ACC Conference Roundup - Week 11

CollegeFootballNews.com
Posted Nov 10, 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
NC State 31 ... North Carolina 27
Jamelle Eugene ran for his third touchdown with 1:41 to play, taking it in from one-yard out, and the defense held as NC State survived a late rally. The Wolfpack got up 17-0 early and appeared on the verge of a blowout, when Charles Scott took a Daniel Evans pass 92 yards for a touchdown. Down 24-10 in the second half, UNC got a 50-yard touchdown catch from Brandon Tate, a 27-yard field goal, and a 76-yard Kendrick Burton interception return for a score to take a 27-24 lead. But an interception from DeMario Pressley set up the Wolfpack on the Tar Heel 25 to set up the final score. UNC LB Durrell Mapp made 23 tackles.


ACC Player of the Week
NC State RB Jamelle Eugene ran 32 times for 159 yards and three touchdowns, and caught six passes for 33 yards. In a losing cause, North Carolina LB Durrell Mapp made 23 tackles and a sack

Conference Roundup

Boston College
… BC got hit with a perfect storm of circumstances in the loss to Maryland. It was Senior Day for the Terps, and they played one of their most inspired games of the season, the Eagle linebacking corps was banged up, there was no running game, and the team was relatively flat early after the loss to Florida State. That doesn't excuse the poor secondary play, and now the once promising season comes down to next week's game at Clemson. If the defensive backs aren't better, Cullen Harper will bomb the Tigers to the Atlantic title and BC will be on a three-game losing streak.
Clemson … Everything is humming at just the right time. Wake Forest is a very good team that that got its doors blown off early on. Now after a two-game losing streak a month ago, the Tigers are right in position to go play for the ACC title, needing to beat Boston College next week for the Atlantic title. The talk might start around an at-large BCS bid even if Clemson doesn't win the ACC championship, but wins over BC and South Carolina are needed for that to happen. If Cullen Harper keeps playing mistake-free football, that might happen. At the moment, he's the ACC Player of the Year.
Duke … Duke's offense simply isn't getting enough consistency. Against Georgia Tech, Thaddeus Lewis was able to connect on a 64-yard touchdown pass, but only threw for 122 yards on the day. There were almost no sustained drives and little production from the running game. The problem was an offensive line that allowed eight sacks that killed drive after drive. To beat North Carolina, the offense finally has to start controlling things more and not relying on the defense to set things up.
Florida State … Considering Drew Weatherford got knocked out of the game and Xavier Lee wasn't around to rely on, the Seminoles did a great job of staying alive against Virginia Tech for three quarters. When the wheels started to come off, it would've been nice if the offensive line could've taken over and Antone Smith could've been the man, but that didn't happen. Erased from the gameplan early, it was all Christian Ponder, and this wasn't the time to get his feet wet. With Maryland and Florida to close out, this might not be a pretty few games to close things out unless the quarterback play is steadier.
Georgia Tech… Getting a huge day from Tashard Choice, and eight sacks, against Duke helped the Yellow Jackets get by what should've been an easy win, but the passing of Taylor Bennett once again proved to be a problem. He's not Reggie Ball quite yet, but he's not improving and he's not taking advantage of the attention paid to the running game. He made enough big throws to beat Duke, but he has to be consistent to beat Georgia in two weeks, and mistake-free to prevent an upset against North Carolina next week.
Maryland … Maryland's offense rolled as well as it had all season long, but the defense did a poor job of closing out Boston College after Matt Ryan got hot. Even so, this was a nice bounce-back win after an ugly three-game losing streak, and now the bowl hopes are back on with games at Florida State and NC State to close out. The offense has to remain balanced, while the team has to keep battling its way through injury problems. The talent is there to go on a run, but Chris Turner will have to stay hot.
Miami … There have been some lousy moments in recent Miami history, but the blowout loss to Virginia was the most embarrassing low point. Not only did it lose in the Orange Bowl finale, it suffered its worst shutout loss ever in the stadium with a ridiculous nine first downs, 189 yards of total offense and five turnovers. The passing game is a joke with Kyle Wright completing just nine of 21 passes a week after Kirby Freeman completed just one of 14 in the loss to NC State. Now Miami has to beat either Virginia Tech or Boston College on the road to go to a bowl. Forget about it.
North Carolina … North Carolina did a great job to come back against NC State twice when it could've gotten blown out, but it gave up a key turnover late and couldn't hold. There has to be more of a running game, gaining a mere 12 yards, and the entire offense can't be all on T.J. Yates, but the team is making strides. Now any hope of bowl eligibility is gone, but that doesn't mean the season is over. Beating Georgia Tech and Duke would set a great tone for 2008.
NC State … The team appears to be playing with tremendous confidence, pulling out close game after close game on the way to a four-game winning streak and in range of a bowl game. Last week it was the defense that held on against Miami. This week is was Jamelle Eugene and the running game taking over against North Carolina. Against Wake Forest and Maryland, the team needs to tighten up overall to get a sixth win. It can't make any big mistakes like it did this week, losing two key interceptions, but if it's tight late, this team will find a way to make it happen.
Virginia
… All the momentum and all the fire was there for Miami to come up with a big game, and Virginia came out and dominated from the word go. The lines were fantastic, giving Jameel Sewell time to operate, and getting to the Miami backfield all game long and screwing things up. At 9-2, this has been an amazing season with a chance to make things truly special against Virginia Tech next week. At this point, it's finally time to realize that this team is for real and is playing at a high level.
Virginia Tech … Now that's the Tyrod Taylor everyone was waiting for. The super-recruit showed a bit more patience and more passing ability after coming off his ankle injury, while tearing off some nice runs on the way to a 92-yard day. The defense didn't have its best day, but it forced three turnovers and dripped the hammer in the fourth quarter when the momentum turned. Now it's a two-game run to the ACC title, getting a dead-in-the-water Miami team in the home finale before the showdown at Virginia.
Wake Forest… There's little doubt that Wake Forest has talent, and it's certainly well coached, but every once in a while, it's going to get crunches by a team with superior athletes and one that's playing at a high level. The trip to Clemson was one of those times. The Tigers are playing like the best team in the ACC with all its parts working, and the Demon Deacons simply couldn't keep up. Now a win over NC State is a must to move up in the bowl pecking order. A loss this week was fine. A loss next week in the home finale will be devastating.

