ACC Football News & Notes: Clemson No Longer ACC Powerhouse

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It turned out to be an interesting first month of play in the ACC. Wake Forest (4-0) holds down the top spot in the Atlantic Division by a game over the rest of the pack. In the Coastal, Virginia Tech (3-1) holds the same one-game lead in their division. It is shaping up to be a close and exciting race in the ACC with a look toward championship Saturday in December. Here is a look at how the final weekend of play in September went.

As the month of October gets underway, three teams from the conference are ranked in the AP Top-25. North Carolina State at #23, Wake Forest at #24, and Clemson already with two losses including one league defeat is at #25. For the Tigers, it marks the 107th consecutive week in the AP poll. That is the second-longest streak in the country. There were four other teams from the ACC that received votes.

The game of the week last weekend took place in Raleigh, N.C. as the Wolfpack (3-1) took down then #9 Clemson in double overtime. The 27-21 victory gave the Wolfpack their first win over a Top-10 team since beating then-#3 Florida State 17-16 back in 2012. The win also earned them the Cheez-it National Team of the Week as voted on by the Football Writers Association of America. Quarterback Devin Leary was named the Walter Camp National Player of the Week for completing 32-of-44 passes for 238 yards and two scores including the go-ahead 22-yard TD pass in the second overtime. Their head coach, Dave Doeren, was selected as the Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week for his team’s performance. This week, NC State will go back to non-conference action with a home game against Louisiana Tech. This will be the second-ever meeting between the two schools. North Carolina State won the first one 40-14 back in 2013.

The loss last Saturday by Clemson (2-2, 0-1) snapped a streak of 36 straight wins versus unranked teams that dates back to the 2017 season. The Tigers’ defense gave up their first offensive touchdown of the season with just seconds left in the first quarter. It took 194:55 seconds to begin the year before the first touchdown was allowed. It was the longest season-opening streak without giving up a touchdown since 1950. It may not get any easier for the Tigers as they welcome Boston College (4-0) to Death Valley for a Saturday night game. Last year, Clemson came back from down 18 points to hold off the Eagles.

Those Eagles are 4-0 for the first time since 2017 after their win at home last Saturday against Missouri out of the SEC. The overtime win was sealed by defensive back Dennis Sebastian’s interception after BC had taken the lead in the first overtime period. The pick earned Sebastian Defensive Back of the Week in the league. On offense, running back Pat Garwo was named Running Back of the Week for the second time this month after gaining 175 yards and two scores vs the Tigers. His first touchdown run came in the first quarter, a 67-yard run to the house that put BC on the board for the first time in the game. It is the second time this month that Boston College has had two players named Player of the Week from the same game. The other time was September 13.

Pittsburgh (3-1) quarterback Kenny Pickett is off to a great start this year. He is ranked second in the country in pass efficiency throwing 15 TD to just one INT. In his last two ball games, Pickett has thrown 11 touchdown passes. He is just the third single-caller in conference history to throw five TD passes in consecutive games. Clemson’s Tajh Boyd in 2012 and Scott Milanovich in 1993 with Maryland are the other two. The Panthers offense is second in the nation in scoring, averaging 52.5 points per game. The offense is rolling gaining 386.5 yards a game which is fourth in the country.

In Miami’s lopsided win over Central Connecticut State, the coaching staff gave themselves a chance to look at some other players that were down the depth chart. One of those is backup quarterback Tyler Van Dyke. In his first start as the Hurricanes QB, he went 10-for-11, 270 yards, and three touchdowns. One of those scores was an 83-yard scoring pass. He finished with the third-most passing yards of any quarterback making their debut for Miami since 1999.

That’s all for this week. We will be back next week with more from the ACC.