ACC Roundup - Week 8 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.

Conference Roundups
- ACC | Big East | Big 12 | Big Ten | C-USA | Ind.
- MAC | M-West | Pac 10 | SEC | Sun Belt | WAC
 
Atlantic Boston Coll | Clemson | Florida St | Maryland | NC State | Wake Forest
Coastal Duke | Georgia Tech | Miami | North Carolina | Virginia | Virginia Tech
ACC Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7

ACC Game of the Week

Georgia Tech 21 … Clemson 17
Demaryius Thomas made up for an earlier whiff, when he short-armed a deep pass that would’ve been for a touchdown, by catching a 24-yard touchdown pass with 5:22 to play, and the Georgia Tech defense did the rest. Clemson turned it over six times with an early interception taken 34 yards for a touchdown from Dominique Reese. The Tiger offense sputtered, but it finally woke up in the third quarter when Cullen Harper, in for an injured Willy Korn, hit Aaron Kelly on touchdown passes from 32 and 31 yards out. Georgia Tech ran for 207 yards to Clemson’s 51.

ACC Player of the Week
Miami QB Jacory Harris completed 18-of-28 passes for 185 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions, and he ran 10 times for 53 yards and a score in the 49-31 win over Duke.

Standings	Conference			Overall
Atlantic	W-L	PF	PA	W-L	PF	PA	STK
Florida St	2-1	70	68	5-1	224	96	W3
Boston Coll	2-1	82	73	5-1	179	80	W4
Maryland	2-1	46	48	5-2	160	130	W1
W Forest	2-1	24	36	4-2	112	101	L1
Clemson	1-3	68	62	3-4	177	113	L3
NC State	0-3	57	91	2-5	131	214	L3

Standings	Conference			Overall
Coastal	W-L	PF	PA	W-L	PF	PA	STK
Ga Tech	3-1	84	53	6-1	173	81	W4
Va Tech	2-1	63	62	5-2	171	139	L1
Virginia	2-1	50	44	4-3	118	161	W3
N Carolina	1-2	58	60	5-2	204	135	L1
Miami	1-2	112	100	4-3	228	170	W2
Duke	1-2	62	79	3-3	154	141	L2

Thursday, October 16

Florida State 26 ... at NC State 17
CFN Prediction: FSU 24-16  FSU -11.5
- FSU kicks way to win | NC St getting healthy

Saturday, October 18

Georgia Tech 21 ... at Clemson 17
CFN Prediction: GT 20-16  GT -1
- GT gets 6 TOs | CU sputters post-Bowden

at Maryland 26 ... Wake Forest 0
CFN Prediction: WF 21-17  WF -1
- Terps perfect | Wake comes up with clunker
- Instant Analysis

Miami 49 ... at Duke 31
CFN Prediction: Duke 24-20   Miami -5.5
- UM's Harris shines | Duke can't keep up

at Virginia 16 ... North Carolina 13 OT
CFN Prediction: UNC 24-21  UNC -5.5
- Verica comes through | UNC loses heartbreaker

at Boston College 28 ... Virginia Tech 23
CFN Prediction: VT 20-17  BC -2
- BC's D comes through | VT gets two pick sixes

Games of the Week
Aug. 30 - ECU 27 ... VT 22
Sep. 6 - Wake Forest 30 ... Ole Miss 28
Sep 13 - VT 20 - GT 17
Sep 20 - NC St 30 - ECU 24 OT
Sep 27 - UNC 28 - Miami 24
Oct 4 - FSU 41 - Miami 39
0ct 11 - WF 12 - Clemson 7
Oct 18 - GT 21 ... Clemson 17

Players of the Week
Aug. 30 - Jonathan Dwyer, GT
Sep. 6 - Sam Swank, Wake Forest
Sep 13 - DaRel Scott, Davin Meggett, Maryland
Sep 20 - Jon Dwyer, GT
Sep 27 - Tremaine Goddard, UNC
Oct 4 -Bruce Carter, UNC
0ct 11 - Quan Sturdivant, UNC
Oct 18 - Jacory Harris, Miami

