What mattered and what’s important from Week 2 of the ACC college football season?
Pitt 20, Ohio 10
Well there we go, Kenny Pickett. After a rough first week in the loss to Virginia, the Pitt quarterback threw for 321 yards and a score. Maurice Ffrench was the main man with ten catches for 138 yards and a score. It helped that Pickett had time this week.
That’s a dangerous Ohio team that’s good enough to potentially win the MAC. It got shut down to just 212 yards, with QB Nathan Rourke bottled up with big stop after big stop.
The ten penalties weren’t okay, and it would’ve been nice to close out more drives with scores – the O only came up with three points in the second half, but after the ugly performance against Virginia, and with Penn State coming up, take the win and move on.
Virginia 52, William & Mary 17
The Cavaliers made it easy right away. Bryce Perkins there two picks, but he ran for 68 yards and a score and threw for almost 200 yards with two touchdowns. There was little to no drama after a 35-3 halftime lead, but …
The four turnovers weren’t okay. There were only three penalties, and the offense was able to push the ball a bit because the defense was cleaning everything up, but going forward, there can’t be these giveaways.
Whatever … over 500 yards of offense. five sacks, the run defense has been a rock, Perkins has been good, a 2-0 record, and two easy wins. The Cavaliers have started the season as well as they could’ve asked for. This is the second-best team in the ACC – now the rankings have to reflect it.
Maryland 63, Syracuse 20
At least Tommy DeVito was better. After a rocky first week against Liberty, he threw for 330 yards and three scores with a pick, but he also had to keep on bombing because the defense didn’t have any answers. He was under pressure early on, but he still ended up moving the O a bit. But …
The SU D got buried under the avalanche. The Terp offense ripped apart the defensive front at will, rolled for well over 600 yards, and there weren’t any answers. The pass rush was negated right away by the quick-hitting attack, and there were way, way too many open holes for the Terps to rip through. The Orange couldn’t handle the tempo, but …
This doesn’t matter. This was embarrassing, ugly, and and potentially a step back, but this can all change in a hurry with Clemson coming to town next week … uh oh. It’s all about the lines – they have to hold up a whole lot better than they did this week.
NEXT: Texas A&M at Clemson, Western Carolina at NC State, Old Dominion at Virginia Tech
Clemson 24, Texas A&M 10
Don’t be fooled by the final score – this was total domination by Clemson. There might have been a late interception – the third of the year thrown by Trevor Lawrence – and there were a few missed opportunities, but the defending national champs delivered the knockout punch in the third quarter. Texas A&M loaded up to stop the run and made Lawrence throw, and he came up big when it truly mattered.
Give the Tigers credit for holding up well against the A&M tempo, or lack of it. The Aggies were deliberate, they wanted to control the clock and the game, and the ended up having the ball for well over 32 minutes, but Clemson maintained its energy and focus. This was going to be a bit more of a slugfest than a firefight, and the Tigers still won without any problems.
Clemson might be a whole lot of flash and offensive fun, but at some point, it needs to get more credit for being physical. It beat up Texas A&M QB Kellen Mond with big hit after big hit, and it managed to be intimidating in the secondary against a big receiving corps that won most of the battles in last year’s game. No, it wasn’t a win by 20 or more – the streak ended – but whatever – this was a terrific win, and it might be the final one against a ranked team all season.
NC State 41, Western Carolina 0
And there’s Zonovan Knight. The young star running back was magnificent, running for 119 yards and two scores. He didn’t have any big dashes, but he continues to show just how huge he’ll be for the offense to take the pressure off Matt McKay, who had a second straight good game with 200 passing yards and a score.
NC State keeps looking the part of the (possible) second-best team in the ACC. It was a true tune-up game, and after a quarter, there wasn’t any problem with the passing game needing a little bit to get going. There wasn’t any drama.
The defense didn’t allow a thing. The Catamounts didn’t have any room to run, finishing with just eight yards and just one decent run all day. The pass rush did its part, but the entire defense loaded up. It made WCU throw, and it couldn’t do it.
Virginia Tech 31, Old Dominion 17
It wasn’t the total wipeout Hokie fans might have wanted after last year’s loss and the rough run over the last 12 games, but it was good enough. Ryan Willis was able to move the offense through the air with 272 yards and two scores, and he ran for a touchdown, but …
Willis lost a fumble, and the team was -2 in turnover margin. The defense was good on third downs and came up with a great pass rush, but there weren’t any takeaways and the run defense got gashed a bit too often.
The running game has to be a whole lot stronger. Willis had to carry the offense with a ground attack that had one one good run, and that was about it. The Hokies have to average more than 3.4 yards per carry, and again, they have to be on the right side of the turnover battle.
