Around the ACC: Week 8
Seven weeks remain in the college football season as Clemson starts to run away with the Atlantic division, North Carolina holds the Coastal division and other teams look to fight their way into bowl games.
Virginia 16, Georgia Tech 9
Virginia battles back after a horrible first quarter to beat Georgia Tech and pull within one game of .500. Quarterback Brennan Armstrong threw for 255 yards, ran for 91 yards and had two total touchdowns in the victory.
Virginia were careless with the ball, throwing two picks and fumbling it five times but luckily for them they recovered two of them. Their defense was the major factor in the win after holding Georgia Tech to nine points in the first half and shutting them out in the second half.
No. 5 Clemson 27, No. 14 Syracuse 21
Clemson ran through Syracuse with 293 yards and three touchdowns on the day. Led by running back Will Shipley who had 172 yards and two touchdowns against Syracuse's defense.
Clemson defeats a ranked team and proves itself as a contender to be in the college football playoffs. Both of these teams offenses are fueled by the run game and that was shown in this game with both quarterbacks throwing for less than 200 yards.
Clemson gains some space between them and the rest of the Atlantic Division as we are halfway through the college football season.
No. 13 Wake Forest 43, Boston College 15
Sam Hartman has himself a day against Boston College as he threw for 313 yards and five touchdowns in Wake Forest's win. Wake Forest’s offense has now scored 30 points or more in every game this season.
Boston College’s offensive line was dominated at the line of scrimmage which gave the offense no time to get anything going. Wake Forest continues to prove that it is a top-15 team in all of college football and a contender in the Atlantic division of the ACC.
Duke 45, Miami 21
Duke’s defense held Miami to 48 rushing yards and forced eight turnovers, five being fumbles. Duke’s offense ran the ball efficiently with 200 yards and four touchdowns on the day with their defense giving them great field position.
Miami now needs to go 3-2 to make a bowl game with Clemson and other conference teams still left on the schedule. Duke can secure a bowl game after its bye week when the Blue Devils visit Boston College.
Louisville 24, Pittsburgh 10
Pittsburgh could not get out of its own way this week, throwing two picks and losing two fumbles to Louisville's defense. Pittsburgh beats Louisville on paper if the turnovers are taken out of the stat sheet.
Israel Abanikanda looks like he could be the workhorse of that Pittsburgh offense if he continues to be used right and holds onto the ball. Both teams are two games away from bowl games, however both teams go against top 25 teams next week so the wins will be hard fought ones.
Micheal Bolger is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email mpb6233@psu.edu.
