By: Ryan Moreland (@ryanmoreland)
Offensive Firepower
I think North Carolina might have just scored another touchdown. Oh, and Miami did two. The top two scoring offenses so far in Season 22 both call the ACC home. North Carolina, led by QB Kevin Price, torched Texas this week. They scored 63 points while putting up 687 yards. Miami put up 65 points and 600 yards in a double-overtime win over Kentucky behind the arm of Leisa Pink.
Both QBs had over 500 yards and five touchdowns. Neither of them threw an interception either. Both had help from the running game. North Carolina’s Carver Clark refused to go down on initial contact all night, racking up 93 total yards and a touchdown on only 19 touches. Bo Yost was a workhorse once again, getting 22 carries, which he took for 90 yards and three scores.
The top receiver for the Tar Heels was Senior Jaxon Brooks, who had 149 yards on 13 catches. Miami’s Nick Morrow topped that with a staggering 15 catches and 221 yards. Shockingly, neither of them found the endzone. However, their play moved their respective team down the field on many of their touchdown drives.
This was an unbelievable explosion of offensive firepower for both teams. Is anyone counting down the days until their Week Four matchup? Mike, we might need to make sure the score bug is prepared to go into the triple digits.
Down Goes Frazier
Auburn was a perfect 16-0 in regular season games in the Justin Duke era. Now, they are 16-1. Florida State host Auburn in a battle of heavyweights Tuesday night and the game lived up to the hype.
Auburn led a majority of the game, taking a 30-14 lead into the final quarter of play. The Seminoles scored 23 unanswered points in the final quarter to come back and win the game. The final score was 37-30.
This was an impressive debut game for freshman QB Bear Michaels. He threw for 350 yards and five touchdowns. Michaels was one of only two freshman QBs to start their careers with a win. He did a great job of spreading the ball around and getting everyone involved. His top receiver was Junior Josh Woods. Woods caught seven passes for 80 yards and two touchdowns, setting new personal highs in receptions, yards, and TDs.
The FSU defense started slow, but they pitched a shutout final quarter. It was the linebacker unit that stood out for the Seminoles. MLB Mark Sala led the team in tackles with 11. OLB Quavious Ball had six tackles, a TFL, an int (which he had a 30-yard return on), and a pass breakup, in what was a do-it-all performance.
Florida State notched the win against the team that couldn’t be beaten in the regular season. And the cherry on top of this football sundae: FSU AD Tom Pence becomes the first AD to ever win 80 career games. Congrats, Tom.
The Have And the Almost Haves
No conference had a clearer separation between the top three teams and the bottom three than the ACC did last season. Virginia Tech, Clemson, and Notre Dame combined for four wins, which was one less than third place North Carolina had. This season these three teams made it their focus to turn the tide and put some pressure on the top three in the ACC.
All three played great games this week, but all three fell just short of victory. Virginia Tech got down early to Oklahoma, but they kept fighting, eventually tying the game back up. However, they would ultimately lose despite outscoring the Sooners 24-20 in the second half.
The Hokies did have standout performances from a freshman and a senior in this game, though. HB Malcom Dansby made his CFSL debut, rushing for 95 yards on only 12 carries. His 7.9 yards per carry average is the most of any player with at least 10 carries. Senior DT Myles Andrews had a league-leading five sacks in this game, as well. No other player in the league has more than three.
Clemson and Notre Dame didn’t need to come back. Both held on to leads to start the final quarter of play. Clemson was leading 45-34 before LSU scored 15 unanswered points in the fourth to win. Clemson QB Bojack Merriweather had 323 passing yards and three total touchdowns in the losing effort.
Notre Dame led Tennessee 24-17 at the start of the fourth quarter. However, Tennessee would outscore the Irish 21-7 in the final frame to take the win. Freshman QB Matt Perez threw for 296 yards and had four total touchdowns for the Irish.
These three teams were all so close to a win but ultimately fell just short. We will see if any (or perhaps all) can get their first win of Season 20 next week.
ACC Week 1 Results
Florida State defeated Auburn 37-30
North Carolina defeated Texas 63-31
Miami defeated Kentucky 65-62
Virginia Tech fell to Oklahoma 37-34
Notre Dame fell to Tennessee 38-31
Clemson fell to LSU 49-45
ACC finished with a 3-3 record this week in OOC play
ACC Week 2 Schedule
Monday, January 13, 2025
Miami at Texas A&M 8:30 PM CST (Twitch)
Tuesday, January 14, 2025
North Carolina at Penn State 6:30 PM CST (Twitch)
Florida State at Ohio State 8:30 PM CST (Twitch)
Wednesday, January 15, 2025
Virginia Tech at Michigan State 6:30 PM CST (Twitch)
Clemson at Alabama 8:30 PM CST (YouTube)
Thursday, January 16, 2025
Notre Dame at West Virginia 8:30 PM CST (YouTube)
Potential ACC Game of the Week
I was tempted to pick Miami vs Texas A&M here, but after the way Ohio State started the season, I am excited to see them take on the Seminoles. I expect plenty of fireworks between these two teams, as both have fantastic offenses. However, both defenses are no joke either. Some will call me crazy for this pick, but I think this could be a great ballgame.
