Unfortunately, Virginia Tech lost to fellow ACC outfit Duke meaning any hope of thee Atlantic Coast Conference teams inside the BCS top ten has vanished. However, Florida State looked as convincing as ever while Miami and Clemson both kept their names in the hat for BCS Bowls with Week 9 wins.
Conference Games
NC State – 17
No. 2 Florida State – 49
Florida State Jameis Winston continued his remarkable season with a comfortable win over NC State.
The freshman had three touchdowns and one interception in a 292 yard performance. Wide receiver Rashad Greene has been Winston’s favourite receiver on the year, the junior compiled another eight catches for 137 yards and a touchdown in Week 9.
Sophmore running back Shadrach Thornton was the Wolfpack’s standout performer with 173 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries.
Wake Forest – 21
No. 7 Miami – 24
The Hurricanes squeezed to their second narrow victory in a row thanks to an impressive ground game.
Last week it was Dallas Crawford; this week it was Duke Johnson. The speedy sophmore had 168 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries which included the game winner with 53 seconds remaining. Quarterback Stephen Morris had one of his more consistent performances, completing 17 of 28 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown.
Wake Forest quarterback Tanner Price passed for over 300 yards for just the second time this season but it wasn’t enough as his efforts came up short. Receiver Michael Campanaro continued to impress with 10 – the third game in a row in which he has reached double figures.
No. 9 Clemson – 40
Maryland – 27
Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins combined 14 times as Clemson proved too strong for Maryland.
Watkins accounted for 163 of Boyd’s 304 passing yards and a touchdown in a dominating performance. The Tigers’ passing game was opened up thanks to running back Roderick McDowell’s best game of the season. The senior had 161 yards and a touchdown on thirty carries which opened up passing lanes for Boyd.
Maryland’s game ball will undoubtedly go to receiver Levern Jacobs. With just 13 catches coming into the game the second year player plucked eight passes from the air for a total of 158 yards. The highlight play being a 71-yard score in the first half.
Duke – 13
No. 14 Virginia Tech – 10
In a terrible advert for college football Duke snuck past Virginia Tech to record a famous win.
A touchdown run from quarterback Anthony Boone in the second quarter and two field goals from the boot of Ross Martin was enough for the Blue Devils in a game that yielded eight interceptions.
Boone and Hokies quarterback Logan Thomas combined to complete 28 of 63 passes for 321 yards, no touchdowns and eight interceptions. Freshman Virginia Tech cornerback Kendall Fuller recorded three interceptions to take his season tally to 5.
Boston College – 10
North Carolina – 34
North Carolina broke a four game losing streak with a home win over Boston College.
Bryn Renner completed 18 of 21 passes in his best performance of the season. Ryan Switzer and Bug Howard caught touchdown passes from the senior while change of pace quarterback Marquise Williams also threw for a score as well as adding one on the ground.
Chase Rettig could only muster 57 passing yards as the Tar Heels completely shut down the Eagles’ passing game. Prolific pass catches Alex Amidon continued to catch balls – he had eight receptions on the day – but could only average 4.8 yards per reception. Senior running back Andre Williams stepped up in absence of the passing game to accumulate 172 yards and a touchdown.
Georgia Tech – 35
Virginia – 25
Georgia Tech’s dominating ground game continued as the Yellow Jackets heaped more misery on Virginia.
David Sims, Robert Godhigh and Zach Laskey all topped a hundred yards and combined for five touchdowns as the Cavaliers crumbled at the sight of the triple-option offense.
David Watford passed for a season-high 61 times for Virginia as Tim Smith and Darius Jennings tallied 26 receptions, 270 yards and two touchdowns.
Both teams exchanged blows throughout the game but it was Georgia Tech who had possession at the right time and walked away with their fifth win of the season.
Non-Conference Games
Pittsburgh – 21
Navy – 24
A Navy field goal as time expired handed Pittsburgh their third loss of the season as they twice blew fourth quarter leads.
Two touchdowns from Tom Savage, including a three yarder to Tyler Boyd with eight minutes remaining, weren’t enough as the Panthers’ defense surrendered ten points in the final three minutes.
Devin Street’s nine catch, 96-yard performance saw him surpass Latef Grim as Pitt’s all-time leading receiver. Street now has 186 career receptions.