Syracuse football and its Atlantic Coast Conference peers embarked on their first full weekend of action, and week one did provide several interesting outcomes.
Naturally, our beloved Orange beating Ohio, 38-22, at the JMA Wireless Dome this past Saturday is the focus of 'Cuse Nation. First-year head coach Fran Brown notched a win in his debut on the Hill, as the offense hummed along while the defense has some work to do.
Looking at the bigger picture, with the College Football Playoff expanded to 12 participants in the 2024 season, it's likely that at least two ACC schools will land bids to the event. It's super early in the current term, but based on some results thus far, the ACC race could prove more wide open in 2024 than in other recent years.
Let's take a spin around the ACC in week one, when Syracuse football triumphed over Ohio.
Winners
Miami
The Hurricanes had the biggest win this past Saturday. Miami, picked to finish at No. 3 in the ACC standings by the league's preseason media poll, put its No. 19 national ranking on the line when it traveled to in-state rival Florida. This non-conference, Sunshine State affair wasn't close. The 'Canes smoked the Gators at The Swamp, 41-17. To reiterate, it's so early in 2024, but perhaps Miami is the team to beat in the ACC.
Georgia Tech
The Yellow Jackets handled Georgia State at home to move to 2-0. In week zero, Georgia Tech stunned preseason ACC favorite Florida State in Dublin on a last-second field goal. When the major top-25 polls come out soon before week two, Georgia Tech should be ranked. The Yellow Jackets, averaging more than 200 rushing yards per game, visit Syracuse football this Saturday afternoon.
North Carolina
The Tar Heels scored a two-point win at Big Ten Conference school Minnesota after the Golden Gophers missed a field goal as time expired. Any road triumph versus a foe from a power-four conference is solid in my book.
California and SMU
I'm putting both of these squads in the winners category, because neither has lost to date, and both are new ACC members. SMU has beaten Nevada on the road and Houston Christian at home. Cal knocked off UC Davis at home.
Syracuse
Yeah, I'm a homer. I get it. But I've got the 'Cuse here, because it won in Brown's head-coaching debut. Plus, it was awesome to see senior quarterback Kyle McCord, a four-star transfer from Ohio State, shine in his first contest wearing an Orange uniform.
Losers
Clemson
It all starts with the Tigers. Ranked No. 14, Clemson faced No. 1 Georgia in Atlanta. I didn't think the Tigers would prevail, but the Clemson offense was nowhere to be found. The Bulldogs destroyed the Tigers, 34-3. Just a dreadful performance from Dabo Swinney's program.
Virginia Tech
Ahead of this season, some ACC pundits viewed the Hokies as a possible under-the-radar group to maybe win the league's grand prize. And that still could happen. Virginia Tech was projected to finish at No. 6 in the ACC standings and even garnered some first-place votes. Over the weekend, the Hokies headed to Nashville, Tenn., to square off versus Southeastern Conference school Vanderbilt. This was a road game for Virginia Tech, I'll give you that, but Vandy was predicted to finish last in the SEC. In an entertaining encounter, the Commodores won, 34-27 in overtime. Not an ideal start for the Hokies.
Stanford
This new ACC member was projected to finish last in the ACC. Even still, the Cardinal hosted Big 12 Conference member TCU, which was predicted to be No. 10 in its league standings. Stanford couldn't hold serve on its turf, falling 34-27.
Neutral
No. 24 N.C. State, Virginia, Pittsburgh, Louisville, Duke and Wake Forest all won comfortably in week one. But all of the also prevailed at home against not-so-great opponents. So I'm giving them "neutral" grades here.
To Be Determined
No. 10 Florida State/Boston College
On Monday night in Tallahassee, Fla., No. 10 FSU will host the Eagles. The Seminoles already have one loss in ACC play and can't afford another one if they want to contend for a CFP berth. This is the 2024 season opener for Boston College, which was projected at No. 14 within the ACC in the conference's preseason media poll. I assume that Florida State will come out on top, but you never know. Normally, I root for all ACC teams when they're not playing Syracuse football. However, given that FSU and Clemson are involved in legal battles with the ACC, I'm not sad that Clemson is 0-1. By extension, I wouldn't be sad if the Seminoles began the 2024 season at 0-2.