By: Ryan Moreland (@ryanmoreland)
Bend, But Never Break
The defending ACC Champs hosted the brand-new Hokies this week in conference play. North Carolina played a great game and eventually won 48-22. However, Virginia Tech had no issues moving the ball against the Tar Heel defense. Hokie QB Saint Major threw for over 500 yards and two of his WRs (Aloysius Jefferies and Savannah Olzer) had over 125 receiving yards. So, how did North Carolina keep them off the scoreboard?
The Tar Heel redzone defense was perfect in this game. The Hokies made five trips to the redzone. That was the same amount of trips that North Carolina made. However, North Carolina didn’t give up a single redzone touchdown the entire game. Those five trips for Virginia Tech resulted in a total of 9 points.
This was thanks in large part to some big performers on the defense. OLB Blake Barrow and CB Chili Serria had nearly identical stat lines, both getting 8 tackles, 1 TFL, and a pass breakup. Each had big tackles near the goal line to bring drives to a close. The DE duo of Kevin McLeod and Bob Peyton got in on the action with a combined four sacks. Peyton also added a forced fumble.
This was a masterclass in redzone defense. When it mattered the most, the Tar Heel defense was impregnable. And that is the reason they knocked off the Hokies in their first conference game.
Dashing Toward History
Florida State HB Dash Delano has been electric. This past week he set new career highs in rushing yards, carries, and broken tackles in a single game. He finished the day with a jaw-dropping 16 carries, 189 rushing yards, and eight broken tackles.
Delano’s performance pushed him up the league leaderboard. He is currently 8th in rushing yards this season with 351 yards. More impressively, he leads the league in broken tackles, with 20. This is something to keep an eye on.
Delano’s ability to run threw defenders might put him in the CFSL record books. Right now, there is a four-way tie for the 6th most broken tackles in a single season at 45. If Delano can keep up this level of play, he will end the regular season with 40 broken tackles. All it would take it one great playoff performance for him to enter the top 10.
Time will tell if he can dash his way into the history books. For right now, I wish ACC defenders the best of luck when they meet Delano in the hole. You might just end up as a highlight in the top plays as Delano leaves you in the dust.
Where Have You Been Hiding Him?
Miami beat Clemson 37-17 in a game that stayed close for a long time. A big part of that win was thanks to the excellent play of Miami CB Alex Stone. Stone had 5 tackles, 2 TFLs, 2 interceptions, 45 int return yards, and 2 pass breakups. This was an incredible performance in which Stone seemed to be everywhere.
What makes this stat line even crazier, is that Stone has never put up numbers like this before. When Stone jumped in front of Tavon Moss‘ pass for his first interception of the night, he also got the first interception of his career! The sophomore also doubled his career numbers in TFLs and PDs in this game.
Now the question becomes, was this a fluke or a coming out party? I think it is the latter. Stone’s tackle numbers have been consistent this season and when reviewing tape you notice him around the ball a lot. Everything came together this week to have a career performance. We will see if he can do the same to North Carolina’s Kevin Price next week.
ACC Week 4 Results
Florida State 48, Notre Dame 20
North Carolina 48, Virginia Tech 22
Miami 37, Clemson 17
ACC Week 5 Schedule
Tuesday
North Carolina at Miami (6:30 PM on Twitch)
Wednesday
Clemson at Florida State (8:30 PM on YouTube)
Thursday
Notre Dame at Virginia Tech (6:30 PM on YouTube)
Potential ACC Game of the Week
There is a reason North Carolina vs Miami was given a Tuesday night slot. Right now the ACC feels like a three-horse race at the top with these two teams and Florida State. We will learn a lot about both teams in what promises to be a great showdown. One team will come out of this game as the conference favorite with a major leg up on the competition. Not to mention this is also a matchup of the CFSL’s third-best offense in terms of yards gained (UNC) and the CFSL’s sixth-best defense in terms of yards allowed (Miami). This game has major playoff and conference implications and should be in the running for Game of the Week.
