It was a very easy week for the ACC conference, as most teams played a non-power conference team. The power teams played as expected, as the middle of the pack teams showed why they are called that.
1) (#2) Florida State: 52-8 win over Charleston Southern
Deondre Francois put up an 85.6 QB rating and three touchdowns as he looked more comfortable in the blowout win. Travis Rudolph hauled in seven catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns. The Seminoles will travel to Louisville this week, in what could possibly be the toughest opponent they face all season. Win or lose, The injury of Derwin James for the Seminoles looms heavy for the number 2 team.
2) (#3) Clemson: 30-24 win over Troy
The Tigers survived a DeSean Jackson-like mistake when sophomore Ray-Ray McCloud celebrated prematurely by flipping the ball unintentionally as he crossed the goal line after a 75-yard punt return. Deshaun Watson threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns on the day and most importantly got Clemson the W.
3) (#10) Louisville: 62-28 win over Syracuse
Lamar Jackson continues his video game like season as he added five more touchdowns – four on the ground- to his season stats in a 62-28 dominating win over Syracuse. Louisville can enter the national playoff conversation with a program-defining win against Florida State this week.
4) #25 Miami: 38-10 win over Florida Atlantic
Miami continues to light up the scoreboard as the have outscored inferior opponents 108-13 this season. They will travel to Appalachian State this week, who you should never take for granted.
5) Pittsburgh: 42-39 win over Penn State
Pittsburgh has shown they are the best football program in Pennsylvania this season, beating both Villanova and now Penn State. This week they travel to Oklahoma State, who just was on the losing side of an incredible Hail Mary play by Central Michigan.
6) North Carolina: 48-23 win over Illinois
The Tar Heels bounced back nicely after their close loss to Georgia in the season opener. Expect the Tar Heels to win by a hefty margin against James Madison at home.
7) Syracuse: 62-28 loss to Louisville
Syracuse is an up and coming program in the ACC, but they ran into an offensive chainsaw in Lamar Jackson. The Orange need to show they can put this game behind them and get back on track against USF this week.
8) Wake Forest: 24-14 win over Duke
The Demon Deacons pulled off the upset as they have a surprising 2-0 record out of the gate this season. Cade Carney became the first freshman with a three-touchdown game in 14 years. Can they keep it going?
9) NC State: 33-30 loss to East Carolina
The Wolfpack suffered an embarrassing loss to the East Carolina Pirates of the American Athletic Conference. If the Wolfpack wanted to earn respect, they needed to win that game.
10) Virginia Tech: 45-24 loss to Tennessee
The Hokies came out of the gates with a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, but then gave up a 31-3 run to the Volunteers in the second and third quarters. Virginia Tech will play Boston College at home, who haven’t won an ACC game since 2014.
11) Georgia Tech: 35-0 win over Mercer
The Yellow Jackets move to 2-0 on the season with a shutout win against Mercer. They will face their first legit opponent of the season this week when they welcome Vanderbilt to town.
12) Duke: 24-14 loss to Wake Forest
The middle of the road team I was alluding to was the Blue Devils. If Duke wants to reenter the national football conversation, they can’t lose to teams like Wake Forest.
13) Boston College: 26-7 win over Massachusetts
A small victory to some could be considered a big victory for Boston College. The Eagles will take what they can get in a controlling victory over a state rival.
14) Virginia: 44-26 loss to Oregon
The Cavaliers traveled all the way to Eugene, Oregon to get handily beaten by the Ducks. No one expected the Cavaliers to win this game, as the loss made them the only 0-2 team in the ACC.
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