ACC Power Rankings: Cook running Seminoles through ACC

It hasn’t always been smooth sailing for Florida State running back Dalvin Cook.

In his freshman season at FSU, Cook split carries with backs Karlos Williams and Mario Pender and his performance was overshadowed for most of the season - when you play alongside Jameis Winston that's bound to happen. But he was named MVP of the 2014 ACC Championship Game after gaining 177 yards against Georgia Tech, and was expected to be the starter this year as a sophomore.

Just a couple moths ago, though, Cook’s status for this season was up in the air. In June, Cook was accused of misdemeanor battery, and was suspended indefinitely from the team. He was unable to participate with the team in any way until his name was cleared. Cook was found not guilty of the charges, but ended up first practicing with Florida State in late August, just a few days before the season began. What has he been able to do with such little time to prepare? Lead the ACC in rushing.

In the Seminoles’ first game on Sept. 5, Cook ran for 156 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 8.3 yards per carry. He followed the impressive opener with an even more impressive 266 yards and three touchdowns against South Florida. After four weeks of play, Cook leads the ACC with 570 rushing yards. He is averaging 8.6 yards per carry, and has scored six touchdowns in four games. While Florida State’s passing game has struggled to get going under transfer quarterback Everett Golson, Cook has been the mainstay of the offense. However, his status for the future is in question again.

In Saturday’s game against Wake Forest, Cook took his first run for 94 yards and a touchdown. His second run didn’t end quite as well, with Cook grabbing his left leg and leaving the game with a hamstring injury. He did not return and is now listed as day to day. Florida State was unable to produce without Cook, beating Wake Forest by halting a late drive that could've tied the game. Florida State’s next games are against Miami, Louisville, and Georgia Tech, and the Seminoles will need to find another source of offense for those games if Cook ends up missing time.

Here's a look at how the ACC shakes down after Week 5 with the conference power rankings:

ACC Atlantic Power Rankings

1. Clemson (last week: 1)
Clemson’s win against Notre Dame solidifies it as the team to beat in the ACC and a legitimate playoff contender.

2. Florida State (last week: 2)
Florida State’s first single-digit win of the season came against Wake Forest on Saturday. If Dalvin Cook does end up missing time, it will be interesting to see if the offense is able to function without him.

3. Boston College (last week: 3)
Not many teams can say they didn’t allow a touchdown and lost the game, but Boston College managed to do so against Duke on Saturday. What happened to the offense that put up 76 against Howard three weeks ago?

4. Louisville (last week: 6)
For the first game all season, Louisville had only one player attempt a pass. Lamar Jackson threw for 103 yards and ran for 121 more against NC State, which might just settle the Cardinals’ quarterback competition for good.

5. NC State (last week: 4)
While Jackson was able to run for 121 yards on his own, the Wolfpack ran for only 45 as a team. That’s an easy way to lose.

6. Syracuse (last week: 5)
An off week for the Orange, but a win against South Florida this week gives Syracuse more wins than all of last season.

7. Wake Forest (last week: 7)
If Florida State hadn’t intercepted the Demon Deacons in the end zone with 21 seconds left to play, Wake Forest would have jumped at least two spots, but there will plenty more opportunities for this team to pull an upset.

ACC Coastal Power Rankings

1. North Carolina (last week: 3)
The Tar Heels now have the same quality win over Georgia Tech that Duke has, although a win over Georgia Tech has been losing value over the past three weeks.

2. Duke (last week: 1)
A win is a win, but a win where you only score nine points and can’t reach the end zone is going to bring up some red flags.

3. Pittsburgh (last week: 6)
Qadree Ollison ran for 122 yards and the Panthers’ defense held Virginia Tech to 100 yards of total offense. Enough said.

4. Miami (last week: 5)
Miami lost to Cincinnati, but it was only the Hurricanes’ first defeat of the season and Brad Kaaya looked good in the loss. Blame this one on the defense, which gave up 34 points to a freshman making his first start.

5. Georgia Tech (last week: 2)
A loss against Notre Dame? Understandable. Another loss against Duke? OK, upsets happen. A third straight loss to North Carolina? The exception is becoming the norm for the Yellow Jackets.

6. Virginia Tech (last week: 4)
The team that was supposed to be a dark horse to win the Coastal has started out very dark, to say the least.

7. Virginia (last week: 7)
The Hokies had an off week, but could use a win against Pitt this week in their ACC opener.