It was a great Saturday night for Syracuse football, at least the ending was. But it was a busy weekend for the rest of the ACC, too. If you missed something, let’s take a look back at the biggest takeaways in the ACC during Week 8 of the season.
First hired, first fired
The shock of the weekend wasn’t Syracuse's win, but rather that NC State fired Dave Doeren. He was certainly not the favorite to be the first ACC coach fired in 2026. Doeren had been in Raleigh since 2013, making him the second-longest-tenured coach in the conference. Yet, a road loss to Stanford on Friday night was the straw that broke the camel’s back, as it dropped the Wolfpack to 3-4 overall. Keep in mind that NC State has been to a bowl game in 12 of the last 13 years under Doeren, so this was a shocking move.
NEWS: NC State has fired coach Dave Doeren. The firing comes in the wake of a loss at Stanford on Friday night. He went 98-74 over his 14 seasons there. NC State is 3-4 and 1-3 in ACC after the Stanford loss. pic.twitter.com/8K4Ej1qXgZ
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) October 24, 2026
Raising Canes
Miami remains the top team in the ACC, and there isn’t much of a conversation. The Hurricanes sprinted to a 17-0 lead against Pitt, ultimately leading 38-7 early in the third quarter before coasting to a 52-23 win. Granted, the Panthers are playing with backup quarterbacks, but the Hurricanes were able to reassert themselves one week after a too-close-for-comfort win over Florida State.
The ugly way
The ACC had two of the ugliest games in college football over the weekend. The first was Friday night between Duke and Virginia, with neither team flexing much muscle. The Blue Devils eventually scored a late touchdown on a trick play to escape 19-16. It was similarly brutal between Virginia Tech and Clemson on Saturday night. Both teams were held below 300 total yards of offense, making it tough to watch. In the end, Virginia Tech scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to come from behind for the 20-16 win.
Final three
One week before they come to the JMA Wireless Dome, the SMU offense finally hit its stride, as the Mustangs scored 59 points in a comfortable home win over Cal. Cal actually led 20-17 at halftime, but the Mustangs scored six touchdowns in the second half, while shutting out the Bears after halftime. With the win, combined with other results, SMU is now one of the three teams in the ACC, along with Miami and Wake Forest, with one loss or fewer in league play. Given the parity in the ACC, it might be a three-team race between those teams for the ACC crown, with SMU set to play Wake Forest on November 14.
SMU QB Kevin Jennings in the 59-20 win over Cal:
— Underdog CFB (@UnderdogCFB) October 24, 2026
16/23 passing
223 passing yards
3 TDs
0 INTs pic.twitter.com/RaKL25fSaO
Break up the Eagles
One week after taking down Pitt, Boston College followed it up with a convincing 49-27 road win over Georgia Tech. Granted, the Yellow Jackets are among the worst teams in the ACC. But it was an impressive performance by the Eagles nevertheless, racking up 500 total yards of offense. At 4-3, they might have a chance to become bowl-eligible this year. On the other hand, the Eagles still have to play both Notre Dame and Miami, so there isn’t much margin for error.
Add us as a preferred source on Google