Nothing beats week one football.
Upsets, blowouts and head scratchers highlighted the 17 games featuring Atlantic Coast Conference teams in Week 0 and Week 1. Florida State steamrolled No. 8 Alabama and No. 10 Miami held off No. 6 Notre Dame to cap off a big week for the state of Florida.
No. 4 Clemson lost the battle of Death Valley to No. 9 LSU and Virginia Tech dropped the Beamer Bowl to No. 13 South Carolina.
The week that went exactly how we all expected, right?
With that said, here are USA TODAY Sports Network’s Week 2 ACC football power rankings.
1. Miami
Record: 1-0
Week 1 Result: 27-24 win over No. 6 Notre Dame
Week 2 opponent: Bethune-Cookman
What to know: CJ Daniels singlehandedly (literally) changed the game with his Odell Beckham Jr.-like catch.
2. Florida State
Record: 1-0
Week 1 result: 31-17 win over No. 8 Alabama
Week 2 opponent: East Texas A&M
What to know: The Seminoles rolled Alabama 31-17, and the Tide, in fact, did not have Nick Saban to save them.
3. Clemson
Record: 0-1
Week 1 result: 17-10 loss to No. 9 LSU
Week 2 opponent: Troy
What to know: Clemson slipped up in week one for the third straight year and lost the naming rights to Death Valley for the 2025 season.
4. Georgia Tech
Record: 1-0
Week 1 result: 27-20 win over Colorado
Week 2 opponent: Gardner-Webb
What to know: As long as Haynes King is under center, the Yellow Jackets can wear as many oversized jerseys as they want on punt returns, because they’ll have a chance to win.
5. Louisville
Record: 1-0
Week 1 result: 51-17 win over Eastern Kentucky
Week 2 opponent: James Madison
What to know: When Eastern Kentucky defenders go to sleep at night, Louisville’s Isaac Brown is still there to haunt them.
6. SMU
Record: 1-0
Week 1 result: 42-13 win over East Texas A&M
Week 2 opponent: Baylor
What to know: The Pony Express trampled over East Texas A&M, they simply dropped a few spots in the rankings given the nature of other wins in the conference.
7. Pitt
Record: 1-0
Week 1 result: 61-9 win over Duquesne
Week 2 opponent: Central Michigan
What to know: It’s only Duqesne, but the Panthers look ready to prowl in the ACC.
8. Duke
Record: 1-0
Week 1 result: 45-17 win over Elon
Week 2 opponent: No. 12 Illinois
What to know: The less said about the first half, the better it is for Duke.
9. North Carolina State
Record: 1-0
Week 1 result: 24-17 win over East Carolina
Week 2 opponent: Virginia
What to know: CJ Bailey looks like a star for the Wolfpack, but consistency from the team is needed.
10. Syracuse
Record: 0-1
Week 1 result: 42-13 loss to No. 24 Tennessee
Week 2 opponent: UConn
What to know: Fran Brown’s 2026 recruiting class is solid, but his 2025 Orange team still has some work to do.
11. Cal
Record: 1-0
Week 1 result: 34-15 win over Oregon State
Week 2 opponent: Texas Southern
What to know: The Bears have a special arm talent in Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, and he broke the Beaver Dam in Corvallis.
12. Virginia Tech
Record: 0-1
Week 1 result: 24-11 loss to South Carolina
Week 2 opponent: Vanderbilt
What to know: Brent Pry’s opening weekend struggles continue, but there are some positives to take for the Hokies.
13. Virginia
Record: 1-0
Week 1 result: 48-7 win over Coastal Carolina
Week 2 opponent: North Carolina State
What to know: An impressive opening act for Virginia and star transfer Chandler Morris.
14. Boston College
Record: 1-0
Week 1 result: 66-10 win over Fordham
Week 2 opponent: Michigan State
What to know: The Eagles flew by Fordham, let’s see how the flight goes in East Lansing.
15. North Carolina
Record: 0-1
Week 1 result: 48-14 loss to TCU
Week 2 opponent: Charlotte
What to know: Unless Bill Belichick can find a walk-on named Tom Brady, things aren’t looking pretty in Chapel Hill after week one.
16. Wake Forest
Record: 1-0
Week 1 result: 10-9 win over Kennesaw State
Week 2 opponent: Western Carolina
What to know: Wake Forest won, and that’s about all the positives you can take from that performance.
17. Stanford
Record: 0-1
Week 0 result: 23-20 win over Hawaii
Week 2 opponent: No. 9 BYU
What to know: On the bright side, Stanford didn’t lose in Week 1, didn’t win either, just don’t ask what happened in Week 0.
Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: ACC football power rankings: FSU soars after Alabama upset, Miami overtakes Clemson
Reporting by Liam Rooney, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
