How many ACC teams made the first College Football Playoff Rankings?

The first College Football Playoff Rankings were released Tuesday night and no, the Virginia Tech football team was not included, however, there were a pair of ACC teams that made the Top 25, including this weekend’s opponent.

Florida State and Louisville are the ACC teams ranked in the first CFP

The Atlantic Coast Conference has two teams in the first College Football Playoff Ranking. Florida State checks in at No. 4 and the Hokies opponent this Saturday, Louisville, checks in at No. 13.

Virginia Tech lost 39-17 at Florida State on Oct. 7 and they got a first-hand look at how good Jordan Travis and the Seminoles are. FSU built a 22-0 first-quarter lead, however, Brent Pry’s team clawed their way back into the game to cut the deficit to 22-17 early in the third quarter on a pair of Bhayshul Tuten touchdowns. He returned the second-half kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, but in the end, Florida State had just too much speed and talent.

The Hokies will head to Louisville this upcoming weekend to play the Cardinals. Louisville is 4-1 in the ACC and a half-game ahead of the 3-1 Hokies in the standings and the winner will have the inside track to play Florida State in the ACC Championship game in Charlotte on Dec. 2.

Having just two teams from the ACC in the rankings is not a surprise. North Carolina was undefeated until the last two weeks when they suffered a stunning loss at home to Virginia, and then last weekend at Georgia Tech. Duke was another team that slipped in recent weeks after starting the season strong, while Clemson is just 4-4 and having what could be considered a down year.

In the overall picture, the ACC’s hopes this season are solely with Florida State if they are going to get a team into the semifinals on New Year’s Day. If the Seminoles slip up before the end of the season or in the ACC title game, the conference’s hopes will be dashed for this season.