Around the ACC: Week 5

The Blue Devils' turnover woes resulted in a disappointing loss against Virginia, and a highly anticipated matchup between two top-five teams lived up to the hype and turned into a classic high-scoring affair.

Virginia 34, Duke 20

A week after a stunning victory at Notre Dame, the Blue Devils (2-3, 0-2 ACC) returned home to face the Cavaliers, who were coming off their first victory of the season. Duke started the game off with a passing touchdown from Daniel Jones to T.J. Rahming to take an early 7-0 lead. But Virginia (2-3, 1-0) quickly responded with a touchdown of its own. Jones threw four interceptions in the first half, and the Blue Devils dug themselves a 20-10 hole at halftime. Virginia quarterback Kurt Benkert picked apart Duke's secondary, completing 23-of-41 passes for 336 yards and three touchdowns. 

The Blue Devils managed to cut the Virginia lead to one touchdown in the fourth quarter before another turnover silenced any hope of a comeback. Jones was sacked in his own end zone with 4:24 remaining and lost the ball, and the Cavaliers fell on the fumble for a touchdown to extend their lead to 34-20 and lock up their second straight victory.

No. 5 Clemson 42, No. 3 Louisville 36

In a highly anticipated matchup featuring two of the best teams in the country, the instant classic featured delivered, providing an exciting back-and-forth battle of two heavyweights refusing to go down. Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson threw a game-winning 31-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Leggett with 3:14 remaining, but the Cardinals (4-1, 2-1) did not go down quietly. Quarterback Lamar Jackson led his team to the Tigers' 9-yard line but needed a first down on fourth-and-seven to stay alive. Jackson completed a pass to James Quick, but the Tigers' defense knocked him out of bounds one yard short of the first-down marker, as Louisville turned the ball over on downs to seal its fate. 

Clemson (5-0, 2-0) responded to an early 7-0 deficit with a 28-3 run to finish the half and head into the locker room with a 28-10 lead. The Tigers limited Jackson early, but the early Heisman frontrunner found a rhythm after halftime and led five straight scoring drives to stake the Cardinals to a 36-28 lead with 7:50 remaining in the game. Artavis Scott sparked Clemson’s comeback with a 77-yard kickoff return before Watson found Mike Williams for a 20-yard scoring pass two plays later. The Tigers forced Louisville to punt for the first time in the second half on the ensuing drive to set up their game-winning drive. 

Watson finished the game with 306 passing yards and five touchdowns and tacked on 91 rushing yards. But the reigning ACC Player of the Year also threw a career-high three interceptions and lost a fumble. Jackson finished the game with 295 passing yards, 162 yards on the ground and three total touchdowns.

The 14th-ranked Hurricanes (4-0, 1-0) jumped out to a 28-7 lead after two fumble returns for touchdowns within a minute of each other in the second quarter against Georgia Tech (3-2, 1-2). The Yellow Jackets answered with touchdowns from quarterback Justin Thomas and running back Dedrick Mills to cut Miami's lead to just one score late in the third quarter. Hurricane quarterback Brad Kaaya responded with a 31-yard touchdown pass to Stacy Coley on the ensuing drive, and the Miami defense shut out the Yellow Jackets in the fourth quarter. The Hurricanes did not turn the ball over all game and forced three turnovers of their own.

Notre Dame 50, Syracuse 33

After losing two straight games, the Fighting Irish got back on track against Syracuse (2-3) at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Quarterback DeShone Kizer threw for a career-high 471 yards, and running backs Josh Adams and Dexter Williams combined to add 182 yards on the ground for the Irish. After allowing 27 first-half points to the Orange's up-tempo spread offense, Notre Dame held Syracuse to just six points in the second half. Orange quarterback Eric Dungey passed for 363 yards and two touchdowns and ran for three scores, but Notre Dame attacked Syracuse’s porous defense with 654 yards of total offense.

Pittsburgh 43, Marshall 27

Pittsburgh (3-2) was firing on all cylinders in the first half, taking a 27-0 lead at halftime. After blowing early leads late in games for two straight weeks, the Panthers faced another challenge from a resilient Marshall team, which trimmed Pittsburgh's lead to three late in the fourth quarter. Facing a third down near midfield, Panther quarterback Nate Peterman found receiver Jester Weah deep down the sideline for a 54-yard touchdown with just 1:04 remaining in the game. Pittsburgh returned an interception for a touchdown as time expired to put icing on the cake. Peterman finished with a season-high 280 passing yards and two touchdowns, and the Panther offense outgained the Thundering Herd 532-344.

N.C. State 33, Wake Forest 16

N.C. State quarterback Ryan Finley threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns to send the Demon Deacons (4-1, 1-1) to their first loss of the season. The Wolfpack (3-1, 1-0) started off hot, scoring their first four drives and taking an early 23-3 lead. N.C. State finished with 527 yards of offense, dominating a Wake Forest defense ranked 20th in scoring defense entering the game. The Wolfpack overcame 13 penalties for 144 yards, keeping the Demon Deacons' offense in check and holding them to three field goals in the red zone.

Boston College 35, Buffalo 3

Boston College quarterback Patrick Towles threw for 234 yards and two touchdowns, and running backs Davon Jones and Jon Hillman each ran for one as the Eagles (3-2) coasted past Buffalo Saturday afternoon. It was the second straight win for the Eagles, who entered the week with the nation’s sixth-ranked defense. They dominated Buffalo on the defensive side of the ball, allowing just 67 yards of total offense and five first downs.