ACC Week 1 Roundup

ACC Week 1 round up.

The opening weekend of the college football season has finally passed. Some fan bases are excited for what’s to come while others are already in panic mode. There were definitely some surprises across the ACC in week 1. One team has established that it is the team to beat while other’s are asking a lot of questions after surprising results. Let’s recap the action from Week 1 of the ACC.

Miami is the team to beat:

Miami went into a hostile environment in The Swamp and dominated Florida 41-17. Florida’s only points came on a 71 yard TD run, a field goal off an interception, and a late garbage time TD. Cam Ward kicked off a potential Heisman campaign and the Canes finally look like they are ready to win the ACC. Will this be the year the Hurricanes finally break through? It remains to be seen but they look strong.

Disaster for Florida State: Florida State got stunned in Ireland to Georgia Tech and many people in the college football world are questioning if there’s a hangover from being snubbed from the college football playoff last season. The Noles are replacing 14 starters and Mike Norvell’s conservative approach was questionable. What hurts for FSU is they got beat in the trenches on both sides of the ball vs the Yellow Jackets. Things would get better for the Noles against Boston College right? Nope. The Eagles controlled the game on the ground and the Noles offense couldn’t get in sync. To make things worse fans were calling for backup quarterback Brock Glenn. If Mike Norvell doesn’t turn things around, all the goodwill he built up going 10-3 then 13-1 will be gone fast and the seat will get warmer.

 Clemson disappointed early:

The Tigers got dog walked by the Georgia Bulldogs in Atlanta 34-3. Year 2 of Garrett Riley’s offense got off to a rough start vs the Bulldogs and Dabo Swiney is catching more heat for not taking advantage of the Portal. This has been a trend going on for a few years now. At some point Dabo will have to adapt or get left behind in this new age of college football.

Questions for the Tar Heels and Wolfpack:

UNC had a lot of questions about their quarterback position going into the season and after one game there are even more questions. Max Johnson won the starting job but his season was short lived after he suffered a leg injury that kept him out for the season. Connor Harrell will now take over an offense that struggled vs Minnesota. NC State was in a fight for 3 quarters vs Western Carolina before finally pulling away in the 4th quarter. Grayson McCall looked shaky at times and will have to get in sync when NC State takes on the Tennessee Volunteers Saturday. The Vols looked impressive in their first game of the season and the Wolfpack will be facing a step up in competition.

Virginia Tech hype has already died down: Some people felt the Hokies had a path to win the ACC with so many starters returning and a favorable schedule, but Tech laid an egg vs Vanderbilt in a stunning overtime loss. The Hokies couldn’t get their running game going, only rushing for 75 yards on 30 carries. Just a very disappointing effort and result for Virginia Tech.