ACC and out-of-conference matchups in the second weekend of the season produced many blowouts and close games alike. The Blue Zone takes a look at how all 14 ACC teams performed this weekend.
Wake Forest 24, Duke 14
Despite jumping out to an early 7-0 lead, the Blue Devils (1-1, 0-1 ACC) couldn’t hang on in Saturday afternoon’s home game against Wake Forest, putting up just one more score for the remainder of the game. Redshirt freshman Daniel Jones had another solid game at quarterback, throwing for 332 yards and rushing for two touchdowns despite turning the ball over three times. The offensive line struggled mightily, as Jones got sacked five times and the team’s leading rusher on the day, redshirt senior Jela Duncan, only picked up 25 rushing yards.
The Demon Deacons (2-0, 1-0 ACC) didn’t do much in the passing game—finishing with 150 passing yards—but they racked up 239 yards on the ground. Freshman running back Cade Carney rushed for 108 yards and three touchdowns, including his breakaway 55-yard dash for the end zone toward the end of the third quarter to give Wake Forest the lead for good.
North Carolina 48, Illinois 23
Illinois got out to an early lead against North Carolina (1-1), as sophomore running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn took a 65-yard rush to the house. But head coach Larry Fedora’s Tar Heels took control of the game from that point on. Junior quarterback Mitch Trubisky had an impressive game, totaling 307 yards to go along with two passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns. North Carolina’s defense excelled, holding Illinois quarterback Wes Lunt to just 127 passing yards.
Leading by just eight points at the beginning of the fourth quarter, North Carolina seized the momentum when Trubisky heaved a pass to the Illinois 7-yard line, where it was almost intercepted but managed to fall into the arms of Tar Heel tight end Jake Bargas. From there, Elijah Hood rushed for a seven-yard touchdown, pushing his team out to an insurmountable 15-point lead.
No. 3 Florida State 52, Charleston Southern 8
The Seminoles' Saturday afternoon game against Charleston Southern was not expected to be close, and Florida State (2-0) already had a 28-point lead by the end of the first quarter. Redshirt freshman quarterback Deondre Francois was not able to match the eye-popping numbers that he put up in his debut against Ole Miss, though he still played an excellent game. Francois completed 78.1 percent of his passes while throwing for 262 yards and three touchdowns, only turning the ball over once. He connected with junior Travis Rudolph for two touchdowns and 105 yards. Star running back Dalvin Cook played well, finding the end zone for the first two times of the year and totaling 92 yards.
The Seminoles have a critical game at Louisville next Saturday at noon.
No. 2 Clemson 30, Troy 24
Deshaun Watson and the Tigers (2-0) narrowly avoided a shocking upset at the hands of Troy Saturday afternoon. Toward the end of the second quarter, Clemson returner Ray-Ray McCloud returned a punt 75 yards to the end zone and dropped the ball in celebration just prior to crossing the goal line for a touchdown that would have given the Tigers a 20-10 lead. The Trojans recovered the fumble, and the mental gaffe by the sophomore wide receiver gave Troy some momentum heading into halftime. But Watson—the preseason ACC Player of the Year and a Heisman hopeful—helped the offense overcome McCloud’s mistake.
Watson passed for 292 yards and three touchdowns and added 55 yards on the ground. Clemson wide receiver Mike Williams was held in check by the Trojan secondary, catching just two passes for 24 yards after starring in the Tigers' season opener against Auburn. Clemson led for the entire second half, but did not seal the win until it recovered an onside kick with less than a minute left in the game.
No. 13 Louisville 62, Syracuse 28
Sophomore quarterback Lamar Jackson, a budding Heisman candidate, led his Cardinals (2-0, 1-0 ACC) to a rout of Syracuse in the Carrier Dome Friday night. Jackson threw for 411 yards and a touchdown and added 199 yards and four scores on the ground. The Orange (1-1, 0-1 ACC) fell behind early—trailing 21-0 less than five minutes into the game—and never got within single digits of Louisville the rest of the way. The lone bright spot for Syracuse was the play of wide receiver Amba Etta-Tawo, a graduate transfer from Maryland. He followed up his play against Colgate in Week 1—when he garnered ACC receiver of the week honors—with another strong performance, topping 100 yards again and hauling in two touchdown catches.
