Most reasonable people would have given up by now.

Understanding, predicting, and ranking the teams in the ACC has become nearly impossible, especially on a week-to-week basis. There are constants at the top of the conference (Miami, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech), and more constants at the bottom (North Carolina State and Maryland), but middle-of-the-road teams like Clemson and Wake Forest are doing their best to make our jobs more difficult.

The good news is that while the Terps’ are fading fast, Terrapin Trail’s Power Rankings are just getting warmed up. We originally had planned to keep these rankings within the sports staff. But the unpredictability of who will rise to the challenge has forced us to include outsiders.

This week we have Opinion Editor Rob Gindes back for the third straight week, and a rare appearance from Managing Editor Kyle Goon. Who is the more sports-savvy non-sportswriter?

So, as usual, find out where we have the Terps and the rest of the conference after yet another wet and wild weekend.

1. Miami (Last week – 2):

The ‘Canes return to the top spot thanks to a Hokie loss. A lot of pundits have the ‘Canes penciled in for a BCS Bowl even if they don’t win the ACC Coastal Division, but as we have all seen, the ACC is wacky. Don’t surprised to see a battle next week when they face talented, yet inconsistent Clemson. – Mike Lemaire

2. Virginia Tech (Last week – 1):

Yeah, I could see Georgia Tech jumping ahead of the Hokies, but Virginia Tech is still the team better built for the long haul. Their defense is just plain better, regardless of that hiccup in Atlanta on Saturday. – Aaron Kraut

3. Georgia Tech (Last week – 3):

It’s pretty easy. Snap the ball to Josh Nesbitt. Get out of his way. If he’s generous enough to pitch it to you, then you should feel grateful for the opportunity. Otherwise, let the man keep making defenses look silly. – Aaron Kraut

4. Clemson (Last week – 6):

Is Dabo Sweeney actually a good coach? That will be tested in the second half of ACC play, as Clemson may still be in the hunt for Atlantic supremacy. – Adi Joseph

5. Boston College (Last week – 5):

The classic middle-of-the-road team that beats the teams they’re supposed to and loses to the good teams. Also leading the “Which Atlantic team gets to go to the conference championship and get slaughtered?” sweepstakes. – Rob Gindes

6. Virginia (Last week – 10):

Al Groh for ACC coach of the year? No joke, Randy Shannon is the only obviously better option. – Aaron Kraut

7. Wake Forest (Last week – 4):

An aggressive, ball-hawking defense finally forced Riley Skinner out of his comfort zone and into a turnover-filled afternoon. Too bad the Terps’ version of that defense was the one that let Skinner throw for 300+ yards and four touchdowns the week before. – Mike Lemaire

8. Duke (Last week – 9):

Once again, a week off does wonders for your ACC power ranking in 2009. This is depressing. – Rob Gindes

9. Florida State (Last week – 7):

I said it last week — the Seminoles are far better than their record and have come up against a very tough schedule. They’ll turn it around in time and finish 8-5 this year with a weak schedule until the last weekend against Florida. – Adi Joseph

10. North Carolina (Last week – 11):

Worst conference total defense + best conference total offense = mediocrity. Injuries have ravaged this team to the point where Bobby Bowden is actually licking his dentures to get a crack at the Tar Heels. – Kyle Goon

11. North Carolina State (Last week – 8):

Having uber-QB Russell Wilson and a decent offense isn’t going to be any good when you give up 52 points against BC. Maryland might have let up 52 against Cal, but they were just a (little) bit better than the Eagles. – Kyle Goon

12. Maryland (Last week – 12):

I’ve heard rumors recently that Chris Turner will be benched in favor of Greivis Vasquez. – Jakob Engelke

This entry was posted on Monday, October 19th, 2009 at 10:02 pm and is filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.