ACC Power Rankings: Week 11

#1 Clemson (10-0, 7-0) (LW:#1):

Despite having to play the game on the planet Hoth, Clemson went out and dominated fairly easily vs BC. The offense had some hiccups, but nothing to be overly worried about. Tigers won by 20, clinched their 4th straight Atlantic Division title, and will now host a NIGHT GAME in Death Valley against Duke this weekend. All in all, a good weekend.

#2 Notre Dame (10-0, 4-0 vs ACC) (LW:#2):

ND stomped FSU 42-13 in South Bend to keep their playoff hopes alive. ND will head to Yankee Stadium to face Cuse this week, because if there’s a good place for two insufferable fan bases to meet up, it’s Yankee Stadium.

#3 Syracuse (8-2, 5-2) (LW:#4):

Cuse dominates Louisville 54-23 on Friday. The Orange will now become “America’s team” for the weekend as they face undefeated Notre Dame.

#4 Boston College (7-3, 4-2) (LW:#3):

BC put up a good fight vs the steamroller that currently is Clemson football. Great effort by the Eagles. Nothing but respect for Steve Addazio’s “dudes.” The bad thing that came from this game was Anthony Brown’s injury.

Injuries are an unfortunate part of football and sports in general, and anytime someone is hospitalized due to one, it’s scary. Definitely keeping Brown in my prayers and hope he’s back on the field soon. BC heads to Tallahassee to take on FSU Saturday.

#5 Pitt (6-4, 5-1) (LW:#6):

Pitt inches closer and closer to clinching the ACC Coastal with their 52-22 win over Va Tech. They’re now just a win away. The Panthers will now head to Winston-Salem to take on Wake Forest.

#6 Virginia (7-3, 4-2) (LW:#7):

The Cavs knocked off instate for Liberty 45-24. UVA heads to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech this weekend.

#7 NC State (6-3, 3-3) (LW:#5):

The Wolfpack laid an egg this past Thursday losing on senior day in Raleigh to Wake Forest 27-24. NC State was very overrated at #14. Good news for the Pack. They head to Louisville Saturday.

#8 Duke (7-3, 3-3) (LW:#8):

Duke out dueled rival UNC 42-35 to win the Victory Bell. David Cutcliffe celebrated with some singing and dancing.

Duke comes to Clemson Saturday night.

#9 Georgia Tech (6-4, 4-3) (LW:#10):

The Jackets knocked off Miami 27-21 in Atlanta to earn bowl eligibility, and effectively keep Paul Johnson safe for another season. Jackets host UVA Saturday.

#10 Miami (5-5, 2-4) (LW:#1):

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: a Mark Richt team wore special black uniforms, taunted the oppositions fans and players before the game, and then went on to lose. Yep, once again Miami tried to intimidate their opponents and it backfired.

Okay, to be fair, it looks like some of the players went to the end zone for their traditional pregame prayer. However some took the opportunity to taunt the Georgia Tech student section, which could easily be the most apathetic student section in ACC football. I’m not much of a pearl clutcher and usually am cool with this kind of stuff, but you’ve got to back it up, and Miami continues to pull these pregame stunts and continues to get embarrassed. Canes will head to VT Saturday.

#11 Wake Forest (5-5, 2-4) (LW:#13):

The Deacs knocked off #14 NC State. WFU will now host Pitt. They need to beat either Pittsburgh or Duke to become bowl eligible.

#12 Va Tech (4-5, 3-3) (LW:#11):

VT fell hard at Pitt, losing 52-22. The Hokies have a chance to bounce back against Miami Saturday in Blacksburg.

#13 Florida State (4-6, 2-5) (LW:#12):

FSU lost 42-13 at Notre Dame. The Noles will now get Boston College in Tallahassee.

#14 North Carolina (1-8, 1-6) (LW:14):

The Tar Heels comeback against rival Duke fell short as they lost 42-35. UNC hosts instate foe Western Carolina on Saturday.

#15 Louisville (2-8, 0-7) (LW:#15):

The Bobby Petrino era at Louisville end not with a bang but with a whimper. Seriously, I was expecting him to finally be fired after one big blaze of incompetence, and his final game being a 54-23 loss to Syracuse just seems kind of boring. At least we got the hilarity of Louisville fans learning of Petrino’s firing while watching his coach’s show.

Honestly, I would love to get this printed on a canvas to hang on my apartment wall. The post Petrino era begins this week as interim coach Lorenzo Ward leads to the Cards against NC State on Saturday.