1. Miami (2–0, 0–0 Atlantic Coast)
Led by transfer quarterback Cam Ward and running back Damien Martinez, the Hurricanes have quickly disposed of their opposition so far. Ward has passed for six touchdowns and rushed for one in Miami’s matchups against Florida and Florida A&M, while averaging six yards per rush attempt. Receiver Xavier Restrepo has hauled in over 100 yards in each game, driving Miami’s dominant offensive performances.
Next up: Ball St., Saturday, 3:30 P.M.
2. Louisville (2–0, 0–0)
There hasn’t been much to tell from Louisville yet, except that its offense seems very explosive. The Cardinals’ two victories include a shutout against Austin Peay and a 35-point defeat over Jacksonville State. Jack Plummer has been replaced with the experienced Tyler Shough at quarterback, and the offense seems like it didn’t skip a beat. Second-year head coach Jeff Brohm will look for more success against a tougher opponent in Georgia Tech next, following the Cardinals’ bye week.
Next up: Georgia Tech, Saturday, Sept. 21, 3:30 P.M.
3. Clemson (1–1, 0–0)
Clemson entered the year with large expectations and had a chance to live up to them when it faced Georgia in Week 1. A 34–3 beatdown, however, proved that Clemson no longer belongs to the top tier of collegiate football. The Tigers washed the bad taste out of their mouths with a 66–20 drumming of Appalachian State this past week, but Clemson will need to continue proving its mettle against some formidable opponents in the weeks to come, starting this week against NC State.
Next up: NC State, Saturday, 12:00 P.M.
4. Boston College (2–0, 1–0)
With a 28–13 beatdown of former top-10 Florida State, followed by an even larger beatdown of Duquesne, it seems BC has turned a corner. The arrival of Bill O’Brien as head coach has revitalized the program, and quarterback Thomas Castellanos is leading the way for the Eagles’ electric offense with his dual-threat capabilities. BC will be tested with another top-10 opponent in Missouri on Saturday, giving the Eagles another chance to prove themselves.
Next up: No. 6 Missouri, Saturday, 12:45 P.M.
5. NC State (1–1, 0–0)
Transfer quarterback Grayson McCalll was brought in to fix the program’s long term issues at quarterback, but hasn’t lived up to expectations. Despite beating Western Carolina 38–21, NC State was put in its place by Tennessee this past weekend with a 51–10 loss. The offense struggled mightily, with McCall throwing for 104 yards and no touchdowns to go along with an interception. A Wolfpack team that was ranked after Week 1 will look to regain that status in the coming weeks.
Next up: Louisiana Tech, Saturday, 12:00 P.M.
6. Syracuse (2–0, 1–0)
Led by former Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord, Syracuse has a high-flying aerial attack. After a comfortable win over Ohio in Week 1, the Orange squeaked out a 31–28 victory over Georgia Tech this past week. McCord has recorded over 700 yards passing and eight touchdowns to start the season. Syracuse could make waves riding his hot hand.
Next up: Stanford, Friday, Sept. 20, 7:30 P.M.
7. Georgia Tech (2–1, 1–1)
After starting off the season with an exhilarating win over then-No. 10 Florida State in Ireland, followed by a 23-point win over Georgia State, the Yellow Jackets dropped a close one against Syracuse. The offense performed well as Haynes King threw for 266 yards and a touchdown, while adding 67 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. The Georgia Tech secondary, however, gave up 381 passing yards to McCord.
Next up: VMI, Saturday, 3:30 P.M.
8. North Carolina (2–0, 0–0)
The Tar Heels are undefeated with wins over Minnesota and Charlotte, but their quarterback Max Johnson suffered a season-ending leg injury in the opener at Minnesota. Quarterback Conner Harrell stepped in to relieve Johnson and helped UNC cruise to a 38–20 victory over Charlotte, with running back Davion Gause contributing over 100 rush yards to the cause. What remains to be seen is if Harrell can keep the offense in shape for the rest of the season as the Tar Heels face stronger opponents.
Next up: NC Central, Saturday, 6:00 P.M.
9. Florida State (0–2, 0–2)
This season has been a disappointment so far for Florida State, which entered the season ranked as a top-10 team and with an intriguing roster that received an infusion of transfer talent. This roster has not panned out for the Seminoles yet, as they’ve dropped games to Georgia Tech and Boston College—both in which they were heavily favored. Oregon State transfer DJ Uiagalelei will have to change his play for the better if the Seminoles want to have a chance at conference wins.
