ACC Week in Review – Week Four

Yikes. By far, this was the worst week for the ACC in 2011. Let’s get through this one before it continues to sting.

The disaster started on Thursday night, when North Carolina State took on Big East opponent Cincinnati in a nationally-televised matchup. The Isaiah Pead and Zach Collaros show was on point for the Bearcats, combing for five touchdowns and a 44-14 rout of the Wolfpack. Mike Glennon did fine for NC State, you’d rather do without his two interceptions but it’s hard to complain about a 25/36, 334 and two score line. Where the Wolfpack blew the game was on the ground, where they gained -26 yards on 22 carries and allowed 240 yards and three touchdowns on 46 carries. One bright spot for NC State? T.J. Graham, who caught seven passes for 176 yards and both of the Wolfpack’s scores.

In one of the better games of the day, high-flying Georgia Tech faced their toughest opposition yet in North Carolina, and for the first time this year, didn’t score on their first play from scrimmage of the game. The Tar Heels took an early lead on a Giovani Bernard four yard touchdown, and a Justin Moore field goal for Georgia Tech made it 7-3 at the end of the first quarter. A touchdown pass from Tevin Washington to Stephen Hill and a two-yard touchdown run by Roddy Jones gave the Yellow Jackets a 17-7 lead at halftime, and a Moore field goal made it 20-7 early in the third. Carolina scored three of the next four touchdowns, and the game was 28-28 with about seven and a half minutes remaining. With about five minutes left, Tevin Washington ran in a five-yard score, giving Georgia Tech a 35-28 lead they would not relinquish. Two players in this game continued their unlikely candidates for ACC Player of the Year – Bernard and Hill. Bernard finished with 155 yards on the ground with two touchdowns and 47 yards receiving, bringing his total yardage to 510 on the young season with six touchdowns. Hill had six receptions for 151 yards and a touchdown, bringing his season totals to 14 catches for 462 yards and four touchdowns. Orwin Smith continued his unreal year, rushing seven times for 79 yards – an 11.3 per carry average that brought his season average down to 18.4 per carry (349 yards on 19 rushes this season).

Maryland played Temple. Maryland was completely outclassed by Temple. Maryland lost to Temple 38-7, at home. That is all. More accurately, Maryland allowed Bernard Pierce (32 carries for 149 yards and five touchdowns) to do whatever the hell he wanted, and that was without paying any attention to Chester Stewart (9/9 for 140 yards and one touchdown) or doing anything on offense (240 yards of total offense, zero points from the first team offense). Let’s stop talking about this one.

Boston College faced off against in-state rival UMass, who will join the FBS next season. The Eagles got their first win of the season, thrashing the Minutemen 45-17. Chase Rettig was solid, going 14/22 for 196 yards and three touchdowns, and BC only outgained UMass 389-313. They made the most of their opportunities, however, and came away with the easy win.

Duke made it two wins in a row with a beatdown of Tulane, as Sean Renfree led the Blue Devils to a 48-27 win. Giving up 27 points to Tulane is not ideal, but when you’re Duke, you know you can (usually) score with the Renfree-Vernon-Varner attack. Renfree was 21/30 for 278 yards and one touchdown, and Vernon and Varner combined for 10 receptions, 168 yards and a touchdown. Where Duke got most of their scoring from, however, was on the ground, where Juwan Thompson and Jay Hollingsworth combined for three scores.

The other candidate for game of the week was Clemson-Florida State, with the 21st-ranked Tigers welcoming the #11 Seminoles to Death Valley with a 35-30 upset victory. The Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins show continued, and after the Tigers jumped out to a 14-3 lead in the first quarter they never looked back. In the fourth quarter, the Seminoles made it a game with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Clint Trickett to Rashad Greene. The two-point conversion that ensued made it 28-23 Clemson. A 62-yard touchdown pass from Boyd to Watkins made it 35-23, essentially nullifying a later Trickett to Kenny Shaw touchdown that made it 35-30. Boyd finished with a 22/35 line for 344 yards and three touchdowns, and Watkins caught seven passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns. However, the best part of the game, without a doubt, was Bjoern Werner’s 25 yard fumble return for a touchdown on the most Clemson play possible.

Virginia faced off against Southern Miss at home, and had a disappointment of their own, falling to the Golden Eagles 30-24 after a fourth quarter comeback attempt fell short. The quarterback duo of Michael Rocco and David Watford combined for a 26/44 line for 221 yards and one touchdown against three interceptions, while Austin Davis was 27/41 for 313 yards and three touchdowns for USM. Perry Jones did well as usual (17 carries for 82 yards), but it was the Hoos’ defense that was just unable to secure the win.

Virginia Tech took care of business against Marshall, getting an easy 30-10 victory on the road. The Hokies outgained the Thundering Herd by nearly 200 yards and even though Logan Thomas struggled (22/33, 229 yards, one interception), Daniel Wilson and Josh Oglesby picked up the slack on offense, running for a combined 207 yards and three touchdowns on 38 carries.

In a game that rivaled Maryland’s for most disappointing of the day, Miami took on Kansas State at home, and lost 28-24. Collin Klein had a great game for the Wildcats, completing 12 of 18 passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns and running 22 times for 93 yards and a score, while John Hubert also ran for 166 yards on 18 carries for a touchdown. The Miami offensive core of Jacory Harris (21/31 for 272 and two scores), Lamar Miller (18 carries for 106 yards and a touchdown) and Travis Benjamin (six receptions for 91 yards and a score) did well, but the Hurricanes’ defense was unable to hold back the Wildcats’ attack. Harris ended up being stuffed on the goal line on fourth down to preserve Kansas State’s win.

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