ACC Football: Week 1 Power Rankings after Clemson, UNC lose

14. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: 0-1: There is not much to unpack from the Yellow Jackets loss against the Northern Illinois Huskies. The expectations out of Atlanta were not that high this season. Jeff Sims getting knocked out of the game early did not help matters.

Northern Illinois worked the formula for defeating a superior opponent to perfection. The Huskies got a break from the Sims’ injury and took advantage. NIU shorted the game by running the football and gave themselves a chance to win the game.

Huskies’ quarterback Rocky Lombardi’s last-second touchdown pass and subsequent two-point conversion gave Northern Illinois the win. The loss does beg the question, “Can Geoff Collins recruit enough talent to compete in the ACC?”

13. Duke Blue Devils: 0-1: David Cutcliffe got everything he wanted from the offense in the Blue Devils’ 31-28 loss to the Charlotte 49ers. Gunnar Holmberg was solid in his first start, throwing for 229 yards and a touchdown.

Mataeo Durant ran for 255 yards, and the Blue Devils ran for 352. However, the defense allowed Charlotte quarterback Chris Reynolds to throw for 324 yards and three touchdowns. Duke’s defense looked inferior against a Group of Five opponent.

That is cause for concern because Duke’s offense won’t look that potent against better competition. This season could get ugly in Durham.