Florida State. 2-2. 2-3. 0-3. Wake Forest. 1-2. 4-2. 0-1. Boston College. 1-3. 3-4. 0-3. Louisville. 1-3. 4-3. 0-2. COAS
THIS wEEk IN THE INSIDE ONE OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL’S PREMIER CONFERENCES | COmPILED BY PaTRICk STEVENS, SPECIaL TO GaTEHOUSE mEDIa
GamE OF THE wEEk LOUISVILLE (4-3, 1-3 ACC) AT FLORIDA STATE (2-3, 2-2)
BY THE NUmBERS STANDINGS (Through Oct. 14)
POwER RaNkINGS Breaking down the ACC
When: Noon EDT Saturday Where: Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Fla. TV: ESPN
ATLANTIC Team NC State Clemson Syracuse Florida State Wake Forest Boston College Louisville
Conf. 4-0 4-1 2-1 2-2 1-2 1-3 1-3
All 6-1 6-1 4-3 2-3 4-2 3-4 4-3
T25 1-0 2-0 1-1 0-3 0-1 0-3 0-2
COASTAL Team Miami Virginia Georgia Tech Virginia Tech Duke Pittsburgh North Carolina
Conf. 3-0 2-0 2-1 1-1 1-3 0-3 0-4
All 5-0 5-1 3-2 5-1 4-3 2-5 1-6
T25 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-1 0-1 0-3 0-1
1. Miami (5-0): The last undefeated team in the conference is Mark Richt’s Hurricanes. (Last week: 2)
Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson scrambles against Boston College Oct. 14 in Louisville, Ky. [TIMOTHY D. EASLEY/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS]
2. Clemson (6-1): So much for breezing to another Atlantic Division title. The Tigers were stunned at Syracuse. (LW: 1)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
3. Virginia Tech (5-1): The Hokies’ defense of their Coastal Division crown truly begins now. (LW: 3)
(Through Oct. 14) PASSING YARDS Player 1. Lamar Jackson, LOU 2. Eric Dungey, SYR 3. Ryan Finley, NCST 4. Josh Jackson, VT 5. Kurt Benkert, UVA
Yds. 2,322 2,080 1,968 1,700 1,680
PASSING TOUCHDOWNS Player 1. Lamar Jackson, LOU 2. Kurt Benkert, UVA 3. Josh Jackson, VT 4. Malik Rosier, MIAMI 4. Eric Dungey, SYR
No. 16 15 13 12 12
RUSHING YARDS Player 1. Lamar Jackson, LOU 2. Nyheim Hines, NCST 3. AJ Dillon, BC 4. Jordan Ellis, UVA 5. TaQuon Marshall, GT
Yds. 690 648 608 544 541
RECEIVING YARDS Player 1. Steve Ishmael, SYR 2. Cam Phillips, VT 3. Ervin Philips, SYR 4. Kelvin Harmon, NCST 5. Dez Fitzpatrick, LOU
Yds. 802 608 569 547 541
SCORING Player 1. Jaylen Samuels, TE, NCST 1. Lamar Jackson, QB, LOU 3. Cole Murphy, PK, SYR 4. Blanton Creque, PK, LOU 5. Joey Slye, PK, VT
Pts. 60 60 58 57 55
TEAM STATISTICS (Through Oct. 14) TOTAL OFFENSE Team Louisville NC State Syracuse Clemson Virginia Tech Duke North Carolina Boston College Pittsburgh Virginia Wake Forest Miami Georgia Tech Florida State
Yds./G 567 467 463 449 467 400 357 356 354 408 405 474 440 347
Pts./G 38.1 35.4 31.3 33.4 33.3 28.4 23.7 20.4 23.3 28.8 30.7 34.6 34.0 18.2
PASSING OFFENSE LEADERS Team Yds. Louisville 2,512 Syracuse 2,228 NC State 2,030 Virginia Tech 1,730 Pittsburgh 1,683
Yds./G 358.9 318.3 290.0 288.3 240.4
RUSHING OFFENSE Team Georgia Tech Clemson Louisville Duke Boston College
Yds./G 362.0 219.6 208.6 190.4 187.6
Yds. 1,810 1,537 1,460 1,333 1,313
STaRS OF THE wEEk • TB A.J. Dillon, Boston College: The freshman rushed for 272 yards and four TDs on 39 carries as the Eagles surprised Louisville on the road. • TB/PR Nyheim Hines, N.C. State: Rushed for 135 yards and a TD and added a punt return for a score in the Wolfpack’s victory at Pittsburgh. • TB Travis Homer, Miami: The sophomore rushed for 170 yards and a TD and also had a TD reception against Georgia Tech in his first career start.
STaT OF THE wEEk
33
Years between victories over top-two teams for Syracuse, which stunned Clemson 27-24 last week. The Orange’s last defeat of a top-two team was in 1984 against then-No. 1 Nebraska.
