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Around the ACC: Week 4

From Blacksburg to Berkeley, reflections on the weekend in ACC football as the Hokies close out September with a perfect 4-0 record!

Rich Luttenberger·September 29, 2026

It was a very ho-hum weekend in the ACC last week as most teams rounded out their non-conference schedules, and other than one significant upset, the results were largely as expected.

ACC teams were undefeated outside of league play, but those games were all against FCS and G6 opponents. Perhaps the biggest talking point to emerge from the weekend occurred Sunday, when the new rankings were released to public backlash of the SEC bias.

Admittedly, I was one of the many who were upset at the inclusion of Missouri in the top 25, but I am not on the bandwagon that is calling for five ACC teams to be ranked. Pitt is 4-0, but they have not played outside of the Steel City, and they have not played anyone decent. The Hokies are also 4-0, but after UCLA’s absolute drubbing of Maryland in College Park, last week's signature win has lost some luster.

Perhaps Wake Forest has an argument with a victory over a ranked team and their only loss at the hands of a top five team. But it is still September as I write this, and the polls are still correcting themselves. As October moves along, ACC teams will have had more time to prove (or disprove?) their worth, and the rankings will settle themselves (at least the back half, as the top half is forever embedded with SEC and Big Ten teams – and Notre Dame).

Things change on the week 5 schedule, and there is a lot to look forward to in the ACC.

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It Wasn’t Pretty, But Virginia Tech Won a Conference Road Game

On Saturday, Virginia Tech escaped from Chestnut Hill with a win, and that should be enough said.

But I am part of the media, so of course I will say more.

That stadium is a damning place for the Hokies. Tech has not played particularly well up there since this series started in 1993 with a 48-34 Boston College home victory.

In the previous 16 games in Alumni Stadium, Tech lost 6 of them. And only 2 of the 10 victories were by more than 19 points. So even though the Hokies emerged victorious in roughly 2 of every 3 trips to Chestnut Hill, most of them have triggered the sweat glands of the Hokie faithful.

With a nor’easter in full force, why would we have expected anything else from this contest?

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Speaking of the storm, it wreaked havoc on the passing game. Both quarterbacks combined for a mere 258 yards through the air. For the game. That’s a first half total for Darian Mensah, but it was all the QBs could muster in this contest because of the conditions.

Despite the weather and the bad ju-ju of the venue, Virginia Tech showed resolve when it overcame a fourth-quarter deficit and notched a one-score victory, something it has not done in quite a while.

The fellas in the Sons of Saturday group chat were all over this, saying that Tech loses this game 100 times in 100 tries if it was played in recent seasons. That might be hyperbole, but there is truth to the sentiment.

And while there was plenty to frustrate us on Saturday, including the head-scratching move by ESPN to end the broadcast at the two-minute warning, there was more to make us happy. The come-from-behind victory, the one-score win, the 4-0 start, which hasn’t happened since 2017.

After only four games, Tech has already surpassed its win total from last season, and it has the chance to have the most regular season wins since 2019.

Hokie Nation, keep your eyes forward, especially since Friday night will be the next big test as the Hokies host undefeated Pitt. Lane Stadium will be rockin’.

The Rest of the ACC

The game of the week occurred in Louisville, Kentucky, where the 16th ranked Cardinals were upset 30-27 by a double-digit underdog Wake Forest team who just last week showed some fight against Miami. Louisville twice attempted a game-tying field goal late in the last quarter, and twice they were denied. The first attempt sailed wide with 2:29 remaining, and the second attempt was blocked with 15 seconds left. Just last week Louisville beat SMU and planted their flag as the other team to beat in the ACC (besides Miami), but one week later, the conference race is wide open again.

In Raleigh, North Carolina State continued to put its fans through the ringer, but at least this week they held on to win the game. Twice in the first half the Wolfpack held a 21-point lead over Appalachian State, but then the game was tied midway through the fourth quarter. Fortunately for head coach Dave Doeren, the ‘Pack scored the final ten points and walked out of Carter-Finley Stadium with a 41-31 victory and a 2-2 record.

There were only two other conference games that were played this past weekend. Clemson and Georgia Tech both traveled across the country to take on the Bay area newcomers but with mixed results. Clemson beat Cal 24-10 and Georgia Tech fell to Stanford 34-27. The conference is still there for anyone (well, most teams at least) as only Stanford has logged more than two ACC games.

Looking Ahead to Week 4

The ACC race finally starts to heat up as the weekend slate features six league matchups, starting with a pair of 4-0 teams on Friday when Pittsburgh travels to Blacksburg to take on Virginia Tech.

The Panthers are only 3-8 all time in Lane Stadium, but if they can win this one, they should be 7-0 by the time they take on Miami. On the other sideline, Virginia Tech faces a tough back half of the schedule, so they need to win their 50-50 games, especially at home. Buckle in, this will be a great way to kick off your weekend with a Friday night primetime ACC showdown.

On Saturday, Boston College travels to SMU, Stanford heads to Wake Forest, Louisville tries to regroup at North Carolina State, and Virginia goes south to Florida State.

Perhaps the biggest game can be viewed on ABC Saturday night, where all eyes will be on Death Valley. Miami travels to Clemson in a showdown between a pair of 2-0 conference teams. Miami wants to keep its foot on the gas pedal, while Dabo Swinney needs a signature win for the Tigers.

October is here, and so is meaningful football!

Go Hokies!

Rich Luttenberger

Columnist

Born in the Bronx but otherwise raised in northern New Jersey, my Hokie life began in the fall of 1989. I walked on to the baseball team and spent a year and a half as a redshirt catcher.