ACC Conference Roundup - Week 9

CollegeFootballNews.com
Posted Oct 28, 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
Boston College 14 ... Virginia Tech 10
Shut down cold for roughly 55 minutes, Boston College and QB Matt Ryan woke up to pull off the improbable comeback thanks to a 24-yard touchdown pass to Andre Callender with 11 seconds to play. Down 10-0 and the ball on his own eight, Ryan took the Eagles 92 yards in just over two minutes, finishing up with a 16-yard scoring pass to Rich Gunnell. With 2:11 to play, BC went for the onside kick and got it as the ball bounced off a Hokie before the Eagles recovered. Ryan went 66 yards in seven plays for the game-winning score. Virginia Tech got a 44-yard Jud Dunleavy field goal and an eight-yard Eddie Royal touchdown catch for the lead, but only finished with 265 yards of total offense, while BC finished with 32 rushing yards.


ACC Player of the Week
Boston College QB Matt Ryan completed 25 of 52 passes for 285 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions in the win over Virginia Tech.

Conference Roundup

Boston College
… There were several things good and bad that'll be glossed over by the epic comeback in the win over Virginia Tech. The good: the defense was phenomenal. Outside of a big run by Branden Ore, the Eagles almost completely shut down the Hokie attack. The bad: the offensive line had no prayer of handling the Virginia Tech speed on the defensive line for about 55 minutes. The good: The punting of Johnny Ayers was terrific. It's not a stretch to say it kept BC in the game. The bad: Matt Ryan, even when he wasn't under pressure, couldn't hit an open target. And then came the final two drives. Great teams have ways of making the plays they need to make, and BC did that. Overcoming adversity is what No. 2 teams do.
Clemson … Clemson has been razor sharp over the last two weeks at just the right time. The running game is rolling, Cullen Harper is throwing extremely well, and the defense is coming up with key stops early. Maryland shot itself in the foot a bit early, but give Clemson credit for taking advantage and putting the game away. Now the key will be to not let down against Duke with home dates against Wake Forest and Boston College still ahead to make or break the ACC season.
Duke … Duke had two weeks off and came up with this?! The offense is getting worse instead of better, and while playing Florida State isn't a walk in the park, at this point in the year there has to be more in the way of consistency in some area. The running game wasn't even a possibility, and when Thaddeus Lewis failed to generate anything through the air, it was over. It didn't help that the defense never got FSU off the field. Things might not get much better against Clemson next week.
Florida State … The Noles might have only come up with 25 points in the win over Duke, but it was as dominant a game as the team has had all season long. Drew Weatherford was accurate and decisive in his throws, and Antone Smith finally, finally started to run like he's expected to. No, beating Duke isn't like coming up with a win over Boston College or Virginia Tech, but after a confidence builder like this week, anything might be possible in a brutal final month (at Boston College, at Virginia Tech, Maryland, at Florida).  
Georgia Tech… Didn’t Play This Week
Maryland … The season needs to turn back around in a big hurry after losing late to Virginia and getting blasted early against Clemson, and now the road trip to North Carolina becomes vital or a promising start could go to waste with Boston College and a date at Florida State to follow. Chris Turner was fine throwing the ball, but the running game failed to get on track until it was way too late. There's enough talent to beat anyone in the ACC, and now the team has to play like it.
Miami … Didn’t Play This Week
North Carolina … North Carolina had two weeks off and came up with that? The defense did a decent job against Wake Forest with few long drives allowed, but it wasn't tight when it absolutely had to be, and it didn't do much to help out the struggling offense. T.J. Yates had a decent day throwing the ball, but there weren't any game-changing passes to save the struggling running game. With Maryland up next, there has to be more offensive pop.
NC State … Daniel Evans has established himself as the passer to build the offense around, throwing for 335 yards against East Carolina, and 347 against Virginia. Most importantly, he led the way to wins against both teams. So how did things turn around after such a rotten start? The emergence of WR Donald Bowens is a big help, but the team is coming up with ways to get the job done on both sides of the ball, helped by a defense that got into the backfield early and often. If the Pack can beat Miami in the Orange Bowl, then the home date against North Carolina would be to get to .500.
Virginia
… The Cavaliers were never quite in sync against NC State. The Wolfpack defense had a lot to do with that, coming up with six sacks, but Virginia helped the cause with five fumbles (even though it didn't lose any) and struggles from Peter Lalich when he came in to replace Jameel Sewell. At the moment, the offense is flowing through Mikell Simpson, but the more help he can get from the rest of the running backs, the better. This might have been a tough loss, but losing at home to Wake Forest next week would hurt even more.
Virginia Tech … Sometimes you just lose to a superior player. Virginia Tech did a phenomenal job of making BC QB Matt Ryan look awful for almost the entire game, and then the defensive line got gassed, couldn't finish its pass rush, despite doing a good job of getting into the backfield, and got a horrible break when it couldn't get the onside kick. The offense wasn't great, but it was good enough. There didn't need to be any big chances taken with the way the defense was playing. Everything worked according to plan, and then Ryan had other ideas. There's no need to worry about the loss too much. Tech still wins the ACC title if it wins its next five games.
Wake Forest… The Demon Deacon offense wasn't exactly impressive against North Carolina, having problems with the Tar Heel pass rush and getting almost nothing going down the field, but it didn't have to be anything special. The defense did a fantastic job of forcing mistakes, while Kevin Marion, Sam Swank and the special teams once again proved to be a major strength. Now on a six-game winning streak, the tough part begins with road trips to Virginia and Clemson. Win those, and then this season might be even more special than 2006.

