ACC Roundup - Week One Standings & More

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 | Clemson | Florida St | Maryland | NC State | Wake Forest
Coastal Duke | Georgia Tech | Miami | North Carolina | Virginia | Virginia Tech

ACC Game of the Week

East Carolina 27 ... Virginia Tech 22
East Carolina pulled off the stunner on the special teams as T.J. Lee took a blocked punt 27 yards for a touchdown with under two minutes to play. Virginia Tech appeared to have the game in hand with the momentum going its way after Stephan Virgil returned a blocked extra point for a two-point conversion late in the third quarter for a 16-13, Hokie lead, and Darren Evans ran for a three-yard score for a 22-13 advantage held late into the fourth. But ECU went on a nine play, 73-yard march finishing with a three-yard Patrick Pinkney touchdown run, the defense held, and then the Pirate special teams came through. Tech had a 14-0 lead late into first half on a Virgil 30-yard fumble return for a score and a six-yard Kenny Lewis touchdown run, but Sean Glennon threw a touchdown pass in Hokie territory leading to a one-yard Jon Williams touchdown run with 16 seconds to play in the half. ECU outgained ECU 369 yards to 243.

ACC Player of the Week
Georgia Tech RB Jonathan Dwyer ran 11 times for 112 yards and two touchdowns, and caught a pass for five yards in the 41-14 win over Jacksonville State.

	Conference			Overall
Atlantic	W-L	PF	PA	W-L	PF	PA	STK
Boston Coll.	0-0	0	0	1-0	21	0	W1
Maryland	0-0	0	0	1-0	14	7	W1
Wake Forest	0-0	0	0	1-0	41	13	W1
Florida State	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0	-
Clemson	0-0	0	0	0-1	10	34	L1
NC State	0-0	0	0	0-1	0	34	L1

Standings	Conference			Overall
Coastal	W-L	PF	PA	W-L	PF	PA	STK
Georgia Tech	0-0	0	0	1-0	41	14	W1
Duke	0-0	0	0	1-0	31	7	W1
North Carolina	0-0	0	0	1-0	35	27	W1
Miami	0-0	0	0	1-0	52	7	W1
Virginia	0-0	0	0	0-1	7	52	L1
Virginia Tech	0-0	0	0	0-1	22	27	L1

Games of the Week
Aug. 30 - ECU 27 ... Va Tech 22

Players of the Week
Aug. 30 - Jonathan Dwyer, GT

Thursday, August 28
7:30	at Georgia Tech 41 ... Jacksonville State 14 CFN Prediction: GT 34-3
7:30	at Miami 52 ... Charleston Southern 7 CFN Prediction: Miami 52-7
8:00	Wake Forest 41 ... at Baylor 13 CFN Prediction: WF 34-24   WF -12.5
8:00	at South Carolina 34 ... NC State 0 CFN Prediction: SC 23-10  SC -11.5

Saturday, August 30
12:00	at East Carolina 27 ... Virginia Tech 22 CFN Prediction: VT 20-13  VT -10
3:30	USC 52 ... at Virginia 7 CFN Prediction: USC 31-13  USC -19.5
3:45	at Maryland 14 ... Delaware 7 CFN Prediction: Maryland 34-23
6:00	at North Carolina 35 ... McNeese State 27 CFN Prediction: UNC 38-17
7:00	at Duke 31 ... James Madison 7 CFN Prediction: Duke 28-24
7:30	Boston College 21 ... at Kent State 0 CFN Prediction: BC 38-10  BC -10
8:00	Alabama 34 ... at Clemson 10 CFN Prediction: Clemson 23-10  Clem -5

