COLUMBIA, S.C. — With the embarrassments behind it for now, the much maligned Atlantic Coast Conference still has a spot in the Bowl Championship Series up for grabs — and top contenders Virginia Tech and Florida State begin their run at it this weekend.
    The Hokies and Seminoles were preseason picks to win their ACC divisions and meet for the conference title. And for all the ugly defeats and faded national dreams, both summer favorites haven't lost a thing yet in the wide-open ACC.
    "We still realize there's another championship to be played," Virginia Tech running back Darren Evans said.
    That's the saving grace for almost all ACC teams — they get to play each other.
    The ACC enters this week a combined 1-9 against opponents from the five other automatic qualifying BCS conferences.
    Defending champion Georgia Tech got a leg up last week in the ACC race with its 30-24 win at North Carolina. The Yellow Jackets can take another big step Saturday against North Carolina State, which holds the league's lone marquee win in beating two-time defending Big East champs Cincinnati, 30-19, last week.
    "We got a little bit of a jump on everybody because most of them haven't played yet," Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson said. "So it's a chance to make hay while the sun shines and try to get off to a good start in the league."
    A good conference start is the goal for Virginia Tech and Florida State, who may have steadied themselves after disastrous openings.
    The Hokies followed their 0-2 start by rallying past difficult East Carolina. Virginia Tech was down 27-21 in the third quarter, then took control of things with 234 yards of offense in the 49-27 win that gave coach Frank Beamer hope that all was not lost this season.
    Beamer wants his players to bring that confidence to Boston College on Saturday.
    "Success is a wonderful thing," Beamer said. "I think the defense kind of settled down and got into a little bit of a groove against East Carolina. I think that helped their confidence. And offensively, we had some good plays against East Carolina. But the key for us is to continue to improve."
    The Seminoles could say the same.
    They were taken apart by No. 7 Oklahoma, 47-17, two weeks ago then bounced back with a solid victory over buzz-worthy BYU. Florida State gets Wake Forest at home to open league play on Saturday.
    Do the Seminoles feel more like the ACC favorites they were this summer?
    "I don't worry about that," first-year Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said. "When they picked us to win and I asked them for the trophy, they wouldn't give it to me. You can only control what you can control."
    Right now, in the ACC, that's not a lot.
    — Wake Forest, with a win over Duke two weeks ago, joins Georgia Tech as the only 1-0 schools in ACC play.
    — North Carolina State is off to its first 3-0 start since 2002 when San Diego Chargers star Philip Rivers led the way at quarterback.
    — North Carolina was expected to be a contender until the NCAA investigation reviewing agent-related benefits to players as well as possible academic misconduct involving a tutor. The Tar Heels had 12 players sit out against Georgia Tech, including six defensive starters, yet had chances to pull out a win in the fourth quarter. North Carolina won't return to league play until Oct. 9 against Clemson.
    — Miami is the lone ACC team left in the rankings at No. 19 and, despite a humbling 36-24 loss at No. 2 Ohio State two weeks back, could be the league's most dynamic team. Of course, no one will know for at least one more week since the Hurricanes don't start ACC play until Oct. 2 at Clemson's Death Valley.
    — For the Tigers, that will be the first of eight straight league games. Clemson, last year's Atlantic Division champs, surprised some by hanging tough in a 27-24 overtime loss at No. 17 Auburn last week.
    "The parity of the ACC, I mean who knows, who knows what's going to happen?" Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder said.
    Coaches and players around the league are anxious to find the answer to that question.
    Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe said he won't be influenced by what he's seen from ACC teams in those nonconference matchups, no matter how bad they looked. North Carolina may be 0-2, but certainly hasn't played its best football, Grobe said, and the same holds true for many other league schools — including his.
    "With nine regular season games left, I think we have the potential to be a good a good football team."
    The conference can't erase this month's difficult defeats and embarrasing blowouts, but all are on the same page as Hokies defensive end Chris Drager:
    "Knowing we still have the possibility of winning an ACC championship, that's definitely a plus."

    AP Sports Writers Hank Kurz in Blacksburg, Va., Joedy McCreary in Raleigh, N.C., Charles Odom in Atlanta and Associated Press Writer Brent Kallestad in Tallahassee, Fla., contributed to this report.