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ACC Conference Roundup - Week 6

CollegeFootballNews.com
Posted Sep 7, 2007

ACC conference roundup, standings, player and game of the week



Click on each team for game recaps, thoughts, schedules and more and scroll down for the games, results, players of the week and the conference roundup.
 
Atlantic
Boston Coll | ClemsonFlorida St | Maryland | NC State | Wake Forest

Coastal Duke | Georgia Tech | Miami | North Carolina | Virginia | Virginia Tech

ACC Game of the Week
Wake Forest 41 ... Duke 36
Wake Forest appeared to be on its way to an easy win, getting up 34-9 midway through the third quarter on a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown from Alphonso Smith, but in a game of rallies, Duke cranked out 20 straight points, pulling within five on a  31-yard Jomar Wright touchdown catch. Kenneth Moore ripped off a 53-yard scoring dash with just over two minutes to play to appear to seal the win for the Demon Deacons. Duke started out with a 9-0 lead on a safety and a 68-yard Eron Riley touchdown catch, but Wake responded with 34 straight points before the Blue Devils made it interesting again.


ACC Player of the Week
Virginia Tech LBs Vince Hall and Xavier Adibi combined to make 21 tackles and three tackles for loss in the win over Clemson.

Conference Roundup

Boston College
… After lackluster performances against Army and UMass, could BC simply turn it back on and blow out Bowling Green? Uh, yeah. The defense continues to be as nasty and ball-hawkish as any in America, while Matt Ryan was Matt Ryan, pitching a near-perfect game. Andre Callender has been on fire over the last few weeks, and will be certain to be featured over the next two weeks. As long as all the parts are on, this is as complete a team as any in the top ten.
Clemson … How does a team with James Davis and C.J. Spiller only managed eight net yards rushing? Fine, so Virginia Tech's defense is stellar, but if Clemson really wants to be a player in the ACC race, it needs to find a way to get the stars going. Granted, the team needed to come back, but it's not going to win too often when Cullen Harper is throwing it 66 times.
Duke … Thaddeus Lewis is turning into a productive passer who can bomb his way back into games, and Eron Riley is in the hunt for the honor of being the ACC's most dangerous receiver, but the offense has to do more early on. It's been great at comebacks, and didn't quit against Wake Forest, but the team has to be as strong in the first half as it is in the second to have any shot against Wake Forest, Clemson and Georgia Tech over the next few weeks.
Florida State … The defense mostly gets the credit for the win over NC State, getting into the backfield early and often, and coming up with four turnovers. However, the real story was Xavier Lee, who had a nice, efficient game throwing the ball, even though he didn't run much. There wasn't enough of a running game overall, as the offense still can't seem to find a way to get Antone Smith rolling. Even so, the Noles are winning, and are right in the thick of the ACC race with winnable games against Wake Forest, Miami and Duke ahead before the big battles on the road at BC and Virginia Tech.S
Georgia Tech… Georgia Tech outplayed Maryland for about 45 minutes, but couldn't overcome the early deficit to pull off the win. The defensive line did its job, Taylor Bennett threw well, and Tashard Choice ran like he normally does. It controlled the ball for 11:40 of the fourth quarter, dominated the third, but couldn't get the job done. Now the season has become a tremendous disappointment, losing three of the last four games with a trip to Miami ahead. The team is better than this.
Maryland … Maryland couldn't run on Georgia Tech. Didn't do a whole bunch defensively. Only forced one turnover. Couldn't pass protect. So how did the Terps pull off the big win? They got a decent day from QB Chris Turner, and got a few monster kicks from Travis Baltz, who averaged 49.6 yards per kick, highlighted by a 65-yarder, helped with the field position. Maryland isn't going to be an offensive juggernaut, but it'll find ways to win. Beating Rutgers was nice, but this was bigger; now it's in the ACC title chase again.
Miami … Where was the tackling against North Carolina? Where was the running game? The Canes might have come out roaring in the second half, but it was almost too late. When the Tar Heels needed to go on a scoring drive, they did, and when they needed to come up with a huge defensive play, they did. Now it's become official; the A&M win was an aberration. But this is Miami. It's just flaky enough to come back with wins over Georgia Tech and Florida State to get right back in the ACC race. To do that, all the weapons in the backfield have to get rolling, and that's up to the play of the offensive line.
North Carolina … UNC might have had to hold on to its breath, but thanks to an impressive early start, clutch play from the defense, and the leg of Connor Barth, it pulled off the shocker over Miami. This is a young team that might feed off this win, having the confidence to do more in ACC play in a few weeks. It helped that Miami didn't tackle well early on, but give credit to the Tar Heels for being creative, and taking advantage of the holes that were there. Butch Davis had to have enjoyed this.
NC State … The offensive line has to start playing better to get the offense going. Jamelle Eugene had a great day running the ball on Florida State, and Daniel Evans wasn't too bad, outside of the three interceptions, but the line allowed way too many sacks (six). This isn't a good enough group of skill players to operate when under constant pressure. With the season quickly slipping into an ugly abyss, a win over East Carolina next week means everything.
Virginia
… Call the close call against Middle Tennessee a case of not paying attention in the middle of the year, but it also went to show just how average the offense can be. After exploding on Pitt, there wasn't much pop, and there needed to be some late heroics to get out alive, but Jameel Sewell made the throws he needed to, and now the team might be even stronger and might have even more confidence. Unbeaten Connecticut is rested and ready, and the Cavaliers had better be sharp.
Virginia Tech … Much will be made about Beamer Ball, and the way the Hokies beat Clemson, but it was the defense, specifically the play of the linebackers, shutting down the vaunted Clemson running game, that was the most impressive aspect of the win. Not to be glossed over was yet another lousy day from the offense. It didn't need to do much, considering all the scoring from the special teams and defense, but 219 yards is still 219 yards. However, Tyrod Taylor started to show off what he can do with his legs, cranking out 118 rushing yards.
Wake Forest… Talk about taking advantage of every opportunity, Wake Forest only gained 336 yards of total offense against Duke, and committed ten penalties for 107 yards, but still cranked out a huge run to get a big enough cushion to hold on late. While QB Riley Skinner was effective, he didn't put up big yards (220) while the defense had way too many problems with the Duke passing game. When the team needed a big scoring play, it got it from Kenneth Moore, but this hardly has to feel like a satisfying win going into the date with Navy.