Conference Roundup
Boston College … It might not have been a blowout of Kent State, but it didn't have to be. The BC defense did what it had to do to keep the Golden Flash running game in check, while the offense didn't turn it over and kept the chains and the clock moving after getting up early. Chris Crane isn't Matt Ryan, but he was a good game manager, while the questions about the running game were answered, at least for one week, as Jeff Smith and Josh Haden were effective.
Clemson … Alabama was ready to play; Clemson wasn't. This is a far more talented Tiger team than it showed, but the energy wasn't there and the fight was gone after Bama showed early on that it came to play. The O line really is going to be a major problem as there was no push for the running game and Cullen Harper didn't have nearly enough time to operate consistently. Playing Citadel next week should help, and the schedule is easy until a trip to Wake Forest in October, so there's time to turn things around. Now the team needs some confidence in a big way.
Duke … The defense didn't exactly explode on James Madison, cranking out 364 yards, but it was effective over the final 35 minutes. The defense was the real story coming through time and again to get JMU off the field. Duke held the ball for 35:19 and didn't allow JMU to convert a third down chance. QB Thaddeus Lewis was as efficient has he has ever been at the helm.
Florida State … Didn’t Play This Week
Georgia Tech … The Georgia Tech attack had to be effective from day one. If it couldn't work against Jacksonville State, how was it supposed to work against Boston College or Virginia Tech over the next two games? As expected, the lines dominated, and the running game, especially Jonathan Dwyer, was tremendous, but the passing game wasn't anything special. Josh Nesbitt doesn't have to be a bomber, but he has to get his completion percentage up after completing just five of 12 passes for 87 yards.
Maryland … The Terps will take it. It certainly wasn’t pretty, but Maryland isn’t going to give back its 14-7 victory over Delaware. It was a typical afternoon in College Park, as the defense and running game helped overcome a feeble passing attack. It’s a good thing RB Da’Rel Scott flashed star potential because Jordan Steffy and Chris Turner managed to produce just 126 yards and no touchdowns through the air. While that might be alright against FCS schools, it won’t cut it when ACC play begins.
Miami … Miami needed a big game, even if it was against Charleston Southern, if only to make everyone around the program feel good about things for a week before dealing with Florida. If there were any problems, it might be panic time before facing the Gators. Did Jacory Harris do enough to win over the starting job from a banged up Robert Marve? If not, he showed the mobility to at least see a little time here and there. Graig Cooper firmly established himself as one of the team's top weapons every time he touched the ball.
North Carolina … McNeese State might be good, but it's a little concerning that it took so much to get by an FCS team. Brandon Tate needed to have one of the greatest games in Tar Heel history, and the offense needed to rally, or else this would've been a major black eye for the ACC. The team can't rely on the home run against Rutgers and Virginia Tech, and it'll have to do a far better job of getting the defense off the field after having the ball for just 24:44.
NC State … Before getting too hung up on the nightmare of a passing night, remember that South Carolina's secondary is phenomenal. Even so, completing five of 20 passes for 49 yards with two interceptions is inexcusable. Daniel Evans has seen enough action to have been far sharper, and the quarterbacks even got help from the running game with Andre Brown coming up with a nice game. For now, with Russell Wilson sidelined after his frightening head injury, it's going to be all about the running game against William & Mary before dealing with the trip to Clemson. The quarterbacks don't have to be phenomenal, but they need to be serviceable.
Virginia … Yeah, the Cavs were destroyed by USC, but the expectations weren’t exactly sky-high for this young and rebuilding program. Call it a learning experience that should pay dividends at some point later in the year. Peter Lalich was predictably inconsistent as the starting quarterback, and the offensive line was routinely blown off the ball. While it wasn’t evident versus the Trojans, Virginia has upside, which should start creeping to the surface in upcoming games with Richmond, Connecticut, and Duke. 
Virginia Tech … Although everyone knew the Hokies were rebuilding, few could have imagined that the season would start this way. However, Tech can't panic after the loss to East Carolina. There are big problems brewing on offense after the Hokies could manage to gain only 243 yards on a Conference USA defense, but mistakes turned out to be the problem. If they can be eliminated, like the blocked punt for a score and a bad interception late in the first half, things could quickly change back around. QB Sean Glennon and his young receivers were especially horrid, which might cause Frank Beamer to rethink redshirting sophomore hurler Tyrod Taylor. The biggest winners in Charlotte were teams like North Carolina and Miami, which have to feel pretty good about their chances in the Coastal Division.
Wake Forest… Yeah, it might have only been a win over Baylor, but it was still a road victory over a BCS team in its house. Wake Forest might not have been perfect, but the defense played a nearly perfect game holding BU to a measly 250 yards of offense while allowing the attack convert just two of 12 third down chances. Riley Skinner had time to throw, and he made the most of it. Defensively, LB Aaron Curry was all over the field making seven tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.