ACC: Top 7 takeaways from a wild Week 3 in the ACC
Sep 12, 2015; Blacksburg, VA, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies wide receiver Isaiah Ford (1) leads the Virginia Tech Hokies onto the field before the game against the Furman Paladins at Lane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports
The ACC had no shortage of polarizing contests in the third week of the season so what were the biggest takeaways of the week?
What a weekend it was for the ACC. It was a weekend that I would classify as an overall victory for the conference, despite some rocky moments.
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- Biggest winners and losers from College Football Week 3
- #21 Duke Football: 3 takeaways from home against Northwestern
- Wake Forest football: 3 takeaways from comeback win at Old Dominion
The ACC had all of its members compete; in 12 games, two were conference games and five contests pitted the ACC against Big Ten foes. So there was a lot to learn about the conference’s strength after the slate of games. Where I would love to put the ACC in the Top 3 of all Power-5 conferences, I find it difficult to do that at this early stage of the season, even though the conference is definitely trending in the right direction.
In the ACC Power Rankings released by ESPN, there was some slight shifting that took place in the middle of the pack, but Clemson has now taken over the top spot in the conference. It is a testimony to the relentlessness the Tigers had shown when there was tough sledding, and narrowly escaping the grasp of the Cardinals. Clemson, right now, is the epitome of what the Atlantic Coast Conference represents as a whole; talented, with a blue-collar edge.
As we continue on through this article, we are going to look into the good and bad of Week 3, a winner and a loser of the week, and highlight the best performances in the Players of the Week segment.
Next: Clemson and FSU