It was a fairly quiet weekend for the ACC as five teams, including Clemson and Miami, had a bye week. Georgia Tech and Duke squared off in the only conference game as teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference went 6-3 during week three.
Here is a week three review of the ACC.
Conference Games
Georgia Tech – 38
Duke – 14
Georgia Tech improved to 2-0 with a comfortable win over a solid Duke side. Quarterback Vad Lee and running back David Sims carried the load for the Yellow Jackets with 141 yards combined. WR DeAndre Smelter caught two touchdowns as Duke couldn’t stop the triple-option offense. Jela Duncan was the Blue Devils’ strongest player with 89 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.
Non-Conference Games
Virginia Tech – 15
East Carolina – 10
Virginia Tech scraped to a 2-1 record despite some truly dreadful play from quarterback Logan Thomas. The senior quarterback had a QBR of 64.8 in week three which is amazingly his highest of the season. Trey Edmunds had his worst game of his young career, the freshman struggled to 42 yards on 21 carries. It was once again left to the Hokies defense to dig the team out of a hole, as three interceptions pulled them over the line
LA-Monroe – 21
Wake Forest – 19
A failed two-point conversion in the dying minutes dashed any hope of a comeback as Wake Forest fell to LA-Monroe. The Demon Deacons’ offense failed to get any momentum, as they mustered just 15 rushing yards and converting 33% of third downs. Michael Campanaro was the lone bright spot on a miserable afternoon for the home team, the senior wideout had 16 catches – an ACC single-game record – for 177 yards.
Visiting quarterback Kolton Browning passed for 315 yards and three touchdowns to cause the upset. Wake Forest will need to regroup ahead of a torrid run of games.
New Mexico – 27
Pittsburgh – 49
Pittsburgh never looked back from a 35-6 half-time lead as they cruised to their first win of the season. Tom Savage completed 13 of 17 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns behind an impressive run game to kick-start the Panthers’ season. Running backs James Connor and Isaac Bennett both rumbled for over a hundred yards and a score each while freshman Tyler Boyd chipped in with a rushing touchdown to go with his 134 receiving yards and a score through the air.
Boston College – 7
USC – 35
After USC’s rough start to the season the Eagles wouldn’t have been foolish to believing they could cause an upset over the prestigious USC, however, it wasn’t to be as Cody Kessler completed all but two of his 17 passes for 237 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Andre Williams and wide receiver Alex Amidon were kept unusually quiet by the Trojan defense and that meant quarterback Chase Rettig never found a rhythm. Boston College trailed 14-0 at half-time and remained in contention until Tre Madden score his second touchdown of the game on a 30 yard run.
Nevada – 7
Florida State – 62
Jameis Winston is a name we will hear a lot about over the coming season. The freshman quarterback has started his inaugural season in college football on fire with only five incompletions through his 40 passing attempts so far. The impressive youngster tossed his fifth and sixth touchdowns of the season against the Wolf Pack in a game that was never close. Nevada took an early lead before Florida State ran riot in the second half with scores on the ground from six different running backs. Familiar faces Devonta Freeman and Jamies Wilder Jr. rushed for 154 yards and two touchdowns between them.
Wagner – 0
Syracuse – 54
Syracuse finally chalked up their first win with an easy victory over a very poor Wagner Seahawks. Three quarterbacks, led by Terrel Hunt, combined for 351 yards and four touchdowns. Junior wide receiver had a career day, hauling in five passes for 147 yards and a touchdown. Running back Jerome Smith added two touchdowns from eight yards and two yards.
Maryland – 32
Connecticut – 21
Maryland improved to 3-0 on the season with a hard-fought win over AAC side Connecticut. The Terrapins failed to get much going until quarterback C.J. Brown broke off a 41 yard run to level the score at 7-7. Both teams settled for field-goals to close out the half and it wasn’t until the brilliant Stefon Diggs hauled in his third touchdown catch of the season that saw some light become between the teams.
Maryland will host West Virginia in week four in what should be a cracking match.