SPORTS

Defenses rule Week 8 ACC Power Rankings

Jeff Greer

@jeffgreer_cj

CLEMSON, SC - OCTOBER 11: Vic Beasley #3 of the Clemson Tigers makes a tackle on L.J. Scott #27 of the Louisville Cardinals during the game at Memorial Stadium on October 11, 2014 in Clemson, South Carolina. (Photo by Tyler Smith/Getty Images)

We've officially reached (and since passed) the halfway point of the 2014 football season, and the ACC's 14 members have posted some pretty impressive stats.

Well, like six or seven of them have.

A quick perusal of national stats shows some revealing trends in the ACC this fall:

* Seven ACC teams rank in the top 20 in the nation in pass defense. Five of them rank in the top 20 in run defense. Five rank in the top 25 in scoring D. Six rank in the top 25 in total defense. Four rank in the top 25 in takeaways.

Now ... Those rankings give the ACC some clout on defense. Of course, these ones probably tell at least part of the story as to why the defenses have such good numbers:

* Two ACC teams rank in the bottom 50 in the nation in scoring offense. Five rank in the bottom 50 in rushing offense. Seven rank in the bottom 50 in passing offense. Three rank in the bottom 50 in total offense. And seven rank in the bottom 50 in lost turnovers.

How about that for some contrasting numbers?

So, what's resulted is chaos, as expected, in the Coastal Division and Florida State, as expected, winning its league games by default. The Seminoles, immersed in the national spotlight for the wrong reasons right now, get a significant test this Saturday against Notre Dame. That game will tell us a lot about FSU.

As for the rest of the league? Enjoy the topsy-turvy finish.

Here are our Week 8 ACC Power Rankings: http://bit.ly/1pRJYX8