Conference
Roundup

Boston College … BC came up with a nice win over Virginia Tech, by allowing just 90 passing yards and keeping the Hokie offense out of the end zone, but it was an ugly, ugly win. Five turnovers, with two picks taken for touchdowns, little from the running game, and a shaky game from QB Chris Crane meant the defense had to carry the team. While it worked this week, the O can’t screw up against teams like North Carolina, Florida State, Wake Forest and Maryland down the road.
Clemson … The Willy Korn era started, sputtered, and stopped with a shoulder injury against Georgia Tech. Cullen Harper was hardly sharp, throwing two interceptions, but he finally got the offense moving and led the way to a second half lead. The running game, with C.J. Spiller on the sidelines with a hamstring injury, didn’t do much of anything netting just 51 yards. Basically, the emotion of the week didn’t really matter and reality has fully set in; the season isn’t going to turn around.
Duke … Duke just doesn’t have the fire power to keep up against the better teams. It needs everything to go its way, like the Virginia win, but Georgia Tech and Miami showed in back to back games just how far the Blue Devil defense has to go. Thaddeus Lewis has to lead the way to long, drawn out scoring drives over the next three games against Vanderbilt, Wake Forest and NC State. Duke can win those games, or at least come up with one, but there can’t be any big mistakes and the offense has to be working from the start.
Florida State … It took too long to put NC State away thanks to four field goals instead for touchdowns to close out long drives, but on the plus side, the offense sowed it could go on long, sustained drives. 18 plays for 74 yards, 11 plays for 70 yards. 10 plays for 35 yards. FSU controlled the clock and the game holding on to the ball for 38:16. QB Christian Ponder wasn't flawless, but he kept the chains moving and he didn't make mistakes. Don't look now, but the Noles are deep in the heart of the the ACC title hunt.
Georgia Tech… It might not have been pretty throughout, and the circumstances might have been a bit strange, but Georgia Tech won at Clemson. That’s not bad no matter what. The running game is doing just enough to get by thanks to the continued excellence of Jonathan Dwyer, and while Josh Nesbitt ran it well, he has to be more efficient throwing it. It would help if there was another option other than Demaryius Thomas.
Maryland … Maryland had four drives stall against Wake Forest, leading to field goals instead of touchdowns. Outside of that, everything else worked in the shocking shut out win. Maryland wasn’t just good, it was ACC title good as it put together its best overall game of the year by far. Chris Turner threw well, Da’Rel Scott ran well, and the defense stoned the Demon Deacon offense all game long. Now the momentum has to continue as the Terps have the tough part of the schedule to come after facing NC State.
Miami … There shouldn’t be any quarterback controversy, and Randy Shannon is doing his best not to allow one, but after the way Jacory Harris played in the win over Duke, this could be a problem. Shannon has come out to say that Robert Marve is the team’s starting quarterback without question, but he continues to be erratic. It’s all part of the learning process, but with the ACC title still out there for the taking if the Canes can go on a great run, if might be a hard sell to keep Harris on the bench. The offense exploded against Duke, and there’s no way Marve won’t be looking over his shoulder if he makes any mistakes against Wake Forest.
North Carolina … North Carolina is still a young team. It’s an extremely talented team, and an extremely athletic one, but it’s still young. It has found ways to pull off close wins over Notre Dame and Miami, but it’s just a few plays away from being unbeaten. Cam Sexton threw well and Shaun Draughn came up with a big day on the ground, but the O couldn’t close. It has to be a learning experience. The Tar Heels have big games against Boston College and Georgia Tech ahead which are now must wins to stay in the ACC title hunt.
NC State … NC State is finally starting to get healthy, and it shows. TE Anthony Hill contributed against Florida State and overall it was a strong effort. But the offense couldn't keep the chains moving, it couldn't control the clock or the ball, and eventually, the defense wore down. Even in the defeat, the team showed promise on both sides of the ball. Now it's up to QB Russell Wilson to keep improving, and it's up to the defense to figure out how to get off the field.
Virginia … Virginia isn’t always going to be pretty, but currently on a three-game winning streak, the team is playing with confidence and toughness. Who comes back in the final few minutes to beat North Carolina when nothing has been working? On a three-game winning streak with a trip to Georgia Tech up next, the Cavaliers can make an even bigger statement in the Coastal Division race. It would be nice if the offense was a bit more consistent, but the defense is picking up the slack lately.
Virginia Tech … The defense, for the most part, did its part against Boston College, but the special teams gave up a punt return for a touchdown and the offense failed to capitalize on all the Eagle mistakes. 10 penalties weren’t a plus, and neither were the mere 90 passing yards from Tyrod Taylor. This is a good enough team to find its way into the ACC title game if the defense keeps playing well and if the offense starts to produce a bit more, but there’s little margin for error. Taylor is in for Sean Glennon to be dynamic, and he has to start doing more.  
Wake Forest… Wake Forest is allowed a clunker here and there, but the loss to Maryland was inexplicably bizarre. Maryland is good, but it’s not that good. It played out of its head a bit, but the Demon Deacons helped by failing to execute on either side of the ball. On the plus side, the D did a nice job of holding the Terp offense to four field goals with touchdowns would’ve blown the game out of the water. However, this was the second bad game in the last three with a trip to Miami up next.