By: Clayton Hatley 9 (@clayonhatley94)
The Good, The Not So Bad, and The Ugly.
In Week 2 of the CFSL Season 22, we’ve seen some ups and downs in the ACC. There are a bunch of stories to get through after another great week of action, so let’s dive right in.
The Ugly
Clemson VS Alabama
Let’s start with Clemson since they had a rough week and Alabama routed Clemson with the total score for that game being Clemson with only 9 points scored and Alabama with a staggering 65 points on the board. It seems Clemson was struggling on both sides of the ball as they were only able to score 1 TD and a FG.
Your top contributors to Clemson’s offense for the game were Bojack Merriwether who connected with his receivers 25 out of his 45 attempts for 202 yards and a TD against a stellar Alabama Defense, and Bryce Cousins with 5 receptions for 66 yards and a TD. You also have to give credit to the Kicker Fred Samuelson for helping bring the Tigers to 9 points for the game when he made a 49-yard field goal.
There’s a lot more to be desired from this Clemson team. It seems they struggled all game defensively to stop the continual onslaught from the Alabama offensive unit with that being said a couple of standouts from Clemson’s defense are Robert Wetzel with 17 tackles and a TFL, Silk Jefferson with 7 tackles and TFL also Mo Love with 7 tackles.
So in short there is no doubt that Clemson’s secondary showed up to take down the favored Crimson Tide. What can Clemson AD Logan Wetzel to do change momentum this season? It’s still very early, but with an 0-2 record and having the second-worst defense in the CFSL by points allowed, might this be an omen of things to come?
Notre Dame VS WVU
The other part of the bad and the ugly this week is Notre Dame’s loss to West Virginia 31 to 73. Quite the difference in scored points but they seem to have outperformed Clemson this week. Notre Dame once everything gets clicking could be as productive as the rest of their conference.
There are just a few areas they need to tighten up on and that’s the defensive side of the ball as so far this year they’ve allowed a total of 111 points to be scored against them tying them up with Georgia for 3rd most points scored against them in the league.
This week’s standouts from Notre Dame are Matt Perez who found his receivers 39 out of the 61 times he threw the ball with those connections totaling 442 yds and 2 touchdowns. Perez also was a weapon on his feet as he rushed for 2 TDs. Another player who made a difference offensively was Olin Norris who caught the ball for 103 yards and a TD. One more player who helped put some points on the board and that’s none other than Jordan Little who caught the ball for 105 yards and a TD.
On the defensive side of the ball, these three pliers made an impact for the Fighting Irish and that’s Quinn Giese with 7 tackles and a TFL, Peyton Lange with 2 tackles a TFL, and a sack, and (last but not least) OLB Norman Alber showed up and collected 4 tackles and a interception.
In all this bottom portion of the ACC has a lot to prove and a lot of promise. Hopefully, they can get things clicking soon because once they do it will make for some entertaining football.
The Good
As far as the good goes two games stood out to me this week and we will dive into those in detail and let you know what I think about those games.
North Carolina VS Penn State
This game proved to be shocking in my opinion seeing North Carolina put on a good showing against one of the biggest stories of the off-season in Penn State outsourcing them 47 to 25. Let’s take a look at the top contributors from UNC this week. Although UNC didn’t score much in the air their QB was still an integral part of their success this game throwing 30-39 for 206 yds, rushing for 105 yds and 2 TDs, then there is HB Carver Clark who rushed for 106 yards, and 2 TDs, and Jackson Brooks also had his hand in the success on the offensive side of the ball receiving for 73 yds and rushing for 27 yds. As far as the defensive side of the ball there’s a superstar if you would that stood out amongst their teammates and that’s Ava Navarro who recorded 5 tackles, 1 TFL, and 67-yard int that led to a pick 6 adding another point to the board, Bob Peyton also stood out with 5 tackles, 4 TFLs, and 3 Sacks. Last but not least Stan Free showed up and balled out as well collecting 7 Tackles and 1 TFL. With all of that being said I’m excited to see how this season will pan out for the Tar Heels.
Miami VS Texas A&M
This game was another game to watch if you haven’t watched it yet. I recommend going back and doing so. It was very good football all around. Miami happened to pull out of this game as the victors, scoring 48 – 32. Some key players in this victory are Leisa Pink (35 – 40, 389 passing yds, 2 Passing TDs, 2 Rushing TDs), Daniel Brown (134 receiving yds, 1 TD), Bo Yost ( rushed for 83 yds and a TD), Dan Henson (6 tackles, 2 TFLs, 2 Sacks and an INT), Brad Davis (9 tackles and 2 TFLs) and Bubba Wadsworth (4 tackles, 1 TFL and 1 Sack) Needless to say it obvious Miami is set to show up on both sides of the ball this season.
The Not So Bad
These next 2 games we will talk about both were settled by 1 point on the board so yes these games were very close and could have gone either way but the better team pulled ahead in each of these games.
Virginia Tech VS Michigan State
This game was really good all around but Virginia Tech pulled ahead in the 4th quarter after trailing the first 3 quarters. They scored 19 unanswered points in the 4th quarter propelling them into victory. Every player on VT did phenomenally in this comeback victory. The score ended in VT 29 – MSU 28. Stand-out performances from Saint Major, Ahmad Williams, Malcolm Dansby, Nate Skinner, Ziggy Zelinski, and Myles Andrews.
Florida State VS Ohio State
This game was another nail-biter but unfortunately in the end after a tough fight, FSU lost this game 30 to 31. FSU led a majority of the game but Ohio State came out to ball in the 4th quarter and turned the tables. Standout performances by Virginia Tech’s Bear Michaels, Dee Money, Lincoln Knerr, Jack Swift, Monty Leak, and Quavious Ball.
ACC Week 2 Results
UNC defeated Penn State 47 – 25
Miami defeated Texas A&M 48 – 32
Florida State fell to Ohio State 31 – 30
Virginia Tech defeated Michigan State 29 – 28
Notre Dame fell to West Virginia 73 – 31
Clemson fell to Alabama 65 – 9
The ACC finished this week with a 6 – 6 overall record in OOC play
ACC Week 3 Schedule
Tuesday, Jan 21st
6:30 PM CST – USC at Miami (Twitch)
6:30 PM CST – Oregon at Notre Dame (YouTube)
8:30 PM CST – Michigan at Clemson (YouTube)
Wednesday, January 22
8:30 PM CST – Georgia at North Carolina (Twitch)
8:30 PM CST – Florida at Virginia Tech (YouTube)
Thursday, January 23
8:30 PM CST – Florida State at Colorado (Twitch)
Potential ACC Game of the Week
There is a lot of potential for ACC Game of the Week in Week 3, but I believe that the FSU vs Colorado will be the game to watch as Colorado is coming off a close victory against Kentucky, and with FSU playing how they are this could make for one entertaining matchup.
