Twelve weeks down, two to go. With just two weeks remaining in the regular season in the ACC, things are slowly beginning to iron themselves out in terms of the top of the conference. The conference will likely get one team in the 12-team College Football Playoff, the winner of next month's ACC Championship Game in Charlotte.
Who those teams are going to be remains to be seen. Georgia Tech took a giant step with a win at Boston College on Saturday, while Virginia also took a giant step toward heading to North Carolina next month. All they have to do is beat Virginia Tech in two weeks at home. Surely that will happen, correct? Anyway, here are the latest ACC Football Power Rankings following Week 12.
Week 12 ACC Football Power Rankings
17. Boston College (1-10, 0-7)
- Last Week: 17
- All that stands in the way of the Eagles and a winless ACC season is a trip to Syracuse in two weeks. Give Bill O'Brien's team props for their effort against Georgia Tech, but you just knew they would blow a late fourth-quarter lead, right?
16. Syracuse (3-7, 1-6)
- Last Week: 16
- The Orange were off this weekend and will close out the season with a pair of games against Notre Dame and BC. The battle with the Eagles will be to avoid finishing at the bottom of the power rankings.
15. Stanford (3-7, 2-5)
- Last Week: 15
- The Cardinal have two games remaining before a new coach is hired to replace Frank Reich, who is holding down the fort in 2025 on an interim basis.
14. Virginia Tech (3-7, 2-4)
- Last Week: 14
- The Hokies' loss at FSU eliminated them from a third straight bowl game, but we all knew that. It remains the James Franklin Watch in Blacksburg.
13. North Carolina (4-6, 2-4)
- Last Week: 12
- The Tar Heels' loss at Wake Forest leaves UNC needing to beat Duke and North Carolina State to become bowl-eligible.
12. North Carolina State (5-5, 2-4)
- Last Week: 10
- The Wolfpack were blown out at Miami and now must beat either Florida State or UNC at home to get to another bowl game. Dave Doeren's seat is still warm in Raleigh.
11. Florida State (5-5, 2-5)
- Last Week: 13
- The Seminoles pulled away in the second half on Saturday night to beat Virginia Tech to move one step closer to becoming bowl-eligible. They have to win a road game against either NC State or Florida to make that happen.
10. Duke (5-5, 4-2)
- Last Week: 9
- Manny Diaz's team was smoked at home by Virginia in a pivotal ACC showdown. They still need one win to become bowl-eligible, either at UNC next weekend or at home against Wake Forest. It's going to be easy.
9. Clemson (5-5, 4-4)
- Last Week: 11
- Just when you count out Dabo Swinney and the Tigers, they pick up a key road win in November. That came Friday night at Louisville and they can become bowl-eligible with a win at home against Furman next Saturday.
8. Louisville (7-3, 4-3)
- Last Week: 7
- Remember when Virginia Tech held a nine-point lead over the Cardinals at home two weeks ago? We should have known it was a sign of things to come. Back-to-back home losses to Cal and Clemson leave Louisville needing to beat SMU next weekend to avoid a .500. finish in the ACC.
7. California (6-4, 3-3)
- Last Week: 8
- Cal was off this week and closes with games at Stanford and at home against SMU.
6. Pittsburgh (7-3, 5-1)
- Last Week: 2
- I don't know, call me crazy, but saying a matchup against Notre Dame doesn't mean much compared to an ACC game, and then you go out and get smoked at home, it doesn't look good. The Panthers need to win at Georgia Tech next weekend.
5. Wake Forest (7-3, 4-3)
- Last Week: 6
- Jake Dickert should be the ACC Coach of the Year with the job he's done in Year 1 in Winston-Salem.
4. Miami (8-2, 4-2)
- Last Week: 5
- Games are played on the field, but the case can be made that the Hurricanes are the best team in the ACC. The results say otherwise, but are you surprised under Mario Cristobal?
3. Virginia (9-2, 6-1)
- Last Week: 4
- The Cavaliers made a statement with a road win at Duke. All that stands in their way of a potential berth in the ACC Championship Game is a home game against Virginia Tech in two weeks. Given the history of the series, what could possibly go wrong for Virginia?
2. SMU (7-3, 5-1)
- Last Week: 3
- The Mustangs host Louisville this weekend before a tough road game at Cal awaits. It's not going to be easy for SMU to get to Charlotte.
1. Georgia Tech (9-1, 6-1)
- Last Week: 1
- At this time of the year, they don't ask how, but if. That's good for Brent Key and the Yellow Jackets, who survived a major scare from BC on Saturday.