We're a month in on the season - and the ACC has been wild, often disappointing out of conference, but conference play is heating up and a couple teams are really standing out.. Check out what our panel of experts have to say about the ACC after week 4...
Rk) (LW) Team...............Poll AVG
1) (2) Miami Hurricanes - 1.5
Glass ½ Full: A 31-3 drubbing of Pitt on the road secures Miami as the team to beat in the ACC. The defense played very strong limiting the Panthers to just 232 total yards in the game. If Jacory Harris can cut down on his interceptions, Miami should be in good position for an ACC championship game appearance. - Daniel Thompson
Glass ½ Empty: Miami had the least impressive 4 TD road BCS victory I've ever seen at Pitt - which is good and bad I guess. The coaches have things to yell at ‘em about going into Clemson, but they did get the big road win regardless. - Brandon Rink
2) (3) NC State Wolfpack - 1.9
Glass ½ Full: The Wolfpack have played the best of any team in the ACC so far this season, and they beat a decent Georgia Tech team last Saturday. As long as NC State has Russell Wilson under center, they have a chance to win every game. Their success now leads to a huge matchup with Virginia Tech this Saturday, which will give us an idea of how good both of these teams really are. - Justin Cocchiola
Glass ½ Empty: Has some flaws, but the incomparable Russell Wilson and improved D wrecked Tech. - Stephen Byrd
3) (3) Clemson Tigers - 2.6
Glass ½ Full: Had the bye week to prep for the ‘Canes coming to TigerTown Saturday. No pressure, Dabo - only the difference between coming out on top and being a favorite in the Atlantic - losing and being the talk of Clemson sports radio with folks calling for your head. - Brandon Rink
Glass ½ Empty: Clemson had a bye week, which will help them prepare for Miami on Saturday. The Tigers should have beaten Auburn, but came up short. Dabo Swinney and company have to find ways to win close games, and until they do Clemson won't gain any respect. Look for their matchup against Miami to go down to the wire. - Justin Cocchiola
4) (6) Florida State Seminoles - 3.1
Glass ½ Full: FSU followed up a sound victory over BYU with a 31-0 shutout of Wake Forest at home. It was a tremendous performance all around as the offense racked up 485 yards while the defense held the Demon Deacons to under 200. - Daniel Thompson
Glass ½ Empty: Ran over Wake. Yawn. The shutout was a nice change, though. - Stephen Byrd
5) (7) Virginia Tech Hokies - 5.4
Glass ½ Full: The Wolfpack have impressed me a ton so far. I absolutely love Russell Wilson, and they're still the only undefeated team in the ACC. They're definitely the favorite to win the Atlantic division at this point. I'd watch out for the Wolfpack. - admiNOLEstator
Glass ½ Empty: A win on the road at BC is nice, but a lot of questions asking are the Hokies really back? They are still not very efficient on offense and tend to get bogged down in the red-zone. The true test will come on Saturday as they travel to Raleigh for a match up with NCSU. - Lambeth Field
6) (4) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets- 7
Glass ½ Full: Yes, it's time to hit the panic button. The offense isn't running smoothly - the defense is struggling to stop anybody, buuuuuuut give credit to NC State for being the better team - maybe Georgia Tech will fare better in the Coastal. - Brandon Rink
Glass ½ Empty: The defense is absolutely terrible. The offense couldn't block anyone on Saturday and Nesbitt is as inconsistent of a passer as they come. But Georgia Tech was in this same position last season (1-1 in the ACC) and ended up winning the conference. Highly unlikely it will happen this year without the playmakers of last season but this team is still talented enough on offense to have a solid year and the defense should improve as the season goes on, right? - Jordan
7) (8) Maryland Terrapins - 7.4
