What kind of weekend did the Atlantic Coast Conference have? Good, not great. It would have been outstanding if Pittsburgh had held up it’s end of the bargain.

The ACC went 8-3 overall, including one conference game with Virginia Tech over Boston College 27-10. The premiere game involving a ranked ACC team was Tennessee edging host Pittsburgh in overtime 34-27.

The best win might have been the University of Louisville’s 20-14 over Central Florida. The Knights are 31-3 in Orlando over the last four seasons. While UofL’s win won’t move the national rankings meter, it was as close to a must win as it gets. Louisville would have been 0-2 coming home for a match up with Florida State on Friday

With the win, although not pretty,  the fan base can get ready for a “Red Out.” This game is ultra important. Louisville (1-1) usually plays well against FSU. The Noles own a 24-23 win over LSU. A win would provide much-needed momentum.

Clemson continues to carry the ACC banner with a 35-12 win over Furman. Not a great win, but a win. North Carolina State (2-0) thumped Charleston Southern 55-3. The Wolfpack looks like the real deal.

Syracuse (2-0) rolled over UConn 48-14. Maybe the Orange are better than the experts think. Cuse hosts Purdue this week.

Wake Forest 45, Vanderbilt 25. Quarterback Sam Hartman returned and looked as though he hadn’t missed a beat. Miami, Florida beat Southern Mississippi 30-7 while Duke (2-0) edged Northwestern 31-23 on the road. The worst loss might have been Virginia’s 24–3 loss at Illinois.

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Nationally another a wild weekend. Upsets by Appalachian State, Marshall, Georgia Southern, Washington State and BYU in overtime. Alabama had a close win over Texas 20-19. Georgia didn’t exactly roll over Samford, 33-0 so the Alabama Crimson Tide is still No. 1.

Here’s my top 20: 1. Alabama, 2. Georgia, 3. Ohio State, 4. Clemson, 5. Michigan, 6. Oklahoma, 7. USC, 8. Kentucky, 9. Arkansas, 10. Oklahoma State, 11. Michigan State, 12. North Carolina Stare, 13. BYU, 14. Tennessee, 15. Miami, Florida, 16. Ole Miss, 17. Texas, 18. Baylor, 19. Wake Forest, 20. Penn State.

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The Louisville opens as a one-point under dog against Florida State.

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By Ed Peak

Ed Peak has covered UofL sports since 1973, as a student reporter, as a correspondent for the Courier-Journal, a freelancer for the Associated Press and United Press International, as well as ScoreCard, Fox Sports and CBS radio.