ACC Football News & Notes: Rough First Week for the League

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When you are a Power-5 Conference, it is expected that every week you dominate play. Such was not the case last week for the ACC. The week began with three teams ranked in the Top-25 and by the end of the weekend, all three of those ACC teams suffered losses. One of those programs, North Carolina, lost their conference opener on the road at Virginia Tech. While it was not a great weekend for sure, the good news is it’s only week one and there is plenty of time to bounce back. Let’s look back at the week that was.

One good thing that did come out of last week is people were watching. The two games that ran on ABC/ESPN did very well, ratings-wise. The battle between Clemson and Georgia was watched by nearly eight million viewers. The game is on track to be the second-most viewed game on any network in the last 15 years. Meanwhile, the late afternoon game between Alabama and Miami was seen by more than five million viewers. Not a bad way to get started.

The three ACC teams that were on the losing side of things were Clemson, North Carolina, and Miami, Still, they all found a way to stay in this week’s polls. The Tigers are at #6, the Tar Heels at #24, and the Hurricanes at #22. They are joined this week by the Hokies who climbed into the Top-25 after their season-opening home win last Thursday night vs UNC. Virginia Tech is at #19. All four teams are back in action this weekend playing non-conference foes that should keep them in the polls.

This week, the league has four games that could be considered marquee matchups. First, Virginia (1-0) will host Illinois from the Big-10. Illinois holds a 2-0 all-time record in this series. 1999 was the last time these two teams met, with Illinois winning big 63-21. That meeting was a bowl game that was called the MicronPC.com bowl. Virginia is in the midst of playing four of its first five games under the lights with this one being the only day game in this stretch. Pittsburgh (1-0) heads out on the road to take on Tennessee in the Johnny Major Classic. Majors played at Tennessee then later coached at Pitt. This will be the first time in 38 years these two teams have played. This will be the Panthers’ third trip to Neyland Stadium with Pitt winning the previous two in 1980 and 1983. Pittsburgh is looking to go 2-0 for the second straight year. Syracuse (1-0) faces Rutgers for the 43rd time in a series that dates back to 1914. The last time the two schools met was in 2012 when both were still in the Big East Conference. Rutgers is looking for their third straight win and seventh in the last nine meetings. North Carolina State (1-0) heads to Mississippi State for only the second time and first since 1931 when the Wolfpack won 6-0. These two programs have met three times in bowl games. The 1963 Liberty Bowl, 1995 peach Bowl, and 2015 Belk Bowl.

Here are some highlights from last week’s games. QB Sam Howell became the Tar Heels career touchdown leader (69) in the loss at Virginia Tech. It came in the third quarter when he connected with Josh Downs for a 37-yard score. Pittsburgh QB Kenny Pickett eclipse 8,000 passing yards in the win over UMass. In his 40-game career at Pitt, Pickett has thrown for 8,256 yards. Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong passed for 339 yards in his team’s win over William & Mary. It’s the most ever by a Virginia QB in a season-opening game. Virginia Tech DE Amare’ Barno had a big night on defense for the Hokies. He posted a team-high 3.5 tackles-for-loss, 1.5 sacks, six tackles, and forced a fumble vs UNC. NC State showed off a powerful running game in their win over South Florida. They had a pair of 100-yard rushers for the first time since 2015. Zonovan Knight and Rickey Person accounted for 352 total yards.

Next week we will be back with more from the ACC.