ACC Weekly Recap

College football has finally arrived. Fans will spend the next 4-5 months following their favorite teams around the clock. There were no major upsets in the ACC, but a few games that were closer than expected. Lets take a look at how teams from the conference performed during opening week and also a preview of the Hokies future opponents.

No. 10 Florida State Seminoles (1-0) 59-16 Texas State Bobcats(0-1): Florida State might have been facing Texas State, but they showed tonight while they are still the king of the ACC. FSU finished with over 600 total yards on offense. New starting quarterback Everett Golson got off to a hot start in garnet and gold and finished with 302 passing yard and four touchdowns. Sophomore running back Dalvin Cook was happy to be back on the field and finished with 156 rushing yards on just 19 carries. He also ran for two touchdowns. The Seminoles will count on Cook more this year to help lead them back to the ACC championship game.

No.12 Clemson Tigers (1-0) 49-10 Wofford Terriers(0-1): This game was over fairly quickly. At one point the Tigers were up 35-0. Deshaun Watson showed no side affects from the knee injury he sustained last season. Watson finished with 194 passing yard on 18 of 22 attempts with two touchdowns. Clemson's defense held Wofford to just 90 yards in the air. Unfortunately for the Tigers, wide receiver Mike Williams was injured after catching a touchdown and hitting his head on the goalpost. He left the game strapped to a backboard, but has reportedly gained feeling in his arms legs and was seen walking around with full movement. Dabo Swinney is calling it a neck sprain.

No.16 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (1-0) 69-6 Alcorn State  Braves(0-1): The yellow jackets ran wild over Alcorn State. Yellow Jackets Keith Marshall rushed for 184 yards on just eight carries. Georgia Tech finished with 476 yards on the ground. Alcorn State never stood a chance. The Yellow Jackets defense only gave up 106 yards passing in the air. Paul Johnson and his team will be a force to be reckoned with in the ACC this year.

Boston College Golden Eagles (1-0) 24-3 Maine Black Bears(0-1): This game was much closer than expected. Maine held a 3-0 lead after the first quarter. The game was tied at three until Boston College scored a touchdown with 26 seconds left in the half. It wasn't until the fourth quarter when Boston College added two touchdowns late to run away with the victory. The Golden Eagles played well on defense only given up 91 total yards, but were inconsistent and sloppy on offense. BC will have a tough time in the conference this year.

Pittsburgh Panthers (1-0) 45-37 Youngstown State Penguins (0-1): Youngstown State went up early, but then fell way behind. Pittsburgh built a two score lead for much of the game before the Penguins cut it to eight points in the fourth quarter. The Panthers had 3 turnovers, and staring quarterback Chad Voytik passed for only 72 yards in the air. Pittsburgh was led by Qadree Allison who rushed for 200 yards. The team rushed for a total of 325 yards on the ground. If the Panthers can't production from the quarterback position, it may be a long season.

Virginia Cavaliers (0-1) 16-34 No.13 UCLA Bruins (1-0): Virginia was only able to muster three field goals until the 3:29 left in the fourth quarter. The Cavaliers defense was playing very well, but the offense couldn't finish a drive and put much needed points on the board. The Bruins have a tough defense and were able to stop Virginia when they needed too. Matt Johns is now the full time quarterback and finished 21-35 for 238 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Johns averaged under seven yards a completion. If Mike London wants to keep his job, he better get the offense to score some points. If not, the Cavaliers are staring at another .500 season or worse.

Louisville Cardinals (0-1) 24-31 No.6 Auburn Tigers: This was one of the more exciting games on Saturday. Louisville was hanging tough with the Tigers and were on their way to tie the game until disaster struck midway through the second quarter. Auburn blew up a run play in the backfield and returned it 82 yards for a touchdown. The Cardinals were not able to regroup and missed an opportunity to upset the sixth ranked team in the nation. Louisville's defense intercepted Auburn quarterback Jeremy Johnson three times and held him to only 137 yards in the air. Bobby Petrino got very little from his quarterbacks and played both Lamar Jackson and Reggie Bonnafon. Both qb's passed for only 167 yards in the air. Louisville has a roster full of talent, especially on the defensive side on the ball. Unfortunately if they can't get any type of production from the quarterback position it will be a long season.

Miami Hurricanes (1-0) 45-0 Bethune Cookman Wildcats (0-1): The Hurricanes held the Wildcats to just 79 yards on offense. Sophomore Brad Kaaya passed for 173 yards and two touchdowns in less than three quarters. Head coach Al Golden earned his first shutout at Miami. The Hurricanes will get another cupcake next week when they take on Florida Atlantic. The first test of the season won't be until September 19th against Nebraska.

North Carolina State Wolfpack (1-0) 49-21 Troy Trojans (0-1): This game was tied at seven midway through the first quarter before N.C. state finally woke up and started scoring some points. Wolfpack quarterback Jacoby Brissett had only two incompletions and finished with 196 passing yards and two touchdowns. Troy was able to move the ball against NC State, but also had two turnovers. The Wolfpack will need to play more consistent if they want to compete in the ACC this year.

North Carolina Tar heels (0-1) 13-17 South Carolina Gamecocks (1-0): North Carolina missed a great opportunity to upset a team from the SEC. The Tar heels marched down the field on their opening drive, but quarterback Marquise Williams threw and interception in the end zone. Williams finished with three interceptions and was a big reason North Carolina was unable to hang on. On defense, the Tar heels played very well for most of the game, but gave up a heartbreaking 48 yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter and were never able to regroup. Larry Fedora received a lot of backlash for his play calling and will need to be much better if they want to have a successful year. The roster is loaded with talent, but it will be interesting to see if they can put it all together.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons (1-0) 41-3 Elon Phoenix (0-1): The Demon Deacons seem to have another great quarterback under center. Sophomore John Wolford struggled last year as a freshman and looked much more comfortable with an entire season under his belt. Wolford led the team with a career high 323 passing yards and 62 yards on the ground. Wake Forest simply couldn't do this type of thing last year. They held Elon to only a 151 total yards. Wake Forest might be a year away before really competing in the ACC, but they will definitely be much improved in 2015.

Duke Bue Devils (1-0) 37-7 Tulane Green Wave (0-1): This was another game that started out very slow. Duke was only able to muster a 3-0 lead at the end of the first quarter before getting things rolling in the second. Junior quarterback Thomas Sirk finished with 357 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. The Blue Devils coughed up the ball twice and were held to three field goals. They will need to limit those turnovers once they get into conference play. Duke will always be a well coached team, but don't be surprised if you see them take a step back this year.

Syracuse Orange (1-0) 47-0 Rhode Island Rams (0-1): Syracuse got excellent play at quarterback from true freshman Eric Dungey. He finished with 114 total passing yard and two touchdowns on just 10 completions. Dungey was thrust into action after starter Terrel Hunt went out with a leg injury. Hunt will reportedly miss the entire season. The defense held the Rams to just 64 total yards and also forced four turnovers. The Orange also held the Rams to just 2 first downs. Syracuse will need to rely on their defense the rest of the year if they want to make it to bowl season.