Glass ½ Full: Freshmen QB Danny O'Brien impressed in his first collegiate start going 18-27 for 250 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Maryland offense was very explosive scoring touchdowns of 56, 68 and 76 yards and was complemented by an 85 yard punt return from Tony Logan. The defense is still a major cause for concern but they continue to create turnovers snagging two interceptions this week. MD has a chance to move to 4-1 before heading into a bye week with a win at home over Duke on Saturday. - Daniel Thompson
Glass ½ Empty: The Terrapins now have three wins on the year, but I wouldn't expect them to get many more. Once they get into the thick of their schedule they're going to start losing. Maryland just isn't very good, but they may be up for an upset or two as the season goes on. - Justin Cocchiola
8) (10) Virginia Cavaliers - 7.8
Glass ½ Full: Have looked great this year and could be one of the better Virginia teams we have seen in awhile. Almost pulling out a win @ Southern Cal is a huge step for the Cavaliers. - Matt James
Glass ½ Empty: Virginia has done what it's supposed to do the first 3 games of the season, and even surprised many with their 17-14 loss at USC. But I still need to see more before I rank them any higher. FSU visiting Charlottesville this weekend and going on the road to Georgia Tech next weekend should tell me enough. - Jordan
9) (9) North Carolina Tar Heels - 7.9
Glass ½ Full: The win at Rutgers is just what UNC needed to build off of, especially that defensive unit which held the Scarlet Knights to 87 yards on the ground. One could only imagine what would have happened if. . . well you know. Offense is still a little on the slow side, but it seemed that low scoring games would be in UNC's game plan if they were to win. The Heels take ECU for a spin this weekend before Clemson comes calling. - Lambeth Field
Glass ½ Empty: The Tar Heels had so much promise this year, but when your players don't behave you get bad results. The good news for the Tar Heels is this situation is taking care of itself right now instead of two years down the road. However, nobody really knows what the future holds for Butch Davis and his staff after the dust settles on their current scandal. - Justin Cocchiola
10) (5) Boston College Eagles - 8
Glass ½ Full: The Eagles didn't look awful against Virginia Tech, but they didn't look good either. They're a middle of the road team that will compete in some games, but will get blown out in others. They need better play from the quarterback position. - Justin Cocchiola
Glass ½ Empty: Hate to say we saw that one coming, but we did. You want to root for Herzlich and that defense, but 70 yards on the ground ain't going to get it done. Out of conference matchup with struggling Notre Dame might be what the doctor ordered, but then again, it might push them to .500. - Lambeth Field
11) (11) Wake Forest Demon Deacons - 10.75
Glass ½ Full: Wake showed signs of offensive firepower in their first 3 games: 53, 54, 24. Then, they got shut-out against FSU. The Demon Deacons should be able to put up points on Georgia Tech but in the last 3 games, their defense has given up 48, 68, 31. Ouch. - Jordan
Glass ½ Empty: It's not getting pretty in Winston-Salem, especially after the 31-0 whooping FSU handed them on Saturday. Hints to all opponents of Wake: play the run. They are unsettled at QB and they ran it 71% of the time against the Noles. Interesting next couple of weeks with GT and Navy at home, then at VT and Maryland. Could go 4-0. Could go 0-4. No clue, but the later seems most likely. - Lambeth Field
12) (12) Duke Blue Devils - 12
Glass ½ Full: This was supposed to be the year the Blue Devils were gonna make that next step towards a bowl bid. But Duke has regressed for the first time in the David Cutcliffe era. You just can't lose to Army at home. The schedule doesn't get any easier: at Maryland, Miami, at VT, at Navy. - Jordan
Glass ½ Empty: Army hasn't met that little resistance since Iraq's Republican Guard. - Stephen Byrd
Voting Panel
AdmiNOLEstrater - ACCRivals.com
Stephen Byrd - ACCRivals.com
Justin Cocchiola - ACCRivals.com, Raycom VT Blog
Lambeth Field - ACCRivals.com and Lambeth Field
Matt James - ACCRivals.com
Jordan - ACCRivals.com
Brandon Rink - ACCBlogger.com, OrangeandWhite.com, Raycom ACC Blog.
Daniel Thompson - ACCRivals.com
