Hootie Calls Syracuse Upset Of FSU in This Week’s Power Poll

No change in the top four this week as Clemson clearly remains the conference bell cow. There was movement for teams 5 through 13 though for a variety of reasons. North Carolina cemented its place in the basement by getting worked at East Carolina.

While Duke beat Northwestern, the Blue Devils dropped from No. 7 to 11 in the poll after losing quarterback Daniel Jones for the season. Duke will have to prove it can beat a good opponent without the golden-armed Jones.

Florida State, meanwhile, continued its freefall from 10 to 12 despite rallying to beat Samford in Tallahassee. Seminoles fans must be scratching their heads, while “the Bandit” must be spinning in his grave.

Rank, School, Overall record/ACC, Previous rank, Comment:

1. Clemson, 2-0/0-0 (1). The Tigers passed a tough test out west when they narrowly avoided the upset by Jimbo Fisher’s Aggies. We surmise that Clemson is probably happy it plays in the ACC Atlantic and not the SEC West.

2. Virginia Tech, 2-0/1-0 (2). Hokies obliterated William & Mary without breaking a sweat and now get an unexpected weekend off due to a storm that even intimidates the likes of Pirates. Aaarghhh!

3. Boston College, 2-0/0-0 (3). We’ll see what the Eagles are made of this afternoon when they take on unbeaten Wake Forest in Winston-Salem. Kickoff was moved up to 5:30 to avoid weather issues. This is actually a huge early season game for both teams.

4. N.C. State, 2-0/0-0 (4). Hey, somebody’s gotta be No. 4, so why not the Wolfpack? They had to sweat to win at home against FCS power JMU in the opener but cruised by Georgia State last week. It’s a shame their game against West Virginia was cancelled because it looked to be a fun game to watch. Instead, State will take on the “other” West Virginia team, Marshall U., in Huntington next week.

5. Miami, 1-1/0-0 (6). Hey, somebody’s gotta be No. 5. Oh, yeah, we already said that didn’t we… After a disappointing opener against LSU, the Hurricanes huffed and puffed until they blew hapless Savannah State out of the stadium (77-0). Why do they play games like this, and why isn’t Savannah State on Virginia’s schedule?

6. Wake Forest, 2-0/0-0 (9). The Deacs squeaked by Tulane in the opener and rolled over Towson last weekend. Tonight will provide a lot of answers as to how good this Wake team really is when a physical Boston College team comes to Tobacco City.

7. Georgia Tech, 1-1, 0-0 (5). Some things never change on the Flats. Paul Johnson’s offense doesn’t score enough points in shootouts because he doesn’t give a rip about defense. What is this, his 10th new defensive coordinator? Still, the Jackets should be able to pull one out at Pitt, where the Panthers can’t seem to get out of their own way.

8. Louisville, 1-1/0-0 (11). How in the world do you measure the Cardinals? They had their doors blown out against ‘Bama, and then they demolished Larry Bird’s alma mater last week. Did you know Indiana State played football?

9. Virginia, 1-1/0-0 (8). The Cavaliers splished and splashed in soggy Bloomington, Ind., last weekend. The one thing they revealed to us is that they’re not nearly as physical a football team as Bronco wants them to be. Now, to avoid another weather issue, Hurricane Florence, the Wahoos are heading west to vacant Vanderbilt Stadium to face Ohio U. at a neutral site. As Phony Bennett said, sure hope that dang whistler isn’t there.

10. Syracuse, 2-0/0-0 (13). Well, here’s our ACC upset special for the week. The Carrier Dome, the only football stadium in America named for an air-conditioning company but doesn’t have air-conditioning, hosts Florida State. We think Eric Dungey has just enough in him to knock off the Seminoles, who had to come from behind last week to beat Samford. Shame, shame. Only a missed late field goal last season prevented this game from going into OT in Tallahassee.

11. Duke, 2-0/0-0 (7). As mentioned above, the Blue Devils have been impressive in a fast start of the gate, but can they beat a good team without starting quarterback Daniel Jones, who was injured at Northwestern and is out for the season? We’re not sure how good Baylor is, but Bears are probably good enough for a Duke team without Jones.

12. Florida State, 1-1/0-1 (10). Have they put up “For Sale” signs in Willie Taggert’s lawn yet? Seminoles fans must be going crazy. Somewhere, Jimbo is wearing a grin.

13. Pitt, 1-1/0-0 (12). The Panthers played well for awhile against Penn State in probably the last meeting between these ancient rivals. But they still play 60 and Pitt seemed to have checked out early. They host Georgia Tech this week, but oh well, there’s Carolina on the immediate horizon.

14. North Carolina, 0-2/0-0 (14). Speaking of the Tar Heels, the weather did them a huge favor by allowing UNC an excuse to not get its clock cleaned by UCF this weekend.