The ACC got off to a good start on Thursday with No. 7 Miami’s blowout over Florida A&M, and then the league followed it with four non-conference victories on Friday night, including Boston College’s 28-21 victory over Rutgers in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
The ACC also got wins from No. 24 Louisville, No. 25 Virginia and NC State.
Boston College 28, Rutgers 21
Mason McKenzie threw a 78-yard touchdown pass, ran for another score, as Boston College held off Rutgers 28-21 Friday night in the Eagles’ annual Red Bandanna Game.
McKenzie completed 18-of-29 passes for 252 yards with two interceptions in leading the Eagles to victory. Making his first start, quarterback AJ Surace was 18-of-27 for 230 yards with three TDs and four picks for Rutgers.
Boston College improves to 1-1 on the season, while Rutgers drops to 0-2 on the young season.
Trailing 20-7 at halftime, the Scarlet Knights sliced it to a one-score game on Surace’s 4-yard TD pass to KJ Duff.
After an interception, they were stopped on a fourth-and-1 at BC’s 11 late in the third. It was the second of three times Rutgers was stopped on fourth down deep in Eagles’ territory.
McKenzie rolled out right and hit Dawson Pough, who was about 10 yards behind the nearest defender before he made the grab and scored easily with 7:06 left to make it 28-14.
Duff’s second TD catch, a 60-yarder, cut it to 28-21 midway into the fourth, but BC linebacker Anthony Palano made his second interception at the Eagles’ 35 with just under two minutes left to preserve the victory.
McKenzie had a 10-yard scoring run that made it 14-0 late in the first quarter. At one point, the Eagles had a 17-0 lead in the second quarter.
Injury note: BC linebacker Bodie Kahoun, a 6-foot-2 redshirt sophomore, was taken off the field by an ambulance in the middle of the second quarter after leading with his head on a tackle. The school announced he had movement in all his extremities and was taken to a local hospital for further evaluation.
No. 24 Louisville 59, Villanova 13
Lincoln Kienholz threw for 332 yards and two touchdowns and ran for two more scores to help No. 24 Louisville beat Villanova 59-13 on Friday night for its first victory of the season.
Kienholz missed on his first two passes of the night, then little else, as he led the Cardinals to an easy victory over the Wildcats. The Ohio State transfer completed 16-of-21 passes and gained 42 yards on six carries before exiting the game after three quarters with Louisville up 45-13.
The Cardinals improved to 1-1 on the season, while Villanova fell to 1-2. Louisville had 635 yards of offense and held the Wildcats to 253, with just 126 coming after the first minute of the second quarter.
Kienholz put Louisville up for good with his 19-yard touchdown run with 4:33 left in the opening quarter, making it 10-3. He added a 69-yard pass to Jaleel Skinner with 14 seconds left in the period.
Lawayne McCoy caught three passes for 102 yards, including a 61-yard touchdown strike from Kienholz with 13:24 left in the first half.
Pat McQuaide completed 18-of-31 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown for the Wildcats but connected on just four of his last 14 attempts.
No. 25 Virginia 59, Norfolk State 3
Ranked for the first time this season, 25th-ranked Virginia rolled to an easy 59-3 victory over Norfolk State Friday night at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Va.
The Cavaliers (2-0) led 28-3 at intermission. Virginia’s backups shined in the win, too, scoring four second-half touchdowns, the last coming on a 50-yard interception return by second-year linebacker Justin Rowe.
The Wahoos’ other second-half points came on a 30-yard field goal by fifth-year kicker Will Bettridge, who earlier in the game had become the program’s all-time leading scorer.
The Hoos’ margin of victory was their largest since Sept. 22, 1990, when they demolished Duke 59-0 in Durham, N.C. Virginia opened the season on Aug. 29 with a 34-8 win over ACC rival NC State at Scott Stadium.
On a night when the Cavaliers’ offense totaled 466 yards, three of their quarterbacks threw at least one touchdown pass. Starter Beau Pribula threw two to Jacquon Gibson and one to fellow wide receiver Da’Shawn Martin.
Pribula’s backup, Eli Holstein, started the second half and threw two TD passes: the first to Ty’Lyric Coleman and the second to another wideout, Isaiah Robinson, who was making his 2026 debut.
Led by second-year tailback Xay Davis, who carried 11 times for a career-high 107 yards, Virginia rushed for 237 yards and one touchdown.
Virginia’s defense was equally dominant. The Cavaliers lost starting defensive tackle Jason Hammond to an elbow injury late in the first quarter, but they held Norfolk State to 55 yards rushing.
NC State 73, Richmond 0
Duke Scott rushed for 128 yards and two touchdowns — all in the first half — and NC State rolled past Richmond 73-0 on a stormy Friday night in Raliegh, N.C.
Quarterback CJ Bailey was 13-for-17 passing for 281 yards with one touchdown and another TD on the ground for the Wolfpack, who recovered nicely after a season-opening loss at Virginia 13 days earlier. Backup QB Will Wilson ran for three short touchdowns and tossed a TD pass. Keenan Jackson posted 123 receiving yards on four catches.
Richmond (2-1), an FCS member, was held to 110 yards of offense. Quarterback Ashten Snelsire was 8-for-23 for 76 yards with an interception.
Scott ran 65 yards on the first snap of NC State’s second possession for what became a 14-0 lead less than 4 1/2 minutes into the game.
The Wolfpack (1-1) scored touchdowns on their first six possessions, with only one of those drives lasting more than five plays.
There was a lightning-related delay of about 90 minutes early in the second quarter. Once play resumed, there was no normal halftime break, while the fourth quarter was reduced to 10 minutes.
–briefs and photos courtesy of the ACC