but the Wolfpack's high-octane offense was stuck in neutral. QB C.J. Bailey threw three picks, and RB Hollywood Smothers ran for less than 50 yards. Oh, and the defense was torn apart again.

11. Cal Golden Bears

• Record: 4-2, 1-1 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 10
• Week 7 Result: Bye Week

Few teams are as inconsistent as Cal has been so far this season. You can see their full potential in spurts, especially with true freshman QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, but they cannot seem to get both sides of the ball going at once. Or just at a high level at all.

12. Wake Forest Demon Deacons

• Record: 3-2, 1-2 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 13
• Week 7 Result: W, 39-14 at Oregon State

Maybe Wake Forest has finally found a little bit of something. Sure, their last two games came against teams that are a combined 2-11, but they took advantage of the opportunities. Backup QB Deshawn Purdie had a fantastic debut for the Deacons.

13. Syracuse Orange

• Record: 3-3, 1-2 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 12
• Week 7 Result: Bye Week

Yes, Syracuse has looked fairly lifeless over the last couple weeks. But the Orange's stunning win at Clemson had most people forgetting that this was likely going to be a bridge year given how much Cuse lost from last year. Now, we're starting to see that come to fruition.

14. Stanford Cardinal

• Record: 2-4, 1-2 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 14
• Week 7 Result: L, 34-10 at SMU

I get that Stanford's not in a great spot, but their execution vs. SMU was ghastly. Between the bad start defensively, and QB Ben Gulbranson throwing one of the worst pick-sixes you'll ever see, the Cardinal is lucky that SMU couldn't take full advantage of them.

15. Virginia Tech Hokies

• Record: 2-5, 1-2 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 15
• Week 7 Result: L, 35-20 at Georgia Tech

I'm not sure what's worse for Virginia Tech: having to list 20 player before taking a single snap, or falling by three scores in the first 21 minutes of the game. The Hokies were dreadful on offense, and their defense offered little resistance to Haynes King and Co. What momentum interim head coach Philip Montgomery did have is now gone.

16. North Carolina Tar Heels

• Record: 2-3, 0-1 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 16
• Week 7 Result: Bye Week

Forget about the on-field product at North Carolina, which is abhorrent in and of itself. The Bill Belichick has gotten off to such a bad start that the rumors of negotiating a buyout have already starting before the halfway point of season No. 1. This is Urban Meyer in Jacksonville levels of incompetence.

17. Boston College Eagles

• Record: 1-5, 0-4 ACC
• Last Week's Ranking: No. 17
• Week 7 Result: L, 41-10 vs. Clemson

Things are really starting to spiral out of control for Boston College. They've lost five in a row, and have been out-scored 89-17 in their last two games. Oh, and they still have to play Louisville, Notre Dame, SMU and Georgia Tech. An ugly season for the Eagles could get even uglier.