ACC power rankings: SMU finishes regular season on top after Week 14, Miami atop Clemson

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ACC power rankings: SMU finishes regular season on top after Week 14, Miami atop Clemson

Craig Meyer, USA TODAY NETWORK · USA TODAY Sports

Mon, Dec 2, 2024 ·

7 min read

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A 2024 ACC football season that began with 17 teams from coast-to-coast hoping to make it to Charlotte for a chance at a conference championship is now down to two teams whose dreams of a league title remain.

With a win against Cal, SMU completed an undefeated regular season in conference play and will look to maintain that perfect mark against Clemson next Saturday at Bank of America Stadium. Despite a loss to rival South Carolina , the Tigers earned a meeting with the Mustangs after Miami dropped its regular-season finale to Syracuse to fall a game behind Dabo Swinney's squad in the conference standings.

With the conference championship game set, and with 13 of the league's programs waiting to learn their postseason fate, here's how the ACC's 17 teams stack up after Week 14:

REQUIRED READING: Michigan, Ohio State headline college football winners and losers for Week 14

ACC football power rankings

1. SMU (11-1, 8-0 ACC)

Last week: 1
This week: vs. No. 17 Clemson

Picked to finish seventh in their inaugural season in the league, the Mustangs head into the ACC title game alone atop the conference standings. A win against Clemson in Charlotte will guarantee SMU a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff, though even with a loss — and depending on the fashion in which that hypothetical loss unfolds — coach Rhett Lashlee's team could still crash the party.

2. Miami (10-2, 6-2)

Last week: 2

The Hurricanes stumbled to the finish line, losing two of their final three games following a 9-0 start. In a loss to Syracuse, it wasn't the fault of quarterback Cam Ward , who finished the season with 4,319 total yards and 40 total touchdowns, but a porous defense that allowed 42 points and 482 total yards. For all of its missteps, Mario Cristobal's team finishes second in the power rankings despite not making the title game due to a more impressive overall body of work than Clemson.

3. Clemson (9-3, 7-1)

Last week: 3
This week: vs. No. 7 SMU

Even with home losses to Louisville and, most recently, South Carolina in the final month of the regular season, the Tigers still have a chance to make the playoff, as a victory against SMU in the ACC championship would punch their ticket to the 12-team field. To do that, they'll have to fare better against Mustangs star quarterback Kevin Jennings than they did against South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers , who ran wild with 166 yards and two touchdowns.

4. Syracuse (9-3, 5-3)

Last week: 4

What was already a successful first regular season for coach Fran Brown ended on an emphatic note with a 42-38 victory against then-No. 7 Miami. It was the Orange 's third win this season over a team that was ranked at the time of the matchup. On the same day his former Ohio State team was stunned by Michigan , Kyle McCord wrapped up the regular season as the leading passer in the FBS, with 4,326 yards. The future is undeniably bright in central New York.

5. Louisville (8-4, 5-3)

Last week: 5

The Cardinals exorcised their Governor's Cup demons by drubbing Kentucky 41-14 to break a five-game losing streak against their hated in-state rival. While 8-4 is a solid record, coach Jeff Brohm's team was painfully close to an even better season. Louisville's four losses came by a combined 24 points, each of which was decided by seven or fewer points and three of which came against teams in the top 15 of the latest US LBM Coaches Poll.

6. Duke (9-3, 5-3)

Last week: 7

What a first season for the Blue Devils under coach Manny Diaz. With a 23-17 victory against Wake Forest , Duke finishes the regular season 9-3, its third-consecutive season with at least eight wins. The Blue Devils were masterful in close games this season, with six of their nine victories coming by one score.

REQUIRED READING: Ryan Day and Ohio State's unhealthy Michigan obsession lands them atop Misery Index

7. Georgia Tech (7-5, 5-3)

Last week: 6

A strong second season under coach Brent Key came to a painful end, with the Yellow Jackets squandering a 14-point lead in the final four minutes of regulation before falling to rival Georgia 44-42 in an eight-overtime marathon. Though he had a costly fourth-quarter fumble that led to a game-tying touchdown, quarterback Haynes King racked up 413 total yards and five touchdowns.

8. Boston College (7-5, 4-4)

Last week: 9

The Eagles finished their first season under coach Bill O'Brien on a roll, winning three of their final four games. That late spurt was capped off by a 34-23 victory against Pitt. After turning to Grayson James at quarterback, Boston College averaged 35 points per game, with its lone loss during that stretch coming by 10 against SMU.

9. Pitt (7-5, 3-5)

Last week: 8

Before the season, a 7-5 record would have seemed perfectly acceptable for the Panthers , who were picked 13th in the league standings following a 3-9 finish in 2023. After a 7-0 start that saw them rise as high as No. 17 in the Coaches Poll, it's difficult to view the season as anything other than a disappointment.

10. Virginia Tech (6-6, 4-4)

Last week: 12

A largely underwhelming season for the Hokies ended on a positive note, as they were able to snap a three-game losing streak and salvage bowl eligibility with a 37-17 win against Virginia. It was their 19th victory in their past 20 meetings against the Cavaliers.

11. NC State (6-6, 3-5)

Last week: 14

Things mostly didn't go according to plan for the Wolfpack in 2024 after being picked fourth — and receiving eight first-place votes — in the ACC preseason poll. Still, like Virginia Tech, it reached bowl eligibility with a win against its rival (in this case, North Carolina ) in the regular-season finale. It's NC State's 10th bowl-eligible season in the past 11 years under coach Dave Doeren.

12. North Carolina (6-6, 3-5)

Last week: 10

An eventful week in Chapel Hill ended with a dud, with the Tar Heels and recently fired coach Mack Brown falling to NC State 35-30. While it's eligible for a bowl, much of North Carolina's attention will now shift to finding a coach to lead a program long viewed as a sleeping giant.

REQUIRED READING: Ohio State tumbles in US LBM Coaches Poll rankings, while Texas moves behind No. 1 Oregon

13. Cal (6-6, 2-6)

Last week: 11

With a 38-6 loss to SMU, the Golden Bears completed a regular season that was fittingly weird for a program situated 3,000 miles from most of its new conference mates. Five of their six losses this season came by a combined 17 points.

14. Virginia (5-7, 3-5)

Last week: 13

A 20-point loss at rival Virginia Tech prevented the Cavaliers from making their first bowl game since 2019. Their five wins were their most under third-year coach Tony Elliott, and a two-win improvement from 2023, but the season ended on a sour note, with six losses in the final seven games after a 4-1 start.

15. Wake Forest (4-8, 2-6)

Last week: 16

The Demon Deacons finished 4-8 for a second-consecutive season after a 23-17 loss to Duke. Coach Dave Clawson's team ended the season on a four-game losing streak, with two of those setbacks coming by one score.

16. Stanford (3-9, 2-6)

Last week: 15

The Cardinal completed an undeniably odd first season in the ACC. It was largely non-competitive, with its six conference losses coming by an average of 19.5 points per game, but its two wins came against Syracuse and Louisville teams that finished the season with a combined record of 17-7.

17. Florida State (2-10, 1-7)

Last week: 17

The best thing the Seminoles can say about this season is that it's over.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ACC power rankings: SMU finishes the regular season on top after Week 14

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