Duke and Georgia Tech faced off in the only conference matchup of the week, while numerous other schools played strong non-conference foes. The Blue Zone recaps how the 10 ACC teams in action performed this weekend.
Duke 34, No. 20 Georgia Tech 20
Strong performances on defense and special teams carried Duke to an upset win against the Yellow Jackets in both teams' ACC-opener. Safety Jeremy Cash led the Blue Devils with 12 tackles, three tackles for loss, a sack and two forced fumbles, preventing Georgia Tech’s formidable triple option attack from breaking free for big plays. The Yellow Jackets ran 60 times for only 173 yards, resulting in a 2.9 yards per carry average—their lowest since 2011.
Duke’s special teams helped extend an early first quarter lead when Ryan Smith returned a punt 69 yards to the one-yard line, setting up the Blue Devils’ third touchdown of the game. After Georgia Tech kicked a field goal in the third quarter to cut Duke’s lead to six, safety Devon Edwards returned the subsequent kickoff for a touchdown to create some much-needed breathing room for the Blue Devils. Thomas Sirk and the Duke offense struggled for the second straight week, but with the win, the Blue Devils appear to be in the mix for their second division title in three years.
East Carolina 35, Virginia Tech 28
Backup quarterback James Summers ran for 169 yards and two touchdowns to help the Pirates stun Virginia Tech. Starter Blake Kemp helped ECU rally from an early 14-point deficit to tie it up by the end of the first quarter and Summers came on in the second quarter to give the Hokies defense a different look. Virginia Tech could never adjust to the Pirates’ secret weapon, as Summers threw for 110 yards and a touchdown in addition to his heroics on the ground. Hokie quarterback Brendan Motley had a strong game himself, throwing for 281 yards and a touchdown in the defeat.
No. 8 LSU 34, Syracuse 24
Syracuse gave their SEC opponent more of a challenge than anybody expected, but Heisman hopeful Leonard Fournette and his Tigers proved too strong in the end. Fournette ran 26 times for 244 yards and two touchdowns, highlighted by a jaw-dropping 62-yard touchdown in the third quarter that gave LSU a 14-point lead. Syracuse quarterback Zack Mahoney completed just 16 of 38 passes, but threw for three touchdowns and kept the Orange close for most of the contest.
Boston College 17, Northern Illinois 14
Boston College’s defense held the Huskies to just 153 yards of offense and forced two turnovers to lead the Eagles to a tight victory. Quarterback Troy Flutie only completed five passes for 92 yards and a touchdown, but sophomore running back Jon Hilliman added 119 yards and a touchdown on the ground to give Boston College enough offense to win. Northern Illinois had the ball in the closing minutes with a chance to tie or take the lead, but their drive stalled on the Eagles’ 40-yard line and Boston College was able to run the clock out. Boston College heads to Durham next week in search of its first conference win.
Boise State 56, Virginia 14
Boise State intercepted a Matt Johns pass and returned it for a touchdown on the first play of the game, sparking a blowout win on the road against the Cavaliers. Johns ended the game with three interceptions and Virginia turned the ball over five times as nothing went right for the Cavaliers on Friday night. Broncos quarterback Brett Rypien helped capitalize on all these mistakes, throwing for 321 yards and three touchdowns. Virginia wrapped up a tough non-conference schedule at 1-3, and now have a bye week to regroup before beginning conference play at Pittsburgh in two weeks.
North Carolina 41, Delaware 14
Backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky played a nearly flawless game and North Carolina pulled away from the Blue Hens in the second half for an easy victory. With the Tar Heels struggling to find an offensive rhythm in the first half and leading only 13-7 at halftime, head coach Larry Fedora replaced starting quarterback Marquise Williams with Trubisky. The backup went on to complete 17 of 20 passes for 312 yards and four touchdowns, raising some unanswered questions about who will be North Carolina’s starting quarterback in the weeks to come. It will be interesting to see what Fedora decides to do when the Tar Heels take the field for their ACC opener at Georgia Tech next week.
Indiana 31, Wake Forest 24
Indiana survived a late rally by the Demon Deacons to stay unbeaten and drop Wake Forest to 2-2. Wake Forest quarterback Kendall Hinton completed just 19 of 46 passes for an abysmal 41-percent completion rate and threw a pick-six to give the Hoosiers a 31-10 fourth-quarter lead and seemingly put the game out of reach. However, Hinton responded with two late touchdown drives to make it a one-possession game and the Demon Deacons recovered an onside kick with a chance to tie the game. But the offense could not make it further than Indiana’s 32-yard line and had to walk off their home field in defeat.
N.C. State 63, South Alabama 13
Shadrach Thornton and Matt Dayes both ran for over 100 yards and combined for five touchdowns on the ground as the Wolfpack cruised past South Alabama on the road. The Jaguars scored a touchdown on the first drive of the game, but N.C. State dominated the rest of way, finding the end zone on its first five offensive possessions on its way to a 42-10 halftime lead. The Wolfpack wrapped up non-conference play unbeaten—albeit with a very weak schedule—and will host Louisville next week in their ACC opener.
Louisville 45, Samford 3
Louisville finally got its first win of the season, with freshman quarterback Lamar Jackson leading the Cardinals to easy victory over their FCS opponent. After Louisville started three different quarterbacks in its first three games—all losses— Jackson made his case to remain the starter, tallying up 212 yards through the air and 184 on the ground and finished with three touchdowns. The Louisville defense forced three turnovers and kept the Bulldogs out of the end zone all game. The Cardinals will need to continue this high-level play when they take on N.C. State next week.
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