The biggest game in ACC history resulted in a blowout when Florida State's freshman quarterback Jameis Winston dismantled the Clemson Tigers in Death Valley. Miami continued their unbeaten start to the season with two late touchdowns from Dallas Crawford. Finally. Maryland slipped to their second loss of the season at the hands of Wake Forest.
Conference Games
No. 5 Florida State – 51
No. 3 Clemson – 14
Florida State crushed Clemson with a performance that resonated around the college football world. In the biggest game the ACC has ever seen, the Seminoles dismantled the No. 3 Tigers on route to a 37 point victory.
Playing in front of 83,428 fans in Death Valley, Jameis Winston was unfazed. Completing 22 of 34 passes for 444 yards and three touchdowns as well as adding a score on the ground the redshirt freshman outplayed his counterpart in a performance for the ages.
Winston’s first pass was a 22-yard touchdown to Kelvin Benjamin. A fumble recovered for a touchdown and a field goal extended the Seminoles’ lead before Sammy Watkins got one back for Clemson with an acrobatic catch. Florida State’s offense didn’t slow up however, as Rashad Greene caught two touchdown passes of 72 and 17 yards. Greene finished with eight receptions and 146 yards. Two more scores on the ground and a couple of field goals had the visiting side 51-7 up before Clemson’s back-up quarterback Cole Stoudt ran in a late consolation.
The Clemson Tigers had four turnovers on the day with three of those falling on the shoulder of Tajh Boyd. The senior’s national championship and Heisman aspirations are all but over after the longest 60 minutes in Tigers recent history. Florida State, meanwhile, fired a warning shot directly across the bow of Oregon and Ohio State in the race to face Alabama in the national championship.
No. 10 Miami – 27
North Carolina – 23
Dallas Crawford’s late touchdown run lifted Miami over North Carolina to push the Hurricanes closer to BCS bowl contention.
Miami found themselves 23-13 down entering the fourth quarter but two three-yard touchdown runs from sophmore Crawford ensured there ‘Canes would remain undefeated. Crawford finished with 137 yards from 33 carries.
Quarterback Stephen Morris’ stuttering season continued as the senior threw four interceptions in his 322 yard passing performance. Tar Heels defensive back Dominique Green got his hands on two of Morris’ passes.
North Carolina entered the game on a three game skid and were outscored 14-3 in the fourth quarter to lose their fifth of the season. Quarterback Bryn Renner completed 28 of 36 passes for 297 yards for one score and a pick in one of his more consistent performances of the season. Tight end Eric Ebron showed why everyone was talking about him before the season with an eight catch 199 yard performance.
Syracuse – 0
Georgia Tech – 56
Georgia Tech ran the ball and then ran some more as Syracuse had no answers for the triple-option offense.
The Yellow Jackets ended a three game losing streak with 482 total yards. Zach Laskey had three scores from his 75 yards while Justin Thomas ran one score in to complement 95 yards rushing. Quarterback Vad Lee only attempted three passes but they were good enough for 88 yards and a touchdown to Darren Waller.
Syracuse’s starting quarterback Terrel Hunt completed seven of his 14 first half passes for 68 yards an interception before being replaced at the half. Backup Drew Allen didn’t fare much better, the senior completed six of 15 for 65 yards and an interception.
Maryland – 10
Wake Forest – 34
Tanner Price accounted for three touchdowns as Wake Forest recorded a timely win against a spluttering Maryland.
Quarterback Price joined C.J. Spiller as the only players in the ACC since 2000 to having a passing, rushing and receiving touchdown the same game. The senior had a four-yard run in the second quarter before wide receiver Michael Campanaro tossed him a four-yard touchdown pass. A ten-yard pass to Campanaro – who had 122 receiving yards on the day - in the fourth quarter completed the trifecta.
Maryland quarterbacks C.J. Brown and Caleb Rowe combined for 344 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Rowe threw the Terrapins’ lone touchdown pass with a 56-yard strike to Lavern Jacobs.
Duke – 35
Virginia – 22
Duke scored 35 unanswered points in just over a half of football to win their first ACC tie of the season.
The Blue Devils found themselves in a hole after three Kevin Parks scores, but quarterbacks Anthony Boone and Brandon Connette rallied the troops as Duke moved to 5-2. A six-yard Boone pass to Jamison Crowder got the comeback underway. Connette started on the bench but had his say as he ran in a six-yard score and passed for another to Braxton Deaver. The comeback was completed when Deaver caught his fourth touchdown of the season with a 24-yard reception from Boone.
Non-Conference Games
Old Dominion – 24
Pittsburgh – 35
Running back Isaac Bennett had a career day helping Pittsburgh improve to 4-2 with a strong win over Old Dominion.
With the Panthers 10-0 down at the end of the first quarter Bennett took the bull by the horns when he scored three touchdowns in 10 minutes. Scores of 25, 3 and 16 yards went towards the junior’s 240-yard day. Quarterback Tom Savage was careful with the football, completing 11 of 18 including a touchdown to Manasseh Garner.