Atlantic Conference Overall Home Away
  W L PF PA W L PF PA STR W L W L
Clemson 5 2 213 129 8 2 370 179 W4 5 1 3 1
Boston College 4 2 165 134 8 2 308 203 L2 5 1 3 1
Wake Forest 4 3 187 190 6 4 269 244 L2 4 1 2 3
Florida State 3 4 168 158 6 4 239 202 L1 4 1 2 3
North Carolina State 3 3 126 173 5 5 231 264 W4 3 3 2 2
Maryland 2 4 141 156 5 5 246 235 W1 3 3 2 2
Coastal Conference Overall Home Away
  W L PF PA W L PF PA STR W L W L
Virginia 6 1 181 118 9 2 268 192 W2 5 0 4 2
Virginia Tech 5 1 178 85 8 2 274 150 W2 5 1 3 1
Georgia Tech 3 4 133 148 6 4 269 175 W1 3 2 3 2
Miami 2 4 118 160 5 5 219 240 L2 4 3 1 2
North Carolina 2 4 116 147 3 7 209 253 L1 3 2 0 5
Duke 0 7 117 245 1 9 194 350 L7 0 5 1 4

Saturday, November 10

12:00 PM

at Clemson 44 ... Wake Forest 10
CFN Prediction: Clemson 27-17  Clemson -8

12:00 PM

at North Carolina State 31 ... North Carolina 27
CFN Prediction: NC State 28-23   NC St -3.5

1:00 PM

Georgia Tech 41 ... at Duke 24
CFN Prediction: Georgia Tech 24-13  GT -13.5

3:30 PM

at Virginia Tech 40 ... Florida State 21
CFN Prediction: Virginia Tech 23-16   VT -6.5

7:15 PM

Virginia 48 ... at Miami 0
CFN Prediction: Miami 23-17   Miami -3.5

8:00 PM

at Maryland 42 ... Boston College 35
CFN Prediction: BC 27-16   BC -5.5

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
Nov. 3 - at Virginia 17 ... Wake Forest 16
Nov. 10 -
at North Carolina State 31 ... North Carolina 27

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
Nov. 3 - Florida State QB Drew Weatherford
Nov. 10 - NC State RB Jamelle Eugene & UNC LB Durrell Mapp
 

  

Related Stories
ACC Conference Roundup - Week 10
 -by CollegeFootballNews.com  Nov 4, 2007
ACC Conference Roundup - Week 9
 -by CollegeFootballNews.com  Oct 28, 2007
ACC Conference Roundup - Week 12
 -by CollegeFootballNews.com  Nov 18, 2007

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