The college football schedule is nearing the midway point, and for many ACC teams the 2023 season has already been quite a rollercoaster. The conference boasted early-season success against the SEC in nonconference play but also suffered losses at the hands of Northern Illinois, Bowling Green and Marshall in the first half of the season.
Despite some bad losses, there are five ACC teams in the AP Top 25, including three that are off to undefeated starts: No. 4 Florida State, No. 12 North Carolina and No. 14 Louisville. And while those three teams are not scheduled play each other in the regular season -- a storyline that has sent us all scrambling to research the tiebreakers for a new division-less ACC -- the fact that there are three top-15 teams without a loss at this point has provided some strength to offset some of the league's more disappointing starts.
With the midseason point on the horizon, let's hand out grades for all 14 teams in the ACC. Keep in mind there's still enough time left to change the final grade but also plenty of chances to lose all of the credit earned to this point.
ACC report card
| 1 |  |
| In a make-or-break season, the Eagles are only about one game off pace in the win-loss column from preseason expectations. With winnable games left on the schedule, a bowl is definitely still in play. But while the 3-3 record checks out on the surface, the narrow margins along the way are worth some penalty on the midterm grade. Boston College has won its three games against Holy Cross, Virginia and Army by exactly three points each, riding the dual-threat capabilities of quarterback Thomas Castellanos to come up with just enough plays to finish on the winning side of these close games. Grade: C | |
| 2 |  |
| Graded against the rest of the ACC, Clemson is firmly in the top half among its peers and boasts one of the best defenses in the country alongside an offense that seemed to find a groove by the end of September. Grading Clemson by its own standard and the preseason expectations of ACC championship contention is a different story. The offense that seemed to be surging hit a bit of a rut against Wake Forest last week with its worst yards-per-play performance of the season. Another 10-win season is an attainable goal, but with a 2-2 ACC record to this point, another conference crown seems like a long shot. Grade: C+ | |
| 3 |  |
| The preseason narrative around Duke was that it could be better than the nine-win team from a season ago but still face an uphill battle to reach a bowl game because of its schedule. That perspective was erased with a season-opening statement win against Clemson. Now, the conversation — even in the wake of quarterback Riley Leonard's injury — is not Duke's path to a bowl, but rather its path to an ACC Championship Game appearance. A fourth-and-16 stop against Notre Dame makes this an A+, but instead we're just a half-grade off the league's undefeated teams. Grade: A- | |
| 4 |  |
| Now that Florida State has entered October with its College Football Playoff contender status certified, there has been some nitpicking. Still, a big-picture view of where the Seminoles stand, especially in the context of the ACC, demands the highest of grades. Coach Mike Norvell led this group back from halftime deficits against LSU in Orlando and Clemson in Death Valley, with the latter being arguably the most impressive conference win of the season. Sitting at 5-0 with a top-four AP poll ranking, the path is clear for FSU as long as it can continue its winning ways. Grade: A | |
| 5 |  |
| The real pain of a Week 4 loss to Bowling Green, which saw the Yellow Jackets give up 438 yards of offense and sparked a defensive change by coach Brent Key, won't be felt as much here in our grades as it will at the end of the season if Georgia Tech winds up at 5-7. There is an undeniable boost in the grade for capitalizing on Miami's mistakes and bouncing back with a ranked win against the Hurricanes; however, games against Boston College, Virginia and Syracuse are must-win status for a group that was competitive in losses to Louisville and Ole Miss but needs to find more wins to make the postseason. Grade: C | |
| 6 |  |
| It's one thing to recognize a favorable schedule, as many did in the preseason, but it takes actual quality to go and capitalize the way the Cardinals have in their 6-0 start. With no true road games until Week 5, it took some time for everyone to catch on to Jawhar Jordan's stellar start -- he's top five nationally at 147.3 all-purpose yards per game -- and a Cardinals defense that has answered the call in wins against NC State and Notre Dame. There's no hiding anymore for coach Jeff Brohm, who in his first year at his alma mater has become one of the biggest stories in the conference for 2023. Grade: A | |
| 7 |  |
