ACC Football 2018: Midseason awards and superlatives

Most outstanding player

Travis Etienne has been the ACC’s most outstanding player. Etienne has been the workhorse behind the Clemson quarterback battle and subsequent controversy. The sophomore running back has already met his numbers for all of 2017 through six contests. The 5-foot-10, 200-pound athlete has scored 11 rushing touchdowns, caught one touchdown, and is averaging 9.2 yards per carry while rushing for over 700 yards.

When Clemson needed him the most, against the Syracuse Orange, Etienne ran for 203 yards and three touchdowns with an average of 7.5 yards per carry with quarterback Trevor Lawrence out. Kelly Bryant had left the program and in Lawrence’s first start against plucky Syracuse, he was knocked out. It looked like Clemson would fall to Dino Babers Orange squad once again. Then Etienne denied that opportunity.

When the Tigers needed a big-time bounce-back game to get Lawrence comfortable as the starter Etienne tore off 16.7 yards per carry and three touchdowns against Wake Forest in Week 6. All of the pre-season hype for the Tigers was on the defensive line, and they’ve been good, but Etienne has been the best player on the ACC’s best program.