ACC Football News and Notes

ACC Football News and Notes

The final weekend of the Atlantic Coast Conference season is upon us. The championship game is now set thanks to Pittsburgh’s 34-13 victory over Wake Forest last Saturday. It will be the Clemson Tigers and the Pittsburgh Panthers for the ACC Title on December 1 in Charlotte N.C

For the Panthers, this will be their first appearance in the championship game and it will be the sixth different team to reach the final game out of the Coastal Division. Pittsburgh’s all-time record vs the Tigers is 2-0.

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (5-6), will have one more opportunity to become bowl eligible. However, to make it, they must go on the road this Saturday to Duke and beat the Blue Devils. The last time the two schools met was in 2017 and the Blue Devils came out on top 31-23.

Another team facing the same situation is the Florida State Seminoles (5-6). Last Saturday’s win on Senior Day against Boston College, kept their hopes alive. They to must go on the road to lock up win number six. It will not be easy as the Seminoles will face their in-state rivals the Florida Gators on Saturday afternoon. A lot is on the line here including consecutive year’S of making a bowl and being at least a .500 team.

The Clemson Tigers win total of 51 since 2015 is an ACC record for victories in a four-year period.  The Tigers have now won 16 games in that span against ranked teams. That is fourth-best in the nation during that time.

Boston College running back, A.J. Dillon, carried the ball season-high 37 times in last week lost at Florida State. He gained 116 yards and had a score. The yardage amassed in that game put Dillon over the one thousand yard mark for the season with one game left (1.052). Dillon has done this in just nine games for the Eagles. He has been dealing with an high ankle sprain since late September. The Doak Walker Semifinalist will be looking for another big game this weekend when BC hosts Syracuse.

This week’s ACC Quarterback of the Week is named Kenny Pickett. He is the quarterback of Pittsburgh. In the win over Wake, Pickett was 23-for-30, 316 yards (career high), and three touchdowns, all in the second half as he led his team back from a halftime deficit.

Running back of the week is Cam Akers of Florida State. In that big win over Boston College, Akers notched his first one hundred yard game of the year. It was his fifth of his career. The touchdown Akers scored was his sixth of the season in that contest.

Rookie of the wee is also the Wide Receiver of the week and that is Tamorrion Terry of Florida State. He was the hero in the Seminoles victory last Saturday. He caught three balls for 112 yards, including the game-winning 74-yard touchdown pass with under a minute to go in the game. It was his second 70+ yard catch of the season which ties him for the nation lead in that category. His eight TD’s lead the league and his average of 20.8 yards per catch is fifth best in the nation.

Defensive lineman of the week is BC’s Zack  Allen. He recorded six tackles, one sack,  one tackle for loss, one pass breakup, one QB hurry, and one block FG attempt. The blocked field goal was his second of the year. Allen and the rest of the BC seniors are getting ready for their senior day vs the Syracuse Orangmen this weekend.