1. Miami (last week: 62-0 W vs Ball State)

I mean, what are you really going to learn in a game against Ball State? Anyways, the Hurricanes did exactly what you’d expect a team getting the hype they’re getting to do: outgained the Cardinals 750-to-115 and blanked their MAC opponent. The Canes play at South Florida this week. The Bulls, honestly, might be the toughest team Miami has played so far.

2. Louisville (last week: Bye)

The Cards cruised through their first two weeks. Now following the bye week, they host Georgia Tech and then head to South Bend to take on Notre Dame.

3. Clemson (last week: Bye)

Dabo’s dudes got an extra week to prepare for the home game against NC State. I really hope they wasted all that time by just repeatedly going down the slide in their football center.

4. Pittsburgh (last week: 38-34 W vs West Virginia)

In true Pat Narduzzi fashion, this Panthers team is finding ways to win – much more than can be said for the NFL team brandishing the same nickname. The win over West Virginia was the second straight 4th quarter come-from-behind-win for Pitt. With 3:21 to go in the game, WVU had a 96.7% chance of winning the game. One play later was a 40-yard touchdown pass, then a Mountaineers three-and-out, followed by a 6-play, 77-yard TD drive to take the lead and the win. Impressive stuff. The Panthers should move to 4-0 this week with a matchup against Youngstown State before an off week.

5. Boston College (last week: 21-27 L @ Missouri)

So the Eagles are for real, huh? While BC went on the road trip with a small number next to their name, many expected a blowout loss at the hands of Missouri. Instead, BC led 14-3 early and stayed within striking distance, managing to cut within a touchdown with under 4:00 to play. The running game was bottled up by the Tigers defense, but the passing attack had some explosive moments and the defense joined Ohio State and Georgia as the only teams to hold Missouri to under 30 points over their last 14 games.

6. Syracuse (last week: Bye)

After BC, Cuse has been the biggest surprise thus far. The Orange are primed for a 4-0 start to the season with home games against Stanford and Holy Cross next.

7. Georgia Tech (last week: 59-7 W vs VMI)

In a similar vein to Miami, we learned nothing about GT in their rout of VMI. The Yellow Jackets held the Keydets to 104 total yards of offense and played turnover free football while racking up 572 yards of their own. Cool beans. The schedule gets a lot harder a lot quicker with their game at Louisville this Saturday.

8. California (last week: 31-10 W vs San Diego State)

Kudos to the Golden Bears who just keep on winning. Minus top rusher Jaydn Ott, Jaivian Thomas stepped up to rush for 169 yards on 17 carries. Xavier Carlton registered 2.5 sacks for a defense that also came up with a pair of picks against the Aztecs and held their opponent to under 50% passing for the game. Cal heads to FSU this week before a bye week. We’ll find out a lot about this team soon.

9. Virginia Tech (last week: 37-17 W @ Old Dominion)

VT led 14-10 at half and then dominated the 2nd half, putting up 23 points before the Monarchs scored a late meaningless touchdown. Kyron Drones passed for 176 yards and ran for 117. He wasn’t the most efficient passing – and he did toss a pick – but he was lethal with his legs. Bhayshul Tuten tallied 115 yards and 2 TDs on the ground for the Hokies while Antwaun Powell-Ryland had an ACC Defensive Player-of-the-Week level performance with 4 sacks. The Hokies host Rutgers next before heading to Miami.

10. NC State (last week: 30-20 W vs Louisiana Tech)

The Wolfpack looked dead in the water heading into halftime against the Bulldogs, destined to a demoralizing defeat against an inferior foe. Thankfully, the defense came up with the biggest play of the game that swung the momentum to State and the Pack played an excellent second half to come away with the win. A trip to Clemson awaits and this State team is flawed, so expectations should be tempered.

11. Duke (last week: 26-21 W vs UConn)

Good on the Blue Devils for coming through with the win, but needing a 4th quarter comeback against UConn is not a good look (I know, glass houses and all that). Duke had this game in control for much of the opening half before a pick-six gave momentum to the Huskies that they rode over into the second half. Star Thomas had 146 yards of offense for Duke and Maalik Murphy tossed three TDs (four if you count the one to the wrong team). Next up is a date at Middle Tennessee State followed by a home tilt with North Carolina.

12. North Carolina (last week: 45-10 W vs NC Central)

Don’t let the final score fool you; this was a one-score game when the 4th quarter started. Central ran out of gas, but it was a valiant effort on their behalf to put themselves in a position to potentially pull the upset. Of course, the game turned from there, but the Eagles offense struggled much of the day (167 total yards), so the threat was only a glimmer of hope, really. UNC committed 16 penalties in the game, which is impressive in the wrong way. Omarion Hampton ran for 210 yards and 3 scores as the UNC offense continues to (rightfully) revolve around him. The Tar Heels host James Madison this week.

13. SMU (last week: Bye)

Still no read on how good this Mustangs team is. They host TCU this week, a team that blew a 31-13 second half lead last week against UCF. Maybe we learn something, maybe we don’t, but the Sonny Dykes bowl is always an entertaining game.

14. Virginia (last week: 13-27 L vs Maryland)

The Wahoos had an excellent opportunity to score a win for the ACC over a Big Ten team, but instead let a 6-point halftime lead slip away, getting outscored 20-0 in the second half. After falling behind 14-13 early in the 3rd quarter, Tony Elliott went away from the run and relied on Anthony Colandrea’s arm the rest of the way. The results were… well… you see. The bottom line is it’s hard to win a game when you’re -4 in the turnover department. Next up is a road trip to Coastal Carolina followed by a week off.

15. Stanford (last week: Bye)

Not sure if you noticed, but Stanford was on a bye last week. I know, right? Devastating. Well, the Cardinal hit the road for games at Syracuse and at Clemson over the next two weeks, part of a brutal four week span that has then them head home to host Virginia Tech before going at Notre Dame. Oof.

16. Wake Forest (last week: 6-40 L vs Ole Miss)

Wake looked very good in their opening win and improved over last year in their week 2 loss to Virginia, but the Deacs were thoroughly exposed in a home loss to Ole Miss on Saturday. Granted, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Like Tennessee, that Ole Miss team looks like their best iteration in years – a true Top 5 national team. Wake gets a week off to rest before hosting the Rajin’ Cajuns of Louisiana.

17. Florida State (last week: 12-20 L vs Memphis)

What are you doing, Mike Norvell? Has a fanbase ever turned on a head coach so quickly? It really is a shame the Noles are wasting such a good defense. FSU hosts Cal this week.