ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Heather Dinich

There should be two slots reserved in the AP Top 25 each week that read "insert ACC team here."

Seriously.

We've seen Clemson, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Boston College and now Maryland all make appearances this season.

This week it's Florida State, North Carolina and Maryland. The Terps were the newcomers this week (UNC returned). Maryland is deserving of its spot because the Terps played their way into a tie with FSU for first place in the Atlantic Division, they have wins over three ranked teams on their resume, and they took care of business at home this weekend.

"I do think it is representative of the parity in our league," Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen said of the rankings. "It's only going to get crazier in the next couple of weeks. We're all going to be playing each other, so that thing is probably going to change a few more times."

When it does, don't be surprised if Virginia eventually works its way in. The Cavaliers are in my Top 25 power ranking this week at No. 25. Why? Well, for starters, because Kansas, Pitt, Georiga Tech and South Florida all fell out, and because what they've done is more impressive than anything I've seen from West Virginia, Cal and UConn.

Virginia is atop the Coastal Division standings and has won four straight, and all of them have come over teams that were/are ranked -- North Carolina, Maryland, Georgia Tech and East Carolina.

West Virginia got 73 votes presumably because they're 2-0 in the Big East and looked good in its win over Auburn, but Virginia's wins over the aforementioned teams are better than wins over Rutgers and Syracuse.

And like I said earlier, Maryland's loss to Virginia should no longer be mentioned in conjunction with the loss to Middle Tennessee. Not the same thing.

"When I said it," Friedgen said, "nobody believed me. I saw a quarterback I thought was pretty good."

Miami will see it next.

Despite Virginia's recent success, the fact that Florida State has hung around in the rankings two straight weeks is a reflection that it has arguably been the most consistent team in the ACC since its loss to Wake Forest.

There is still no true front-runner, though, for the ACC title. The league standings, like the rankings, fluctuate every week. So if you're trying to predict the winner, go ahead and "Insert ACC team here."