ACC Football – Week 5 Power Rankings: Clemson, VT lead the way

NC State took a huge step forward this weekend by going into Tallahassee and beating the Seminoles. The Wolfpack are now on a three-game winning streak after dropping the season opener against South Carolina. In all reality, they should be 4-0. That being said, they’re not quite ready to move into that top tier just yet. A convincing win over Syracuse this weekend could propel them higher, however.

The Blue Devils were expected to be good this season and after the first third of the season, they’re over half way to bowl eligibility. While they haven’t had an overly hard schedule, the Blue Devils have been impressive in the way they have gone out and defeated opponents. Beating North Carolina was a good start for ACC play but taking on Miami will test how good the Blue Devils truly are.

The Yellow Jackets got their ACC portion of the schedule off to a great starting by defeating Pittsburgh. That being said, the Yellow Jackets would’ve lost to any team that would be able to capitalize on turnovers. The defense had an impressive performance, to say the least, but if Tech wants to win the Coastal, they’ll have to limit the turnovers. So far this season, they’re not off to a great start.

Next: Georgia Tech defense impresses in 35-17 victory

Wake Forest took on rival Appalachian State on Saturday and narrowly came away with the win thanks to blocking the game-winning field goal. The Demon Deacons defense once again showed that they’re legitimate but the offensive performance showed it will struggle with better defenses. It’s the second straight year that the Demon Deacons have gotten out to a fast 4-0 start but can they finish better than they did in 2016? Next week’s game against Florida State will be a good indication of where this Wake Forest team truly sits in 2017.