ACC Football Review: Strange Opening Weekend

Just two games involving ACC teams were played, but neither went as expected

Georgia Tech linebacker Kyle Efford celebrates after the win over Florida State / Tom Maher/INPHO via USA TODAY Sports

We learned long ago that it’s silly to draw grand conclusions based on a team’s first game of the season.

However, the two games involving ACC teams on Saturday provoked a lot questions:

---Which result was more surprising – Georgia Tech’s 24-21 upset of No. 10 Florida State in Ireland, or SMU’s 29-24 victory over Nevada in Reno?

Florida State players and fans felt worse than the SMU faithful on Sunday morning, but the truth is, SMU’s close win was more surprising.

Georgia Tech returned most of its offensive talent from last year’s productive attack and figured to improve from its 7-6 record of last year if it could play better on defensive. Meanwhile Florida State has a new quarterback (DJ Uiagalelei) who is still feeling his way but figures to improve as the season goes along. The Seminoles were 11.5-point favorites, but they carried some unknowns – as still so. Don’t forget, FSU scored just 43 points (14.3 points per game) in the final three games last year after quarterback Jordan Travis suffered a season-ending injury.

SMU, on the other hand, returned much of its talent from last year’s , and entered the 2024 season as a darkhorse contender for the ACC title.  The Mustangs were 27.5-point favorites over a Nevada team that went 2-10 last season and was picked to finish last in the in the 12-team Mountain West Conference in this year’s preseason poll.  SMU should have clobbered the Wolf Pack, even in Reno, but instead had to overcome an 11-point deficit in the final eight minutes to pull out a win. As SMU coach Rhett Lashlee admitted afterward, “They kicked our tail most of the game.” Nevada should not be kicking anyone’s tail, least of all an ACC contender.

---Is Florida State’s season ruined already?

Absolutely not.

When four teams participated in the College Football Playoff, a season-opening upset loss was crippling. But with 12 teams getting to the national-championship tournament this year, Florida State is still very much in the running.

Last season, five teams with two losses were ranked in the top 12 of the final CFP standings, and there’s a decent chance that a three-loss team will make it to the playoffs this year.

Over the past 50 years, two teams that lost their opener went on to win the national championship.  The 1983 Miami Hurricanes lost to Florida 28-3 in their opener, but won the national title, and USC’s 1974 squad lost to Arkansas in its first game but ended up sharing the national championship with Oklahoma.

---Did Georgia Tech prove that it is a top-25 team?

History suggests the Yellow Jackets must do more to be ranked at season’s end. 

If Georgia Tech beats Georgia State in its home opener next week, the Yellow Jackets presumably will be ranked in the first in-season AP poll on September 3. It would be the first time since September 20, 2015 that Georgia Tech would be ranked.  Only two teams from power conferences have gone longer without being ranked – Rutgers (last ranked in 2012) and Vanderbilt (last ranked in 2013).

However, five unranked teams beat top-10 teams in season openers the past eight seasons, and only one of those five upset winners ended the season in the top 25, and three of the five finished with losing records.

The last five times an unranked team opened the season by beating a top-10 team:

-2023 – Unranked Duke defeated No. 9 Clemson. Duke finished 8-5 and unranked.

-2022 – Unranked Florida defeated No. 7 Utah. Florida finished 6-7 and unranked.

-2021 – Unranked Virginia Tech defeated No. 10 North Carolina. Virginia Tech finished 6-7 and unranked.

-2016 – Unranked Texas defeated No. 10 Notre Dame. Texas finished 5-7 and unranked.

-2016 – Unranked Wisconsin defeated No. 5 LSU. Wisconsin finished 11-3 and ranked No. 9.

---What do the unexpected results say about the ACC?

A wide-open conference race looks even more wide open now.

---Who was the best ACC quarterback on Saturday?

SMU’s Preston Stone and Florida State’s DJ Uiagalelei did some impressive things in the fourth quarter of their games, but both struggled at moments throughout their games.

Georgia Tech’s Haynes King was solid throughout his team’s victory and was the best of the three quarterbacks. He was adequate through the air, completing 11 of 16 passes for 146 yards, no touchdowns and no interception, but he changed the game with ability to run, rushing for 75 yards and two touchdowns.

---Which of the three ACC teams that played on Saturday has the toughest opponent next week?

Florida State doesn’t play again until Monday, September 2, when it hosts Boston College in its second ACC game of the season. The Eagles were picked to finish 14th in the ACC, so if Florida State struggles in that game, Mike Norvell has a problem.

SMU hosts Houston Christian, an FCS school that had its first winning season in school history last year when it went 6-5, so the Mustangs should roll. Emphasis on “should.”

Georgia Tech faces Georgia State, which is picked to finish last in its Sun Belt Conference division but whose starting quarterback (Zach Gibson) played for Georgia Tech last season before transferring in the offseason.

---What is next week’s biggest game involving an ACC team?

No. 14 Clemson travels to Atlanta to take on No. 1 Georgia next Saturday.  The ACC’s reputation is at stake in this game after Florida State and SMU had their problems in the opening weekend.

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