RALEIGH, N.C. — The Atlantic Coast Conference has an uncertain identity, and it’s going to be difficult to learn much about the league’s strength early this season.
The ACC stumbled in its first round of reputation-building matchups, losing all four games against Power Five opponents in Week 1. Other league teams generally did what they were supposed to do: beat up on Championship Subdivision or lower-tier Bowl Subdivision opponents.
There are only so many nonconference matchups to bolster the league’s standing, and many come at the end of the season. Throw in the fact there are already key injuries across the league — including a season-ending knee injury to reigning league player of the year James Conner at Pittsburgh — and it’s not going to get any easier to figure out exactly what the league has and what it doesn’t anytime soon.