ACC Week 6 Takeaways: There were more upsets, but just not for Syracuse football

A close call and another collapse by Syracuse was just the tip of the iceberg for ACC football in Week 6. The conference continues to produce surprises every week, with a hierarchy that’s difficult to figure out. We’ll try to make sense of the weekend with our biggest takeaways from Week 6.

That’s what we thought

Florida State almost had us going after a blowout of Virginia and an early 14-0 lead on Friday night against Louisville. But the Cardinals came storming back for the 44-20 win. It wasn’t exactly how the Seminoles wanted to follow up their win over Virginia or head into next week’s showdown with Miami. Meanwhile, outside of the first quarter, the Cardinals looked more like the team we saw early in the season, and while they have a favorable schedule, they have a long road back with two conference losses already.

Pitt has a problem

After all of his bluster about why Pitt wasn’t ranked, Pat Narduzzi couldn’t back it up after the Panthers eked into the top-25 this week. With Mason Heintschel out, backup quarterback Holden Geriner didn’t get it done, throwing two interceptions against North Carolina. The Tar Heels were far from graceful offensively, but they had one good play in the fourth quarter: a 75-yard touchdown pass from Billy Edwards Jr. to Shamar Easter that was the difference in the game. Pitt’s outlook with a backup quarterback is not so good coming out of this game, while the UNC offense also leaves much to be desired.

Still number 2

In our early October ACC power rankings, Wake Forest was ranked No. 2, and there’s no reason to think the Demon Deacons don’t deserve that spot. Wake put away NC State on Saturday, winning 38-14. They continue to look like the second most reliable team in the ACC behind Miami, whereas the Wolfpack’s rollercoaster season continued, as they failed to build on momentum following back-to-back wins.

Surprise, surprise

As usual, the middle of the pack in the ACC is impossible to figure out, with both Georgia Tech and Cal winning as home underdogs. The Yellow Jackets had looked abysmal this season, but they won a back-and-forth affair against Duke, which had been off to a 4-0 start. Likewise, Cal had looked bad, even with a win over Syracuse earlier in the season, but backup quarterback Jackson Brousseau was able to lead a last-minute touchdown drive to give the Bears a 25-20 win, handing James Franklin’s Virginia Tech Hokies a second straight loss following a 4-0 start to the season.

What’s on tap

Next week figures to be another interesting one for the ACC. The Virginia-SMU game could have a big impact on the race for second place, which is why the game is airing on the CW. North Carolina and Duke renew their rivalry, while Florida State and Miami do the same. The Georgia Tech-Virginia Tech game looks a lot more intriguing after this week. Of course, Syracuse is still searching for its first ACC win, with Louisville coming to the Dome. Finally, Wake Forest faces a tricky trip to the West Coast to face Cal.

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