Things could have been better for the ACC during Week 1 of the college football season.
Entering Saturday, the conference had 3 teams in the top 25: No. 3 Clemson, No. 10 North Carolina and No. 14 Miami.
All three lost.
It all started on Friday, as the Tar Heels traveled to Blacksburg and fell 17-10 to unranked Virginia Tech in a Coastal Division matchup. Then, on Saturday, the Tigers’ offense had no answers for the defense of No. 5 Georgia as they fell 10-3 in Charlotte during the Duke’s Mayo Classic at Bank of America Stadium. Meanwhile, in Atlanta, the Hurricanes were humbled by No. 1 Alabama as Bryce Young set a school record for touchdowns thrown in a debut with 4.
It didn’t stop there, though.
Duke fell in the final minute at Charlotte as the 49ers picked up their 1st-ever win over a Power 5 opponent. The Blue Devils had beaten the 49ers 53-19 in Durham in 2020. Then, on Saturday, the MAC’s Northern Illinois, an 0-6 team a season ago, defeated Georgia Tech 22-21 at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Granted, it wasn’t a total wash for the ACC. But after this weekend, its fans may be counting down the days to basketball season.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
