ACC

NC State football and Wake Forest are two of five ACC teams ranked in latest AP poll

N.C. State escaped East Carolina with a 21-20 win on Saturday but that lackluster performance caused the Wolfpack to drop in the Associated Press Top 25 rankings.

The Pack came in at No.18 in the first regular-season poll, which was released Tuesday. That’s five spots lower than the 63-member panel ranked N.C. State in the preseason poll last month.

The Wolfpack is one of five ACC teams in the top 25 this week. No. 5 Clemson still leads the way but fell one spot after beating Georgia Tech, 41-10, on Monday night in Atlanta.

No. 15 Miami is next as the Hurricanes moved up a spot after blasting Bethune-Cookman, 70-13, on Saturday.

No. 17 Pittsburgh maintained its place in the rankings after its season-opening, 38-31, win over West Virginia last Thursday night.

After N.C. State at No. 18, Wake Forest also fell one spot, to No. 24, after its 44-10 win over VMI last Thursday night.

Alabama retained the No. 1 spot while Georgia moved up to No. 2, swapping places with No. 3 Ohio State from the preseason poll.

N.C. State head coach Dave Doeren watches the team warm up before N.C. State’s game against ECU at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, N.C., Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022.
N.C. State head coach Dave Doeren watches the team warm up before N.C. State’s game against ECU at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, N.C., Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022. Ethan Hyman ehyman@newsobserver.com

Latest AP Top 25 rankings

Rk.

Team

1

Alabama

2

Georgia

3

Ohio State

4

Michigan

5

Clemson

6

Texas A&M

7

Oklahoma

8

Notre Dame

9

Baylor

10

USC

11

Oklahoma State

12

Florida

13

Utah

14

Michigan State

15

Miami

16

Arkansas

17

Pittsburgh

18

N.C. State

19

Wisconsin

20

Kentucky

21

BYU

22

Mississippi

23

Wake Forest

24

Tennessee

25

Houston

Steve Wiseman’s AP Top 25 ballot

  1. Georgia

  2. Ohio State

  3. Alabama

  4. Clemson

  5. Texas A&M

  6. Oklahoma

  7. Michigan

  8. Baylor

  9. Notre Dame

  10. USC

  11. Oklahoma State

  12. Michigan State

  13. Wisconsin

  14. Pittsburgh

  15. Miami

  16. Oregon

  17. Arkansas

  18. Wake Forest

  19. N.C. State

  20. Florida

  21. Kentucky

  22. Utah

  23. BYU

  24. Ole Miss

  25. Cincinnati

This story was originally published September 6, 2022 at 12:13 PM with the headline "NC State football and Wake Forest are two of five ACC teams ranked in latest AP poll."

Steve Wiseman
The News & Observer
Steve Wiseman was named Raleigh News & Observer and Durham Herald-Sun sports editor in May 2025. He covered Duke athletics, beginning in 2010, prior to his current assignment. In the Associated Press Sports Editors national contest, he placed in the top 10 in beat writing in 2019, 2021 and 2022, breaking news in 2019, event coverage in 2025 and explanatory writing in 2018. Before coming to Durham in 2010, Steve worked for The State (Columbia, SC), Herald-Journal (Spartanburg, S.C.), The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Miss.), Charlotte Observer and Hickory (NC) Daily Record covering beats including the NFL’s Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints, University of South Carolina athletics and the S.C. General Assembly. He’s won numerous state-level press association awards. Steve graduated from Illinois State University in 1989. 
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