Starting next week, I will begin including each team's RPI and taking that into consideration when looking at their power rankings. So look forward to a potential shake up in the rankings then. I didn't do it this week because it is still fairly early and most of the team's schedules are just now starting to pick up.
1. Florida State Seminoles (24-4, 11-1, 1st in Atlantic, 1st Overall, Last week: #1)
Tuesday vs. Florida (neutral site game in Jacksonville): Lost, 4-1
Weekend series vs. Virginia Tech (in Tallahassee, FL): Won 5-2, Won 2-1, Won 11-4
Hard to drop the #1 team in the rankings after a sweep and with their only loss coming to the #1 team in the country. FSU has two midweek home games against Florida Gulf Coast before going to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech.
2. North Carolina Tar Heels (22-6, 9-3, 1st in Coastal, 2nd Overall, Last week: #2)
Wednesday vs. Coastal Carolina (in Chapel Hill, NC): Won 7-6 (10 innings)
Weekend series vs. Wake Forest (Chapel Hill): Lost 7-6 (12 innings), Won 7-3, Won 4-3
I'm keeping UNC at #2 because of a win over an always pesky Coastal Carolina team as well as getting the series win over Wake Forest. I could just as easily put NC State here at #2, because they are playing the same level of baseball, but the series win by UNC earlier in the season gives the Tar Heels the nod. North Carolina draws Elon at home this Wednesday before heading down to Coral Gables to take on Miami in a weekend set.
3. NC State Wolfpack (19-7, 8-4, 2nd in Atlantic, T-3rd Overall, Last week: #4)
Wednesday vs. East Carolina (in Raleigh, NC): Won 4-3 (11 innings)
Weekend series vs. Virginia (Raleigh): Won 5-1, Lost 5-2, Won 7-6
NC State is playing solid baseball right now, with their only series loss this season coming at the hands of North Carolina. They appear to have a managable week ahead, with a road trip to Virginia to play Old Dominion on Wednesday, followed by a weekend series at Maryland.
4. Miami Hurricanes (21-7, 8-4, 2nd in Coastal, T-3rd Overall, Last week: #3)
Wednesday vs. St. Thomas (Coral Gables, FL): Won 11-4
Weekend series at Clemson (Clemson, SC): Lost 3-1, Lost 3-1, Won 4-2
Miami's bats were stymied in the weekend set with Clemson, but they are still in the second tier of ACC teams for now. They get to prove that they're not the worst of the second tier this weekend when they get North Carolina at home. This series will be preceded by a Wednesday night matchup against Central Florida.
5. Virginia Cavaliers (18-10-1, 6-6, T-3rd in Coastal, T-5th Overall, Last week: #5)
Tuesday vs. Towson (in Charlottesville, VA): Won 8-0
Wednesday vs. Towson (Charlottesville): Won 19-5
Weekend series at NC State (Raleigh): Lost 5-1, Won 5-2, Lost 7-6
Virginia took care of business in the midweek but fell to a solid NC State team in 2 of 3 games over the weekend. The Cavaliers draw James Madison on Wednesday of this week and have Wake Forest at home over the weekend. Virginia can prove that they deserve to stay in the top half of the league with a strong showing this week.
6. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (18-11, 6-6, T-3rd in Coastal, T-5th Overall, Last week: #7)
Tuesday vs. Georgia Southern (Atlanta, GA): Lost 5-3
Wednesday vs. Georgia Southern (Atlanta): Won 10-5
Weekend series vs. Duke (Atlanta): Won 1-0, Won 8-0, Lost 4-3
Georgia Tech moved up by virtue of their much needed series win over Duke at home. They were less than impressive against Georgia Southern, but they were able to get back on track in the ACC after that series loss to BC the week before. Tech has a game with Kennesaw State today at 6 p.m, and then gets Florida State to come to Atlanta for what should be an interesting series.
