Around the ACC: Week 8

The Seminoles (6-0, 4-0 in the ACC) destroyed the Tigers in Death Valley, vaulting themselves into the national championship race, seizing control of the Atlantic Division and turning one of the biggest games in conference history into a clinic by the road team. In what was hyped as a contest between two Heisman hopefuls at quarterback, redshirt freshman quarterback Jameis Winston outdueled redshirt senior quarterback Tajh Boyd, throwing for 444 yards and three touchdowns and leading four touchdown drives that took less than 100 seconds.

Florida State’s defense gave its star quarterback more than enough support, forcing four Tiger turnovers—including two Boyd interceptions—and holding the normally-efficient Clemson passing attack to just 156 yards on 37 attempts with Boyd at the helm. The Seminoles jumped out to a 17-0 lead by capitalizing on two early Tiger turnovers and never looked back; it was the first time ever that the Tigers (6-1, 4-1) allowed an opponent to reach the 50-point mark in Death Valley. The results were reflected when the first BCS standings of the year were released the next day—Florida State came in at No. 2 behind Alabama, and Clemson was ninth. The results were reflected when the first BCS standings of the year were released the next day—Florida State came in at No. 2 behind Alabama, and Clemson was ninth.

In one of the most exciting conference games of the season, the Hurricanes (6-0, 2-0 in the ACC) overcame a 10-point deficit early in the fourth quarter and the loss of two key starters to ruin “Zero Dark Thursday” in just the second Thursday night game ever played in Kenan Stadium by the Tar Heels (1-5, 0-3), who donned black helmets and black uniforms for the event. Star sophomore running back Duke Johnson left the game in the first quarter with a head injury for Miami, who also lost junior wide receiver Philip Dorsett in the second quarter to a knee injury but was able to use a spectacular 67-yard blocked field goal return for a touchdown to keep their deficit manageable in the first half.

Despite having four turnovers for the third straight game, this time in the form of four interceptions by senior quarterback Stephen Morris, the Hurricanes were still able to seal the win after two fourth-quarter touchdowns by redshirt sophomore running back Dallas Crawford, who finished with 137 yards on 33 carries in relief of Johnson. The Tar Heels suffered the crushing defeat even though they accumulated 500 yards of offense, including 199 receiving yards by junior tight end Eric Ebron, the most ever by any North Carolina tight end. The Tar Heels now need to win five of their final six games to become bowl eligible.