After a tumultuous week in arguably the most unpredictable conference in America, only one question can be asked: is anyone actually good? Fans watched some truly awful football take place over the course of the weekend, including two games that went into halftime with the score 3-0 and another that saw six turnovers in a quarter from a single team. Perhaps the trick for Week 9 was to have your bye week, with Clemson — the prohibitive favorite in the conference — watching from the sidelines. If you’re here for some Sickos football, though, you’ve come to the right article. Let’s talk through some ACC takeaways.

NC State 22, Virginia Tech 21

After watching a first half that had just three combined points, many thought this would surely be the ugliest game of the week. Yet Grant Wells and the Hokies offense exploded out of the second half, scoring three touchdowns to take a commanding 21-3 lead in the third quarter. It seemed as though all hope was lost for the Wolfpack, especially considering the team was without their starting quarterback in Devin Leary. But fear not, for true freshman MJ Morris came to the rescue, leading NC State all the way back to take a one-point lead by the middle of the fourth quarter. Virginia Tech was not able to find the offense for its last drive, and the Wolfpack ultimately ran out the clock to preserve a home victory. While it may not have been the prettiest game, it was important for Dave Doeren’s squad to prove they could win without Leary as their gunslinger.

UConn 13, Boston College 3

Coming into the game, many saw the Huskies as just 7.5-point underdogs and wondered when the last time a game for UConn against a Power Five team could be so close. Well, it appears even Vegas wasn’t thinking big enough for this regional rivalry. Although the Huskies didn’t play the cleanest game, Boston College was dreadful on offense, accounting for five turnovers and two quarterbacks played on the day. The rushing game was nonexistent yet again, with just 76 yards on 30 carries. On the other side, Zion Turner threw for the only touchdown of the game, which proved to be enough to win all by itself. Of all the coaches having a bad 2022 season, things might be the worst for Jeff Hafley in Chestnut Hill.

Notre Dame 41, Syracuse 24

It was clear from the very first play — a pick-six thrown by Garrett Shrader — that it just wasn’t going to be Syracuse’s day. Notre Dame quarterback Drew Pyne threw for just 116 yards, but the Fighting Irish did most of their damage on the ground, with Audric Estime leading the way with 123 yards and two touchdowns. On the other side of the ball, Shrader looked off in the first half before being held out of the game in the second with injury, which hindered the Orange offense significantly. The game was actually within one possession at the end of the third quarter, but it never felt like Notre Dame had anything but full control of the match. A disappointing loss for Syracuse to be sure, because even though it didn’t affect its conference record, two straight losses will not be fondly looked upon by the polls.

Miami 14, Virginia 12 (4OT)

The Hurricanes scored 14 points in an American football game. Surely they scored two touchdowns to do so, right? In the words of Lee Corso, not so fast. Four field goals and an overtime two-point conversion were enough to seal a road victory for Miami, who started backup quarterback Jake Garcia in the win. On Virginia’s end, a series of maddening possessions resulted in just six points in regulation. It is truly inexplicable how such a high-powered offense could fall to these depths. The two-point conversion Miami scored to win the game was the only time either team reached the end zone in the entire game. And this was all done with zero turnovers by both teams. The Sickos game of the year, for my money. You just had to be there.

Louisville 48, Wake Forest 21

The Demon Deacons had just fought back from an early two-possession deficit to take a 14-13 lead into halftime, which surely would have given them juice for the following two quarters. Then, Wake Forest came out and had these five possessions to start: pick-six, fumble, fumble, interception, fumble. All of a sudden, Louisville was up by 27 points. In what may have been the most dramatic turn of events all weekend, Sam Hartman had an absolute nightmare of a third quarter, being responsible for six total Demon Deacons turnovers. On the other side, Malik Cunningham and the Cardinals offense knew how to take advantage, scoring after every miscue in the quarter except one. Just like last year, Wake Forest, after jumping into the top 10, suffers a devastating loss, both in the polls and the ACC Championship race.

North Carolina 42, Pitt 24

For a while in the first half, it seemed as though even the Tar Heels would fall victim to a Week 9 in which everyone who was favored slipped up. Pitt was able to ride a balanced offense to a 17-14 lead into halftime. Israel Abanikanda had two touchdowns on the ground — which seems to be standard at this point – and Kedon Slovis wasn’t making mistakes. The game did feel, however, like North Carolina was just waiting to blow up offensively. And blow up the Tar Heels did. After Pitt scored on the opening drive of the half to take a 10-point lead, North Carolina responded by scoring four straight touchdowns to take complete control. Meanwhile, the Panthers’ offense stagnated, unable to score for the rest of the game. And as a result, the Tar Heels seem to be clearly in the driver’s seat for an ACC Coastal title and also have a real case for being the second-best team in the conference — a statement which seemed to be unlikely at the start of Week 9.