Two ACC teams got the day going in week one of this college football Saturday and they were two of the craziest games of the day. NC State won by one point over East Carolina and North Carolina won a wild back-and-forth game against App State and that was just the beginning of the day.
The ACC as a conference might not have looked great coming out of those two wins, but at least they won. With Virginia Tech losing to Old Dominion last night, the conference could not afford to take any more losses to group of five teams on the road.
So how did Saturday play out in the ACC today? Let's look at the scoreboard.
1. NC State 21 (1-0), East Carolina 20
NC State was fortunate to survive this one. The thirteenth-ranked Wolfpack is supposed to be one of the contenders in the conference, but they have a lot to work on after this one. If not for some special teams miscues by East Carolina, this one could have gone the other way.
2. North Carolina 63 (2-0), App State 61
Every time it looked like North Carolina was going to seize control of the game, the Mountaineers would get right back into the game. The two teams combined for 62 points in the fourth quarter ALONE and it took a goal-line stand on a two-point conversion for North Carolina to get out of Boone with a win.
North Carolina has some obvious issues to work on defensively if they want to be a factor in the ACC this year, but there is a long way to go.
3. Rutgers 22, Boston College 21 (0-1)
The Eagles led in the second half, but turnovers helped flip this game and Rutgers got upset on the road. Boston College quarterback Phil Jurkovec had 283 yards and three touchdowns, but threw two interceptions and lost one fumble.
Boston College is going to have an uphill battle to make a bowl game now, but Jeff Hafley's team is going to have chances to improve from a frustrating opening game.
4. Miami 70 (1-0), Bethune Cookman 13
It is hard to take any real things away from this game, but the Hurricanes did what they were supposed to do and beat an overmatched opponent.
5. Virginia 34 (1-0), Richmond 17
It was a good start to the Tony Elliott era in Charlottesville. Despite going down early to the Spiders, Virginia battled back and got a victory over their in-state opponent. Star quarterback Brennan Armstrong was solid and finished with 246 yards and two touchdowns.
6. Syracuse 31 (1-0), Louisville 7 (0-1)
In a bit of a surprise, Syracuse's defense dominated Louisville tonight. It was an impressive night for Orange quarterback Garrett Shrader and this Syracuse offense. I had higher expectations for Louisville and this is definitely not a good start for Malik Cunningham and the Cardinals. Syracuse forced three turnovers
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