| Our voters dropped Miami out of the top 25 of the CBS Sports 133 after the crushing loss to Georgia Tech, and the AP voters nearly did as well. I understand the instant reaction in the polls and rankings, but if we're grading the season as a whole, we cannot erase the credit awarded to a team that blitzed past Texas A&M in Week 2 and carried an undefeated record into the month of October; however, the strength of those other wins are not enough to outweigh the penalty for the Georgia Tech loss. While a lot of things seemed to be going well, we've hit a midseason crossroads for a team that has goals of competing for an ACC championship. The opportunities are there with games against UNC, Clemson, Florida State and Louisville left on the schedule. Grade: B | |
| 8 |  |
| While the Tar Heels don't have a ranked win on the schedule, they have beaten four power-conference opponents in their 5-0 start by at least 14 points, most recently throttling a 4-2 Syracuse team by 33 in Chapel Hill. Quarterback Drake Maye has shaken off a rocky start to play some of his best football of the season, with seven total touchdowns (four passing, three rushing) and zero interceptions in the last two games. Maye's ceiling is UNC's ceiling. As he's found his form, the Tar Heels have found different ways to win different styles of games. Grade: A | |
| 9 |  |
| The consternation around a team that has won four of its first six games -- with the only losses coming to top-25 teams -- may be surprising, but when the offense struggles the way it has you're going to hear some grumbling. NC State ranks No. 13 in the ACC and No. 108 nationally at 5.11 yards per play on offense. The early-season struggles prompted coach Dave Doeren to make a quarterback change from Virginia transfer Brennan Armstrong to MJ Morris. The Wolfpack responded to the spark with 48 points against Marshall, but it was — like all of the other wins against FBS opponents this year — another close game. In its five games against FBS opponents (3-2), NC State has just a -4 point differential. Grade: C | |
| 10 |  |
| No team in the ACC has performed further from preseason expectations than Pitt. Picked tied for sixth place in the preseason media poll with an oddsmakers win total of 7.0 wins, the Panthers are entering the second weekend of October and have yet to record a win against an FBS opponent. A 17-point loss at Virginia Tech back in Week 5 might have been a bottoming out moment that coach Pat Narduzzi can use to rally the group coming out of the off week. Still, Pitt has been one of the most ineffective offensive teams not just in the ACC, but in the country. Grade: D | |
| 11 |  |
| It's important to note that we are grading what has happened so far and not projecting what's to come in the second half of the season. We mention that here because Syracuse, after a 4-0 start, has lost two straight games by a combined 71-21 score and just lost its fourth major contributor for the season due to injury. Seeing the depth chart thin out as conference competition ramps up is less than ideal, but our goal here is to grade what's already been accomplished, which includes four wins in six games with a road victory at Purdue. Grade: B- | |
| 12 |  |
| Like Pitt, Virginia has not yet defeated an FBS opponent. Unlike Pitt, the Wahoos were not expected to be among the top half of the conference heading into the year. It's a results business an we're grading it as such, but under the hood there are signs that this group continues to compete despite the growing pile of defeats. Virginia's losses to James Madison, NC State and Boston College came by a combined margin of seven points, leaving knowledge that they are just a few plays away from a much better record than 1-5 through six games. Grade: C- | |
| 13 |  |
| After a painfully rocky start that included injury issues at the skill positions and a quarterback change, Virginia Tech may have found its level in recent weeks. The Hokies have an uphill battle to be bowl eligible after a 2-4 start, but they've been running the football better and showed some spunk in a 10-0 second quarter at Florida State last week. Still, the record and the season-long stats are among the worst in the ACC, and showing spunk for 15 minutes isn't enough override the rest of the résumé. Grade: C- | |
| 14 |  |
| After 19 combined wins and an Atlantic Division title across the last two seasons, there has been a recalibration of expectations for the Demon Deacons. The passing attack has gone from one of the best in the conference to middling, at best, as new starting quarterback Mitch Griffis has nine touchdowns and five interceptions through the first five games of the year. At 3-2 overall, the season's only true misstep was a 14-point home loss to Georgia Tech. That loss could be costly as the Demon Deacons face a challenging conclusion to the season to reach bowl eligibility. Grade: C | |