NEXT: USF at Georgia Tech, Richmond at Boston College, NC A&T at Duke
Georgia Tech 14, USF 10
Yuuuuuuuck. The USF team that got rolled over by Wisconsin stayed in the game and almost pulled off the win over Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets were able to come up with a key fumble recovery, and the 14 points in the second quarter held up.
So what went right? The punting game was fantastic – the Yellow Jackets owned the field position battle or stretches – and the defense was good at getting off the field. It might not be the offense of old, but it controlled the clock.
There wasn’t much to the passing game that came up with 76 yards, and the running game was stuffed too often, and it wasn’t pretty, but it’s a process. Geoff Collins got his first win, but soon the offense has to come up with a positive identity.
Boston College 45, Richmond 13
That’s how you start out a tune-up game. The Eagles were up 21-0 in the first and had things well in hand by halftime thanks to a huge performance from the offensive effort from the offensive line. The running backs were able to gash the Spiders at will.
Anthony Brown hit 8-of-14 passes for 163 yards and three scores, AJ Dillon ran for 86 yards and two scores, and it all worked. The ground attack pounded away for 346 yards and three scores, and once again, the defense was fantastic at taking the ball away. After beating Virginia Tech with five takeaways, the D came up with two, and the O didn’t give any away.
Now with Kansas up next, Rutgers to follow, and Wake Forest and Louisville after that, a 6-0 start is a must going into the NC State game. The team is playing well out of the gate – it’s going to sneak up on everyone by midseason again.
Duke 45, North Carolina A&T 13
The passing game got to stretch its legs a bit. This was the Quentin Harris game, as he completed 30-of-42 passes for 345 yards and four scores, and ran for 83 yards and a touchdown. It would be nice if other parts could do a bit more, but after the Alabama game, the O needed to have some fun.
There’s still more to work on. The Blue Devils were hit for nine penalties and turned it over twice, but the offensive explosion more than made up for it. That’s what North Carolina A&T is for, but the Middle Tennessee game next week has to be sharp before going to Virginia Tech.
The D basically gave up one big play in the second quarter. Other than that, there wasn’t anything from the Aggie running game. So far, and this includes the Alabama game, the defensive front has done a nice job.
NEXT: ULM at Florida State, EKU at Louisville, Miami at North Carolina
Florida State 45, ULM 44 OT
It’s a win. For now, take it move on, and live to fight another day. The Noles survived in overtime as ULM whiffed on an extra point attempt that would’ve forced a second OT. There’s a LOT to dog FSU about – like three turnovers and 11 penalties that let the Warhawks get back into the game, but there were plenty of positives, like …
The teams been amazing in the first half so far. The offense came out rolling, Cam Akers had a huge day – 193 yards and two scores on 36 carries – and James Blackman spread the ball around well. The O line wasn’t that bad, but …
For the second straight game, the Noles were awful coming out of the locker room in the second half. Was dehydration still an issue? The D that struggled overall again allowed 31 points after the team was cruising at halftime, with way too many struggles on third downs. It’s been a way-too-tough run for the defense after two games, and now it gets Bryce Perkins and Virginia to open up the ACC season. Win that, and everything that happened in for first two weeks is all but forgotten.
Louisville 42, Eastern Kentucky 0
Take the easy win when you can get one. In a short week, the Cardinals came out hot and best the Colonels without a problem thanks to Jawon Pass. He threw a pick, but he also went off for close to 200 yards with four touchdowns.
Showing off a little defensive pressure was nice. The Cardinals showed off the big plays from the line with five sacks and a constant presence in the backfield. The D didn’t stop the EKU ground game cold, but it did enough when it had to.
At the very least, there’s confidence again. The team played well against Notre Dame – scratch that; it kept the game from getting out of hand – and now it has a blowout win. With WKU and Florida State up next, there’s a real chance to make a nice early run if the offense can keep on being as consistent as it was this week.
North Carolina 28, Miami 25
When the Miami defense had to come up with one stop, it couldn’t. After a strong performance against the run, and doing a great job of getting into the backfield, the Canes were beaten by Sam Howell and the last-gasp drive that closed out with the game-winning touchdown pass.
Howell isn’t a freshman – he can’t be. For the second straight week, he took a beating, and yet kept coming through, finishing with 274 yards and two touchdowns including the game-winning drive. The UNC defensive front did its part, too. It was a major factor behind the line, but …
Jarren Williams help up, too. For the second straight game, the Miami offensive front was a major problem. And for the second straight game, Williams kept his cool, completing 30-of-39 passes for 309 yards and two scores. It wasn’t enough despite controlling the clock and the game. North Carolina is now finding ways to win close games.
