There was a clear game of the week heading into Week 8 in the ACC, and Clemson versus Syracuse gave fans everything they could have asked for, both in late-game excitement and narrative building. It’s a good thing the matchup lived up to the hype, too, because outside of that, some very ugly football was played over the weekend in the conference. But as we at the Transfer Portal CFB like to say, any football is good football, so let’s get into some takeaways from the Week 8 slate in the ACC.

Virginia 16, Georgia Tech 9

From the Cavaliers’ perspective, there are two ways to look at the outcome of this game. One is that a dominant defensive performance — which included four takeaways — led Virginia to a road victory over a Georgia Tech team with a winning record in the ACC. The other way, however, is that the Cavaliers could only muster 16 points despite facing all of those turnovers against a Yellow Jackets team playing without their starting quarterback for much of the game. In reality, the takeaway should probably be somewhere in between, but a win is still a win for a Virginia team that has struggled mightily all season.

Clemson 27, Syracuse 21

Much ado will be made about the seemingly uneven penalties by the referees in this game, but some facts are unavoidable. Syracuse was held scoreless for the entire second half. Sean Tucker was inexplicably given just five carries despite gaining more than 10 yards per rush. And the Orange was outgained by Clemson 450-291 in yardage, which says perhaps the game shouldn’t have been as close. Syracuse had the opportunity to win this game multiple times, especially due to turnovers by the Tigers, but simply couldn’t get it done. On Clemson’s side, however, it’s not a good sign to be switching quarterbacks in your seventh game, no matter how you spin it. Dabo Swinney said the team was sticking with DJ Uiagalelei in his post-game press conference, but the Tiger offense really needs to figure things out if it wants to avoid a disastrous conference loss that could cost the team a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Miami (FL) 45, Duke 21

The Hurricanes turned the ball over eight times. Against Duke. It doesn’t matter that Tyler Van Dyke went out with an injury. It doesn’t matter that it’s only Mario Cristobal’s first year. A Hurricane team should never look like this, especially in the era of the transfer portal and NIL. Despite the ugliness of this game, you almost couldn’t take your eyes off the screen. To the Blue Devils’ credit, Duke finally broke through with a big win after coming tantalizingly close the past few weeks. Mike Elko has the ship steering in the right direction in Durham, and Duke used a stout defense and strong running attack to win in Coral Gables for only the second time in program history. Instead of focusing on Miami’s negatives, the inaugural season for this new coaching staff for the Blue Devils should be celebrated.

Wake Forest 43, Boston College 15

This Boston College team reminds me of the MLB’s Los Angeles Angels, but not in a good way. Do you know the tweet about how Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout are always doing something insane, and the Angels lose anyways? Well, Zay Flowers is college football’s version of Trout and Ohtani. The Eagles’ star receiver finished with 10 catches for 135 yards and a touchdown — a fantastic game by all means. Yet this game wasn’t close due to another laughable effort rushing the ball from Boston College and an efficient five-touchdown performance from Sam Hartman. It truly is a shame that such a great season from Flowers is overshadowed by Boston College’s inadequacy as a team.

Louisville 24, Pittsburgh 10

The biggest story coming out of this game is the return — and solid performance — of Malik Cunningham, because Louisville simply looks like a different team with their longtime starter. But I want to touch on the signal-caller on the other side of the ball. Kedon Slovis did not have a good game Saturday night — just 158 yards passing with no touchdowns and two interceptions — and really hasn’t had a game all season where he truly shined. So, despite Israel Abanikanda having another solid rushing performance, the Panthers’ offense looks entirely too one-dimensional. Pitt came in with ACC Championship game expectations from some, but I think it’s fair to say at this point in the season that last year’s Kenny Pickett offense was just a flash in the pan.