TNIAAM ACC Football 2014 Season Power Rankings: Week 2

Each week, the TNIAAM football staff ranks all 14 ACC teams in a completely subjective manner, just like everyone else on the internet. Feel like we're completely off base? Chime in with your own ACC power rankings below.

I doubt anyone could REALLY tell you what happened in the ACC this past weekend. With five days of games, a ton of inconsistent performances, and just one in-conference matchup, we're left wandering around in the dark with these teams after one week. Still, I guess that's the beauty of it: it's just one week. And there are plenty more left for us to actually figure out what will happen and what these teams really are.

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1. Florida State Seminoles (1-0) (0-0)

Last Week: W, 37-31 over Oklahoma State; Next Week: vs. The Citadel

Highest Position: 1; Lowest Position: 1

Your view of Florida State's performance on Saturday night is highly contingent on how you feel about the Cowoboys. If you believe OK State's a Big 12 contender, then this was a great non-conference victory in front of a pro-OSU crowd at AT&T Stadium. But if you see them as a middle-of-the-pack squad, this is a bit disconcerting. The FSU D-line doesn't look as crisp as last year, and you can see Jameis Winston trying an awful lot harder than he had to in 2013. If he succeeds (and he did), that's fine. But you have to wonder if he can keep up the one-man show for the full season.

2. Louisville Cardinals (1-0) (1-0)

Last Week: W, 31-13 over Miami (FL); Next Week: vs. Murray State

Highest Position: 2; Lowest Position: 6

Just one game into their ACC stay, and you're already seeing why the Cardinals were considered such a big addition to the conference. With a new QB and new coach, the odds looked stacked against them facing an experienced Miami team on Monday -- on national TV, no less. And yet, they rose to the occasion and picked up a huge, tone-setting win that suddenly lifts them near the top of the ACC pile. The Cardinals' defense was swarming and quick, and easily helped nullify its own offensive issues. This team appears to be for real, which should scare Syracuse fans.

3. Clemson Tigers (0-1) (0-0)

Last Week: L, 45-21 to Georgia; Next Week: vs. South Carolina State

Highest Position: 2; Lowest Position: 6

You can't blame Clemson for losing to Georgia. But you certainly can raise some concerns about HOW they lost to the Bulldogs down in Athens. The Tigers' defense was supposed to guide this team while the offense figured out life without its top playmakers. Instead, Clemson faltered on both sides of the ball, and the second half D looked less-than-stellar while letting up 24 points in the final 30 minutes. Clemson's pass-rush wasn't tested much, but the run defense was steamrolled for over 300 yards (mostly by Todd Gurley). There's work to be done here...

4. Duke Blue Devils (1-0) (0-0)

Last Week: W, 52-13 over Elon; Next Week: at Troy

Highest Position: 2; Lowest Position: 7

Duke picked up right where it left off last year: racking up points in bunches and running opponents out of the building. Obviously, it's just Elon this time, though that shouldn't completely take away from what was a dominant victory -- the likes of which teams SHOULD be recording when opening the year against FCS opponents. The starters were crisp and efficient on both sides of the ball, and if you had any lingering questions about Anthony Boone (you shouldn't have had any to begin with), hopefully his four-TD effort put those to bed for good.

5. Pittsburgh Panthers (1-0) (0-0)

Last Week: W, 62-0 over Delaware; Next Week: at Boston College

Highest Position: 3; Lowest Position: 8

Again, this is what you're supposed to do. Plus, Pitt gave us a terrifying glimpse of what this offense could be this year -- even if it was against Delaware. With James Conner running wild against an undersized Blue Hens front, Chad Voytik and Tyler Boyd (among others) were tasked to do very little, yet still looked highly effective. The defense was quick to force turnovers, which may help nullify issues in the secondary and their task of replacing Aaron Donald on the line. If you want to inspire faith early in your season, this is a perfect way to do so.

6. North Carolina Tar Heels (1-0) (0-0)

Last Week: W, 56-29 over Liberty; Next Week: vs. San Diego State

Highest Position: 4; Lowest Position: 9

It was a sloppy game, but a win's a win. UNC and Liberty combined for 10 turnovers, and the FCS Flames managed to stick around longer than most expected against a ranked Tar Heels team. But after settling in, Marquise Williams seemed to take over and lead North Carolina to an exciting victory. The defense still created some real cause for concern -- of those 29 points, only eight were in garbage time -- though the hope is that the mistakes from week one create building blocks for week two, when a tough SDSU team comes to town.

