By: Ryan Moreland (@ryanmoreland)
The Fight in the Tiger
There has been a lot of talk about this season’s Clemson Tigers. They may be 0-5, but this young team is in the middle of a rebuild. And the rebuild is looking like it will be short.
This week the Tigers went to Tallahassee to take on Florida State. The Tigers came out firing. QB Tavon Moss led the team down the field several times. He ended the game with 494 passing yards and 4 touchdowns. His leading WR, Paul Gavin, had 10 catches, 172 yards, and a pair of TDs.
The Clemson pass attack led them to a 6-point lead at the half. It was in the second half when the Seminoles stormed back. FSU QB Zeus Claydon led the team to 24 second-half points to win the game 45-41. Claydon had 6 touchdown passes and nearly 500 passing yards.
The Tigers are still hunting for their first win in the Logan Wetzel era, but they have played some great teams really close. It is only a matter of time before Clemson pulls off an upset over a conference rival.
A Strom is Coming
The Miami Hurricanes won a close game over the North Carolina Tar Heels this week. The game was tied after three-quarters of play, 20-20. The Tar Heels got a field goal, but Miami punched in a touchdown in the fourth. The Hurricanes won the game and took control of the conference.
Miami won this game despite North Carolina moving the ball much better. North Carolina had 64 total yards. Even more crazy was North Carolina had 6 redzone trips and Miami only had two. However, both teams had two redzone touchdowns.
The Miami defense won this game. SS Dan Hanson led the team in tackles (12). He seemed to be everywhere, especially when it mattered most. The pass rush was led by DE Bubba Wadsworth. He had 3 TFLs and 2 sacks. Overall, the defense bent, but rarely broke. They shut down Kevin Price and company inside the 20 all night.
The offense did enough to win. Miami WR Zay Witherspoon was unstoppable in this game. He had 9 catches for 173 yards against the Tar Heel defense. He accounted for nearly half of Leisa Pink‘s 362 passing yards.
This was a huge win for Miami as they pushed North Carolina out of the tie for first in the conference, with a key win over them. This game will have major playoff implications and was a must-win. The Hurricanes got the job done.
Attack of the Killer Turkeys
Virginia Tech got the first blowout win in the young history of the program. This week the Hokies beat Notre Dame 44-16 in a complete team game. The offense and defense both played at their best.
Hokie QB Saint Major threw for 409 yards and ran for another 82. He had four total touchdowns. To Notre Dame’s credit, they slowed down key offensive stars like Ahmad Williams and Aloysius Jefferies in check. However, others stepped up to fill the void. HB CeeCee Mucci had 9 receptions for 104 yards, in addition to his 50 rushing yards. But the leading receiver this week was TE Patrick Sullivan who had 11 catches, 110 yards, and a touchdown.
The defense was on point. They only allowed 3 redzone trips the entire game. More impressively, they didn’t allow a single redzone touchdown. The defense was led by MLB Gunny Creedon and FS Ziggy Zelinski. Both tied for the team lead in tackles this game, with 8. In addition to the tackles, Creedon also had three TFLs and a sack. Zelinski had a TFL of his own and a pair of pass breakups.
The Hokies improved to 2-3 with the win over Notre Dame. They are still firmly in the hunt for an automatic playoff bid, which would be quite an accomplishment in their first-ever season.
ACC Week 5 Results
Miami 27, UNC 23
Florida State 45, Clemson 41
Virginia Tech 44, Notre Dame 16
ACC Week 6 Schedule
Tuesday
Florida State at North Carolina (8:30 PM on Twitch)
Thursday
Miami at Virginia Tech (6:30 PM on Twitch)
Clemson at Notre Dame (8:30 PM on Twitch)
Potential ACC Game of the Week
This one was not a hard choice. Florida State heads into North Carolina in what should be one of the biggest games of the year in the ACC. North Carolina lost their first game in conference play since Season 19 last week. They need a win this week to stay in the hunt for a conference title. Florida State is tied for he conference lead with rival Miami. If they want to stay at the top, they need to beat North Carolina. This should be Game of the Week material with a lot on the line.
