ACC Football News & Notes: Georgia Tech on Top

Read Time:4 Minute, 8 Second

We are now two weeks into the season, and already things are very interesting in the ACC. The reason is the start of the Florida State Seminoles (0-2, 0-2) to begin the season and league. The back-to-back losses to Georgia Tech and Boston College have changed everything about the early stages of the season. What happens from here is anyone’s guess. So let’s see what else is going on.

The ratings for the early conference games are solid. The Aer Lingus game between the Yellow Jackets and Seminoles drew five million viewers. That is up 40% and 3.56 million viewers from the 2023 game that featured Notre Dame and Navy. It was also the most-watched game on any network since 2019. On ABC, the game was the second most watched kickoff Saturday game on record.

It gets better for the ACC. A week one contest between Clemson and Georgia was the most watched game. The Aflac Kickoff game in Atlanta peaked at 9.5 million viewers, impressive for a game that started at noon. The Miami vs Florida game played in the late afternoon on week one was the most-watched game in that time slot since 2017.

Five ACC teams find themselves in the AP Top 25 poll this week. Miami is at #12, up seven spots from the previous week. Louisville is at #22, and Georgia Tech is at #23. Both teams are in the poll for the first time this year. NC State is at #24, while Clemson is at #25. In the Coaches Poll, Miami is at #15, Clemson at #22, NC State at #23 Louisville at #24. This week’s big matchup is the Wolfpack meeting #14 Tennessee in the Duke’s Mayo Classic on Saturday night.

Boston College’s (1-0, 1-0) win at Florida State got the Bill O’Brien era off to a great start. It was the Eagles first Top 10 win since they defeated USC at home in 2014. It was their first season-opening win over a Top 10 team since 1976 when the Eagles beat Texas.

Let’s give you an idea of how some of the non-league games went last weekend. Miami got a big day at quarterback from transfer QB Cam Ward. He completed 26-of-35 for 385 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. He threw to 10 different receivers and became the first QB to throw for 300 yards in a season opener since 2021. The 385 yards was the most in a debut since 1980. The win snapped Florida’s home-opening winning streak at 33. It was the worst opening loss in Florida history.

Fran Brown got off to a great start at Syracuse. QB Kyle McCord went for career highs 354 yards and four touchdowns in the win over Ohio. He ended his day one touchdown short of the school single-game record.

Wake Forest won their ninth season opener game under head coach Dave Clawson. WR and special teams player Taylor Monn caught six passes for 100 yards and returned three punts and one kickoff for a combined 217 yards. The first player to do this since 2018. He took one punt back for a 73-yard touchdown. The team’s first since 2018.

North Carolina State transfer QB Grayson McCall went 26-of-40 for 318 yards, three touchdowns, and a pick. WR KC Concepcion had nine catches for 121 yards and three scores. The sophomore wideout is now the fourth in school history to have a three-touchdown game.

Duke got their season off to a good start, as transfer QB Maalik Murphy went for 291 yards in their win over Elon. The yards were the most by a Blue Devil quarterback in a debut since 2010.

In Virginia’s opening game win over Richmond, quarterback Anthony Colandrea combined for 346 yards of offense, 297 in the air, and 49 on the ground. He totaled three scores, two in the air and one on the ground. It matched a career-best.

Pittsburgh’s win over Kent State saw transfer QB Eli Holstein become the first redshirt QB to start a season opener for the Panthers. He completed 29-of-39 for 330 yards and three touchdowns. His rating was 165.7. WR Kenny Johnson made seven catches for 105 yards and one score. Both were career highs.

In Louisville’s win over Austin Peay, Four different players scored in their debut with the team. Transfer QB Tyler Shough was 18-of-24 for 232 yards and four touchdowns. He played only the first half. Running back Issac Brown ran for 123 yards and a TD on five carries. The yards were the most by a freshman in their first game. They received a defensive score from linebacker T.J. Capers who took a pick-6 back 29 yards in his debut.

That’s all for this week. We will be back next week with more from the ACC.