Duke pulled off a famous win over a floundering Miami to give them eight wins on the season. Meanwhile Florida State and Clemson continued to win while Maryland got their first victory in over a month over Virginia Tech. All this and more in the ACC Week 12 review.
Syracuse – 3
No. 2 Florida State – 59
Florida State eased past Syracuse as they continued on the path towards the national championship.
The Seminoles raced to a 38-0 half time lead with Syracuse showed no fight. Jameis Winston threw two touchdown passes and completed 19 of 21 passes before coming out the game in the second half. James Wilder Jr. ran in two scores while Devonta Freeman and Levonte Whitfield added a touchdown apiece.
Devante McFarlane had a strong game for the Orange. The freshman running back totalled 81 yards on 13 carries.
Georgia Tech – 31
No. 8 Clemson – 55
Georgia Tech showed a lot of heart despite suffering their fourth loss of the season at the hands of Clemson.
Tajh Boyd threw for 340 yards and four touchdowns, two of which going to stud receiver Sammy Watkins while the other two found Martavis Bryant and Mike Williams. Roderick McDowell had a rushing touchdown to go with 60 yards while Boyd and fellow quarterback Cole Stoudt both ran in scores on the ground.
Robert Godhigh had 229 total yards and two touchdowns for Georgia Tech who restricted Clemson to 25 minutes of possession. Quarterback Vad Lee fell just shy of his season high passing total as the sophomore attempted 23 passes, completing 13 for 165 yards.
No. 23 Miami – 30
Duke – 48
Duke proved that they are no longer one of the worst programs in a power conference as they toppled Miami to put themselves in the driving seat to win the ACC Coastal division.
Change-of-pace quarterback Brandon Connette had four touchdown runs and threw another to Shaquille Powell as the Blue Devils pulled away in the fourth quarter. Duke pounded the rock all day and racked up 358 rushing yards through Connette, Powell, Jela Duncan and Josh Snead. Regular starting quarterback Anthony Boone completed 11 of 15 passes as Miami had no answer.
The Hurricanes led the game until just before the half when Connette went over from three yards for one of his scores. Running back Dallas Crawford rushed for 115 yards and quarterback Stephen Morris completed 30 of 49 passes for 379 and two touchdowns. However, David Cutcliffe’s defense bent but didn’t break in a famous win.
Maryland – 27
Virginia Tech – 24
Maryland returned to winning ways with an overtime win over a Virginia Tech.
C.J. Brown looked back to his old self for the first time since his concussion to lead the Terrapins to a surprise win.
The senior had 135 passing yards and a touchdown to go with 122 rushing and two scores - the second of which coming in overtime from a yard out to seal the win.
Virginia Tech played a solid game but all too often came up short when they surged into Maryland territory. Logan Thomas had 210 passing yards and was turnover free while Trey Edmunds had 61 rushing yards and a score.
The Hokies drew first blood in overtime with a 31-yard field goal from Eric Kristensen. Nevertheless, Brown powered over from three yards to give the away side their first win since the middle of October.
NC State – 21
Boston College – 38
Andre Williams had a record-breaking performance as Boston College won their sixth game of the season.
The senior running back broke the Eagles’ single-game and single-season rushing records with a 339 yard, two touchdown performance – his fourth 200-yard game of the season. Fellow running back Myles Willis also had a rushing touchdown, as did reliable wide receiver Alex Amidon.
Pete Thomas had arguably his best performance of the season under centre for NC State with 66% of his passes completed for 207 yards and a touchdown. Freshman wide receiver Jumichael Ramos hauled in five of those passes for 109 yards and a score.
North Carolina – 34
Pittsburgh – 27
Pittsburgh couldn’t follow up last week’s famous win over Notre Dame as they became North Carolina’s fourth victim in a row.
Ryan Switzer returned a punt 61 yards – his second punt returned for a touchdown on the day after a 65 yarder in the second quarter - with just under five minutes to go to lift the Tar Heels after Pitt had scored 24 unanswered points. Marquise Williams had 173 passing and 79 rushing yards to go with scores on the ground of 16 and ten yards.
Tom Savage had 313 passing yards and two touchdowns for the Panthers. Freshman running back James Conner had 102 yards on 19 carries, his 2-yard score had pulled the sides level midway through the fourth quarter.