A mirage in the ACC? Not all those defensive rankings mean teams are playing winning football

Updated Nov. 1, 2023 11:22 a.m. ET

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CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Clemson has the top defense in the Atlantic Coast Conference. If only things were that simple.

The Tigers, the defending ACC champions, lead the league and are sixth nationally in yards allowed (266.9) this season. Yet, it hasn't been enough to carry them to success with a middling 4-4 record so far.

Dig a bit deeper and you find Clemson is 36th in points allowed and 40th in red-zone defense.

“Ultimately, you’re graded on what you do when you get to the red zone,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said.

It's a slippery slope when you rely on cold hard numbers, because there are so many of them out to shape your point of view, according to ACC Network analyst Eric Mac Lain. “It depends what you're looking for," he said.

The ACC leader, No. 4 Florida State, is 29th in yards given up, sixth in the ACC and nearly 70 more yards per game than the Tigers. But FSU's defensive numbers when an opponent reaches its 20-yard line are third in the ACC and a likely reason they're outscoring opponents by more than three touchdowns a game.

“It doesn't always make a lot of sense,” said Mac Lain, an offensive lineman at Clemson from 2011-15.

It's hard sometimes for coaches and players to put their hands on what works and what doesn't.

North Carolina's defense was fifth in the ACC against the run (113.8 yards given up) during its 6-0 start until giving up 676 yards rushing in consecutive losses to Virginia and Georgia Tech the past two weeks. The Yellow Jackets piled up 246 yards on the ground in the fourth quarter of the 46-42 victory, a figure Tar Heels defensive coordinator Gene Chizik called “disastrous.”

Georgia Tech is giving up the most points per game in the ACC at 31.8. But the Yellow Jackets also top the league with seven fumble recoveries.

Chizik said his team hadn't changed anything defensively from the first six weeks to the past two. He blamed himself and his staff as it appeared opponents had a blueprint of how to run against North Carolina.

“But it’s never going to change,” Chizik said. “You have to have enough guys around the ball, you have to strike blocks and come off blocks, and we have to put them in a position right now to be able to do that to the best of their ability.”

Duke, coached by defensive mastermind Mike Elko, is the only ACC team among the top 10 nationally in red zone defense (fifth in the country) and eighth in fewest points allowed.

Both were on display in the opener when the Blue Devils, then unranked, forced three turnovers from then-No. 9 Clemson on the way to 28-7 stunner that had them ranked for several weeks.

No. 15 Louisville, 7-1 in coach Jeff Brohm's first season, is second in the ACC behind Clemson in defense, but leads the league when opponents get inside their 20. And the Cardinals trail only Michigan in allowing opponents to reach the red zone at all, just 14 times through eight games.

“I like the scheme of our defense, I like all the different things that we do," Brohm said.

Florida State has succeeded with the “bend, don't break” defense this season, Mac Lain said, and back it up with a high-scoring offense filled with playmakers like quarterback Jordan Travis, receiver Keon Coleman and running back Trey Benson.

North Carolina State coach Dave Doeren said scoring defense is the most important category. His goal is to be top three in the ACC and top 20 nationally. The Wolfpack are sixth in the conference and 46th in the country at 22.8 points allowed per game.

Doeren's next focus is takeaways that drive offenses back to the sidelines.

“That to me is what it’s all about,” Doeren said. “You stop them and hold them to a field goal, then they miss … those are the things that matter. "

What about total defense?

“I don’t think that stat equals wins like the other ones do,” Doeren said.

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AP Sports Writers Aaron Beard, Will Graves and Charles Odum contributed to this report.

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