ACC football had an interesting second week of the season. The conference went 5-5 in Week 2 play while a few teams remained idle due to Hurricane Irma.
The ACC had a few conference openers in Week 2 and they were quite interesting, to say the least. Outside of conference play, the Syracuse Orange, Virginia Cavaliers and Pittsburgh Panthers both took ugly losses.
The Louisville Cardinals and Wake Forest Demon Deacons got their first victories in ACC football play last week while the North Carolina Tar Heels and Boston College Golden Eagles took their first losses.
The Cardinals and Tar Heels played a close one but quarterback Lamar Jackson struck once again, putting him right back in the conversation for the Heisman Trophy.
The Demon Deacons made the Boston College defense look silly in their conference opener, putting them away 34-10 on the road. In non-conference action, Penn State rolled the Panthers 33-14. The Cavaliers lost to Indiana at home, 34-17.
Here’s a look at how the Week 2 results shook up this week’s ACC football power rankings.
The Syracuse Orange begin this week’s ACC football power rankings, dropping three spots after losing to an inferior opponent at home. The Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders were anything but inferior in their 30-23 victory over the Orange.
Wide receivers Richie James and Ty Lee had big days in the receiving corps to pace the Blue Raiders offense. James had eight catches for 96 receiving yards and a touchdown. Lee had seven catches for 76 receiving yards and a touchdown.
The Syracuse Orange had a rough day themselves on offense. Quarterback Eric Dungey had 180 passing yards but also an interception. He did have 53 rushing yards and a touchdown but it wasn’t enough as the Orange fell.
This Week: Central Michigan
They’ve got the Central Michigan Chippewas next week so there’s not much time to dwell on the loss. They’ll need to adjust their strategy going forward after Week Two’s performance.
The Virginia Cavaliers will remain idle in the ACC football power rankings after losing 34-17 to the Big Ten’s Indiana Hoosiers. The Cavaliers were outplayed, at home, in all facets of the game in Week Two.
The Hoosiers’ put the icing on the cake with a 44-yard punt return in the fourth quarter by wide receiver J-Shun Harris II. Indiana’s offense was led by redshirt freshman quarterback Peyton Ramsey.
He was inserted into the lineup in the second quarter after the benching of Richard Lagow. Ramsey went 16-for-20 for 173 passing yards and two passing touchdowns to lead Indiana to victory.
On the Virginia side, quarterback Kurt Benkert attempted 66 passes in the game but it wasn’t enough as he finished with 259 passing yards and a passing touchdown.
The Cavaliers offense still looks like it’s under major construction, at least at the FBS level. They did enough last week against William & Mary but as the schedule gets tougher, the losses may pile up.
This week: UConn
The Cavaliers are favored to win it this week against the Connecticut Huskies. They could certainly use the boost in the ACC football power rankings. The schedule only gets tougher after this week.
The Boston College Golden Eagles are another team that remains idle in this week’s ACC football power rankings. They could fall further when more ACC games arrive though.
They put up just 10 points against the Wake Forest defense while allowing 34 points on defense on their own side. Their conference-opening game was at home and they lost in ugly fashion.
Despite putting up 305 total yards of offense and 19 first downs, the Golden Eagles had four turnovers that would come to hurt them in the end. Quarterback Anthony Brown threw three interceptions.
Quarterback Anthony Brown threw three interceptions and running back Jon Hilliman fumbled. One of his interceptions was a pick-six that put Wake Forest up 21-7 before halftime.
Brown did have a passing touchdown in the game, but he was eventually benched in favor of Darius Wade.
This Week: Notre Dame
The Boston College Golden Eagles face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish this week so they could see themselves move down a bit too if things don’t around on offense. They put the defense in tough positions to defend and it showed last week.
The Pittsburgh Panthers drop a bit in the ACC football power rankings after losing on the road to the fifth-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions, 33-14.
Penn State head coach compared the Panthers to the Akron Zips in the postgame presser and with good reason. The Panthers didn’t score their first touchdown of the game until the fourth quarter.
Quarterback Max Browne doesn’t seem to be the answer at all for this offense and it’s showing. Browne finished the game with 138 passing yards and two interceptions. He threw an interception on the team’s first drive of the game.
This Week: No. 9 Oklahoma State
Another week, another ranked opponent for the Pittsburgh Panthers. They face the Oklahoma State Cowboys in their final nonconference game before ACC football play begins. Mason Rudolph could throw for 400 yards here.
Losing respectably takes you places in the ACC football power rankings. At least, that’s the case for the North Carolina Tar Heels this week.
Although they are 0-2, it was the heroics of Lamar Jackson that stole the show and their first taste of victory in Week 2.
The Tar Heels were competitive, but no match in the end for the dynamic playmaking ability of Jackson and that’s okay on my end. They let him score six touchdowns and only lost by 12 points. That puts them up a notch in my book.
Related Story: 3 takeaways from North Carolina's loss to Louisville
This Week: at Old Dominion
Things get a little easier for the North Carolina Tar Heels this week as they travel to Old Dominion. It will be a good confidence boost for them heading into the ACC football schedule. They are going to need it.
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons are 2-0 and 1-0 in ACC play. Wake Forest put away Boston College convincingly on the road, 34-10. They are headed in the right direction under head coach Dave Clawson.
Their offense looks much improved this year under the direction of quarterback John Wolford. Wolford had 151 passing yards, 92 rushing yards, a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown to lead the way for the Demon Deacons offense.
