ACC Power Rankings: Marquise Williams leads UNC to ACC title game

North Carolina is headed to the ACC championship game after beating Virginia Tech this week.

The defense and Gene Chizik has been getting the most credit for North Carolina's transformation from a middle-of-the-road squad to a 10-win team, and not incorrectly. We already knew the Tar Heels would put up points, and the defense was the missing piece. But don't overlook what quarterback Marquise Williams has done this season - senior year has been his best.

His 64.6 completion percentage is the best he's had at North Carolina, and his 9.4 yards per attempt are best in the conference, far better than even his second-best season (7.8 as a sophomore). It's been the same story on the ground, where Williams is averaging 6.4 yards per carry over the 4.1 he had last year. As a whole, Williams has 28 touchdowns through 11 games. If he were to end his career right now, he would be eighth in all-time ACC passer efficiency rating.

The defense shouldn't receive any less credit (what Chizik has done with the unit is remarkable given where it was last season), but maybe Williams isn't getting the recognition he deserves. He's taken what was a .500 team last year to the ACC title game, and he isn't done yet.

ACC Atlantic Power Rankings

1. Clemson (last week: 1)

The Tigers took care of business again with a 33-13 win over Wake Forest. Clemson is now only a win against rival South Carolina and the ACC championship game away from heading to the College Football Playoff.

2. Florida State (last week: 2)
The Seminoles blew out Chattanooga on Saturday, as was expected. Two-loss Florida State is out of ACC and national title contention, but could still ruin rival Florida's run at the College Football Playoff with a win over the Gators this week.

3. NC State (last week: 4)

The Wolfpack only beat Syracuse by 13, but a pair of late touchdowns from the Orange made the score much closer than the game actually was. Jacoby Brissett had one of his best games of the year, and now NC State hosts North Carolina to end its regular season.

4. Louisville (last week: 3)
Louisville finished conference play this week with a loss to Pittsburgh, 45-34. A first half of terrible defense did the Cardinals in, as the Panthers went into halftime with a 42-24 lead. The miserable defense and minus-1 yards rushing for the Cardinals leaves you wondering how this game was remotely close.

5. Wake Forest (last week: 6)
Given what Wake Forest has shown this season (and how badly Clemson has beaten some of its opponents), losing to the Tigers by only 20 isn't all that bad. The Demon Deacons' last chance at avoiding another 3-9 season is against Duke this week.

6. Syracuse (last week: 5)
Syracuse is also trying to avoid repeating its 3-9 record after losing to NC State this week, but at least the Orange get to play a Boston College team that hasn't won a conference game yet. Syracuse was dominated by the Wolfpack Saturday, and the disappointing season has made the Boston College game Scott Shafer's last.

7. Boston College (last week: 7)
Boston College almost played spoiler Saturday against Notre Dame at Fenway Park, but the five turnovers (three in the red zone) the Irish gave the Eagles weren't enough to get BC an upset win.

ACC Coastal Power Rankings

1. North Carolina (last week: 1)

The Coastal division has been decided. North Carolina clinched its spot in the ACC title game with its overtime win over Virginia Tech, and can now look to bigger and better things. The Tar Heels finish their regular season against NC State this week.

2. Pittsburgh (last week: 2)
Pittsburgh did its part to stay in the race for the Coastal division, but the Panthers' fate was out of their hands. If Pittsburgh can win out against Miami this week and then in its bowl game, the Panthers will have their first 10-win season since 2009.

3. Miami (last week: 4)
The Hurricanes are now 3-1 under Larry Scott after beating Georgia Tech, but that hasn't stopped fans from flying "Butch Davis 2016" banners over the stadium. Maybe a win against Pitt gets Scott some of the respect he deserves? Probably not.

4. Virginia (last week: 5)

Virginia beat Duke 42-34 in the only real upset of the conference this week. The Cavaliers are now 4-7 and out of contention for a bowl game, but can still end the season on a good note with a win over rival Virginia Tech this weekend.

5. Duke (last week: 3)
The Blue Devils have now dropped four in a row after starting the season 6-1. Duke fans thought this would be the year their team would make a real run for the ACC title, but instead, a disappointing November will put this team in another mediocre bowl.

6. Virginia Tech (last week: 6)
Although the Hokies left it all on the field in Frank Beamer's last home game, it wasn't enough to take down the team going for the division crown. Beamer can still send Virginia Tech to its 23rd straight bowl by beating Virginia this week.

7. Georgia Tech (last week: 7)
The most disappointing season in the ACC will come to an end this week. Georgia Tech lost again Saturday, this time to Miami. The team projected to finish atop the Coastal will end up at the bottom, leaving everyone to wonder how it happened.