Even with the conference’s presumed top two teams playing top 10 matchups in Week 1, Florida State managed to steal the ACC spotlight with its 31-17 upset win over No. 8 Alabama. Now, after a 2-10 record last season, Mike Norvell’s Seminoles appear to be angling back toward College Football Playoff contention with an offense led by Thomas Castellanos and Gus Malzahn.
Still, it’s hard to push the Noles any higher than No. 3, in part because a win over Alabama just doesn’t mean what it used to. Miami’s 27-24 victory over No. 6 Notre Dame was almost as impressive on Sunday night. Forget the flash of a Cam Ward-quarterbacked offense last season, Mario Cristobal’s team is built through the trenches and was the more physical group on the field at Hard Rock Stadium.
Carson Beck did just enough for the Hurricanes. The defense appears to be fixed under new defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman, who came from Minnesota this offseason, along with a bevy of transfer talent, and true freshman wide receiver Malachi Toney played like a star in his collegiate debut. With Clemson going down at home, the Canes claim the top spot in the Week 1 ACC power rankings.
While Castellanos and Beck were question marks at the most important positions on the field, Clemson was supposed to have certainty with Cade Klubnik, but once again, the senior struggled against SEC athletes. LSU held Klubnik to 230 yards on 19 of 38 passing with an interception, and Dabo Swinney’s team ran for just 31 yards. The Tigers are still a conference contender, but any dreams of a national title run may have been squashed on Saturday in Death Valley.
As for the rest of the confernece, Louisville handled its business in the only true cupcake game that Jeff Brohm will allow his program to play, dismantling Eastern Kentucky 51-17. Miller Moss looked comfortable in Brohm’s offense, and running back Isaac Brown proved that his freshman season wasn’t a fluke with 126 yards and two touchdowns on just six carries.
Georgia Tech had an impressive performance against Colorado, proving that if Haynes King is healthy, the Yellow Jackets will have a chance. The biggest surprise in Week 1 was the play of the Cal Golden Bears, who rolled to a 34-15 win over Oregon State behind 234 passing yards and three touchdowns from true freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele. After Cal lost Jadyn Ott and Fernando Mendoza to the transfer portal, the Golden Bears looked like a potential last-place team in the conference, but with a talented young quarterback, they check in at No. 11 this week.
As for Bill Belichick’s debut in Chapel Hill on Monday night… it wasn’t pretty. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Tar Heels are firing up another coaching search before this season even comes to an end.