7. Clemson Tigers (14-13, 5-7, T-3rd in Atlantic, T-7th Overall, Last week: #8)
Tuesday at Georgia (Athens, GA): Won 10-5
Wednesday vs. Presbyterian College (Clemson, SC): Lost 8-4
Weekend series vs. Miami (Clemson): Won 3-1, Won 3-1, Lost 4-2
Clemson, like Georgia Tech, moves up because they got a series win when they desperately needed it. Clemson just missed out on a sweep because of baserunning errors, but they got the win nonetheless. Hopefully a different attitude has taken over this team and we see some intensity in their games tonight and tomorrow against Winthrop and Western Carolina, respectively. Clemson also badly needs to go to Durham and get a sweep against the Blue Devils this weekend.
8. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (19-11, 5-7, T-3rd in Atlantic, T-7th Overall, Last week: #6)
Wednesday vs. High Point (Winston-Salem, NC): Won 2-0
Weekend series at North Carolina (Chapel Hill): Won 7-6 (12 innings), Lost 7-3, Lost 4-3
Wake Forest looked like they might be on to something after knocking off UNC in the first game of their weekend set, but then dropped the next two because they were simply outmatched. North Carolina was too strong, and it only gets slightly easier for the Deacs as they take on UNC Greensboro tonight before going to Charlottesville to take on Virginia over the weekend.
9. Boston College Eagles (12-15, 4-8, 5th in Atlantic, 10th Overall, Last week: #12)
Tuesday vs. Northeastern (Brookline, MA): Lost 12-11
Wednesday vs. Bryant (Chestnut Hill, MA): Won 5-3 (10 innings)
Weekend series vs. Maryland (Chestnut Hill): Won 10-3, Won 5-4 (12 innings), Lost 7-1
Boston College doesn't have the most impressive overall record, but for a team that was swept by what was a BAD Clemson team at the time, they have bounced back and won two straight ACC series. BC has been playing good ACC ball lately, and are looking better than the three teams listed below them. We'll find out if they deserve to stay here this week, as they take on Connecticut tonight, Harvard tomorrow, and go to Blacksburg to take on Virginia Tech this weekend. If BC is really as good as they've been playing, they should sweep that weekend set.
10. Duke Blue Devils (12-17, 5-7, 5th in Coastal, T-7th Overall, Last week: #10)
Tuesday at Davidson (Davidson, NC): Lost 2-1
Weekend series at Georgia Tech (Atlanta): Lost 1-0, Lost 8-0, Won 4-3
Losing to Davidson didn't help their case, but Duke really took a hit when they lost the weekend set at Georgia Tech. That was their chance to step up and prove they were ready to make a move up the ACC standings, and they couldn't do it. Duke takes on Campbell tonight before getting Clemson to come up to Durham for the weekend.
11. Maryland Terrapins (18-11, 3-9, 6th in Atlantic, 11th Overall, Last week: #9)
Wednesday at St. John's (Queens, NY): Won 16-4
Weekend series at Boston College (Chestnut Hill): Lost 10-3, Lost 5-4, Won 7-1
Maryland handled their business against St. John's, but a series loss to Boston College isn't going to get you anywhere in these power rankings, at least not until BC proves that they are going to be a consistent winner; it's too early to tell. Maryland needs to get back on track with their games tonight against George Mason, and tomorrow against Bucknell. They need those wins before NC State comes to town for their weekend series, because wins against the wolfpack may be hard to come by.
12. Virginia Tech (18-12, 2-10, 6th in Coastal, 12th Overall, Last week: #11)
Tuesday at James Madison (Harrisonburg, VA): Won 6-4
Weekend series at Florida State (Tallahassee): Lost 5-2, Lost 2-1, Lost 11-4
Losing to Florida State isn't bad. Getting swept by Florida State at their place isn't really all that bad either. But when you're 2-7 in the ACC, you need to get something going, quickly. Find some motivation and start playing better baseball. Unfortunately that didn't happen, and Tech finds themselves falling farther and farther out of any possible contention for a regional berth or even an ACC tourney berth. They need to right the ship quickly with two games against Wofford in the midweek before the weekend series with Boston College at home. The hokies absolutely need a sweep there.
So there you have it, the updated power rankings. Again, this isn't an indication of how I think the standings and the season will finish up; this is merely an indication of how well the teams are playing as of now.