The Hurricanes keep asking quarterback Cam Ward and the offense to save them from perilous situations, and so far, it’s working. After double-digit fourth-quarter comebacks against Virginia Tech and California, Miami needed 538 yards of offense and 52 points to hold off the Louisville Cardinals. The Hurricanes are averaging more than seven yards per play in conference play, but turnovers and a defense that looks progressively vulnerable make them beatable.

If the first game of the season hadn’t happened, or even merely been competitive, Clemson would be in the top spot. The Tigers have outgained their opponents by 209.3 yards per game and averaged 48.5 points per game over their six-game winning streak, but a part of me feels compelled to point out that the most talented foe they’ve faced in that stretch is a 1-6 Florida State team. Can quarterback Cade Klubnik and his teammates produce against a playoff-caliber defense?

Ever since quarterback Kevin Jennings settled into full-time quarterback duties, the Mustangs have looked like a runaway freight train. SMU is third in the ACC in scoring offense and total offense in conference play, behind only Miami and Clemson, and they beat the Seminoles by 10 more points than the Tigers did.

There’s a reasonable argument to make about the Panthers being one spot higher on this list. After all, the Mustangs have lost a game and Pittsburgh hasn’t. However, the Panthers have pulled some rabbits out of their hats with comebacks against Cincinnati and West Virginia before their 17-15 victory over California. If there’s solace to be found in an underwhelming offensive game against the Golden Bears, Holstein only threw for 133 yards with two interceptions, proving that the Panthers don’t need him to be a superhero.

When Syracuse lost to Stanford, it looked like the Orange’s win over Georgia Tech might be an anomaly. Now, with road victories over UNLV and NC State in consecutive weeks, it looks more like the loss to the Cardinal was the odd one out. Kyle McCord’s least productive passing game this season has been his 339-yard, two-touchdown game in that loss.

The Cardinals have lost three of their last four, albeit all to ranked teams, but something feels slightly off about the program. Over their five games against Power Four opponents, Louisville is converting just 31.7% of their third-down attempts. It makes sense given that they lost three skill-position stars to the NFL this offseason, but a gameplan built entirely on the backs of running back Isaac Brown and wideout Ja’Corey Brooks feels like it has a ceiling.

The Yellow Jackets got their clock cleaned by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday, but there’s only so much Georgia Tech fans could ask for against a playoff contender without veteran quarterback Haynes King. The Yellow Jackets are still one of the conference’s best in the trenches, they just played one of the most talented teams in college football.

A three-loss team above the 6-1 Blue Devils feels slightly like heresy, but anyone who has watched running back Bhayshul Tuten for more than five minutes should understand. The star rumbled around for 266 yards and three touchdowns against Boston College, giving him 871 yards and twelve touchdowns for the year. All three of Virginia Tech’s losses have come on the road, two of them to ranked teams, by a combined 14 points.

The Duke defense continues to overcome the Duke offense. Through seven games, the Blue Devils are surrendering 4.29 yards per play and 4.9 yards per attempt through the air, and they lead the FBS with 69 tackles for loss. The offense has also scored 17 combined first-half points between their three ACC games, a trend that must reverse with SMU and Miami next on the schedule.

If there’s such a thing as a respectable two-game losing streak, that’s what Virginia is on right now. The Cavaliers lost to Louisville after a Cardinals touchdown in the final two minutes before falling 48-31 to Clemson, one of the tighter final scores of late against the Tigers. After throwing 13 interceptions in his first 10 complete collegiate games, quarterback Anthony Colandrea has six touchdowns with no picks in his last four contests.

It’s probably time to admit that Boston College’s first two games of the year were a little deceptive. After running for 263 yards against Florida State and averaging 9.5 yards per play against Duquesne, the Eagles have averaged 312 yards of offense and 20 points per game with three losses over their last five games. Their 28 points against the Seminoles are the most they’ve had against an FBS opponent this season.

Between the 70 points they allowed to James Madison and the 20-point lead they gave up against Duke, this four-game losing streak from the North Carolina Tar Heels feels like more than a bad stretch of games. UNC is allowing 399.9 yards per game, the third-worst total in the ACC, but that would actually be the Tar Heels’ best total since 2019 if it holds for the entire season.

Florida State finally did it on Friday. After averaging an ACC-worst 273.5 yards per game through the first six performances, the Seminoles finally outgained a conference opponent when they held the Blue Devils to 180 yards. But quarterback Brock Glenn turned the ball over on three consecutive snaps (two interceptions and a fumble). FSU isn’t simply bad, the Seminoles are finding ways to lose.

The Wolfpack finally won a conference game on Saturday, scoring two fourth-quarter touchdowns for a 24-23 victory over California. While quarterback CJ Bailey showed lots of promise with 306 yards and two touchdowns, NC State probably needs multiple performances like that to move farther up this list.

I truly believe the Golden Bears are one of the tougher teams to play in the ACC, but the record is the record at a certain point. California missed two field goals against FSU and blew leads of 25 points against Miami and 13 points against NC State. After a promising start to the season, Cal has the worst conference record in the ACC (0-4).

The Demon Deacons survived against Connecticut on Saturday, a 23-20 victory powered by two Demond Claiborne touchdowns. Despite holding a high-octane UConn rushing attack to 40 yards on 25 attempts, it’s hard to see the narrow win as a particularly confidence-inducing step.

Stanford, unfortunately, feels like the punching bag of the ACC at this point. The Cardinal have a 26-point loss to Clemson, a 24-point loss to Virginia Tech, a 42-point loss to Notre Dame, and a 30-point loss to SMU in their last four games with an average of 430 yards allowed on defense.