After another chaotic week in the Coastal, the Blue Devils now find themselves alone atop the standings, needing to win at Pittsburgh Saturday to stay there.
Miami 30, Virginia Tech 6
Thursday night’s ACC showdown witnessed Virginia Tech getting steamrolled for its second straight loss against visiting Miami. The Hokies (4-4, 1-3 in the ACC) fell behind 24-0 before halftime to the Hurricanes (5-3, 2-2) and dynamic running back Duke Johnson. Although he did not play against Virginia Tech last year due to a broken right ankle, Johnson rushed for 249 yards and one touchdown—adding 37 yards and another touchdown receiving—and propelled the Miami offense to 456 total yards in the contest.
The struggles continue this season for the Hokies, who only managed to produce 262 total yards and turned it over three times. Despite representing the Coastal Division in five ACC title games since 2005, Virginia Tech now falls to last place in the division, while Miami keeps its hopes alive with just two losses in conference.
North Carolina 28, Virginia 27
In a key Coastal Division matchup, North Carolina (4-4, 2-2) pulled off a late rally in the fourth quarter to hand Virginia (4-4, 2-2) its second straight conference loss since the Cavaliers climbed to the top of the division two weeks ago. Trailing 27-21 with less than five minutes to go, the Tar Heels’ junior quarterback Marquise Williams left the game after his helmet came off during a sack. On the following play, redshirt freshman quarterback Mitch Trubisky hit a wide-open T.J. Thorpe for a 16-yard touchdown to tie the game before the point after, which would give North Carolina the lead 28-27.
Virginia would have plenty of time to recapture the lead following the kick off, but the Tar Heels made a bold onside kick call with 4:05 remaining. The Cavaliers were caught off guard, allowing North Carolina to recover and hold on to the ball for the remainder of the game. With back-to-back victories in conference play, the Tar Heels are slowly climbing back up the standings as they prepare to face off against Miami on the road next week.
Georgia Tech 56, Pittsburgh 28
Georgia Tech (6-2, 3-2) doubled up Pittsburgh (4-4, 2-2) on the road to end a two game losing streak and keep itself in contention amid the wacky Coastal Division race. The Yellow Jackets never gave the Panthers a chance, jumping out to a 28-0 lead in less than six minutes after four early Pittsburgh fumbles. Despite moving back within two scores before halftime, the Panthers struggled to make up for its mistakes—ending the game with six turnovers.
Although Georgia Tech was able to rack up 465 yards on the ground, but its defense gave up 526 total yards to the Panthers. The Yellow Jackets will look to next week’s showdown against struggling Virginia to maintain its conference momentum, and Pittsburgh will try to regain composure against reigning division champion Duke—the only remaining one loss-team in the Coastal Division.
Boston College 23, Wake Forest 17
Although Boston College (5-3, 2-2) jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the first half against Wake Forest (2-6, 0-4), the Demon Deacons almost managed a second half comeback for their first conference win of the season. After gaining momentum on a long, 15-play touchdown drive with more than eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Wake Forest was able to capitalize on sloppy play from the Eagles—including a fumbled kickoff—and bring the game within six points.
Unfortunately for the Demon Deacons, freshman quarterback John Wolford—who had completed 11 of his last 12 passes—made a critical mistake with 2:06 remaining. Wolford attempted to thread the ball down the sideline, but instead threw a critical interception to Justin Simmons, which ended the comeback hopes for the home faithful. Following the loss, Wake Forest remains one of only two teams in the ACC without a conference win, and would have to win the rest of its games to become bowl eligible. On the other hand, the Eagles look ahead to a road contest against struggling Virginia Tech to become bowl eligible for the second straight season.
No. 21 Clemson 16, Syracuse 6
In a sloppy, low-scoring affair that only saw one touchdown in 60 minutes, then-No. 21 Clemson (6-2, 5-1) staved off the upset for its fifth straight victory Saturday night against Syracuse (3-5, 1-3), which has lost five out of its last six games after a 2-0 start to the season. The Orange held on to a 6-3 into the third quarter, but could only manage 170 total yards of offense, which proved fatal against the Tigers. Clemson struggled once again to put up points behind quarterback Cole Stoudt, and turned the ball over four times—uncharacteristic of a team that had only lost the ball six times in its first seven games.
Despite its mistakes, Clemson forced three Syracuse turnovers and provided the only touchdown of the game with a 19-yard pass from Stoudt to redshirt junior tight end Stanton Seckinger early in the fourth quarter. Clemson will be able to correct its mistakes in its bye next week, before traveling to Wake Forest for the Nov. 6 Thursday night ACC contest. The Orange will have to shake off a tough loss and rally at home next week against N.C. State—who has yet to win a game in conference play this season—to gain some momentum for the last third of the season.
Byes: No. 2 Florida State, Duke, Louisville and N.C. State
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