Rivalry weekend locked Miami out of a trip to Charlotte. Virginia and Duke clinched spots in the ACC Championship Game, while Miami, SMU and Pitt all saw their title dreams evaporate in different ways. The AP poll still has Miami as the conference's standard bearer at No. 12, with Virginia at No. 16 and Georgia Tech at No. 24. Pitt and SMU fell out after losses. These power rankings are about who you would least want to see on a neutral field right now. Here is how the ACC stacks up heading into championship weekend.
1. Miami (10-2, 6-2)
Miami keeps the top spot after wrecking Pitt 38-7 on the road in one of the most complete performances of the year for the Canes. The Hurricanes have now outscored Syracuse, NC State, Virginia Tech and Pitt by a combined 151-41 over the last month, winning all four by at least three scores.
Miami has scored 409 points and allowed only 166 this season, both best in the ACC, for a league-leading plus-243 point differential. They still lost the tiebreakers and are officially eliminated from the ACC title game, which makes this season feel like a missed opportunity. But on a neutral field right now, Miami remains the ACC team you least want to see.
2. Virginia (10-2, 7-1)
Virginia did exactly what it needed to do. The Cavaliers beat rival Virginia Tech 27-7, clinched their first ACC Championship Game appearance since 2019 and moved to 10-2 with a 7-1 mark in conference play.
Tony Elliott's team has some quality wins including one over Duke and has been steady all year in close games. They do not have Miami's explosive ceiling or point differential, but they are the team that survived the tiebreaker maze and actually made it to the title game.
3. Georgia Tech (9-3, 6-2)
Georgia Tech finishes the regular season with back-to-back losses, yet still feels like one of the ACC's best. The Yellow Jackets pushed No. 4 Georgia to the wire in a 16-9 rivalry loss after falling to Pitt the week before. Even with the late slide, Georgia Tech went 9-3, 6-2 in the ACC, and started the year 8-0.
4. Duke (7-5, 6-2)
Duke has earned this jump. Manny Diaz's team beat Wake Forest 49-32 to sweep the in-state rivals for a second straight year and then watched every other game end just right to steal a spot opposite Virginia in the ACC Championship Game.
The Blue Devils are only 7-5 overall, which is why they are still outside the Top 25. But a 6-2 ACC mark, and a great season from quarterback Darian Mensah move them up the power rankings.
5. SMU (8-4, 6-2)
SMU takes a bit of a tumbles after letting an ACC title shot slip away. The Mustangs lost 38-35 to Cal when a potential game-tying 52-yard field goal sailed wide in the final seconds.
That loss, combined with other results, pushed SMU out of the ACC Championship Game and out of the Top 25. Still, Rhett Lashlee's team owns an overtime win over Miami and on a neutral field, they remain a nightmare matchup, just not as trustworthy as the four teams ahead of them.
6. Pitt (8-4, 6-2)
After jumping out to a 28-0 lead and upsetting Georgia Tech in Atlanta, the Panthers had a path to Charlotte. Then Miami walked into Acrisure Stadium and dominated them 38-7 to end both their ACC and CFP hopes.
Pitt still finished 8-4, 6-2 in the ACC with a top-25 caliber resume earlier in November, but the inconsistency knocks them behind SMU.
7. Clemson (7-5, 4-4)
Clemson is quietly one of the teams rising most in the conference. The Tigers have ripped off four straight wins and Dabo Swinney came out of the South Carolina win insisting Clemson will win more championships, and while that might sound lofty this year, the arrow is pointing back up.
8. Louisville (8-4, 4-4)
Louisville's season has been a roller coaster. The Cardinals have the win over Miami that put them briefly in the playoff hunt. Since then they have dropped games to Cal, Clemson and SMU, which now leaves them in the middle of the pack. They finished on a high note though, crushing Kentucky 41-0 to get to 8-4.
9. Wake Forest (8-4, 4-4)
Wake Forest slides a bit but still finishes in decent position. The Demon Deacons walked into Durham with a chance to get to nine wins and spoil Duke's title hopes, only to give the ball away four times in a 49-32 loss.
Even with that, Wake Forest is 8-4 with wins over Virginia and SMU already in the bag. Not a bad year for the Deamon Deacons.
10. Cal (7-5, 4-4)
Cal makes one of the biggest jumps of the week. The Bears responded to a 31-10 loss to Stanford by upsetting No. 25 SMU 38-35 under interim coach Nick Rolovich.
Freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele threw for 330 yards and four touchdowns, and the win gave Cal its first winning season since 2019 and its first non-losing conference record in more than a decade.
11. NC State (7-5, 4-4)
NC State closes strong and jumps into the top 10. The Wolfpack followed up their Friday night win over Florida State with a 42-19 beatdown of North Carolina, extending their rivalry win streak to five and handing Bill Belichick a rough ending to his first college season.
Dave Doeren is set to return for a 14th season, and his team again found its identity late in the season. NC State is still a flawed 7-5, but certainly not terrible.
12. Stanford (4-8, 3-5)
Stanford comes back to earth after the high of taking back The Axe. The Cardinal were overmatched in a 49-20 home loss to No. 9 Notre Dame, but that result does not erase the improvement shown late in the season.
13. Florida State (5-7, 2-6)
Florida State's season ends with a dud. After a 3-0 start, the Seminoles finished 2-7 over their last nine, including a 40-21 defeat at Florida that just cost them a bowl bid.
14. North Carolina (4-8, 2-6)
Bill Belichick's first college season in Chapel Hill ends the way it played out for much of the fall: messy. North Carolina closed with a 42-19 loss at NC State, finished 4-8 and dropped its final three games by double digits.
The Tar Heels have dealt with penalties, inconsistent quarterback play and constant off-field noise. The talent is still better than the teams below them, which keeps UNC from falling further, but this has been one of the most disappointing stories anywhere in the country.
15. Virginia Tech (3-9, 2-6)
Virginia Tech never really threatened Virginia in a 27-7 loss that locked in a 3-9 finish. There were flashes earlier in the year, but those feel like distant memories now. It's now time to officially enter the James Franklin era.
16. Boston College (2-10, 1-7)
Boston College finally climbs out off the bottom. The Eagles snapped a 10-game losing streak by going on the road and beating Syracuse 34-12, turning a 6-6 halftime game into a second-half blowout.
BC still finishes 2-10, 1-7 in the ACC, but the way they closed is a nice surprise since they had been last in the power rankings for weeks.
17. Syracuse (3-9, 1-7)
Syracuse falls to the bottom spot after dropping the "ACC toilet bowl" at home. The Orange were outscored 31-6 after halftime in the loss to Boston College and finished the year on an eight-game losing streak.
This comes a week after a 70-7 humiliation at Notre Dame and in a season wrecked by injuries and quarterback instability. At this point, Syracuse's lone ACC win is not enough to keep them off the bottom. They end 2025 as the worst team in the ACC.