The Atlantic Coast Conference had four 4-0 teams for the first time in history — of course, with expansion there was a larger pool to pick from.
Now there are three 5-0 teams. Something had to give when Florida State played Maryland. It gave away in a hurry, with Florida State posting a 63-0 rout.
Miami had the biggest challenge, fending off Georgia Tech 45-30 in finally another competitive game for the Hurricanes.
So things remain on course, particularly for a Florida State-Clemson showdown Oct. 19. Florida State doesn’t play again until that game, so all Clemson has to do is win at home against Boston College to make the clash a matchup of unbeatens.
FIVE BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS FROM WEEK 6 IN THE ACC
1. Florida State doesn’t much care for imposters, and apparently the Seminoles were intent on showing that Maryland might be one. Florida State had a habit in the 1990s of shredding opponents that looked to be making inroads and that has been on display again.
2. False alarm on Maryland. After the whipping the Terrapins took from Florida State, they can be lumped back with a bunch of other teams in the conference taking whippings from the elite group. So, for now, they join Wake Forest, Duke, Boston College and Syracuse, just to name a few.
3. So much for the nice gestures that the ACC gave Syracuse and Pittsburgh to start the season. They both played their first ACC games in marquee home outings, Pittsburgh losing to Florida State in the Labor Day opener and Syracuse trounced by Clemson on Saturday. Those teams will find out it’s not always that difficult.
4. Miami is for real, too. The Hurricanes needed to give a better example of that against a quality opponent and defeating Georgia Tech was a pretty good barometer.
5. Anyone who has been paying attention knows that Virginia could be in trouble and the Cavaliers don’t seem to be able to convince observers otherwise. The 48-27 home loss to Ball State is bound to set off more alarms around Charlottesville, Va.