ACC stumbles out of starting blocks

How bad a weekend was it for the Atlantic Coast Conference?

Well, in terms of high-profile games, it was a disaster.

Virginia Tech started out Saturday by getting beaten by an East Carolina team that could be a sleeper as the season progresses.

The irony was that the Hokies' 27-22 loss came when East Carolina's T.J. Lee blocked a punt and returned it 27 yards for the winning touchdown with 1:52 left. Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer's teams have made a reputation winning via special teams plays.

"It hurts to lose on a blocked kick at the end," said Beamer, whose team had won 17 straight games in which it had blocked a kick.

East Carolina's win was the first for a Conference USA school over a nationally ranked Bowl Championship Series conference team since 2002 (Virginia Tech had been No. 17). East Carolina can spoil things for a Big East team Saturday when it takes on No. 8 West Virginia.

But the real ACC embarrassment came Saturday night when No. 24 Alabama crushed No. 9 Clemson in Atlanta, 34-10. Clemson not only had been given an outside shot to contend for the BCS title by some diehard ACC fans, but it also had been regarded as the best team in the ACC this season by a fairly wide margin.

Not anymore. The 'Bama defense held the vaunted "Thunder and Lightning" running attack of James Davis and C.J. Spiller to a combined 20 yards. Clemson managed just 188 yards against what was perceived by many to be only the fourth- or fifth-best team in the Southeastern Conference.

"We were whipped pretty bad," said Tommy Bowden, whose team has had to battle a reputation for not showing up in big games.

"Maybe we needed a wake-up call," said Clemson quarterback Cullen Harper.

Or then again, maybe we can say goodnight to the ACC's dreams of placing two teams in the BCS, and it's only Labor Day. In fact, maybe winning even one BCS game will be a chore for the conference, which has not done that since 1999.

Life to Riley

When Wake Forest's Riley Skinner threw three touchdown passes for 220 yards in a 41-13 victory over Baylor Thursday night, it marked the 19th career victory for Skinner, a record for Wake QBs . . . Louisiana State's 41-13 win over Appalachian State was a battle between defending national champions of the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division 1-A schools) and Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division 1-AA schools), and it was the first-ever meeting of FBS and FCS national champs . . . Youngstown State was thrashed by No. 2 Ohio State, 43-0 - but it was paid $650,000 for the game.

Lion a tiger

Joe Paterno won his 373d game at Penn State when the Nittany Lions routed Coastal Carolina, 66-10. The win tied Paterno with Florida State's Bobby Bowden (the Seminoles were idle) for most career wins for a major college coach . . . When No. 1 Georgia beat Georgia Southern, 45-21, it ended a three-game losing streak for teams ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll. But the Dawgs lost defensive tackle Jeff Owens for the rest of the season with a knee injury . . . Hawaii has lost its last two games to SEC teams - Georgia in the Sugar Bowl last season, and Florida, 56-10, Saturday - by a combined score of 97-20 . . . Brigham Young's 41-17 win over Northern Iowa extended its winning streak to 11 games, the longest current streak in the FBS . . . Texas Tech's Graham Harrell passed for two TDs, ran for another, and threw for 536 yards in a 49-24 triumph over Eastern Washington.

Stet for Wannstedt
Pittsburgh coach Dave Wannstedt was facing some pressure as the season began with the Panthers at No. 25, but a 27-17 loss at home to Bowling Green is going to increase that considerably. It was the first time the Panthers lost a home game to a Mid-American Conference team . . . It's early, but it's never too early to consider the Heisman Trophy race. The top five right now: 1) Chris "Beanie" Wells, Ohio State, who suffered an unknown foot injury Saturday; 2) Knowshon Moreno, Georgia; 3) Tim Tebow, Florida; 4) Chase Daniel, Missouri; 5) Pat White, West Virginia.

Mark Blaudschun can be reached at blaudschun@globe.com.