ACC Notes: A wild weekend of Conference Football

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A wild ACC weekend of conference football is the headline of the week. Two big upsets, one at Syracuse by the Orange over # 2 Clemson, and Boston College winning their first league game since last November going on the road and knocking off Louisville

We begin at the Carrier Dome, where Syracuse knocked off the defending National Champion Clemson Tigers 27-24. QB Eric Dungey threw for 278 yards and three touchdowns. He also got it done on the ground with 61 rushing yards on 21 carries. His 339 total yards were 22 more than the Tigers offense gained for the entire game.

Dungey’s performance earned him co-player of the week honors in the ACC. His Favorite target, Ervin Phillips, caught one of Dungey’s touchdown throws. A 66-yard catch and run, on the way to a four reception day good for 94 yards. Phillips is now tenth on Syracuse’s all-time receiving yards list with 1,734 and is second all-time with 190 catches.

The other big day belonged to the Boston College Eagles, who went to Louisville and pulled off a big-time 45-42 victory. Freshman running back A. J. Dillon was the story here. He ran for 272 yards on 39 workhorse carries. He ran for four TD’s on runs of 1, 3, 11, and a 75 yard run off left tackle that has to be seen to be believed.

The Eagles ran for 364 yards on the ground, on their way to 555 yards of total offense, both season highs. Dillon’s day made him the ACC rookie of the week, as well as the RB of the week.

And it doesn’t stop there, as offensive lineman Chris Lindstrom of the Eagles was named offensive lineman of the week in the ACC.

North Carolina signal-caller Ryan Finley is fast gaining the attention of scouts at the next level. One reason for the looks by the NFL is his ability to protect the football, especially in the passing game. Going into their game VS the Pittsburgh Panthers, Finley had not thrown a pick in his last 257 throws. It’s the third-longest streak in ACC history. He trails only Russell Wilson, a former Wolf Pack QB, who threw 379 without an INT (2008-09) and Florida State’s Drew Weatherford who had 270 without an interception in 2007.

Florida State has had their fair share of good placekickers over the years. This year he is named is Ricky Aguayo who is averaging 2.67 field goals a game, after making four in each of his last two games. He ranks fourth nationally in BCS.

Virginia Free Safety Quin Balding is making a name for himself as a tackling machine in the Cavaliers secondary. He leads all active FBS players in career tackles with 411, after another ten tackle performance this past weekend in Virginia win over North Carolina. Balding, a four-year starter at Virginia is averaging 10.03 tackles a game.