The Wake Forest defense only allowed 10 points and forced four turnovers (3 interceptions, one fumble). They are showing that changes in the coaching staff haven’t changed their aggression on defense.
This Week: Utah State
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons have a chance to continue improving the offense this week against the Utah State Aggies. There are a few more nonconference games on the slate for them before they face the 11th-ranked Florida State Seminoles on Sept. 30.
The North Carolina State Wolfpack move down one spot in the ACC football rankings but it’s no fault of their own. They defeated the Marshall Thundering Herd 37-20 this week but quite frankly, the Duke Blue Devils performance was just more impressive.
The Wolfpack put up 37 points behind three passing touchdowns and 341 passing yards from quarterback Ryan Finley. Finley completed a touchdown pass to three different players to lead NC State to victory.
The NC State defense forced two turnovers in the game, but they allowed 451 total yards of offense as well.
This Week: Furman
The NC State Wolfpack have one more nonconference game on the schedule against the Furman Paladins before they start up the bulk of ACC football play. Their first ACC game is against 11th-ranked Florida State on Sept. 23.
The Duke Blue Devils offense woke up against the Northwestern Wildcats so they move up a spot in the ACC football power rankings for now.
Quarterback Daniel Jones threw for 305 passing yards and two passing touchdowns in a 41-17 rout to avenge last season’s 24-13 loss.
The Duke defense held the Wildcats to 149 total yards of offense and forced three turnovers in a dominant performance. They allowed just 15 first downs and held Northwestern to 1-of-10 on third down conversions.
This Week: Baylor
Things could get entertaining next week against the Baylor Bears this week for the Blue Devils. The Bears are 0-2 with losses against Liberty and UT-San Antonio already. They could be looking at an 0-3 start under head coach Matt Rhule if they’re not careful this week.
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets got their first victory of the 2017 season in Week Two but remain idle in the ACC football power rankings, given the opponent.
The Yellow Jackets put up 37 points and held FCS-foe Jacksonville State to 10 points in the route. The defense forced two turnovers and allowed just 189 total yards of offense in the game.
The Georgia Tech offense only needed 210 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns last week to get the victory. Quarterback TaQuon Marshall also had three passing touchdowns for the offense.
This Week: at UCF
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets face a bit of a tougher foe in Week Three when they travel to face the UCF Knights. The Knights are 1-0 after putting up 61 points in their opening week game against Florida International. The Georgia Tech defense should be ready.
The 17th-ranked Miami Hurricanes remained idle last week due to Hurricane Irma. The Hurricanes game last week against Arkansas State was cancelled due to the storm.
Their game with the Florida State Seminoles on Sept. 16 has been moved to Oct. 7. They will not play again until Sept. 23. when they play the Toledo Rockets.
The 11th-ranked Florida State Seminoles also remain idle in the ACC football power rankings due to Hurricane Irma. Their game against Louisiana-Monroe was also cancelled due to the storm. They will play again next on Sept. 23 against NC State.
Prayers go out to all the families affected by Hurricane Irma.
The Virginia Tech Hokies shutout the Delaware Blue Hens for their first home victory of the season. The Hokies’ first score of the game came on a 61-yard punt return by wide receiver Greg Stroman.
Quarterback Josh Jackson finished the game with 222 passing yards and two passing touchdowns but the running game still struggled. They accumulated 81 rushing yards on the ground as a team.
The Virginia Tech defense was dominant, though. They forced two turnovers (one fumble, one interception) and held the Blue Hens to 223 yards in the game.
This Week: at East Carolina
The Hokies travel to East Carolina this week. The Pirates are 0-2 but Virginia Tech hasn’t beaten East Carolina since 2013 on the road. We’ll see if the Hokies can snap the streak in Week Three.
The 14th-ranked Louisville Cardinals looked great in their opening game of ACC football play. Quarterback Lamar Jackson was stellar as he put up 393 passing yards, 132 rushing yards, three passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns.
The Louisville offense put up 705 total yards of offense in the game. Running back Malik Williams had 13 carries for 149 rushing yards as well.
The Cardinals defense allowed 401 total yards in the game, but held the Tar Heels to 17 rushing yards.
This week: No. 3 Clemson
The emergence of the Cardinals’ receivers was good to see in Week Two. All eyes will be on wide receivers Jaylen Smith (9 rec. for 183 rec. yards and a touchdown in Week 2) and Dez Fitzpatrick (4 rec. for 78 rec. yards and 2 touchdowns in Week 2) this week against the third-ranked Clemson Tigers.
The Clemson Tigers did enough on offense in Week Two to escape with a 14-6 victory over 15th-ranked Auburn. Quarterback Kelly Bryant looks ready to lead an offense after showing his toughness against an SEC opponent.
Bryant went out with an injury then returned to run for two touchdowns and lead the Tigers’ to their second win of 2017. He had 181 passing yards and 59 rushing yards to lead the way on offense.
The Auburn defense played them tough at every turn, but Bryant found a way to score when the team needed him.
Clemson overcame two turnovers and held Auburn to just six points on defense. The Clemson defense finished the game with 11 sacks, 14 tackles for loss and a forced fumble, although it was recovered by Auburn.
This week: at Louisville
Next: College Football: Top 50 breakout candidates for 2017
The third-ranked Clemson Tigers travel to the 14th-ranked Louisville Cardinals’ place in what should be a great game. The Tigers’ defense will have their hands full with quarterback Lamar Jackson. On the other hand, the Louisville defense will have their hands full with quarterback Kelly Bryant as well.