ACC Week in Review – Week 1

The first week of ACC football was extended through Monday, delaying our first post of the regular season. Overall, it was a mixed bag for the conference, as they finished up with an 8-4 record against an unimpressive group of opponents. Let’s run it down, after the jump.

Both Georgia Tech and Wake Forest played on Thursday, with mixed results. The Yellow Jackets faced off against FCS school Western Carolina, and actually passed their way to an easy 63-21 victory. While the Jackets did run for 297 yards and six touchdowns, they threw for 365 yards and three scores, including an 8/13, 271 yard, three touchdown effort from Tevin Washington. Stephen Hill had a breakout game of sorts, catching four passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns.

As for Wake, they jumped out to a 20-7 halftime lead and even led 29-14 in the fourth quarter over Syracuse, but failed to hold on as Ryan Nassib threw three touchdown passes for the Orange and led the Big East squad to a 36-29 overtime victory. For the Demon Deacons, Tanner Price completed only 18 of 31 passes, but threw for 289 yards and three scores. While Chris Givens (seven receptions, 170 yards) had a great day, ACC Player of the Year candidate Josh Harris (22 carries, 66 yards) disappointed.

Eight ACC teams played on Saturday. Boston College faced off against a Northwestern team without (very) dark horse Heisman candidate Dan Persa, but Kain Colter was still able to lead the Wildcats to a surprising 24-17 victory. The positives for BC? They had 479 yards of total offense, as Andre Williams looked very good and Chase Rettig threw for 375 yards (although with only 24 completions on 44 attempts and with one interceptions against no touchdowns). The bad news? Their defense struggled. The worse news? Ifeanyi Momah, who caught eight passes for 157 yards in the game, is out for the year.

Virginia Tech dismantled Appalachian State 66-13, Florida State took care of business against Louisiana Monroe 34-0, North Carolina beat James Madison 42-10, and Virginia beat William & Mary 40-3 in the “Games that were never in question” category”. Notable? David Wilson rushed for 162 yards and three touchdowns for VTech and Bryn Renner completed 22 of 23 passes for North Carolina.

Clemson went into halftime trailing 16-13 against Troy, but three touchdowns from Tahj Boyd successfully pulled out a 43-19 victory. Liberty got within nine of NC State in the fourth quarter, but they too were able to pull it out for a 43-21 win – but the Wolfpack’s offense looked terrible. They were outgained by Liberty 406-318, and Mike Glennon looked pretty ineffective.

The award for worst loss of the night goes, of course, to Duke. The Blue Devils fell to FCS Richmond 23-21, after Garrett Turner ran for a one yard score in the fourth quarter to give the Spiders a lead they would not relinquish. Sean Renfree was not able to get the offense going with Conner Vernon and Donovan Varner.

Finally, the unquestioned game of the week. Maryland-Miami. Monday Night. College Park. The start of the Golden and Edsall eras. The Terps were able to pull out the 32-24 victory in an exciting game, but the defenses of both teams are now in question. Maryland gained nearly 500 yards of total offense while the Canes had over 350, while both coaches impressed in their debut. ACC Player of the Year candidate Danny O’Brien completed 31 of 44 passes for 348 yards and a score, Kevin Dorsey caught eight passes for 124 yards, the Terps scored two defensive touchdowns, and Darin Drakeford had 14 tackles in Maryland’s victory. For Miami, Lamar Miller ran 18 times for 119 yards and Stephen Morris looked solid even with a two-interception performance.

We’ll be back next week with another ACC Week in Review.