ACC Football: What We Learned, Week 8

Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

Some week of Atlantic Coast Conference football, wasn’t it? Here’s what we learned:

Florida State Seminoles 51, Clemson Tigers 14
In this one, it’s pretty clear what we learned: that Florida State will almost certainly win the ACC Atlantic and probably the ACC. We also learned that Clemson, a week after looking shaky against the maroon and gold, will not do either of those things save for a miracle.

But wait, there’s more: we also learned that freshman Jameis Winston is the top dog in ACC quarterback-dom, though that was starting to become clearer week after week.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 56, Syracuse Orange 0
This week, we learned that NC State must really stink to have lost at home to Syracuse. Not for nothing, we also learned that Syracuse is nothing special (well, not like we learned it, we were just reminded of it) — they allowed 394 rushing yards to run-heavy Georgia Tech, and hopefully that run defense has trouble against the Eagles as well. Finally, we once again saw that Georgia Tech is capable of some potent offense and the good news is that BC does not face them this year.

Miami Hurricanes 27, North Carolina Tar Heels 23
We learned here why North Carolina is 1-5: they’ve got some talent and should not be a bad team on paper, but they do everything possible to shoot themselves in the foot. On the other end, Miami is not impervious to mistakes, either, and they showed why they’re the third-best team in the ACC (the top two played in the first game on this page, though Clemson didn’t really help their case for being second-best by getting run out of their own stadium).

Wake Forest Demon Deacons 34, Maryland Terrapins 10
Maryland had five wins already and yet, few were taking them seriously. Yesterday, we were reminded of why. Florida State ensured that nobody would see them as legitimate, and a mediocre-at-best Wake Forest has magnified those feelings. Give Wake credit for the win, because they’re somehow 4-3 after all they’ve been through.

Duke Blue Devils 35, Virginia Cavaliers 22
On Saturday, we learned that Duke may very well be bowling again this year, and that Virginia can’t even hold 22-point leads at home against middle-of-the-road teams in their own conference. It’s all over but the shouting for Mike London in Charlottesville.

Pittsburgh Panthers 35, Old Dominion Monarchs 24
Here, we learned that Old Dominion has a football team and that Pittsburgh evidently scheduled them.