This week's action featured a couple of conference showdowns as well as numerous matchups between the ACC and Big Ten. The Blue Zone takes a look at how all 15 ACC teams performed this weekend:
Northwestern 19, Duke 10
The Blue Devils fell to the Wildcats in Wallace Wade Stadium this past Saturday due to conservative play-calling and a severely limited offense. After being up 7-3 at halftime, Wildcat kick returner Solomon Vault took the opening kickoff back 98 yards and the Blue Devils could not get anything going thereafter. Even Northwestern forced three turnovers, Duke was in the game until running back Warren Long scored a back-breaking 55-yard touchdown with 12:31 left in the game after being forced to a tough third down. Thomas Sirk finished 24 for 39 for just 150 yards and an interception for Duke in the defeat.
No. 11 Clemson 20, Louisville 17
The Tigers escaped Louisville on Thursday night with a late interception by Jadar Johnson on a tipped desperation pass by Cardinals quarterback Kyle Bolin. Clemson sacked Bolin five times and only gave up 19 yards rushing, which offset stretches where the Tigers own offense looked sluggish. Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson threw two touchdowns and running back Wayne Gallman rushed for 139 yards as the Tigers won the teams' conference opener.
No. 9 Florida State 14, Boston College 0
The Seminoles shutout the Eagles on Friday night behind a stout defense. Safety Jalen Ramsey returned a fourth quarter fumble 36 yards for a score and helped Florida State finish with their first shutout on the road since 2003. The Seminoles marched down the field on their opening drive to make it 7-0, but then struggled to score against unranked Boston College. Seminole quarterback Everett Golson completed 15 of 24 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown and helped Florida State run its ACC winning streak to 25. Troy Flutie—the nephew of 1984 Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie—led only three drives into Florida State territory the whole night for the Eagles.
North Carolina 48, Illinois 14
Tar Heel quarterback Marquise Williams threw three touchdown passes and also ran for 105 yards as North Carolina smacked Illinois on Saturday. The Tar Heel defense only surrendered one touchdown through three quarters of play and Ryan Switzer chipped in with a punt return touchdown. Tar Heel kicker Nick Weiler also hit two field goals to stay perfect on the season. Illini running back Josh Ferguson ran for 133 yards but they could not muster enough in the third game led by interim head coach Bill Cubit. The Tar Heels rolled to their most lopsided win against a power-conference opponent in five years.
Wake Forest 17, Army 14
The Daemon Deacons escaped West Point with a win as time expired on Saturday. Pressed into action when starter John Wolford went down early in the game, true freshman quarterback Kendall Hinton scored on runs of 15 and 7 in the second half and lead the Daemon Deacons down the field so Mike Weaver could connect on a 47-yard field goal into the wind as time expired. Wake Forest overcame three interceptions to win its ninth straight in a series with the Black Knights. Army quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw rushed for 61 yards and a touchdown and passed for 54 yards but the Black Knights option attack finished with 186 yards on 54 attempts—well below its season average of 5.8-yards per carry
Syracuse 30, Central Michigan 27
Syracuse led 24-10 at halftime, but the Chippewas came storming back in the second half, forcing overtime with seven seconds left in the game on quarterback Cooper Rush's 27-yard touchdown pass to Ben McCord. Orange running back Jordan Fredericks rushed for 3 yards on 11 carries, including the 4-yard game winner in overtime. Three quarterbacks combined for 161 passing yards and two touchdowns for the Orange, with Eric Dungey leading the way with 93 yards through the air. Dungey left the game in the second quarter with an apparent head injury, so third and fourth string quarterbacks Austin Wilson and Zack Mahoney rotated under center for much of the contest. The Chippewas were lead by Rush’s 430 passing yards in a valiant comeback effort.
No. 8 Notre Dame 30, No. 14 Georgia Tech 22
Fighting Irish running back C.J. Prosise displayed his talents on Saturday, running for 198 yards rushing and three touchdowns, including a 91-yard scamper that was the longest in Notre Dame Stadium history. A pair of Yellow Jacket touchdowns in the final minute from Justin Thomas to Patrick Skov—the second coming after a recovered onside kick—made things interesting at the end. But Torii Hunter Jr. would quiet the comeback after recovering a subsequent onside kick. Notre Dame held the Georgia Tech rushing attack to only 216 yards rushing and quarterback DeShone Kizer was 21-of-30 for 242 yards with an interception.
Miami (FL) 36, Nebraska 33
The Corn Huskers scored 23 points in the fourth quarter to force overtime in Miami Gardens on Saturday, only to fall in overtime to a Michael Badgley 28-yard field goal. Nebraska stormed back from a 33-10 deficit behind three touchdown passes by Tommy Armstrong, including a game-tying fourth touchdown pass to Stanley Morgan with 33 seconds remaining. Hurricanes quarterback Brad Kaaya threw for 379 yards and two touchdowns and Rashawn Scott caught nine passes for 151 yards.
Virginia 35, William & Mary 29
The Cavaliers survived a scare from FCS opponent William & Mary on Saturday, with Virginia able to make enough big plays to win. The Tribe pulled within two scores after blocking a Nicholas Conte punt early in the fourth quarter. With five minutes left, William & Mary quarterback Steve Cluley found DeVonte Dedman in the back of the end zone and made it a one-score game. But the Cavalier defense held late and Virginia got a bounce-back victory after narrowly losing to No. 8 Notre Dame last weekend. Quarterback Matt Johns threw for three touchdown passes and the Cavaliers recorded their first punt return touchdown in 11 years to secure a victory.
Virginia Tech 51, Purdue 24
Despite fumbling three times, Virginia Tech quarterback Brenden Motley threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, leading the Hokies to a sloppy victory against the Boilermakers. Making his second collegiate start after replacing the injured Michael Brewer, Motley went 15 of 23 for 220 yards and also rushed for 24 yards. With the victory, Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer passed Bear Bryant and moved into sixth place on the all-time wins list for a coach at the same school. Trey Edmunds rushed nine times for 72 yards on a day when the Hokies outgained the Boilermakers 471-265.
N.C. State 38, Old Dominion 14
Jacoby Brissett threw for a touchdown and ran for another to lead North Carolina State to a victory against Old Dominion Saturday. Brissett—who reportedly had a fever all day—finished 18 of 27 for 179 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jaylen Samuels that gave his team a 21-7 lead. The Wolfpack outgained the Monarchs 256 to -3 on the ground and did not allow a first down after Old Dominion running back Ray Lawry scored on a 70-yard strike from Shuler Bentley to start the second quarter. N.C. State held eld Lawry—the nation’s leading rusher— to just 15 yards on 11 carries and moved to 3-0 on the season.
Iowa 27, Pittsburgh 24
Iowa kicker Marshall Koehn kicked a 57-yard field goal as time expired to stun the Panthers, giving the Hawkeyes their first 3-0 start in six years. CJ Beathard had 258 yards passing for Iowa, which drove 31 yards in under a minute to set up the game-winning kick. Pittsburgh quarterback Nate Peterman had 219 yards passing and two touchdowns in his first start after replacing starter Chad Voytik. Wide receiver Tyler Boyd recorded 10 catches for 131 yards in a losing effort for the Panthers.
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