Pittsburgh 42, Penn State 39
Pittsburgh defeated head coach James Franklin’s Nittany Lions at Heinz Field in a close game Saturday. The Panthers (2-0) scored on their first offensive drive and led for the entire game, fending off a late fourth quarter rally by Penn State. Senior quarterback Nathan Peterman struggled, throwing for only 91 yards, but Pittsburgh's run game picked up the slack. Star running back James Conner continues to add to his heroic return to football, racking up 146 total yards and two touchdowns in his second game back after missing most of last season to fight Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Penn State’s offense was electric, putting up 18 points in the final quarter to make it close. Sophomore quarterback Trace McSorely threw for 332 yards and a touchdown in the game, but also threw an interception with the Nittany Lions closing in on field-goal range during their last drive.
East Carolina 33, NC State 30
East Carolina pulled off a minor upset of N.C. State (1-1) Saturday. The Pirates led 12-0 five minutes into the second quarter, but the Wolfpack came storming back before halftime. Near the end of the half, N.C. State quarterback Ryan Finley heaved an 80-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Stephen Louis to give his team a 20-19 lead at the break. The two teams went back and forth for the entire second half, but East Carolina responded to a long go-ahead touchdown drive by the Wolfpack with a seven-minute drive of its own, culminating in a rushing touchdown by junior Anthony Scott with 5:49 remaining to go up 33-30. The Pirates kept N.C. State off the scoreboard on its last two drives of the day to seal the win.
No. 17 Tennessee 45, Virginia Tech 24
Despite getting off to a fast start, the Hokies (1-1) could not pull off an upset of the Volunteers with a college-football record 156,990 fans in attendance at Bristol Motor Speedway. Tennessee had to feel the nerves after being down 14-0 to end the first quarter, but head coach Butch Jones’s team turned on the jets in the second quarter, as senior quarterback Joshua Dobbs passed for two touchdowns and ran for another to lead the team into halftime with a 24-14 lead. Tennessee went on to coast to a 45-24 victory. Virginia Tech running back Trevon McMillian ran for 127 yards and a touchdown, but the Hokies hurt themselves with five fumbles lost.
Georgia Tech 35, Mercer 10
Georgia Tech's triple-option offense was firing on all cylinders against Mercer, as the Yellow Jackets (2-0) ran for 364 yards and five touchdowns on 52 carries. Sophomore running back Qua Searcy gained 91 yards on just seven carries and quarterback Justin Thomas added 69 yards and a touchdown on the ground despite throwing for just 80 yards on the day. After the first quarter ended in a 7-7 tie, the Yellow Jackets went on a tear, outscoring the Bears 28-3 for the rest of the game.
Boston College 26, Massachusetts 7
Boston College (1-1) fell behind early at the hands of a 58-yard touchdown pass to Massachusetts tight end Adam Breneman, but the Golden Eagles shut the Minutemen out for the last three quarters of the contest. Boston College scored 26 unanswered points to finish the game, led by senior quarterback Patrick Towles, who passed for 191 yards and added 66 rushing yards. He threw two touchdown passes to sophomore wide receiver Jeff Smith, who led the Golden Eagles with 98 receiving yards. The Boston College defense was too much for the Massachusetts, forcing three turnovers and holding the Minutemen to just 122 offensive yards.
No. 24 Oregon 44, Virginia 26
Head coach Bronco Mendenhall’s Cavaliers (0-2) were no match for the Ducks in Eugene, Ore., Saturday night. Freshman quarterback Dakota Prukop passed for 331 yards and three touchdowns for Oregon, and running back Royce Freeman rushed for 207 yards and two touchdowns to help lead the Ducks' offense. Oregon never trailed during the game, striking first when Freeman rushed for a touchdown on the team’s second drive, and held a 30-6 lead at halftime. The lone bright spot for Virginia was the play of senior running back Albert Reid, who gained 126 yards and ran for a touchdown.
No. 25 Miami 38, Florida Atlantic 10
Despite a lackluster performance by quarterback Brad Kaaya, the Hurricanes (2-0) cruised past Florida Atlantic. Kaaya threw for 191 yards on 31 attempts and threw two interceptions without a touchdown pass. But Miami’s run game continued to impress, as the Hurricanes had two running backs eclipse 100 yards for the second consecutive game. Sophomore Mark Walton rushed for 155 yards and a whopping four touchdowns, and junior Joseph Yearby added 121 yards and a touchdown of his own.
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