Danny Kanell offers his evaluation of the ACC after Week 1

The ACC fared well in Week 1, posting a 12-4 record and a 3-3 mark against other Power Four opponents (including Notre Dame). During an appearance on Always College Football, CBS Sports‘ Danny Kanell evaluated the ACC’s performance in the opening week.

“I thought they had a massive opportunity, and it kind of started on the Friday night with Georgia Tech getting a win against Colorado,” Kanell said. “Georgia Tech was the favorite, but I thought that was a big game that you had to have, and they did. So, there were like six marquee matchups that were on sort of big stages with bigger brands, and, going in, [the ACC was] only favored in two of them.

“I was like, ‘If you can go 3-3 in those games, that would be a good weekend.’ And they went 3-3, but you didn’t get the teams that you really thought you were. I thought Clemson would have won against LSU. You lost that one. So, I thought it was a good weekend for the ACC, but I don’t think it was a dramatically, like changing the way you look at the conference-type of weekend.”

Clemson’s loss is far from devastating for the ACC. In fact, Dabo Swinney and Co. are still one of the favorites to win the conference title this season. LSU jumped to No. 3 in the AP Top 25 after defeating Clemson.

Speaking of college football rankings, the ACC had four teams in the Top 25 this week after entering the season with just three. Florida State was the difference maker, being named the No. 14 team in the country after upsetting Alabama on Saturday. Of course, the Seminoles weren’t the only ones who picked up a massive win for the conference.

“It was great that Miami put a stamp on it. They showed they can be a playoff contender,” Kanell said. “I’m more worried about Clemson now… It’s good that Florida State was good, and I thought it was a massive flop that North Carolina put out that performance.

“People were watching UNC last night, wondering what was going to happen with Bill Belichick, can this team be competitive? And, you could have carried that on throughout the season, much like Colorado did with Prime, if you win, if you lose close. I thought that was really rough.”

There’s plenty of season remaining for ACC teams to improve their national standing. After all, the conference is hungry to have a stronger showing in the College Football Playoff this season, after only having two ACC representatives in the 12-team playoff last season.