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The ACC might have picked up nine wins in non-league games to open the season, but its showing against Power Four teams didn’t inspire confidence in the conference.
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North Carolina was the only team to beat a Power Four opponent, besting TCU in a 15-10 win in Ireland. That’s not saying much, though. Neither the Tar Heels nor Horned Frogs looked remotely like playoff contenders, despite a seemingly improved UNC defense.
The ACC had four teams make the Week 1 AP Top 25 poll, with Miami, SMU and Louisville remaining ranked. They were in the preseason poll.
Virginia moved into the final spot of the Top 25 after being the only other ACC team to inspire much confidence when facing another power program. It beat N.C. State, 34-8, in Charlottesville to open the season.
The rest of the league? It left plenty to be desired.
Here’s how the ACC stacked up in the poll and their opening games.
No. 7 Miami (1-0, 1-0 ACC) rolled past Stanford (1-1, 0-1) to open its season with an ACC victory. The Hurricanes defeated the Cardinal, 45-6, on the road behind three 14-point quarters.
Former Duke quarterback Darian Mensah threw for 408 yards and five touchdowns in his debut. Fellow Duke-turned-Miami teammate Cooper Barkate contributed 67 receiving yards and one touchdown. Malachi Toney led the Hurricanes with a program best 234 yards and three scores.
The Hurricanes looked like a favorite to once again make the College Football Playoff and compete for a national title.
No. 9 Ole Miss (1-0) defeated No. 24 Louisville (0-1), 41-38, in an offensive track meet Sunday night in Nashville. The Rebels led 10-6 at halftime, before an offensive explosion in the second half. Ole Miss kicker Lucas Carneiro made a 48-yard field goal as time expired for the win.
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Louisville quarterback Lincoln Kienholz threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns in his Cardinals debut. He was sacked three times, however, creating questions about his mobility and the offensive line. The Cardinals still did enough to stay ranked, taking a top 10 team to the brink.
No. 19 SMU (1-0,1-0 ACC) opened the season with a 27-24 win over Florida State (1-1, 0-1) on Monday night in what can only be described as a dumpster fire from start to finish. The nationally-televised game was delayed by nearly two hours after a power outage killed the lights at a newly-renovated Doak Campbell Stadium.
For a large portion, if not the entire game, there was no scoreboard, no clock, no replay review, no public address, no in-helmet communications, no sideline iPads, limited lighting, and the broadcast crew synced its clock with the on-field officials at every media timeout until the technology was fixed in the second half. The clock issues were ironic, considering the Western Michigan-Michigan debacle on Saturday night.
Once the game started, it wasn’t much better for either team. They committed a combined five turnovers, with SMU committing four. The Mustangs fumbled on the opening drive and the Seminoles ended the matchup in the same way. SMU also missed a field goal in the second half.
Ultimately the Mustangs’ 585 yards and 23 first downs pushed them past the Seminoles. SMU went 8 of 14 on third down to keep drives alive. FSU ended the night 2 for 15, and was, at one point, 0 for 11.
Clemson finished No. 26 in the preseason poll, earning 112 points. The Tigers, however, will not see themselves break into the Top 25 after their 51-10 blowout loss to No. 11 LSU in Baton Rouge, and Dabo Swinney’s seat just got a lot hotter.
Georgia Tech lost to Colorado at home, 14-13, and California fell to former Pac-12 rival UCLA, 45-24, also at home.
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This story was originally published September 8, 2026 at 2:21 PM.