ACC power rankings: Is this David Cutcliffe’s best work at Duke?
If the ACC coach of the year award was based on how well you adjust without injured players, Duke’s David Cutcliffe would have that wrapped up already.
The Blue Devils have started 4-0 and didn’t have quarterback Daniel Jones or All-ACC cornerback Mark Gilbert for half of those games.
Duke scored 40 points and beat a Power 5 team (Baylor) on the road without Jones or six starters. Maybe Baylor’s really bad (it seems like yesterday they pounded Larry Fedora’s best UNC team in a bowl game) but how many other teams could have done the same?
The sum of Duke’s wins over Army, Northwestern, Baylor and N.C. Central doesn’t seem that impressive until you consider:
▪ Georgia Tech lost feature running back KirVonte Benson in the first half of a 49-38 loss at South Florida on Sept. 8 and hasn’t been the same team since. That 24-19 loss at Pittsburgh on Sept. 15 is particularly heinous.
▪ Virginia Tech quarterback Josh Jackson got hurt in the third quarter at Old Dominion on Saturday. The Hokies, a 29-point favorite, lost 49-35 to the Monarchs.
And Duke’s 34-14 win over Army in the season-opener (with Jones) suddenly looks a lot better after the Black Knights pushed No. 5 Oklahoma to overtime last week.
Duke still has a long path to the Coastal Division title, starting with Saturday’s visit from Virginia Tech, but Jones will be back soon and only Gilbert is out for the season.
Cutcliffe has done incredible work to guide the Devils through the first quarter of the season without a loss. Even with everything he had done in 11 years at Duke, this might actually be Cutcliffe’s best work, given the circumstances.
On to the “Only* ACC Power Rankings That Matter:”
1. Clemson
Record: 4-0 overall, 1-0 ACC
Last game: at Georgia Tech (W, 49-21)
Next game: Saturday, vs. Syracuse
Turns out “a matter of time” was four weeks for Trevor Lawrence. The freshman quarterback’s first job as a first-time starter is to exact revenge from the Orange.
2. Miami
Record: 3-1 overall
Last game: vs. FIU (W, 31-17)
Next game: Thursday, vs. UNC
If a quarterback change is good enough for Clemson, it’s good enough for Miami. Freshman N’Kosi Perry’s first shot comes against UNC’s porous defense.
3. N.C. State
Record: 3-0 overall
Last game: at Marshall (W, 37-20)
Next game: Saturday, vs. Virginia
N.C. State is making routine field goals. Anything is possible!
4. Duke
Record: 4-0 overall
Last game: vs. N.C. Central (W, 55-13)
Next game: Saturday, vs. Virginia Tech
It will likely be backup QB vs. backup QB between the Devils and Hokies this week. Duke’s Quentin Harris has six touchdown passes and no interceptions in two starts.
5. Syracuse
Record: 4-0 overall, 1-0 ACC
Last game: vs. Connecticut (W, 51-21)
Next game: Saturday, at Clemson
The Orange ran (162 yards) in last year’s upset of Clemson in the dome. Can they do it again? (Spoiler: hmmm, no)
6. Virginia Tech
Record: 2-1 overall, 1-0 ACC
Last game: at Old Dominion (L, 49-35)
Next game: Saturday, at Duke
The Hokies lost to James Madison in 2010 and still won the Coastal Division. They can do the same, after the ugly ODU loss, if they can bounce back at Duke.
7. Boston College
Record: 3-1 overall, 1-0 ACC
Last game: at Purdue (L, 30-13)
Next game: Saturday, vs. Temple
Just a brutal no-show by the Eagles at Purdue. Steve Addazio gets a chance to take out his frustrations on his old team this week.
8. Wake Forest
Record: 2-2 overall, 0-1 ACC
Last game: vs. Notre Dame (L, 56-27)
Next game: Saturday, vs. Rice
Dave Clawson pulls a Wu-Tang Clan style power move and fired his defensive coordinator after four games. That’s cold.
9. Virginia
Record: 3-1 overall, 1-0 ACC
Last game: vs. Louisville (W, 27-3)
Next game: Saturday, at N.C. State
If you have a quarterback, you have a chance. Bryce Perkins (12 total touchdowns) has led the Wahoos to a surprise 3-1 start.
10. Florida State
Record: 2-2 overall, 0-2 ACC
Last game: vs. Northern Illinois (W, 37-19)
Next game: Saturday, at Louisville
Impossibly Low Bar of the Week: The Seminoles were better against NIU than they were in the loss to Syracuse.
11. UNC
Record: 1-2 overall, 0-1 ACC
Last game: vs. Pittsburgh (W, 38-35)
Next game: Thursday, at Miami
Signs of life from the offense but it’s going to take a lot more than that to wash the stink off of that ECU loss.
12. Pittsburgh
Record: 2-2 overall, 1-1 ACC
Last game: at UNC (L, 38-35)
Next game: Saturday, at Central Florida
Don’t count on a lot of mercy from the “national champions,” who will be eager to make a point against a Power 5 team.
13. Georgia Tech
Record: 1-3 overall, 0-2 ACC
Last game: vs. Clemson (L, 49-21)
Next game: Saturday, vs. Bowling Green
I’d say they’ve only lost to good teams but that doesn’t explain what happened at Pitt.
14. Louisville
Record: 2-2 overall, 0-1 ACC
Last game: at Virginia (L, 27-3)
Next game: Saturday, vs. Florida State
What a tire fire. If the Cards can’t win one of the next two at home (FSU, GT), they’ll go winless in the league.
This story was originally published September 25, 2018 at 10:33 AM with the headline "ACC power rankings: Is this David Cutcliffe’s best work at Duke?."