Games 1-5 | Games 6-10 | Games 11-15 | Games 16-20 | Games 26-30 | Games 31-35
21. NC State 15 #21 Liberty 14 – November 21, 2020
This was the one win by an ACC team that was a legitimately strong OOC win in 2020, and it was pulled off by NC State. Liberty finished the year 10-1 with a final ranking in the top 25 of both major polls and had wins over Syracuse, Virginia Tech, and a top 15 Coastal Carolina team. It was a stellar defensive performance by the Wolfpack while playing their backup QB Bailey Hockman. This was a quality win that NC State fans can take pride in.
22. Louisville 24 Cincinnati 7 – December 17, 2022
The ACC desperately needed a respectable bowl season in 2022. While you can debate the value of bowl wins with all the opt-outs these days, winning them can still carry some relative weight, and losing them results in criticism for a conference. Louisville’s 24 – 7 over Cincinnati set the tone for the ACC to have its first winning bowl season since 2018. The win gave Louisville a solid 8-win 2022. The Bearcats were 14 points from being undefeated after a 9-3 regular season, where they spent a good chunk of it in the top 25. It was a quality Cincinnati squad that Louisville beat in the Fenway Bowl.
23. Louisville 42 UCF 35 – September 17, 2021
UCF had become quite a quality football program in recent years prior to this game. They even opened the 2021 season with a win over Boise State. This game on Friday night had one of the highlight finishes of the year for an ACC team. Louisville returned a tipped pass for a TD with 13 seconds left to win this game in thrilling fashion. UCF went on to have a 9-4 season game with a bowl win over Florida. This was definitely a great win for Louisville in an otherwise uneven year.
24. #22 Miami 25 Appalachian St 23 – September 11, 2021
I never understood why, after Miami won this game, people were so critical of Miami. That was a pretty solid Appalachian State team that went 10-4 and won a division title. Yeah, it was only a 2-point win, but the reality was the Canes were not as good as their top 15 ranking, so this was a quality win over a good team.
25. #16 NC State 27 Texas Tech 14 – September 17, 2022
If there was one criticism of Dave Doeren during his tenure at NC State, it was a lack of quality OOC wins. They finally got a noteworthy one against Big 12 opponent Texas Tech. The Red Raiders finished the season 8-5 and won their final 4 games. The win helped the Wolfpack eventually get into the top 10, which set up a gameday matchup with Clemson later in the season. Only one other defense held Texas Tech to 14 points or less the entire season.
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