Clemson tops ACC after win over Georgia in opener

With Miami’s 21-16 victory over No. 12 Florida, the Hurricanes evened the season series between the SEC and ACC.

In the first two weeks of the season, ACC teams took on No. 1 Alabama, No. 10 Florida, No. 5 Georgia and No. 6 South Carolina. Those rankings are from the Associated Press’ preseason top 25, but you don’t even need these numbers to understand the talent of those four schools.

In addition to Miami’s victory over its in-state rival, Clemson took down Georgia in the first week.

The ACC — or at least the upper tier — can compete on the national stage with the country’s premier football conference.

Here’s this week’s ACC breakdown:

Clemson

After moving up to No. 4 in the AP poll, the Tigers didn’t let FCS foe South Carolina State slow them down. Clemson outgained the Bulldogs in yardage 512 to 241, and Dabo Swinney was able to pull his starters at halftime as Clemson cruised to a 52-13 victory.

Miami

The Hurricanes officially cemented their return to the top of college football in Florida with their victory over the Gators. Miami’s defense took the ball away from Florida five times, making up for an earlier loss of more than 400 yards.

Florida State

Sitting atop the ACC with a 1-0 record, the Seminoles had an early off week. FSU faces Nevada, Bethune-Cookman, Boston College and Maryland in its next four games. There’s no reason the Seminoles won’t be 5-0 headed to Clemson on October 19.

North Carolina

UNC beat Middle Tennessee State 40-20, largely thanks to its defense, which produced two interceptions when the Blue Raiders were inside the Tar Heels’ 30-yard line. North Carolina running back Romar Morris turned only 10 carries into two touchdowns.

Georgia Tech

The Yellow Jackets also took week two off. They will head to Durham, N.C., to take on Duke in the week’s only ACC matchup Saturday.

Virginia Tech

Frank Beamer didn’t let his team dwell on their devastating defeat by No. 1 Alabama in week one. The Hokies responded in week two with a 45-3 victory over Western Carolina. Quarterback Logan Thomas looked shaky despite the team’s great performance, going 17-of-31 for 200 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

Virginia

Virginia lost 59-10 in week two. Losing by 49 to the best offensive team in the country, No. 2 Oregon, wasn’t a surprise and shouldn’t hurt the Cavaliers. After watching Brigham Young pick apart a talented Texas team in a 40-21 victory, I put a lot more weight in Virginia’s 19-16 win over BYU and moved them up a spot. 

Maryland

Once again, the Terps performed as expected. The 47-10 win over Old Dominion gave quarterback C.J. Brown another warm-up as Maryland prepares for back-to-back games against teams from BCS conferences: Connecticut and West Virginia.

Pittsburgh

Like first-week opponent FSU, Pitt spent the second Saturday of the season at home. Unlike the Seminoles, however, the Panthers are 0-1. New Mexico and its leading rusher, Kasey Carrier, will challenge a Panthers defense that struggled against FSU when the Lobos come to Heinz Field tomorrow.

Duke

Eleven penalties and five turnovers made for an ugly game when Duke beat Memphis 28-14. The Blue Devils are 2-0, but have yet to be tested. Georgia Tech will be the team to challenge them, however, as Duke  hosts the Yellow Jackets this week.

North Carolina State

The Wolf Pack trailed FCS Richmond 21-10 with 1:33 remaining in the third quarter. With 13 unanswered points, NC State snuck away with a two-point win and a 2-0 record. No. 3 Clemson comes to Raleigh this week, so the Wolf Pack clearly face a major test.

Boston College

Boston College is tied for first in the ACC after its 24-10 victory over Wake Forest. The Eagles face USC, FSU and Clemson in three of their next four games. If BC stays at the top after that stretch, The Eagles will find themselves in a great position.

Syracuse

Like last year, the Orange are 0-2 to start the season. Also like last year, those losses were to two BCS teams. Syracuse was defeated by No. 19 Northwestern 48-27 in the Prose Bowl. Offensively, Syracuse had four turnovers. Defensively, the team allowed 48 points and 581 yards. The Orange have back-to-back must-wins against Wagner and Tulane. If they lose either of those, it’ll be a long season in upstate New York.

Wake Forest

The Demon Deacons have yet to show that they are not one-dimensional. Wake Forest ran for only 55 yards and passed for only 191. One-dimensional teams hardly succeed. No-dimension teams never succeed. The Demon Deacons need to find some offense — and quickly.