Virginia moves to 3-1 after defeating UNC in the South’s Oldest Rivalry 38-35

Through four weeks of action, the ACC has shaped out about how we thought going into the season with really no teams standing out for being major over/underachievers so far. Most ACC teams are only 2 games into conference play so there is plenty of time for the standings to shuffle.

1.) Georgia Tech, 3-1 (2-0), 0 from last week, lost to UMass 38-35- Murder’s Row finally got the GT as they simply didn’t play well enough to beat UMass giving up the ball 3 times and giving up over 500 yards of Offense. Coming out this early stretch 3-1 is an accomplishment in itself even if they have plenty to work on still especially on the defensive side of the ball. They return home this week in what should be the easiest game of the year so far against Miami.

2.) Virginia Tech, 3-1 (1-1), +2, defeated Duke 29-28 in OT– Virginia Tech played in yet another nail-biter this week against Duke this week. They had a 21-7 lead at half time but the offense repeatedly shot themselves with 3 fumbles this week with one at the Duke 4 in the final seconds as they got shutout in the 2nd half. The Hokies gave up a TD on the 1st play of OT and had to convert a 4th down in their own drive before scoring. They decided to put the game on one play as they went for two and converted to stave off the upset. The Hokies return home after a 3 game road trip in a much anticipated game against a Notre Dame team that has underperformed so far.

3.) Virginia, 3-1 (2-0), +3, defeated North Carolina 38-35– Moving east in the Commonwealth we have UVA who got their 2nd straight ACC win. This time against rival UNC in a tight contest. UVA’s offense shined again with over 400 yards of offense and a good 2nd half by the defense only giving up 7 points. They face off against Louisville this week in their final game against the Atlantic this year unless they make the ACC Title.

4.) NC State, 3-1 (1-1), -1, defeated Florida State 28-7– NC State dominated FSU is every faucet of the game this week in a game that was never in doubt to give NC State their 1st ACC win of the campaign. NC State has a pivotal game this week as they face Syracuse who is 2-0 in ACC play.

5.) Duke, 2-2 (1-1), 0, lost to Virginia Tech 29-28 in OT. Good news Duke. You only gave up 1 offensive TD in regulation. Bad news: You gave up a defensive TD and a punt return TD and your offense had 3 turnovers. This resulted in a heartbreaking OT loss after fighting back the entire 2nd half and the start of OT. They hit the road this week as they take on FSU in what should be a confidence-building game for Duke.

6.) Boston College, 2-2 (1-1), +1, lost to Penn State 32-31. 2nd half Boston College is in full effect early this year as from getting blown out by UVA last week to absolutely choking against Penn State this week. They were up 10 with 71 seconds left. They gave up a TD, a 2 point conversion, an onside kick, and a walk-off field goal in that time. Revenge game this week for Boston College as they take on Clemson who beat them 45-7 last season to begin their collapse last year.

7.) Syracuse, 2-2 (2-0), -5, lost to Buffalo 31-20– Syracuse’s offense just got dominated this week as they had only 112 yards of offense which is not going to win you very many games. HUGE game for Syracuse this week as they can become favorites in the Atlantic this week if they can knock off NC State at home.

8.) North Carolina, 2-2 (1-2), 0, lost to Virginia 38-35– Only ACC team to have played 3 ACC games already and that isn’t a good thing for UNC as they moved to 1-2 in ACC which makes climbing back into the ACC Coastal Race an uphill climb. They face off against South Carolina in the Battle of the Carolina’s.

9.) Louisville, 2-2 (2-0), +2, defeated Wake Forest 35-29– Louisville wins their 2nd ACC game in a row, this time against Wake with a solid 1st half performance leading 28-14 at the break. They now share the lead for the Atlantic with Syracuse. They have their toughest test so far in ACC play this week as they travel to Charlottesville as they take on Coastal rival UVA.

10.) Miami, 2-2 (1-1), +3, defeated #24 California 21-17– Miami got what might have been the biggest win in program history this week as they knocked off #24 Cal on the back of a great defensive performance as they held Cal to 180 yards of offense and 2 turnovers. Miami’s offense is still awful as they only had 171 yards of offense. They take on another ranked team this week in Georgia Tech after they lost…have fun with that Miami.

11.) Clemson, 1-3 (0-1), +1, lost to Ole Miss 40-34- This team still doesn’t make any sense. Outgained Ole Miss by over 80 yards yet still lose. Giving up 23 points in a quarter will do that to you. Good news for Clemson is that they’ve only played 1 ACC game so they have time to bounce back. Clemson takes on Boston College this week.

12.) Wake Forest, 1-3 (0-2), -3, lost to Louisville 35-29– Yet another close loss for Wake Forest as the season of “what if?” continues. They seem destined to be at the bottom of the ACC standings for yet another season. They travel up to West Point this week to take on Army in a battle of 1-3 teams.

13.) Pittsburgh, 1-3 (0-2), -3, lost to West Virginia 13-3– Pitt may have only lost by 10 but they got embarrassed by West Virginia this week in the Backyard Brawl. They were held to 78 yards and 3 points on the day by WVU. Pitt faces off against Ohio this week.

14.) Florida State, 1-3 (0-2), 0, lost to #23 NC State 28-7– Florida State remains at the bottom of the ACC after losing to NC State in a game that wasn’t even competitive. Not a whole lot else to say about that game or FSU. They return home this week as they take on Duke who has lost two in a row.