Heading into the bye week, Duke was a perfect 4-0 and had moved all the way to No. 2 in the ACC Power Rankings, behind only Miami. On the other side of it, the Blue Devils are 0-2 with back-to-back close defeats at the hands of Georgia Tech and North Carolina.
Hopes of making it back to the ACC Championship Game are fading fast, and Duke needs to respond quickly to break this frustrating losing streak.
Let's see where everyone else stands this week:
ACC Power Rankings after an illuminating Week 7
1. Miami: 6-0 (4-0)
The college football season is a grind, and even though Miami has been dominant so far this season, they found themselves on the brink against Florida State at home. It took overtime and a questionable holding call for the Hurricanes to finally put the rival "Noles away and remain unbeaten.
2. Wake Forest: 6-1 (4-1)
Wake Forest navigated back-to-back tricky road games, earning dominant wins at NC State and California to get to 6-1 before the bye week. The Deacons' only loss was a competitive one against Miami, and they're on track to get a rematch in Charlotte.
3. SMU: 5-1 (3-1)
SMU earned its third straight win, knocking off the walking wounded Virginia Cavaliers 23-13. The Mustangs have a favorable schedule from here, and the spot next to Miami in the ACC Championship Game may come down to the November 14th home game against Wake Forest.
4. Clemson: 4-2 (2-1)
Clemson had no trouble dispatching Charleston Southern 37-0 and they keep moving up the power rankings thanks to the chaos across the conference. The Tigers are a sneaky candidate to get to the ACC title game with neither Wake Forest nor SMU on their schedule.
5. North Carolina: 4-2 (2-1)
Back-to-back road wins over Pitt and Duke have UNC trending up in Bill Belichick's second season in Chapel Hill. North Carolina started fast and built a 17-0 lead over Duke before needing a late touchdown drive to win the game.
6. Louisville: 4-3 (3-2)
Louisville went on the road this week and earned a 34-26 win over Syracuse, its second straight win since a frustrating loss to NC State. As disappointing as this season has been for the Cardinals, they are still very much alive in the ACC race.
7. Virginia Tech: 5-2 (2-2)
The Hokies snapped a two-game losing streak with a 34-24 win at home over Georgia Tech, setting up an ACC Championship elimination game next week in Death Valley at Clemson. Virginia Tech still has road games at SMU and Miami on the schedule, too.
8. Duke: 4-2 (1-2)
Duke's last two losses have followed the same late-game script. The offense scores a late touchdown in the fourth quarter to take the lead, and then the defense quickly gives the lead right back. Duke has dropped six spots in two weeks, and things don't get much easier with a road game at Virginia on Friday night.
9. Pittsburgh: 5-2 (2-2)
This is just a very different team without Mason Heintschel. Pitt has lost back-to-back games since their star QB was lost for the season, including a rough road loss at Boston College, which has been near the cellar of the league all year.
10. Florida State: 3-4 (1-3)
Mike Norvell nearly got the signature win he desperately needed on the road against Miami, but the Seminoles ultimately fell short in overtime to fall below .500 on the season. FSU has mostly been competitive - save for the blowout loss to Louisville - but you are what your record says you are.
11. Virginia: 4-3 (2-2)
A disappointing year continued for Virginia with the loss to SMU handing the Cavs their third loss of the season already. There may not be a more beat-up team in college football, though. This is a totally different team now than the one we saw dominate NC State in the opener.
12. NC State: 3-3 (1-2)
It was a bye week for NC State, but they moved up a spot anyway.
13. Boston College: 3-3 (1-2)
Boston College earned a critical ACC win over Pittsburgh this week, coming from behind to get the win. The Eagles' decision is likely to be decided in the next two weeks with back-to-back road games at Georgia Tech and Duke on deck.
14. California: 3-4 (2-2)
After an impressive win over Virginia Tech, Cal gave back that goodwill with a 41-7 curb stomping at the hands of Wake Forest at home. The Golden Bears have been Jekyll-and-Hyde this year, and just benched QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele.
15. Georgia Tech: 2-4 (1-2)
The Yellow Jackets were unable to build off last week's win over Duke, falling by 10 on the road to Virginia Tech.
16. Syracuse: 2-4 (0-4)
Syracuse fell to 0-4 in conference play with the loss to Louisville. They've been competitive, losing three of the four by one possession, but 0-4 is 0-4 at the end of the day.
17. Stanford: 3-4 (1-4)
Stanford got a rare win on Saturday, knocking off Elon 34-7 to shake off consecutive blowout defeats to Wake Forest and Notre Dame.
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