MIRROR IMAGES
4. N.C. State (6-1): Their Nov. 4 meeting with Clemson will have major Atlantic Division implications. (LW: 4)
CARDINALS, SEMINOLES BOTH IN MIDST OF DISAPPOINTING SEASONS KEYS FOR LOUISVILLE Re-discover defense. In less than a month, the Cardinals have been torched by Clemson QB Kelly Bryant, shredded by N.C. State QB Ryan Finley and trampled by Boston College TB A.J. Dillon. Name a way for the Louisville defense to look bad, and it has. This much is clear: It’s not a one-time problem, and the Cardinals have regressed considerably under first-year coordinator Peter Sirmon. Jackson in action (as always). Defending Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson continues to do his part for the Cardinals, though his ever-impressive numbers are going to waste on a team that’s barely bobbing above .500 at this point. For Louisville to win this week,
Jackson’s going to have to be tremendous. But even if he is, it doesn’t guarantee a victory. He had 512 total yards in last week’s loss to Boston College. KEYS FOR FLORIDA ST. Run to set up the pass. It seems the Seminoles have figured out what the recruitniks knew coming into the season. Namely, that while Cam Akers isn’t necessarily the second coming of Dalvin Cook, he’s a back Florida State can use as a centerpiece for the next few years. Better luck this time. The Seminoles couldn’t do anything with Jackson in last year’s 63-20 loss to the Cardinals. The Louisville QB rushed for 146 yards and four TDs and tacked on a TD pass in the rout as
Florida State adjusted to life without injured S Derwin James. The Seminoles have James back this season, and limiting the damage Jackson can inflict is a priority again in this encounter. pREDICTION Florida State 27-20. The Seminoles’ offense is far from a fine-tuned machine, as evidenced by their 17-10 victory at Duke last week. But their defense has done just fine even in losses to Alabama, N.C. State and Miami, and will test Jackson and the Cardinals much like Clemson did last month. With Louisville’s defense reduced to a sieve, it could be a day for Akers, Blackman and WR Auden Tate to enjoy strong performances.
BEST OF THE REST THIS WEEK’S OTHER TOp GAMES
SYRACUSE (4-3, 2-1) at No. 8 MIAMI (5-0, 3-0)
N. CAROLINA (1-6, 0-4) at No. 14 VA.TECH (5-1, 1-1)
WAKE FOREST (4-2, 1-2) at GA. TECH (3-2, 2-1)
When: 3:30 p.m. EDT Saturday Where: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Fla. TV: ESPN Notes: Miami leads series 15-7, and this is the first meeting between the schools since 2003. A pair of former Big East programs reunite Dungey for a surprisingly intriguing game. The connection between QB Eric Dungey and WRs Steve Ishmael and Ervin Philips is strong, and it will be up to the Miami secondary to disrupt the Orange’s passing game. Miami received a stellar performance from TB Travis Homer in his first career start.
When: 3:30 p.m. EDT Saturday Where: Lane Stadium, Blacksburg, Va. TV: ESPN2 Notes: Virginia Tech leads series 22-12-6. The Hokies come out of their bye week and begin a two-game homestand against North Jackson Carolina and Duke. QB Josh Jackson settled into a starting role as a redshirt freshman. This will be an emotional game for Hokies freshman WR Sean Savoy, whose brother was shot and killed Oct. 8 — less than 24 hours after Savoy had nine catches for 139 yards and a TD in a defeat of Boston College.
When: 7:30 p.m. EDT Saturday Where: Bobby Dodd Stadium, Atlanta TV: ESPNU Notes: Georgia Tech leads series 22-8. The host Yellow Jackets led nearly the entire way against Miami before Michael Badgley’s field Marshall goal with four seconds remaining lifted the Hurricanes to a crucial Coastal Division victory. But Georgia Tech is hardly out of the conference race, though it must bounce back quickly behind QB TaQuon Marshall. Wake Forest has dropped back-to-back games since its 4-0 start.
ROUNDING IT OUT THE REST OF THE MATCHUpS
Time (EDT) SATURDAY 12:20 p.m. 12:30 p.m.
Matchup Pittsburgh at Duke Boston College at Virginia
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TV ACC RSN
5. Georgia Tech (3-2): Legitimately two plays away from being undefeated in mid-October. (LW: 5) 6. Florida State (2-3): Slowly but surely, QB James Blackman is settling into his starting role. (LW: 8) 7. Virginia (5-1): They can clinch postseason eligibility Saturday against Boston College. (LW: 7) 8. Syracuse (4-3): With Wake Forest and Boston College still to come after Clemson upset, there’s a clear path to bowl eligibility. (LW: 11)
9. Louisville (4-3): Is it possible the Cardinals could miss a bowl game? Sure. That was unthinkable entering 2017. (LW: 6) 10. Wake Forest (4-2): The Demon Deacons got an extra week to prepare for Georgia Tech. (LW: 9)
11. Boston College (3-4): Safe to say freshman TB A.J. Dillon will have a prominent role in the Eagles’ offense moving forward. (LW: 12) 12. Duke (4-3): The absence of a deep passing game over the last month explains Duke’s fade in 2017. (LW: 10) 13. Pittsburgh (2-5): The Panthers’ nine-year bowl streak is in serious jeopardy as they continue to stumble. (LW: 13) 14. North Carolina (1-6): The Tar Heels must visit Blacksburg this week. That’s not a good way to get well. (LW: 14)
