Virginia Tech 42, No. 14 Miami 24
Instead of bouncing back after its blowout loss to No. 2 Florida State, No. 11 Miami (7-2, 3-2 in the ACC) dropped its second straight game as the Hurricanes fell to Virginia Tech (7-2, 4-2) at home, blowing the race for the ACC Coastal division wide open in the process. In the Hurricanes’ first game sans star running back Duke Johnson, the Hokies held Miami’s offense to a paltry 28 yards on the ground, by far its lowest total of the season. After throwing six picks in his last two outings, Virginia Tech quarterback Logan Thomas showed why he was one of the league’s most promising young quarterbacks only a season ago, throwing for 366 yards, two scores and no interceptions on 26-of-31 attempts. Running back Trey Edmunds also had a big day, rushing for 74 yards and four scores. With Miami’s loss, the Coastal Division features four teams—Duke, Virginia Tech, Miami and Georgia Tech—that have a shot at meeting Florida State in Charlotte at the end of the season for the ACC Championship Game
No. 3 Florida State 59, Wake Forest 3
Florida State (9-0, 7-0) continued its dominant run through the competition as it blew past Wake Forest (4-6, 2-5), clinching the ACC Atlantic division title and reserving its spot in the ACC Championship game. After amassing a 42-0 lead by the half, the Seminoles coasted through the second half, letting the defense do the work as they held the Demon Deacons to 166 total yards and scored twice off Wake Forest turnovers. Florida State’s offense, though putting up 38 points, did not post massive numbers, with 296 total yards and a pair of turnovers. It was the Seminoles defense that posted the most telling stat of the game: The Demon Deacons completed only one more pass to their own team than they did to the Seminoles, as they threw seven completions and six interceptions.
Pittsburgh 28, No. 24 Notre Dame 21
The Panthers put an end to their two-game losing streak Saturday when they pulled off the upset of the No. 24 Fighting Irish at home. After trading touchdowns for three quarters, the teams entered the final quarter with the score knotted at 21. Just three plays into the quarter, the Irish were threatening to score when Ray Vinopal picked off Tommy Rees in the Panthers’ own end zone to put a halt to the drive. Then with a little more than 10 minutes left in the game, Vinopal jumped in front of another errant pass by Rees at Notre Dame’s 45-yard line and took it back to the 40 yards to set up James Conner’s 1-yard score two plays later. Pittsburgh's defense held strong in the final nine minutes and kept the Irish out of the end zone to clinch the victory.
Boston College 48, New Mexico State 34
Behind a huge performance from running back Andre Williams, the Eagles (5-4, 2-3) edged out New Mexico State (1-9) in a shootout to push Boston College over the .500 mark. Williams, who entered the day as the ACC’s leading rusher and No. 2 in the nation, had another monster day for Boston College, amassing 295 yards on the ground and two touchdowns, including the go-ahead 80-yard score to put the Eagles up 41-34 with 4:53 left in the fourth quarter. On the next series, Williams iced the game with a 47-yard scamper to the end zone to extend the lead to 48-34. Quarterback Chase Retting added a solid performance, throwing for 230 yards and three scores
North Carolina 45, Virginia 14
The Tarheels (4-5, 3-3) pushed their winning streak to three as they racked up a victory against Virginia (2-8, 0-6), which looks unlikely to pick up a conference victory this season as it finishes the season at Miami and at home against Virginia Tech. In its first game since starting quarterback Brynn Renner was lost for the season with a broken collarbone, North Carolina turned to Marquise Williams to lead its passing attack, which entered the contest ranked 19th in the nation. The Tarheels jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first half behind Williams, who threw for 185 yards and two touchdowns and added another 46 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Syracuse 20, Maryland 3
Syracuse’s (5-4, 3-2) defense led the way against Maryland (5-4, 3-2) Saturday, holding the Terrapins to 292 total yards as the Orange moved one game closer to bowl eligibility. Syracuse forced five Maryland fumbles, recovering two of them and adding two interceptions. Running back Jerome Smith and kicker Ryan Norton led the way in terms of scoring for the Orange, as the two combined for all 20 of Syracuse’s points. Smith racked up 118 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries, and Norton booted a pair of field goals in the middle quarters.
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