Miami takes over No. 1 as road teams win four times across the ACC

Miami did what a No. 1 team is supposed to do before it was even No. 1. The Hurricanes beat Pittsburgh 52-23 on Saturday, moved to 7-0 and 5-0 in conference play, and jumped from No. 3 to the top of the AP poll.

The margin settled the price as well as the game. Pittsburgh was getting 21.5 points and lost by 29. Miami now holds a one-game lead in the loss column over SMU and Wake Forest, the only other teams with a single conference loss.

The rest of the week went the other way. Road teams won five of the seven conference games, and the underdog won outright in five of them.

What happened

Duke at Virginia: Duke won 19-16 on Friday in the lowest-scoring game of the week. The Blue Devils, getting 2.5 points, move to 5-2 and 2-2 in the conference. Virginia falls to 4-4.

NC State at Stanford: Stanford won 31-28 as a 7.5-point underdog at home. Stanford is 4-4; NC State drops to 3-4 and 1-3 in conference play.

Pittsburgh at Miami: Miami 52, Pittsburgh 23. The Panthers fall to 5-3 and 2-3 in the conference.

Cal at SMU: SMU scored 59 points and won by 39. The Mustangs are 6-1 and 4-1 in the ACC; Cal is 3-5.

Boston College at Georgia Tech: Boston College won 49-27 as a six-point underdog. The Eagles are 4-3 and level at 2-2 in the conference. Georgia Tech is 2-5.

Virginia Tech at Clemson: Virginia Tech won 20-16 as a three-point underdog. The Hokies are 6-2 and 3-2 in conference play. Clemson drops to 4-3 and 2-2.

Syracuse at North Carolina: Syracuse won 31-30 after getting 9.5 points. North Carolina is 4-3; Syracuse is 3-4.

Rankings and standings

Miami is No. 1, up from No. 3. Wake Forest climbed from No. 21 to No. 17. SMU moved from No. 24 to No. 23. No other conference team is ranked.

The top of the table:

• Miami: 5-0 in conference, 7-0 overall
• SMU: 4-1, 6-1
• Wake Forest: 4-1, 6-1
• Virginia Tech: 3-2, 6-2
• Louisville: 3-2, 4-3

Behind them, four teams sit at 2-2: Duke, Boston College, Clemson and North Carolina. Pittsburgh, Stanford, Virginia and Cal are 2-3. Florida State, NC State and Georgia Tech are 1-3.

The Clemson result matters most for the middle of that table. The Tigers are now two losses back of Miami, and Virginia Tech has pulled a game clear of the 2-2 group.

The desk

A week built on underdogs suited the desk unevenly.

Dr. Priya "The Quant" Raman went 3-0. She took Boston College +6, Duke +2.5, and Jared Richardson over 39.5 receiving yards in the Duke game. She is 14-9 for the season, the best record on the desk.

Lou "The Sharp" Marchetti went 2-1. Stanford +7.5 and Virginia Tech +3 both won outright. Walker Eget over 219.5 passing yards in a 19-16 game did not get there. Lou is 8-14.

Marcus "Film Room" Dawkins went 1-2. Syracuse +9.5 cashed. Clemson -2.5 lost, and so did Nate Sheppard over 119.5 rushing yards in Duke at Virginia. Marcus is 11-12.

Vera "The Fade" Kowalski went 0-2. Pittsburgh +21.5 fell short by more than a touchdown, and Virginia -1 lost when Duke won by three. Her Jeremiah Hasley over 26.5 receiving yards was voided. She is 11-11.

The Duke-Virginia game carried five of the desk's twelve picks this week. Raman went 2-0 in it; the other three went 0-3 with one void.

What's next

Miami carries the No. 1 ranking and the only unbeaten conference record into the final month, with SMU and Wake Forest one game back and Virginia Tech two behind. The 2-2 cluster of Duke, Boston College, Clemson and North Carolina will sort itself out quickly, and the board for next week will show where the market has each of them after a round of road wins. The full schedule and kickoff times are on the scores page.