With everyone in the ACC having now played at least a game, there is a lot to look back on around the conference. While many teams showed promise by either blowing out opponents or playing a thriller against a top-10 team, others faced the opposite end of the stick and left a lot to question following poor showings on the field. Here are five major takeaways from this weekend in ACC football:
Georgia Tech Struggles against Colorado
Picture Courtesy Georgia Tech Athletics
This was not the start Tech fans were hoping for to open their 2026 season. In a highly anticipated nonconference game against Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes, the Yellow Jackets were not able to finish the job and ended up losing 14-13. Aidan Birr, a Lou Groza Award finalist in 2025, missed a 35 yard field goal in the first quarter and had his game winner blocked in the final seconds. On top of special teams mistakes, the offense was not able to convert their drives into touchdowns. Indiana transfer quarterback Alberto Mendoza went 17/23 for 237 passing yards and had a decent game, but the offense went just 5/13 on third down conversions. The offensive line needs to improve, as they gave up 3 drive ending sacks.The defense was solid all game, but could not come through when they needed to and allowed Julian Lewis and Charlie Williams to connect for the game winning touchdown. In his postgame press conference, Head Coach Brent Key said that “At the end of the day, [Colorado] played a really good football game” and that Georgia Tech “Did not play a good football game.” With much to improve on, Georgia Tech will host Tennessee next weekend, and the result of that game will define what the rest of the season looks like for the team and the fans.
Miami and their High-Powered Offense
Picture Courtesy Miami Athletics
In Miami’s opener against Stanford, Darian Mensah lived up to the offseason expectations in route to establishing himself as the next great quarterback in the Mario Cristobal transfer portal pipeline. Shades of Cam Ward were on display tonight, as Mensah went 26/29 passing with 396 yards and 5 touchdowns. Three of those touchdown passes were to Malachi Toney, who had a massive performance, recording 229 yards receiving on 11 receptions. The offense is going to be fun to watch this season, as they have two legitimate Heisman frontrunners. Not to mention Cooper Barkate, who also scored a touchdown and had 67 yards receiving. The running game showcased Mark Fletcher Jr, CharMar Brown and Javian Mallory, and although none of their stats popped off the score sheet, each back did their job and helped open up the pass game. Mensah mentioned after the game that “We’re going to get better.” This looks to just be the start to another great season for the Hurricanes.
This isn’t the Same Old Clemson
Picture Courtesy Clemson Athletics
A season after finishing 7-6, their worst win total since Dabo Swinney’s second season in 2010, the boat seems to continue steering in the wrong direction for Clemson. LSU dismantled the Tigers 51-10, and Clemson only recorded 145 yards of total offense. In his first year as the starting quarterback after three years backing up Cade Klubnik, Christopher Vizzina had a poor showing in Louisiana’s Death Valley, going 10/16 with 83 passing yards. He could not get any offense going whatsoever. The running backs were unable to help either, only rushing for 52 yards combined. Freshman QB Tait Reynolds also saw some playing time, going 4/6 for 22 passing yards, but was sacked 3 times. The defense was no better, allowing 644 total yards after an interception on play two of the game looked to be a sign that Clemson was going to be competitive. The defense was a unit that only allowed 20.5 points per game last season, and after returning only three starters, the rebuilt defense recorded zero sacks and allowed a 69% third down conversion rate. Clemson looks like they have lost the steam they had only two seasons ago as one of the powerhouses of college football. Is this a result of the transfer portal? Maybe. Either way, Dabo Swinney has the ability to turn this around, and if he cannot find a way to get Clemson back on track sooner than later, it will be a long and disappointing season for the Tigers, and possibly the end of his era at Clemson.
The Emergence of Lincoln Kienholz
Picture Courtesy Louisville Athletics
Although Ole Miss kicked a walk off field goal to beat Louisville 41-38 Sunday night, the performance Lincoln Kienholz put on in his first collegiate start should not be overlooked, despite a slow first half. He finished the game 18/29, with 307 passing yards and 69 rushing yards, accounting for 3 total touchdowns. After Louisville went down 2 touchdowns, Kienholz stepped up and hit Lawayne McCoy down the field for a 54-yard score, making a great read and delivering a good ball. When the defense did their job and forced a three and out, Kienholz rose to the moment and led a two-minute drill where he capped off the drive by taking it into the endzone himself on a 7-yard run. As a highly touted transfer who had never started a game in college, Kienholz looked like a seasoned veteran in crunch time and delivered the game tying blow. The high-scoring Louisville offense from the 2023 season looks to be back, and Lincoln Kienholz is developing as a star in real time.
Non-Conference Struggles
Picture Courtesy Boston College Athletics
It was not a good weekend for the ACC teams who were playing against other Power Four schools. Along with the Georgia Tech, Clemson and Louisville losses, Boston College and California were also not able to win against Cincinnati and UCLA, respectively. That makes a combined 1-5 so far this season for the ACC against the SEC, Big 12 and Big Ten, with the lone win coming in Week 0 by North Carolina beating TCU in Ireland. This is a concerning trend, especially considering the ACC went 6-14 against Power Four opponents (excluding Notre Dame) in 2025 and only sent one team, 10-2 Miami, into the College Football Playoff. Winning these early season games against Power Four teams are crucial for building up the resume of the conference in hopes of getting multiple teams into the playoff this year. There are plenty of more opportunities for the ACC to improve their record. This includes Georgia Tech hosting Tennessee, Pittsburgh hosting UCF, and Duke traveling to Illinois next weekend.
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