Updated ACC Football Standings, Poll and BCS Rankings through Week 8

Standings
Different week, same story: Clemson and Wake Forest won again, distancing themselves from the rest of the Atlantic, and the Coastal continued to stay murky with four teams sitting at two conference losses.

Hosting (5-2) North Carolina, the Tigers did what they’ve done in nearly every game this season – go into halftime uncomfortably close and proceed to pull away (or in this case blow out) the other team for a win. They rattled off 35 (yes, 35) third quarter points on their way to a 59-38 victory behind a 6 TD performance from QB Tajh Boyd. The Deacons on the other hand had to play catch up against Duke after blowing a 17-0 lead. QB Riley Skinner hit Chris Givens for a long TD late in the fourth to put them up for good. Florida State and NC State both won their conference slates, keeping them at only two losses, but the Atlantic is pretty much a two-horse race at this point.

Week 9 match-ups will prove to be crucial as Clemson is on the road at Georgia Tech and Wake travels to North Carolina. A loss by the Tigers and win by the Deacs would setup a MASSIVELY important bout between the two Nov. 12th, with both teams sitting at one conference loss a piece.

On the Coastal side, Virginia Tech rode strong games by QB Logan Thomas and RB David Wilson in their 30-14 win against Boston College. Their lone conference loss is a respectable one to undefeated Clemson and with the way the rest of the division is playing lately, it looks as if that might be the only ‘L’ they’ll be seeing. Georgia Tech continued it’s slide, losing it’s second game in a row at the hands of a resurgent Miami team, 24-7. The Jackets were held to just 211 total yards of offense. A loss to Clemson next week almost certainly eliminates them from contention. Miami on the other hand sits at only two conference losses, but would need the Hokies to drop two more since they own the tie-breaker over the Canes.

Virginia is the interesting wild card. They have two conference losses, but have already defeated Georgia Tech and with a win against Miami this Thursday night, they find themselves in a position to make a run at the Coastal. Wins against Maryland, Duke and Florida State would setup a winner-take-all against Virginia Tech to end the season.

Complete Updated ACC Football Standings

Rankings
The ACC counteracted a positive move by Clemson with a negative with Georgia Tech dropping completely out of the polls.

The Tigers moved up two spots in both the AP and Coaches polls to #6 following losses by Wisconsin and Oklahoma. They also moved up in the BCS Rankings, coming in at #5 thanks to a strong strength of schedule. It’s not a stretch to think they have a legitimate shot at playing for the national title.

Winning out, including the conference championship game against what looks like Virginia Tech (#12 in the polls and BCS), would put them at 13-0. Again, the SOS would come into play likely helping to leap-frog them over Boise State. LSU and Alabama (#1 and #2 in the BCS) have to play one another, guaranteeing a move up of at least one spot there and Oklahoma State (#3) has to play AT former top dog Oklahoma.

It’s all ‘if’ at this point, but we’re late enough in the season for these scenarios to be thought about. God knows the ACC needs it after years of ridicule.

Complete BCS and Top 25 Poll Rankings