Around the ACC: Week 1

With the first Saturday of the college football season in the books, the Blue Zone takes a look at how the 14 teams in the ACC fared:

Duke 52, Elon 13: The Blue Devils (1-0) separated themselves quickly from the Phoenix, led by the strong quarterback play of Anthony Boone. Boone threw for four touchdowns and completed 22-of-33 passes in the rout.

No. 1 Florida State 37, Oklahoma State 31: The national champs were tested in their season debut, played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, but squeaked out a six-point win against upstart Oklahoma State. Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston wasn't perfect, throwing a pair of interceptions, but made all the big plays when needed, finishing with 370 yards and two total touchdowns, one of which came on an elusive quarterback draw. With star weapons Kelvin Benjamin and Devonta Freeman gone, Winston found wideout Rashad Greene early and often to the tune of 203 yards, including a 50-yard touchdown strike that helped seal the game for the Seminoles (1-0).

No. 23 North Carolina 56, Liberty 29: Marquise Williams earned the starting nod at quarterback for Larry Fedora's Tar Heel squad, tossing a pair of touchdowns and rushing for two more. Although North Carolina (1-0) had no problems racking up the points, it was far from the Tar Heels' cleanest performance—Williams threw two interceptions, backup Mitch Trubisky tossed another and North Carolina allowed a safety.

Syracuse 27, Villanova 26: Another double-overtime thriller at the Carrier Dome—but we're still months away from basketball season. The Orange got all they could handle and more from Villanova, an FCS program, Friday night, and though it escaped with a win after the Wildcats missed a potential game-winning field goal, the final repercussions from the game will extend well beyond one game. Quarterback Terrel Harris was ejected in the second quarter after throwing and landing a punch on his tackler following a quarterback keeper. Discipline for Harris has yet to be handed down, but if he misses any lengthy stretch of time, it would deal a serious blow to the Orange (1-0).

No. 12 Georgia 45, No. 16 Clemson 21: The reigning Orange Bowl champion Tigers (0-1) struggled in their first game without Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins, as Clemson was shut out in the second half by the host Bulldogs. The Tigers managed just 282 total yards of offense, and allowed a Georgia school-record 293 all-purpose yards to tailback Todd Gurley, who found the end zone four times as the Bulldogs piled on 21 points in the fourth quarter to blow the game open.

N.C. State 24, Georgia Southern 23: The Eagles came within a few minutes of a second major road upset, having stunned Florida in Gainesville at the tail-end of the 2013 season. Leading 23-17 late in the fourth quarter, Georgia Southern couldn't hang on, as Wolfpack quarterback Jacoby Brissett marched his team 75 yards in 1:58 to score on a 35-yard strike to vault N.C. State (1-0) into the lead for good. The teams combined for 902 yards on the afternoon.

No. 7 UCLA 28, Virginia 20: The Cavaliers (0-1) gave Brett Hundley and co. a much better game than many anticipated in Charlottesville. After two interceptions and a fumble handed the Bruins 21 points on defense in the second quarter, Virginia head coach Mike London benched starting quarterback Greyson Lambert in favor of Mike Johns, who had never thrown a pass in a college game. Johns responded immediately with a touchdown drive on his first series, but could not mount enough of a rally to come all the way back. Virginia can take solace in the fact that its defense disrupted the Bruin offense for much of the afternoon, keeping Hundley—a popular name when it comes to this year's Heisman Trophy list—out of rhythm, registering five sacks on the elusive quarterback.

Virginia Tech 34, William and Mary 9: Junior quarterback Michael Brewer threw for 251 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the Hokies (1-0) dominated the Tribe in the season-opener. Virginia Tech's special teams did not have their trademark "Beamer Ball" impact in this game, but the Hokies' stingy defense forced a pair of fumbles and kept William and Mary out of the end zone.

Louisville 31, Miami 13: In a rematch of last year's Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando, the Hurricanes (0-1, 0-1 in the ACC) traveled to Louisville looking to exact revenge for an embarrassing December defeat, but instead were pummeled again by the Cardinal (1-0, 1-0) on Labor Day. Teddy Bridgewater's replacement Will Gardner threw for 206 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and most importantly did not commit any turnovers, and running back Dominique Brown rushed for 143 yards and a touchdown.

Miami true freshman quarterback Brad Kaaya threw two interceptions in his first start, and the Hurricanes managed just three points in the second half, not nearly enough to earn a win on the road against a Bobby Petrino-led squad.