Atlantic Conference Overall Home Away
  W L PF PA W L PF PA STR W L W L
Boston College 4 0 113 65 8 0 256 134 W8 5 0 3 0
Wake Forest 4 1 161 129 6 2 243 183 W6 4 1 2 1
Clemson 3 2 122 109 6 2 279 159 W2 4 1 2 1
Florida State 2 3 120 101 5 3 191 145 W1 4 1 1 2
Maryland 1 3 86 105 4 4 191 184 L2 2 3 2 1
NC State 1 3 76 130 3 5 181 221 W2 2 3 1 2
Coastal Conference Overall Home Away
  W L PF PA W L PF PA STR W L W L
Virginia 4 1 116 102 7 2 203 176 L1 4 0 3 2
Virginia Tech 3 1 111 61 6 2 207 126 L1 4 1 2 1
Miami  2 2 102 93 5 3 203 173 W1 4 1 1 2
Georgia Tech 2 3 89 97 5 3 225 124 W2 3 1 2 2
North Carolina 1 3 73 103 2 6 166 209 L2 2 2 0 4
Duke 0 5 83 157 1 7 160 262 L5 0 3 1 4
Thursday, October 25
7:30 PM Boston College 14 ... at Virginia Tech 10
CFN Prediction: VT 27-23   VT-3
Saturday, October 27
12:00 PM at Wake Forest 37 ... North Carolina 10
CFN Prediction: Wake 27-16   Wake -6
3:30 PM Clemson 30 ... at Maryland 17
CFN Prediction: Clemson 27-21   CU -3.5
4:30 PM at NC State 29 ... Virginia 24
CFN Prediction: Virginia 24-13   UVA -3
8:00 PM at Florida State 25 ... Duke 6
CFN Prediction: FSU 34-14   FSU -17.5

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
Sept. 22 - Wake Forest 31 ... Maryland 24 OT
Sept. 29 - Florida State 21 ... Alabama 14
Oct. 6 - Wake Forest 41 ... at Duke 36
Oct. 13 - Wake Forest 24 ... Florida State 21
Oct. 20 - Virginia 18 ... at Maryland 17
Oct. 27 -
Boston College 14 ... at Virginia Tech 10

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
Oct. 13 - Georgia Tech RB Tashard Choice
Oct. 20 - Wake Forest WR Kenneth Moore
Oct. 27 - Boston College QB Matt Ryan

  

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