ACC football Week 13 power rankings: Time for some awards as regular season winds down
We’ve come to the last week of the regular season and the final installment of our power rankings. To close us out, Manny Navarro will have the first pick. But before we get to the rankings, let’s hand out some awards for the best of the best in the ACC in 2023.
ACC awards
Player of the Year
Navarro: Jordan Travis , QB, Florida State
Raynor: Jordan Travis, QB, Florida State
Coach of the Year
Navarro: Jeff Brohm, Louisville
Raynor: Mike Norvell, Florida State
Freshman of the Year
Navarro: Kevin Concepcion , WR, NC State
Raynor: Rueben Bain, DL, Miami
Transfer of the Year
Navarro: Keon Coleman , WR, Florida State
Raynor: Jack Plummer , QB, Louisville (in the spirit of spreading the wealth)
Biggest surprise
Navarro:
Raynor: NC State
Biggest disappointment
Navarro:
Raynor: Mario Cristobal not taking a knee against Georgia Tech
Week 13 rankings
Can Florida State follow in the footsteps of 2014 Ohio State , surprise everyone and ride a backup quarterback to a national championship? It won’t be easy without Travis. But Norvell has faith that Coleman, Johnny Wilson , Trey Benson and the rest of the cast of the 11-0 Seminoles will rally around quarterback Tate Rodemaker and keep the team in the title hunt. The Seminoles will likely win the ACC and get into the College Football Playoff, but they’re not dominant enough along the offensive and defensive lines to win a national title. — Navarro
The Cardinals are playing for an ACC championship for the first time in program history — in Year 1 under Brohm. It can’t be overstated how impressive he has been back at his alma mater. Plummer was the perfect quarterback to bring in from the transfer portal, and running back Jawhar Jordan is a bona fide star. — Raynor
You can’t ignore the progress the Wolfpack have made since their 21-point loss at Duke . Dave Doeren’s squad, ranked 38th in the 247Sports Team Talent Composite , knocked off Clemson (fifth) and Miami (12th) despite failing to gain 250 yards in either game. Then, the Wolfpack went on the road and won at Wake Forest and Virginia Tech to secure at least eight wins for the sixth time in the past seven seasons. Tip of the cap to you, Salty Dave. — Navarro
Clemson will finish the season with at least four losses for the first time since 2011, but credit the Tigers for how they’ve played down the stretch. Dabo Swinney’s team is on a three-game winning streak, highlighted by last week’s win over North Carolina and the Tar Heels’ explosive offense. This week at South Carolina should be a good one. The Tigers are hoping to finish the regular season with an exclamation point, and the Gamecocks are fighting for bowl eligibility. — Raynor
After starting like gangbusters at 6-0 and climbing to No. 10 in the AP poll, the Tar Heels have lost three of five while giving up 440 yards and 30 points a game. Over their 6-0 start, they allowed 359 yards and 21 points per game. The bottom line: It’s great to have quarterbacks like Drake Maye and Sam Howell , but Carolina isn’t winning anything meaningful until it plays better defense. — Navarro
The Blue Devils have hung in under third-string quarterback Grayson Loftis after Riley Leonard and Henry Belin went down with injuries. Yes, they have lost two straight, but UNC needed double overtime to knock them off, and Virginia is a better team than its record suggests. A win this week against Pitt would allow the Blue Devils to finish the regular season on a high note. Regardless, Duke has already reached bowl eligibility in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2017-18. — Raynor
Cristobal’s 2-5 skid started when he decided not to take a knee against Georgia Tech and continued when Tyler Van Dyke started throwing the ball to guys on the other team. Still, it’s hard not to see progress from a big-picture perspective in Year 2, even with frustrating 7-point losses to the top two teams in this poll the past two weeks. Cristobal just needs to figure out his QB situation this offseason and Miami might finally start playing to its full potential. — Navarro
The Eagles have dropped two of their past three games but get the nod over Georgia Tech by virtue of winning the head-to-head in October. Beating Miami this weekend will present its challenges, but the Eagles’ going from 3-9 a year ago to bowl eligibility this year is a credit to coach Jeff Hafley and his staff. Quarterback Thomas Castellanos might be a little erratic, but he’s also a lot of fun to watch. — Raynor
Brent Key is taking the Yellow Jackets to a bowl game for the first time since 2018 in his first season, and he has some nice pieces expected back in Atlanta next season in Haynes King , Eric Singleton and Jamal Haynes . Yes, it was a good season of progress for the Ramblin’ Wreck. Think of that as they face No. 1 Georgia on Saturday. — Navarro
The Hokies are battling for bowl eligibility this week, and it should be a tough fight against a scrappy Virginia team. Brent Pry made progress in Year 2 after Virginia Tech went 3-8 a season ago, but there’s still much work to be done. At best, the Hokies end the year 7-6. At worst, they finish 5-7. — Raynor
Dino Babers’ eight-year run — which included Syracuse’s first 10-win season in 17 years in 2018 — came to an end after Saturday’s loss at Georgia Tech, and it’s hardly surprising considering the up-and-down nature of his time with the program. The real question is whether anyone can win at Syracuse beyond a surprise season here or there. — Navarro
Virginia still has just three wins, but the Cavaliers have made progress in Year 2 under Tony Elliott. A bowl game is out of the question, but the Cavs still have a chance to play spoiler against rival Virginia Tech on Saturday. Kudos to the way this team has navigated tough circumstances. — Raynor
The Demon Deacons’ precipitous fall pretty much comes back to one thing: Dave Clawson’s slow-mesh offense lost its dynamic triggerman in Sam Hartman ( Notre Dame ) and stopped scoring. Wake’s offense fell from 16th (36.1 points per game) with Hartman to 119th (19.3) with Mitch Griffis , Michael Kern and Santino Marucci . — Navarro
The Panthers snapped a four-game losing streak with their win over Boston College last week. It’s been a tough year for Pat Narduzzi, who will finish with a losing record for the first time since 2017 and just the second time since taking over the program in 2015. — Raynor
(Photo of Mike Norvell: James Gilbert / )
