Scout.com: ACC Conference Roundup

Conference Roundup
Boston College … BC made its official statement this week that it's the class of the ACC, and a legitimate player in the national title race, with a dominant win over Georgia Tech. The game wasn't as close as the final score might indicate. The defense shut down Tashard Choice and the Yellow Jacket running game, but the real key was Matt Ryan. Basically, BC was night-and-day better at quarterback, and it showed. Ryan made every key throw, kept drives moving, and effectively bombed away all game long. With Army, UMass, Bowling Green and Notre Dame ahead, it'll be tempting not to dream of 7-0 before facing Virginia Tech.
Clemson … This is a team sorely in need of a real game. While there might not be too much of a reason to be concerned about 60 rushing yards against Furman, it wasn't a good sign before going into the NC State game. At the moment, the offense is all on QB Cullen Harper, who has completed 36 of his last 45 passes for 536 yards and eight touchdowns, but that was against UL Monroe and Furman. That's fine; that's what cupcake games are for. Now it's time to go back to the bread and butter and get James Davis and C.J. Spiller rolling again.
Duke … Duke got outplayed and outgained by Northwestern, but who cares? A win is a win is a win. When push came to shove at the very end, the defense generated the pressure it needed to get into the backfield, and the secondary did a nice job of not giving C.J. Bacher anything to look at on the final few plays. QB Thaddeus Lewis was tremendous, with a mistake-free game that kept the offense moving just enough to keep the chains moving, especially early on. Defensively, LB Vincent Rey had a whale of a game in all phases with 11 tackles, four broken up passes and two tackles for loss.
Florida State … For all the excitement and all the hubbub over Jimbo Fisher taking over the offensive reins, the Noles aren't exactly lighting anyone up. 221 yards against Colorado? 126 yards passing?! This isn't what the program was hoping for, and there needs to be more explosion and more pop, especially from the passing game, to make any noise in the ACC. Third down conversions continue to be a big problem, converting just one of 13 chances. On the plus side, the defensive line was dominant. CU had nowhere to run all game long.
Georgia Tech… While the dream of dreams might be over after the loss to BC, Tech has to maintain its focus, beat Virginia, and try to get goal one, an ACC title. This might not be the last time the Yellow Jackets face BC, but to have any chance, there has to be more of a pass rush than shown this week, and the mistakes have to stop. Ten penalties for 100 yards are too many, and only converting two of 14 third down conversions put too much stress on the D. While the defense did a fine job against the run, it faced a buzzsaw in Matt Ryan. He'll bomb away against just about everyone.
Maryland … QB Jordan Steffy wasn't bad against West Virginia, Keon Lattimore ran well, and the defense did a nice job for a half, but the defense wasn't disciplined enough to stay in the lanes, and the passing game failed to get anything going deep. Steffy needed to be a difference maker, and he wasn't. He took way too many sacks, was picked off twice, and didn't do anything to answer once the Mountaineer offense started rolling. With Wake Forest up next, the Terps need to have a short memory, but it has to use this game to figure out how to be stronger against the run. The Demon Deacons have to move the ball on the ground to win.
Miami … It wasn't the blowout over FIU that Miami fans might have liked after the ugly performance against Oklahoma, but this game was about getting back on track. Kyle Wright had a decent day, but through two interceptions, and the offense still lacked consistency in all phases. Outside of the 80-yard Lance Leggett touchdown, the receivers didn't make enough plays. FIU managed 159 rushing yards, and things will have to tighten up considerably with the battle against Texas A&M on Thursday night. To pull off the win, the passing has to be crisper, the running game has to keep things moving, and the penalties have to slow down, after committing 12 for 93 yards.
North Carolina … Fine, so the Tar Heels couldn't win at home against a mediocre team like Virginia, but this was still a positive step forward for the rebuilding program. QB T.J. Yates appears to be a keeper. He showed good poise, made several big plays, and while he got a ton of help from Hakeem Nicks and the receivers, he played like a leader the program needs. The defense couldn't handle the Virginia ground game, but it did a good job of generating pressure.
NC State … It might not have been the prettiest of performances in the win over Wofford, but the team needed to get something positive going under Tom O'Brien and the new coaching staff. There were way too many penalties (11), but Wofford committed more (15), and there wasn't much of a downfield passing game, basically because there didn't need to be. There's still a major concern about Harrison Beck's accuracy, and considering Wofford ran for 211 yards, there should be a huge worry about facing Clemson's ground game next week.
Virginia … The offense is still not a finely tuned machine by any stretch, but at least it moved the ball a bit against North Carolina on the ground. There's still no help for the passing game from the receivers, and too many drives stalled and led to field goals, but this was still an important road win for the struggling team. To have a shot against the better teams ahead, there has to be at least the threat of a deep pass, and there can't be any mistakes. The Cavs can't beat Georgia Tech next week if they commit ten penalties again.
Virginia Tech … Now that's the Hokie defense everyone's been waiting for. Vince Hall and the D were swarming all over Ohio all game long, and outside of a second quarter touchdown, never let up and made the game more of a blowout than it looks on paper. Tyrod Taylor was fine in his debut, and while he failed to make too many big plays, outside of a 59-yard pass play to Josh Morgan for a touchdown, he didn't make many mistakes. This was a good first step, and now it's important to keep working on the passing game against William & Mary.
Wake Forest… The Demon Deacons can be forgiven a bit if the offense was going to let down in a sandwich game against Army, after the tough loss to Nevada and the showdown with Maryland ahead, but to only get 213 yards and to struggle as much as the attack did has to be a concern. Brett Hodges threw like he didn't want to make a mistake, which would be fine if the running game was rolling. It wasn't. Consider it a good sign that the defense and special teams could pick up the slack.

Thursday, September 13
7:45 PM	West Virginia 31 ... at Maryland 14 CFN Prediction: WV 37-24 WV -16

Saturday, September 15
12:00 PM	Virginia 22 ... at North Carolina 20 CFN Prediction: UVa 24-20 UNC -3
1:00 PM	at Clemson 38 ... Furman 10 CFN Prediction: Clemson 44-6
1:30 PM	at Virginia Tech 28 ... Ohio 7 CFN Prediction: VT 31-6 VT -19.5
3:30 PM	at Wake Forest 21 ... Army 10 CFN Prediction: WF 38-13 WF -21
3:30 PM	at Miami 23 ... Florida International 9 CFN Prediction: Miami 40-6 UM -33
6:00 PM	at NC State 38 ... Wofford 17 CFN Prediction: NC State 24-13
8:00 PM	Boston College 24 ... at Georgia Tech 10 CFN Prediction: GT 23-14 GT -7
8:00 PM	Duke 20 ... at Northwestern 14 CFN Prediction: NW 27-16 NW -16.5
10:00 PM	Florida State 16 ... at Colorado 6 CFN Prediction: FSU 31-20 FSU -4.5

Past ACC Games of the Week
Sept. 1 - Boston College 38 ... Wake Forest 28
Sept. 8 - East Carolina 34 ... North Carolina 31
Sept. 15 - Duke 20 ... Northwestern 14

Past ACC Players of the Week
Sept. 1 - Boston College QB Matt Ryan
Sept. 8 - Clemson QB Cullen Harper
Sept. 15 - Boston College QB Matt Ryan