Atlantic Conference Overall Home Away
  W L PF PA W L PF PA STR W L W L
Boston College 3 0 99 55 6 0 215 110 W6 5 0 1 0
Clemson 2 2 92 92 4 2 179 128 L2 3 1 1 1
Wake Forest 2 1 100 98 3 2 138 128 W3 2 1 1 1
Florida State 1 1 45 34 4 1 116 78 W4 3 0 1 1
Maryland 1 1 52 57 4 2 157 136 W2 2 1 2 1
NC State 0 3 47 106 1 5 118 177 L3 1 3 0 2
Coastal Conference Overall Home Away
  W L PF PA W L PF PA STR W L W L
Virginia 3 0 74 56 5 1 144 114 W5 3 0 2 1
Virginia Tech 2 0 58 33 5 1 154 98 W4 4 0 1 1
Miami  1 1 51 47 4 2 152 127 L1 4 0 0 2
Georgia Tech 1 3 72 83 3 3 174 100 L1 2 1 1 2
North Carolina 1 2 63 66 2 4 141 151 W1 2 1 0 3
Duke 0 3 63 89 1 5 140 194 L3 0 2 1 3
Saturday, October 6
12:00 PM at Boston College 61 ... Bowling Green 24
CFN Prediction: BC 31-20   BC -20
12:00 PM at Maryland 28 ... Georgia Tech 26
CFN Prediction: Georgia Tech 24-17  GT -3
12:00 PM at North Carolina 33 ... Miami 27
CFN Prediction:
Miami 28-17  Miami -7
1:00 PM Wake Forest 41 ... at Duke 36
CFN Prediction: Wake Forest 31-20   WF -7
3:30 PM at Florida State 27 ... NC State 10
CFN Prediction:
FSU 27-10   FSU -18
6:00 PM Virginia Tech 41 ... at Clemson 23
CFN Prediction:
Clemson 20-16   VT -5.5
7:00 PM Virginia 23 ... at Middle Tennessee 21
CFN Prediction: Virginia 30-13   UVa -10

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
Sept. 22 - Wake Forest 31 ... Maryland 24 OT
Sept. 29 - Florida State 21 ... Alabama 14
Oct. 6 - Wake Forest 41 ... at Duke 36

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
Sept. 22 - Clemson RBs James Davis & C.J. Spiller
Sept. 29 - Maryland RB Keon Lattimore
Oct. 6 - Virginia Tech LBs Vince Hall & Xavier Adibi

  

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