The unexpected became the ordinary for ACC quarterbacks in Week 6 of the 2026 college football season.
The quarterbacks wound up as non-stories in Louisville's 44-20 rout of Florida State on Friday. After the Cardinals fell into a two-touchdown deficit, they proceeded to run for 397 yards and outscore the Seminoles 44-6 the rest of the way.
Another quarterback matchup that appeared interesting before the weekend was Wake Forest at NC State. Gio Lopez put together a terrific afternoon, but CJ Bailey and the Wolf Pack offense stumbled in the final three quarters of the 38-14 blowout.
Virginia Tech at California provided a surprisingly interesting quarterback battle. Ethan Grunkemeyer had a nice day, but Jackson Brousseau was the real star of the show; he finished the afternoon 29-of-43 for 321 yards and a touchdown in the Golden Bears' 25-20 upset of the Hokies.
The oddest development of Week 6 was former five-star prospect Malachi Nelson starting in place of an injured Amari Odom for Syracuse. Nelson threw for 217 yards and a touchdown in the Orange's 28-25 loss to Virginia.
Week 7 should see a handful of the ACC's more established starters return to action. For one, both Darian Mensah and Kevin Jennings are coming off bye weeks: the Mustangs host Virginia in the early window while the Hurricanes renew their rivalry with Florida State on Saturday night.
Additionally, Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele is trending toward a return from his concussion for California's bout with Wake Forest. Despite his rough start to the season, a strong performance against the Demon Deacons Saturday night could put him back in the top eight next week.
Below, we power rank the eight best quarterbacks in the ACC entering Week 7 of the 2026 college football season.
8. Ashton Daniels
Injuries to prominent starters keep Daniels in this week’s top eight. The Seminole offense came out hot, but a puzzling decision to throw a screen on fourth-and-goal was followed by a disastrous defensive showing. Daniels finished the night 21-of-37 for 209 yards, two passing touchdowns, a rushing touchdown and an interception.
The Seminoles head to Miami in Week 7 (7 p.m. EDT, ESPN). Gio Lopez and Tait Reynolds both aired the ball out on the Hurricane defense, a result of falling into large deficits early in the game.
7. Alberto Mendoza
Mendoza makes his first appearance in our rankings after guiding Georgia Tech on a game-winning drive against Duke. The Yellow Jackets sit at 2-3 overall but Mendoza and the offense have remained steady; he’s completing just under 70% of his passes and averaging 238 yards per game, functioning as a game manager within the offense.
Georgia Tech heads to Virginia Tech for its second road game in conference play (3:30 p.m. EDT, ACC Network). The Hokies are coming off a loss in which they allowed a backup quarterback to throw for 321 yards.
6. CJ Bailey
An early fumble by Bailey stuck NC State in a seven-point hole in the first quarter. He guided the Wolf Pack on scoring drives on each of their next two possessions, but they went scoreless in the final 39 minutes of game time; Bailey was 14-of-25 for 87 yards in their last six possessions.
NC State is on its second bye this week as a result of playing a Week 0 game at Virginia. A trip to face a struggling Stanford defense awaits Bailey out of the bye week.
5. Ethan Grunkemeyer
Grunkemeyer set up Virginia Tech with a chance to win at California, but his pass to Luke Reynolds in the end zone fell incomplete as time expired. He finished the afternoon 21-of-30 passing for 288 yards, hitting Ayden Greene down the sideline for his lone touchdown pass and running for the Hokies’ final touchdown of the day.
The Hokies return to Lane Stadium to meet Georgia Tech (3:30 p.m. EDT, ACC Network). The Yellow Jackets allowed Davis Warren to carve them up in their ACC opener and allowed Walker Eget to throw for 259 yards in their win over Duke last week.
4. Kevin Jennings
SMU’s bye was in Week 6. Jennings threw for 1,588 yards, 14 touchdowns and five interceptions in the Mustangs’ first five games, guiding them to conference wins over Florida State and Boston College.
The Mustangs host Virginia in Week 7 (Noon EDT, CW). The Cavaliers played from behind against a Syracuse offense starting Malachi Nelson for much of their win over the Orange last week.
3. Gio Lopez
Lopez stayed hot in Wake Forest’s rout at NC State, completing 26 of 33 passes for 303 yards and a trio of touchdowns. He connected with Jack Foley and Carlos Hernandez on multiple downfield strikes and ran in a touchdown of his own late in the third quarter.
The Demon Deacons cross three time zones to meet California in Week 7 (10:30 p.m. EDT, ESPN2). The Golden Bears held on for a win against Virginia Tech last week, although Ethan Grunkemeyer was throwing into the end zone with a chance for the Hokies to win.
2. Lincoln Kienholz
A dominant rushing attack allowed Kienholz to sit back and game manage in Louisville’s win over Florida State Friday night. Kienholz assisted in the prolific ground effort, rushing for 40 yards and two touchdowns of his own.
The Cardinals head east to Syracuse for their second road game in ACC play (7:30 p.m. EDT, ACC Network). The Orange is searching for its first ACC win and has struggled mightily against the run through its first three conference games.
1. Darian Mensah
Mensah and the Hurricanes were idle in Week 6. In the first five weeks, Mensah threw for 1,438 yards and 15 touchdowns while leading college football with an 84.2% completion rate.
The Hurricanes return home for a rivalry matchup against Florida State (7 p.m. EDT, ESPN). The Seminoles have allowed opposing offenses to put up over 500 yards in three of their four Power Four matchups.
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