Better Week for the ACC (almost much better)

Week two for the ACC went better than opening week. Only one ACC team lost (two if you count Clemson losing to conference foe Georgia Tech). The only reason this cannot be counted as much better is because there were a few teams that had games that were much closer than they should have been.

POSITIVES

1. Two ACC teams put on another great show on Thursday night as Georgia Tech and Clemson played a great game with GT pulling out a three point win. It was exciting throughout, especially after GT's initial surge. Clemson did not give up after getting down early and the game turned out to be another good showcase game for the conference.

2. There were quite a few teams that played much better than week one. Duke went from losing to Richmond and really not doing much to beating Army, and beating them fairly convincingly at least (35-19). NC State bounced back, albeit against a much less talented Murray State team, destroying them in every aspect of the game, winning 65-7. Virginia Tech played great against a decent Marshall team, winning 52-10. The 52 is a great sign for the Hokies because they have struggled to muster offense in almost every game the past few years. Wake Forest bounced back after an opening loss to Baylor by beating a solid Stanford team 24-17. Riley Skinner was back to his old self, taking care of the ball and limiting mistakes. Boston College played well again, defeating Kent St. 34-7.

3. The ACC only lost one game against conference foes, definitely the biggest positive. The loss was Virginia to TCU. Virginia is not supposed to be good and TCU is a ranked team.

NEGATIVES

1. FSU absolutely laid an egg. For the ACC to regain national prominence and respectability FSU has to be a powerhouse. To barely beat an average FCS team (Jacksonville St.) 19-9 and need a fourth quarter comeback to do it is simply embarressing. FSU fans are really questioning Bobby Bowden, Jimbo Fisher, Mickey Andrews and the direction of the program and who can really blame them? Teams go through lulls but a team like Florida St. should not have an almost ten year run like this.

2. Maryland barely beat Colonial Athletic Association foe James Madison (38-35 in OT). Maryland is a lower level ACC team this year but should have the talent to handle most FCS teams. Ralph Friedgen needs to turn this program around or he could be looking for a job next fall.

3. Virginia, a team with respectable football tradition, is awful. It wasn't long ago that UVA was competing with Florida St. on national television and was probably the second best team in the ACC. Al Groh will most likely be looking for a job next fall as well.

The ACC restored a little bit of their repuation this weekend with a 9-1 record against other leagues. A lot of these games were games where the ACC team was favored but a 9-1 record looks tons better than the 4-6 from a week ago. The ACC still needs a national championship contender to really get back on the map but this weekend certainly did not hurt.