With most of the teams in the ACC playing non-conference games, it was a relatively quiet Week 2 slate. The top three teams in the ACC - Florida State, Clemson and Virginia Tech - all won handily, while Virginia and NC State beat BCS competition. The stakes are on the rise in conference play this Saturday, as Florida State hosts Wake Forest and Virginia takes on Georgia Tech. The ACC also has a chance to earn a few solid non-conference wins, with North Carolina playing at Louisville and Maryland hosting Connecticut.

Week 2 of the 2012 college football season is in the books and plenty of coaches saw the temperature on their seat increase by a few degrees. Kentucky's Joker Phillips and Boston College's Frank Spaziani won last Saturday, but both coaches rank as the top two on the hot seat going into Week 3. Auburn's Gene Chizik and Iowa's Kirk Ferentz are ranked for the first time in 2012, while Arkansas' John L. Smith makes an appearance after the Hogs' stunning overtime home loss to Louisiana-Monroe.

With the top three teams playing non-conference opponents, it was a relatively quiet week in the ACC. NC State scored a key win at Connecticut, while Wake Forest opened conference play with a victory over North Carolina. Maryland matched its win total from last season by beating Temple, but Miami was whipped in a loss to Kansas State.

Post-Week 2 ACC Offensive Player of the Year Standings

The ACC didn’t quite capitalize on its opportunity to earn national respect last week, but the conference did pickup a key victory with Clemson knocking off Auburn. Florida State easily handled Murray State, while Virginia Tech took an early lead in the race to win the Coastal Division with an overtime victory over Georgia Tech. Week 2 in the ACC features only one conference game, but some intriguing non-conference matchups, including Miami-Kansas State and NC State-Connecticut.

Other Week 2 conference storylines

The first weekend of action in the ACC was a mixed bag of results. NC State missed an opportunity to earn the conference national respect in Friday night’s loss to Tennessee, but Clemson picked up a key win over Auburn on Saturday. Florida State dominated as expected in the matchup against Murray State. Miami and Virginia Tech earned the only two victories in conference play in Week 1.

Post-Week 1 Offensive Player of the Year Standings

Most of the 12 teams in the ACC will be playing easy non-conference openers, but two games stand out as marquee matchups. In Atlanta, NC State plays Tennessee, while Clemson matches up against Auburn on Saturday night. Although neither game means anything for the ACC Championship, it's an opportunity for both teams to earn a huge non-conference victory.

ACC's Top Storylines to Watch in Week 1:

With college football's fall practice in full swing around the nation, it's really the first time names made famous on recruiting websites are showing up in actual practice reports. When it comes to picking which freshmen will make an impact in their first season on campus, it's really all about who can pick up the playbook the fastest and who fits a need. The ACC saw names like Sammy Watkins and Giovani Bernard produce more than just All-ACC honors as freshmen last fall.

It's not easy getting college football coaches to honestly comment on another coach, player or team. Most coaches don't want to give opposing teams billboard material, which is why there is a lot of coach speak during the year. In order to get an accurate assessment of teams heading into 2012, Athlon asked coaches in the ACC to talk anonymously about their opponents.

As the college football season draws near, Athlon Sports is making sure fans know exactly when and where to tune in this fall. Here are the ACC's top 40 must-see football games for the 2012 season:

Florida State, Virginia Tech and Clemson are the clear favorites to win the ACC title in 2012 and there's no shortage of players from those three teams in the top 50 players. Clemson's Sammy Watkins will serve a two-game suspension this year but ranks as the conference's best player. Virginia Tech's Logan Thomas should be better in his second season as the starter, while Florida State is loaded with defensive talent. 

Compiling the top 50 players of any conference is never an easy task. However, Athlon established a criteria to help compile the rankings.