7. Virginia Tech Hokies (1-0) (0-0)

Last Week: W, 34-9 over William & Mary; Next Week: at Ohio State

Highest Position: 5; Lowest Position: 8

Michael Brewer did what he was supposed to for Virginia Tech: lead a competent enough passing attack that could avoid mistakes and help the defense out enough to pull off a win. And for that, he should be celebrated. This team was never going to score a ton of points, and that seems even more likely after Saturday. But this defense should certainly live up to its top billing, as long as it really locks up that rush D, that is. W&M's Mikal Abdul-Saboor was able to reel off 10 runs for 85 yards -- the type of home runs that will happen even more against top opponents.

8. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (1-0) (0-0)

Last Week: W, 38-19 over Wofford; Next Week: at Tulane

Highest Position: 6; Lowest Position: 12

Wofford isn't a great FCS squad, so to see them test Georgia Tech for nearly 60 full minutes is at least a bit startling. The most surprising thing about Saturday's game, however, may not have been how close the game was but how many passing yards the Wreck managed to tally. Justin Thomas -- largely touted for his fit in the triple-option -- threw for 282 yards to go with the team's 226 yards on the ground. It was a very balanced attack, and one that could (if it holds) largely benefit Tech this season.

9. Miami Hurricanes (0-1) (0-1)

Last Week: L, 31-13 to Louisville; Next Week: vs. Florida A&M

Highest Position: 5; Lowest Position: 13

Duke Johnson is back, and running just fine. But beyond him... this Miami offense has a ton of questions to answer if they hope to contend in the Coastal Division, including who else is going to make plays. As mentioned, Johnson ran well, but his effectiveness is limited when no one else can carry the football well and the passing game completely sputters. Perhaps they miss Dallas Crawford in the backfield more than they'd realize? It's just a single game, but there's some foreboding trends already.

10. Boston College Eagles (1-0) (0-0)

Last Week: W, 30-7 over UMass; Next Week: vs. Pittsburgh

Highest Position: 9; Lowest Position: 12

Based on how things went against UMass, the Eagles will go as far as Tyler Murphy can take them. The dual-threat QB had nearly 300 yards of total offense on his own, and very much appears like the team's top/lone playmaker on that side of the ball. Sure, it wasn't the "biggest" win, but it was effective in establishing a credible gameplan and sticking to it throughout the contest. The Eagles ran over UMass and the Minutemen were never really competitive. Sounds like exactly what you'd ask for in week one.

11. Virginia Cavaliers (0-1) (0-0)

Last Week: L, 28-20 to UCLA; Next Week: vs. Richmond

Highest Position: 2; Lowest Position: 13

This might have been the most confusing result of week one. Virginia, hosting a top-10 UCLA team, actually held their own and then some, and if not for turnovers, the Hoos probably would've come away with a major upset. The Bruins' offense was stagnant against Virginia's stout defense, scoring just one offensive TD, to three defensive ones. So is UVa as good as a top-10 UCLA squad? Or is UCLA overrated in early polls? Tough call, but something tells me Virginia is due for an improvement this year now after seeing a very strong effort, even in a loss.

12. Syracuse Orange (1-0) (0-0)

Last Week: W, 27-26 (2OT) over Villanova; Next Week: Bye

Highest Position: 9; Lowest Position: 12

Syracuse needed a fake field goal in double overtime to beat Villanova. BUT Terrel Hunt was out for the large majority of the game. BUT his own misguided thrown punch got him tossed, calling his leadership into question. BUT the defensive line was getting roughed up anyway, and that occurred from start to finish. AND Nova's defensive line largely stuffed the interior, blasting Adonis Ameen-Moore numerous times as he did his best impression of the 2006 Iowa game. Point is, you can make excuses all around for SU, but Friday was embarrassing and leaves us with no better sense of what the Orange actually are.

13. NC State Wolfpack (1-0) (0-0)

Last Week: W, 24-23 over Georgia Southern; Next Week: Old Dominion

Highest Position: 10; Lowest Position: 13

State was en route to a very bad upset at the hands of Georgia Southern, until Jacoby Brissett led two late touchdown drives. When he was truly let loose to throw the ball, you saw a very different Wolfpack offense, versus the stagnant one that could not seem to run the ball against a lesser Georgia Southern defensive front. As we've said repeatedly: it's one game. But this offense already looks like it has many of the same issues as last year, and if Brissett is the only playmaker, teams will key in on that quickly.

14. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (0-1) (0-0)

Last Week: L, 17-10 to UL-Monroe; Next Week: Gardner Webb

Highest Position: 14; Lowest Position: 14

Things started well for the Dave Clawson era: a 10-0 lead, a blocked punt touchdown and a first-half shutout. And then the rest of the game happened, and suddenly we saw little had changed for Wake since last seasom. No offensive touchdowns, just 94 offensive yards, and a rushing attack that somehow showed itself to be even less effective than last year's. There are a lot of young, inexperienced pieces here who will get better. But the Deacons need a ton of improvement if they want to be competitive with their ACC schedule.