Three weeks of college football are in the books and Miami remains the most complete team in the ACC. Louisville just delivered the conference's biggest win of the season and plenty of programs moved in a new edition of ACC power rankings.
Here is how the conference stacks up after Week 3.
1. Miami (3-0, 2-0 ACC)
Miami now has a road demolition of Stanford, a program-record 856-yard night against Florida A&M, and a Friday night conference win at Wake Forest. Darian Mensah completed his first 24 passes against the Demon Deacons and finished 30 of 34 for 220 yards and three touchdowns. He has 11 touchdown passes and zero interceptions through three games.
Miami led 31-7 in the third quarter, then went stagnant, gained 26 yards on its final six drives, and needed four straight fourth-quarter stops plus a safety after Gio Lopez had pulled Wake Forest within 31-20. The Canes also dealt with multiple injuries, but Miami is clearly the best team in the conference.
- Sept. 4: at Stanford, W 45-6
- Sept. 10: vs. Florida A&M, W 77-7
- Sept. 18: at Wake Forest, W 33-20
- Next: Sept. 26 vs. Central Michigan
2. Louisville (2-1, 1-0 ACC)
The Cardinals' only loss is a 41-38 game against Ole Miss in Nashville. On Saturday they beat No. 16 SMU 41-31 in a game that traded the lead eight times.
Keyjuan Brown ran for 163 yards and two long scores on 10 carries, including bursts of 58 and 53 yards. Isaac Brown added the 27-yard touchdown that sealed the game and Louisville finished with 442 yards (265 on the ground).
That is the best win in the conference this season, and it came against a team that has CFP hopes.
- Sept. 6: vs. Ole Miss (Nashville), L 38-41
- Sept. 11: vs. Villanova, W 59-13
- Sept. 19: vs. SMU, W 41-31
- Next: Sept. 26 vs. Wake Forest
3. Duke (3-0, 1-0 ACC)
Duke still owns the conference's best non-conference win after going to Illinois and winning 31-27 as an underdog. On Saturday, Nate Sheppard ran for 154 yards and scored three times in a 35-7 home win over Stanford, while Duke piled up 268 rushing yards and held the Cardinal to 237 total yards.
Sheppard has 528 rushing yards and eight total touchdowns through three games and Duke has now won five straight ACC openers for the first time in program history.
- Sept. 5: vs. Tulane, W 17-3
- Sept. 12: at Illinois, W 31-27
- Sept. 19: vs. Stanford, W 35-7
- Next: Sept. 26 vs. William & Mary
4. Pittsburgh (3-0, 1-0 ACC)
Pitt keeps getting overlooked, but wins are beginning to stack up. Without Ja'Kyrian Turner for a second straight week, the Panthers ran for a season-high 245 yards in a 27-13 win over Syracuse. Damon Ferguson Jr. had 102 yards and a 32-yard touchdown and La'Vell Wright added 81 yards and a score. Pitt forced two second-half interceptions from Steve Angeli and now sits at 3-0.
- Sept. 5: vs. Miami (Ohio), W 59-14
- Sept. 12: vs. UCF, W 12-7
- Sept. 17: vs. Syracuse, W 27-13
- Next: Sept. 26 vs. Bucknell
5. SMU (2-1, 1-1 ACC)
SMU is still one of the more talented teams in the ACC, the Mustangs just paid for the same mistakes that did not cost them at Florida State.
Kevin Jennings went 24 of 35 for 222 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions at Louisville and Kendrick Raphael ran for 197 yards and three scores. SMU finished with 479 yards and lost 41-31 because of turnovers and missed tackles.
- Sept. 7: at Florida State, W 27-24
- Sept. 12: vs. UC Davis, W 56-10
- Sept. 19: at Louisville, L 31-41
- Next: Sept. 26 vs. Missouri State
6. Virginia Tech (3-0)
Virginia Tech finally played someone, and the Hokies got it done. Ethan Grunkemeyer completed 31 of 39 passes for 314 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions in a 35-26 road win at Maryland. TE Luke Reynolds caught 12 passes for 107 yards and Virginia Tech scored on five of its first six possessions. It is the Hokies' first 3-0 start since 2017.
- Sept. 5: vs. VMI, W 73-3
- Sept. 12: vs. Old Dominion, W 44-21
- Sept. 19: at Maryland, W 35-26
- Next: Sept. 26 at Boston College
7. Virginia (2-1, 1-0 ACC)
Virginia's first two games were a 34-8 win over NC State in Rio and a 59-3 win over Norfolk State. Then Michael Hawkins Jr. accounted for 313 yards and five touchdowns, and West Virginia beat the Cavaliers 38-27. Hawkins ran for 123 yards and three scores and threw for two more. Virginia had not trailed all season until late in the first half and missed a 41-yard last-chance field goal in the fourth quarter.
