ACC Week 2 Takeaways: Big wins for the Atlantic Coast Conference over the Big Ten

The second week of ACC football is in the books. Unlike last week, it didn’t take until early Tuesday morning for that to happen. There was just one game between two ACC teams (and I think we all know which one), so there are a lot of games to catch up on if you missed anything. Overall, things went a little better than expected for the ACC in Week 2. Let’s check it out.

Friday night fun

To avoid competition from other sports, the ACC scheduled several teams to play on Friday night, and that was after nobody paid attention to Miami’s 77-7 win over Florida A&M on Thursday. Most of Friday’s games were also blowouts against lesser competition, with Louisville, Virginia and NC State all taking care of business.

Big Ten sweep

There were three games between the ACC and the Big Ten this week, and the ACC won them all. First, there was Boston College’s 28-21 win over Rutgers on Friday, showing that the bottom of the ACC is better than the bottom of the Big Ten. On Saturday, Wake Forest survived a double-overtime thriller with Purdue, winning on the road 38-36. Last but not least, Duke went on the road to earn a 31-27 win over Illinois. Suddenly, the Big Ten is making excuses for why its members aren’t performing, as these were three big wins for the ACC.

Still the little brother

In the lone ACC-SEC matchup of the weekend, things didn’t go as well for the conference. Georgia Tech was outmatched in a 45-24 loss to Tennessee. The Yellow Jackets also lost to Colorado last week, so they are 0-2 on the season.

Easy breezy

A few ACC teams enjoyed some lopsided wins against lesser teams on Saturday. SMU dismantled UC Davis 56-10 as a warm-up for next week’s trip to Louisville. Bill Belichick and North Carolina also cruised to a 2-0 start, taking care of East Tennessee State 35-3. Virginia Tech and new coach James Franklin are also 2-0 following a 44-21 win over Old Dominion, a program the Hokies have struggled against in the past.

Winning ugly

It wasn’t all fun and games, even for the ACC teams that won. Pitt endured an ugly game with Central Florida, winning at home 12-7. While the Panthers were strong defensively, such a win doesn’t exactly inspire confidence for one of the league’s potential sleepers. Of course, Clemson is in the same boat, beating Georgia Southern by the paltry scoreline of 22-7. Dabo Swinney’s team needed a big win after last week’s debacle against LSU. Despite leading the whole way, the Tigers never really put Georgia Southern away, scoring just one touchdown in the game while settling for five field goals.

It gets uglier

Finally, the game we all wish we could forget. Cal went to 1-0 in ACC play with a 21-18 win over Syracuse. The Orange outgained the Bears 436-249, only to hurt themselves with 132 yards of penalties and three turnovers, including the pick-six that decided the game. The Bears didn’t turn it over, but they were brutal to watch offensively and had 87 yards worth of penalties themselves. Nevertheless, it’s Cal that gets credit for winning its ACC opener.

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