Next up: Memphis, Saturday, 12:00 P.M.
10. Virginia Tech (1–1, 0–0)
Virginia Tech improved its play late last season, winning five of its last seven games. That momentum appeared to have disappeared, however, when the Hokies lost an overtime matchup to Vanderbilt in Week 1. The Hokies came back the next week and beat Marshall by 17 points led by running back Bhayshul Tuten, who rushed for 125 yards and one touchdown.
Next up: Old Dominion, Saturday, 6:00 P.M.
11: California (2–0, 0–0)
Starting their season off with an in-state win against UC Davis, the Golden Bears traveled to Auburn and won 21–14, limiting an offense that scored 73 points the week before to just two touchdowns. Both QB’s Chandler Rogers and Fernando Mendoza are capable of leading the team to win and running back Jaydn Ott is a threat. The team has been both sloppy and lucky, however, as it committed 11 penalties against Auburn and had less total yards, time of possessions, and first downs against UC Davis. They’ll have to tighten their form to stay undefeated.
Next up: San Diego St., Saturday, 10:30 P.M.
12. SMU (2–1, 0–0)
Winning its first two games, SMU is fresh off a loss to BYU to lose its undefeated status. Rhett Lashlee’s two-quarterback system has not looked as pristine as it had last year, as Preston Stone has looked worse since he returned from a season-ending injury. Their other QB, Kevin Jennings, hasn’t done much to alleviate concerns about the offense, only passing for 140 yards and one interception against BYU. They will have to fix their QB situation for any hope of a successful season.
Next up: TCU, Saturday, 5:00 P.M.
13. Duke (2–0, 0–0)
New head coach Manny Diaz has built upon former coach Mike Elko’s success in the last two seasons, opening the season 2–0. Their wins over Elon and Northwestern each saw them score 26 points but it took double overtime for the Blue Devils to get there. While the Blue Devils haven’t been able to get much going on the ground, wide receiver Jordan Moore has powered the offense with his two 100-plus-yard performances while the defense has played well.
Next up: UConn, Saturday, 6:00 P.M.
14. Virginia (2–0, 1–0)
Tony Elliott has won three games in each of his two seasons as Virginia’s head coach and the pressure is on him to lead the Cavaliers to more wins this year. Fortunately, he is already two-thirds of the way there, starting the season 2–0 with wins over Richmond and Wake Forest. Their win over the Demon Deacons was not pretty. With two picks and their leading rusher having 35 yards, the Cavaliers relied on the air and Malachi Fields, who posted 11 receptions and 148 yards. Scoring 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers showed some grit in their ACC opener.
Next up: Maryland, Saturday, 8:00 P.M.
15. Pittsburgh (2–0, 0–0)
Despite its very shaky defense, Pittsburgh football is 2–0 for the first time since 2021, where it won the ACC championship. Much of the reason why is because of star running back Desmond Reid, who racked up 254 total yards against Cincinnati last week. He helped contribute to the 15 unanswered points Pittsburgh scored in the fourth quarter to comeback against the Bearcats. Reid will need to continue this strong performance and the defense will need to tighten up to stay undefeated.
Next up: West Virginia, Saturday, 3:30 P.M.
16. Wake Forest (1–1, 0–1)
After dominating North Carolina A&T, the Demon Deacons lost a close one to Virginia in which they gave up 14 unanswered fourth-quarter points. It’s a disappointing way to to start the season for Wake Forest, which finished 1–7 in ACC play last year. Quarterback Hank Bachmeier, who has played well so far averaging 333 yards and two touchdowns per game with zero interceptions, is a positive for the Deacons. The defense, however, needs to be able to get stops, especially as they start to face better opponents.
Next up: No. 5 Ole Miss, Saturday, 6:30 P.M.
17. Stanford (1–1, 0–0)
Starting off the season 1–1, Stanford is one of the newcomers to the ACC. And with the Cardinal comes dual-threat quarterback Ashton Daniels, who has compiled up 384 yards in the air and 118 yards in the ground. In addition, it brings big play threat wide receiver Elic Ayomanor, who averages 14.7 yards per reception and has 147 yards in the season. After suffering a close loss to TCU, Stanford bounced back and trounced Cal Poly. The defense will need to improve, as it allowed 37.7 points per game last year.
Next up: Syracuse, Friday, 7:30 P.M.
Leave a Reply