- Aug. 29: vs. NC State (Rio de Janeiro), W 34-8
- Sept. 11: vs. Norfolk State, W 59-3
- Sept. 19: vs. West Virginia (Charlotte), L 27-38
- Next: Sept. 26 vs. Delaware
8. Wake Forest (2-1, 0-1 ACC)
The Demon Deacons beat Purdue 38-36 last week, but against Miami they were overmatched early and competitive late. Gio Lopez threw for 312 yards and three touchdowns, and Wake Forest cut a 31-7 deficit to 31-20 before Miami's defense took over.
- Sept. 3: vs. Akron, W 38-16
- Sept. 12: at Purdue, W 38-36 (2OT)
- Sept. 18: vs. Miami, L 20-33
- Next: Sept. 26 at Louisville
9. Clemson (2-1, 1-0 ACC)
Clemson trailed North Carolina 17-3, sat through a stadium-record 2-hour, 28-minute lightning delay, and scored two late touchdowns to win 28-20. Gideon Davidson ran for 105 yards, including a 45-yard burst after the delay and the go-ahead 8-yard score. Freshman Tait Reynolds threw for 215 yards in his first start (which lasted nearly six hours).
- Sept. 5: at LSU, L 10-51
- Sept. 12: vs. Georgia Southern, W 22-7
- Sept. 19: vs. North Carolina, W 28-20
- Next: Sept. 25 at California
10. North Carolina (2-1, 0-1 ACC)
North Carolina jumped on Clemson early and then faded as the game went on. The Tar Heels led 17-3, outgained Clemson 195-117 in the first half, and were in the red zone when lightning stopped the game. After the delay they were outgained 111-36 the rest of the way.
- Aug. 29: vs. TCU (Dublin), W 15-10
- Sept. 12: vs. East Tennessee State, W 35-3
- Sept. 19: at Clemson, L 20-28
- Next: Bye week, then Oct. 3 vs. Notre Dame
11. California (2-1, 1-0 ACC)
California QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele threw for 413 yards in a 49-7 win over Wagner.
Friday night in Berkeley is the first time this ranking gets stress-tested against an ACC team that can punch back.
- Sept. 5: vs. UCLA, L 24-45
- Sept. 12: at Syracuse, W 21-18
- Sept. 19: vs. Wagner, W 49-7
- Next: Sept. 25 vs. Clemson
12. Boston College (2-1)
Boston College got a 28-21 win over Rutgers during the weekend. The 34-15 loss at Cincinnati and a 22-16 slog past Maine are why the Eagles cannot climb higher up.
- Sept. 5: at Cincinnati, L 15-34
- Sept. 11: vs. Rutgers, W 28-21
- Sept. 19: vs. Maine, W 22-16
- Next: Sept. 26 vs. Virginia Tech
13. Florida State (1-2, 0-1 ACC)
Florida State can score with the best of them. QB Ashton Daniels threw for 377 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for two more in a 50-36 loss at Alabama. Duce Robinson had six catches for 135 yards.
Competing in Tuscaloosa could lift the program up a bit, but a win this past weekend would have been even better for the Seminoles.
- Aug. 29: vs. New Mexico State, W 34-17
- Sept. 7: vs. SMU, L 24-27
- Sept. 19: at Alabama, L 36-50
- Next: Sept. 26 vs. Central Arkansas
14. Georgia Tech (1-2)
The Yellow Jackets lost 14-13 to Colorado on a blocked field goal, then got smashed 45-24 by Tennessee. Saturday they did what they were supposed to do and beat Mercer 44-11. Justice Haynes ran for 141 yards and Alberto Mendoza threw for 249 yards.
- Sept. 3: vs. Colorado, L 13-14
- Sept. 12: vs. Tennessee, L 24-45
- Sept. 19: vs. Mercer, W 44-11
- Next: Sept. 26 at Stanford
15. NC State (1-2, 0-1 ACC)
CJ Bailey and NC State's final play of the game was the moment that dominated headlines on Sunday. NC State had a chance to leave Nashville 2-1, and Instead of running out the clock and taking a safety while up by 3 points, Bailey fumbled and Vanderbilt recovered the football for a touchdown.
- Aug. 29: vs. Virginia (Rio de Janeiro), L 8-34
- Sept. 12: vs. Richmond, W 73-0
- Sept. 19: at Vanderbilt, L 31-35
- Next: Sept. 26 vs. Appalachian State
16. Syracuse (1-2, 0-2 ACC)
Syracuse has now lost twice in ACC play in 13 days. The Orange lost to Pitt 27-13 and Angeli threw two interceptions. Syracuse had 347 yards and 23 first downs, but could not finish drives.
- Sept. 5: vs. New Hampshire, W 66-3
- Sept. 12: vs. California, L 18-21
- Sept. 17: at Pittsburgh, L 13-27
- Next: Bye week, then Oct. 3 at UConn
17. Stanford (1-2, 0-2 ACC)
Against Duke Stanford managed 237 total yards and one late first-half touchdown. Davis Warren threw for 151 yards and Stanford's road losing streak is now at 12 games.
- Aug. 29: vs. Hawaii, W 37-27
- Sept. 4: vs. Miami, L 6-45
- Sept. 19: at Duke, L 7-35
- Next: Sept. 26 vs. Georgia Tech
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