The race to the ACC Championship Game appears to be wide open, thanks to Wake Forest’s stunning 30-27 victory over No. 16 Louisville on Saturday. Clemson, of course, beat Cal on Friday night, while Virginia Tech, under first year head coach James Franklin, rallied from behind to beat Boston College in a nor’easter.
In Saturday’s nightcap, Stanford rallied after halftime to beat Georgia Tech on the West Coast. The sixth-ranked Miami Hurricanes, No. 22 SMU, Pitt, Florida State, Duke, Virginia and NC State all won non-conference games.
Wake Forest 30, No. 16 Louisville 27
Connor Calvert kicked three field goals, including a 32-yarder with 6:20 remaining, to lift Wake Forest to a 30-27 win over No. 16 Louisville on Saturday.
Gio Lopez threw for 225 yards and a touchdown on 12-of-19 passing for the Demon Deacons (3-1, 1-1 ACC), who won their first conference game of the season. Carlos Hernandez caught nine passes for 194 yards and finished three yards short the career best he set last season against Delaware.
Ty Clark III rushed 91 yards on 21 carries and had two touchdowns.
The Demon Deacons won despite committing 10 penalties for the third time this season and fumbling the ball on their side of the field in the fourth quarter, with the game tied.
Louisville (2-2, 1-1) played without two starting defensive backs (Antonio Watts and Koen Entringer), and Lopez and Hernandez took full advantage. The duo connected on a 77-yard touchdown pass to put the Demon Deacons up 17-14 with 5:49 left in the first half. After the defense picked off Louisville quarterback Lincoln Kienholz, their 31-yard pass led to Clark’s second score, a 6-yard run that made it a 10-point lead with 1:19 to go in the half.
The Cardinals rallied to tie the game, using a 61-yard touchdown pass from Kienholz to Jaleel Skinner to make it a three-point game just 22 seconds after Clark’s last score. Carson Hilbert tied it with 9:37 left in the third on a 41-yard field goal.
Hilbert, who also made a 54-yarder late in the third to tie the game at 27, missed a 42-yarder with 2:29 remaining. Nick Keller lined up for a 57-yarder with 15 seconds remaining, but Gabe Kirschke blocked the attempt, sealing the win.
Louisville also turned the ball over on downs at the Wake 38 earlier in the quarter after recovering a Hernandez fumble, which led to the Demon Deacons’ winning score. The turnover happened at the Demon Deacons 29, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the play pushed the start of the drive back 15 yards.
Kienholz completed 27-of-36 passes for 324 yards with a touchdown and his first interception of the season. He also ran for two scores.
Virginia Tech 21, Boston College 14
Jeffrey Overton Jr. ran for a 76-yard, go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter as Virginia Tech rallied for a 21-14 victory over Boston College on Saturday in a game played in a nor’easter.
Ethan Grunkemeyer went 22-of-35 for 147 yards and a TD for Virginia Tech (4-0, 1-0 ACC). Overton rushed for 209 yards on 25 carries. The Hokies have won their first four games under first-year coach James Franklin for the program’s best start since 2017.
BC QB Mason McKenzie ran for 138 yards with two touchdowns, and also completed 11-of-23 passes for 111 yards in a contest played in bands of rain and swirling winds with gusts up to 40 mph in front of a mostly empty stadium in the second half.
The Eagles (2-2, 0-1) were looking for their third straight win for the first time since 2023.
Trailing 14-6, the Hokies rallied on Grunkemeyer’s 14-yard TD pass to Marlion Jackson and tied it when Overton ran for the two-point conversion midway into the fourth.
On the next drive, Overton went down the right sideline for the score.
One play after leaving favoring his right arm, McKenzie broke free for a 45-yard run to the Hokies 5. He went around the left end for his first score.
Following a 20-yard pass to Dawson Pough, McKenzie ran up the middle for a 2-yard score, giving the Eagles a 14-6 lead early in the final quarter.
Stanford 34, Georgia Tech 27
Davis Warren passed for a career-high 396 yards and three touchdowns to lead Stanford to a 34-27 comeback win over Georgia Tech on Saturday night.
Stanford (2-2, 1-2 ACC) trailed 20-10 at halftime after a Georgia Tech touchdown in the second quarter. However, the Cardinal scored touchdowns on three consecutive drives in the second half after managing only one in the first.
Warren connected with Caden High for a 49-yard touchdown to make it 20-all in the third quarter. One drive later, on fourth-and-11, Warren found Nico Brown in the corner of the end zone for a 33-yard score. Warren hit High on a sweep for another touchdown in the fourth quarter to cushion the Cardinal’s lead, 34-20.
Trelain Maddox scored both of Georgia Tech’s first-half touchdowns. After Justice Haynes evaded several tackles to rip off a 46-yard run, Maddox caught a receiving TD for nine yards, the first of his career. Maddox broke free for a 20-yard score in the second quarter to put Georgia Tech up 20-10.
Warren was 3-for-3 on fourth-down passes, and 5-for-8 on attempts 15 yards or longer.
Georgia Tech’s Alberto Mendoza threw a touchdown to Jaiven Plummer in the fourth quarter to make it a one-possession game.
The Yellow Jackets fell to 1-3 and 0-1 in the ACC.
–briefs and photo courtesy of the ACC
ACC SCORES
Friday
Clemson 24, California 10
Saturday
Miami 52, C. Michigan 3
Wake Forest 30, Louisville 27
SMU 34, Missouri State 24
Pittsburgh 59, Bucknell 0
Virginia Tech 21, Boston College 14
Florida State 34, C. Arkansas 7
Duke 62, William & Mary 7
Virginia 42, Delaware 3
NC State 41, App State 31
Stanford 34, Georgia Tech 27
ACC STANDINGS
| School | ACC | Pct. | Overall | Pct. | Home | Road | Neutral | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Miami | 2-0 | 1.000 | 4-0 | 1.000 | 2-0 | 2-0 | 0-0 | W4 |
 Clemson | 2-0 | 1.000 | 3-1 | .750 | 2-0 | 1-1 | 0-0 | W3 |
 Duke | 1-0 | 1.000 | 4-0 | 1.000 | 3-0 | 1-0 | 0-0 | W4 |
 Pitt | 1-0 | 1.000 | 4-0 | 1.000 | 4-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | W4 |
 Virginia Tech | 1-0 | 1.000 | 4-0 | 1.000 | 2-0 | 2-0 | 0-0 | W4 |
 Virginia | 1-0 | 1.000 | 3-1 | .750 | 3-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | W1 |
 Wake Forest | 1-1 | .500 | 3-1 | .750 | 1-1 | 2-0 | 0-0 | W1 |
 Louisville | 1-1 | .500 | 2-2 | .500 | 2-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | L1 |
 SMU | 1-1 | .500 | 3-1 | .750 | 2-0 | 1-1 | 0-0 | W1 |
 California | 1-1 | .500 | 2-2 | .500 | 1-2 | 1-0 | 0-0 | L1 |
 Stanford | 1-2 | .333 | 2-2 | .500 | 2-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | W1 |
 North Carolina | 0-1 | .000 | 2-1 | .667 | 1-0 | 0-1 | 1-0 | L1 |
 Boston College | 0-1 | .000 | 2-2 | .500 | 2-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | L1 |
 Florida State | 0-1 | .000 | 2-2 | .500 | 2-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | W1 |
 NC State | 0-1 | .000 | 2-2 | .500 | 2-0 | 0-2 | 0-0 | W1 |
 Georgia Tech | 0-1 | .000 | 1-3 | .250 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | L1 |
 Syracuse | 0-2 | .000 | 1-2 | .333 | 1-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | L2 |