Two weeks into the season, the ACC has already started to separate itself - and Miami is doing the separating.
The Hurricanes have looked like the conference’s clear standard so far, smashing Stanford 45-6 on the road before putting up a jaw-dropping 77-7 win over Florida A&M. That second game came with a program record 856 yards, and Darian Mensah and Malachi Toney have emerged as what might be the ACC’s best quarterback-receiver pairing. Through two games, nobody else in the league has matched Miami’s control on either side of the ball.
That’s why the Hurricanes sit alone at the top of the rankings after Week 2.
Duke comes next, and the Blue Devils have earned it the hard way. Their best non-conference win in the league is the 31-27 road victory at Illinois, a game in which they erased a 10-point deficit. Add in that Duke is the defending ACC champion and has won six straight dating to last season, and the case is pretty strong even before the schedule tightens up.
SMU is right behind them. Kevin Jennings threw for 430 yards in the Mustangs’ road win at Florida State, and even with four turnovers, SMU still rolled up 585 yards in Tallahassee.
Then came a 56-10 win over UC Davis. If the turnovers get cleaned up, SMU has the look of a team that can matter again in this conference.
Virginia has also made a loud early statement. The Cavaliers beat NC State 34-8, outgaining the Wolfpack 413-168 and taking control early in the second half with a 24-0 lead. They followed that with a 59-3 win over Norfolk State, and allowing just 11 points across two games is hard to overlook.
North Carolina slides in at No. 5 after a start built more on defense than fireworks. The Tar Heels beat TCU 15-10 in Dublin, then handled East Tennessee State 35-3. Bill Belichick’s group has not been explosive on offense, but a 2-0 start with a Power Four win is a solid opening.
Pittsburgh has quietly put together one of the more impressive starts in the league. The Panthers opened with a 59-14 win over Miami (Ohio), then followed with a 12-7 win over UCF, holding the Knights to 206 total yards and just 20 rushing yards. They’ve been easy to miss, but hard to ignore.
Louisville is the one-loss team that fits ahead of some undefeated ones. The Cardinals’ only defeat came in a 41-38 loss to top-10 Ole Miss, and they rallied from a 14-point fourth-quarter hole to force a tie before falling short. They bounced back with a 59-13 win over Villanova.
Wake Forest has also made itself interesting. The Demon Deacons beat Akron 38-16 and then went to Purdue and came out with a 38-36 double-overtime win. Purdue threw for 329 yards, so it wasn’t clean, but a road Power Four win carries weight.
Virginia Tech is 2-0, too, but the first two games haven’t told us much. The Hokies beat VMI 73-3 and Old Dominion 44-21. Those are comfortable wins, just not especially revealing ones.
Boston College lands in the middle after a mixed opening. The Eagles lost 34-15 at Cincinnati, but followed that with a 28-21 win over Rutgers. That at least gives them proof they can handle a Big Ten opponent, which matters in this crowded middle of the conference.
Florida State drops after the loss to SMU. The Seminoles fell 27-24 while being outgained 585-324, and they went just 2-for-15 on third down. Staying competitive was one thing; actually winning was another.
California gets a bump after an across-the-country road win at Syracuse. The Bears lost 45-24 to UCLA first, then beat Syracuse 21-18 despite being outgained 436-249. The difference was three interceptions, including one that set up the fourth-quarter touchdown that decided it.
Syracuse sits just behind Cal, and the reason is obvious: the Orange gave that game away. Three Steve Angeli interceptions, including the late pick-six, swung it.
Clemson is still stuck in the lower half after a rough start. LSU beat the Tigers 51-10, and Clemson followed with only a 22-7 win over Georgia Southern. There just isn’t much evidence yet that Dabo Swinney’s team belongs near the top.
NC State also has work to do. The Wolfpack did respond to the Virginia loss with a 73-0 win over Richmond, but that doesn’t erase the 34-8 defeat. A blowout over an FCS opponent won’t change much until NC State shows it can move the ball against ACC defenses.
Stanford gets a little credit for opening with a 37-27 win over Hawaii, but Miami exposed the gap in a big way. The Cardinal lost 45-6, gave up 549 yards, and never reached the end zone.
Georgia Tech is still last as the only winless team in the league. The Yellow Jackets lost 14-13 to Colorado after a potential game-winning field goal was blocked, then fell 45-24 to Tennessee in Atlanta. Their first two games have been tough, but at some point the results have to start showing up.
In Other News...
Miami's Next ACC Test Comes With A Wake Forest Threat
Miami heads to Winston-Salem on Saturday night for its next ACC test, a trip that brings a 2-0 start into a tougher road setting against another unbeaten team. The Hurricanes are coming off their win over Florida A&M, and the matchup will kick at 7:30 p.m. EST on ESPN, with Wake Forest waiting after a double-overtime victory over Purdue gave the Demon Deacons some early momentum of their own.
For Miami, the attention now shifts to a Wake Forest offense that has found production quickly through its first two games and has shown it can stress a defense in more than one way. The road environment, the conference stakes and the fact that both teams enter without a loss make this one feel like an early barometer for how Miami handles the first real stretch of its season. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Still Chasing The Kind Of Win That Changes Everything
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The Hurricanes have their own long memory for what happens when a season turns on one signature moment, and the broader history around college football is full of examples of teams using a win over the No. 1 team as a springboard. Ohio State has even turned that kind of defeat into a path toward national championships in the past, which only adds to the value of landing one of those games in the first place. For Miami, the lesson is obvious: the next climb is not just about being good, but about finding the kind of win that makes everyone else take notice. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Heads Into A Brutal Rivalry Test With Stakes Suddenly Rising
The old Miami-Notre Dame rivalry still has a way of finding fresh edges, and this week is no exception. With the Hurricanes heading into a nationally televised matchup on NBC and Peacock, the atmosphere has already started to harden on the Notre Dame side, where fans have begun signaling plenty of hostility before kickoff. For Miami, it is the kind of stage that brings history, noise and expectations all at once, especially with the Irish crowd set to make the trip feel bigger than a standard early-season road game.
For the Hurricanes, the challenge is not just the setting but how to handle it. Miami is dealing with key absences and uneven recent performances, which puts even more on quarterback Mensah as he tries to navigate a difficult environment and keep the offense steady. Rivalry games often reward the team that stays composed longest, and this one carries enough baggage already that every possession figures to matter long before anyone worries about the final score. [Read more 🡒]